My Budgerigar Encounter

Earlier this week while I was checking up on my cameras I ran into a Budgerigar (Budgie). It was sitting in the road. Budgies originate from Australia and are kept as pets throughout the world. Sometime birds escape from their cages or are set free by owners that don't want to look after them anymore. Sadly these animals can not survive on their own because they never learned to look after themselves in the wild and usually the natural vegetation is not suitable for them as food.

I used the 'manual picture' setting of the Moultrie camera I had with me to take this picture. It's difficult to aim without a viewfinder, but it turned out pretty good

After thinking the matter through a bit I decided that the poor thing doesn't stand a chance out on the slopes of Table Mountain on its own. So, I tried to catch it. I wanted to bring it back to the office where I have some sunflower seeds for the starving little bird and then I thought I'll have to buy a bird cage and keep it at home. A few tries later I managed to gently catch it using my t-shirt (the only thing with me that could do the job), but as I opened my shirt, to get a better grip, it got out and perched on a tree nearby. I tried again, but then it flew away into the distance, and it was gone. It seemed to be heading towards the Newlands suburb and I hope it will find some bird feeders there full of seed.