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Robert and Darla Wardle have spent hundreds of hours working, tilling and growing their backyard victory garden, but never expected it to yield an exotic African gray parrot.
“I was out working in my garden when all of a sudden I saw a big fluttery shadow right over my head,” Darla Wardle said. “It knocked my hat right off! I jumped back thrashing and waving my hands. I knew something was trying to get me.”
She was terrified when she realized a large bird had landed on her, standing on her shoulder. “Even though it was on me, I couldn’t see what it was. I threw my rake and tried to knock it off as fast as I could,” she said. “Then a beautiful bird landed at my feet.”
She stood there in shock, looking at the big, beautiful grey bird with a red tail. She said she was surprised at the bird’s reaction.
“He didn’t move. He just stared at me. I almost felt like he was asking me for help,” Wardle said. “I had no idea what kind of bird it was.”
After collecting herself, she reached down to inspect the bird to see if it was injured. He immediately jumped onto her hand, side-stepping up her arm until he was sitting on her shoulder again.
“I was nervous about having a strange bird on my shoulder, but all of a sudden I got a really peaceful feeling over me like it was all OK. I knew I could help this bird get what he needed.”
She called for her husband to come outside to see her new, cuddly friend and told him to grab the camera.
Together they got to know the bird even offering him a cracker, which he eagerly ate. They brought him into their house where he ate some cherries and drank two dishes of water. “He was very thirsty,” she said.
“We called a few neighbors, but no one knew anyone with an exotic bird,” Wardle said. “My daughter called just then and told us we could notify a lot of people at once if we posted our find on Facebook.”
The Wardle’s son, at work at the time, saw his parent’s Facebook post. “I was talking to my wife on the phone. She told me about my parents parrot visitor. I was sitting at my desk, so I just Googled the term ‘lost parrot Riverton’ and it brought up a KSL.com ad for a missing bird posted recently from someone in Riverton,” Scott Wardle said.
The Wardle’s called the number listed and spoke to a very relieved Jenece McCurdy. She’s owned Dusty — the African gray parrot worth nearly $1000 — only a year and this was his second escape and the second time a KSL.com ad had brought him safely home.
“I was just glad he landed in the right hands. The Wardle’s were so good to Dusty even though he scared Darla half to death. He loves people, though, so I’m not surprised he stayed with them. They were so kind,” McCurdy said.
The Wardle’s were just glad to have part in the happy reunion. “We’ve had some great experiences over the years taking in stray dogs and cats and even some stray kids, but never any birds. We’re glad we found his owner, but we were sad when he left. I really feel like we had a connection with that sweet bird,” Darla Wardle said.
McCurdy also reported another person in Riverton saw her KSL.com ad the day before and called her when the bird had visited their yard too. “He flew away before they could catch him, but at least I knew he was still alive and in my area. I was even more relived when the Wardle’s called and said he was in their house.”
Author Kristin Sokol is the daughter of Darla and Robert Wardle. Sokol authors TheVocalSokol.com, a blog dedicated to helping women stay happy mostly by doing fun things.
