I was up early this morning to shout on Derby our little green parrot who decided not to come home last night (he lives between the house and the Dreamcatchers forest flying freely as he pleases).

It was a very, very cold night and I woke a couple of times hoping he was ok. I went out to the garden, shouted and home he came squawking. He swooped in the door and into his cage for a large drink of water and many, many seeds. Relief.I thought he would pop his head under his wing for a snooze but no, he began indicating he wanted back out and off he went again out the door on another adventure.

However, I brought him in today about 2 pm as I was not up for another restless night wondering where he was! He is now sound asleep in his cage probably dreaming about his adventures.

His language has come on leaps and bounds in recent months and he has a huge repertoire of words. When he was young he was bullied by the crows and came in one day with a swollen eye and no tail feathers. We think he had been in a battle. However, he now knows he can fly faster than them and he swoops on them from above if they come into his airspace. I do not think it is a great strategy but it seems to be working for him!

He really made me laugh the other morning. He was going through his long list of words in his cage and obviously thought nobody was listening. He was saying in Brian’s soft tones “what a lovely boy, what a clever boy, is that good?, how are you this morning?, what a great boy …… and then …. in a voice twice the volume, sounding suspiciously like me, he shouted “what are you doing?”. I had not heard him say that before.I have been known to shout that at him as he starts to chew the window or my handbag! Caught!

Parrots make really great pets but if you are thinking of getting one they are really intelligent and therefore need a huge amount of attention and stimulation – much more than a dog or cat, in my opinion. They are a much bigger commitment and cannot be left just sitting in a cage. It would be like locking up a 3 year old child as it is thought they have the same level of intelligence.

If you are in the Dreamcatcher’s forest and see a little green bird above you will know who he is!

Stay safe. x