Pet bird found in drain mile from home after escape during storm

By Nathan Pynn

A pet budgie that vanished when a storm blew open a kitchen window was found hiding in a drain a mile from home.

11-month-old Luna made her great escape from owner Cimberley Frost’s apartment in Northampton when strong winds following Storm Boelo forced open a window and she flew away.

But the tiny bird’s adventure ended when a passing motorist spotted her hopping down into a roadside drain and alerted the RSPCA.

RSPCA Inspector Richard Durant said: “Luna hadn’t gone far when we believe she must have been frightened by something and she hopped down into a drain to hide.

“Luckily, in a bizarre turn of events, a passing driver happened to spot her jump down into the drain and called us for help.

“Luna saw it as a hidey-hole, but if she hadn’t been seen then no one would have known she was down there.”

Richard was out with Trainee Animal Rescue Officer Rosie Cowie on Oct. 26 when the call came in and he asked her to rescue the stranded bird.

Rosie said: “We peered down the drain and there was Luna’s little beak peeking out from a pipe.

“I gently grabbed her and popped her in a pet carrier; my first rescue, and one I certainly won’t be forgetting.”

Luna was taken into RSPCA care and, just days later, her worried owner got in touch.

Animal Rescue Officer Ellie Grindod reunited Luna with a relieved Cimberley, whose home was just a mile from where the budgie had been found.

Cimberley said: “Luna had been watching us eat in the living room when all of a sudden we realized it had gone quiet.

“We went to look for her in the kitchen and noticed the window was open.

“We left it open hoping she might come back and went out to try to find her. We played budgie noises to see if it would help her find her way home but nothing.

“I posted on social media and then someone got in touch to say they’d heard the RSPCA had picked up a budgie nearby so I got in touch and then, thankfully, arranged for Luna to be brought home.

“The house was so quiet without her; she’s always squeaking and talking. We really missed her; now she’s back to being Lady of the house.”

Luna loves spending her days flying around the apartment, taunting family dog Ziggy and demanding to be let out of her cage, or finding her own way out.

But despite her reputation as an escape artist, she had never managed to get outside before.

Cimberley added: “It’s her first adventure, and hopefully her last!”