Pet bird flies 150 miles from home, reunites with owner – WAND

Mixed clouds and sun with scattered thunderstorms. High 78F. Winds NE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 40%..
Scattered showers and thunderstorms. Low 66F. Winds NE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 40%.
Updated: September 4, 2022 @ 1:15 pm

CERRO GORDO, Ill. – (WAND) The power of social media has reunited a Naperville family with their pet bird, after he flew over 150 miles to central Illinois.
Last week, Brandon Walker of Cerro Gordo found a bright blue parakeet in his backyard. 
“I reached down and picked him up and he crawled up on my finger. He seemed very tame. I thought, ‘This is somebody’s bird,’” he said. 
At the same time, more than 100 miles away, Sathya Essaki from the Chicago suburb Naperville, was searching tirelessly for her pet bird, Blue.

Blue flew away while Sathya was giving him a bath on August 6.
“I could not console myself. I couldn’t sleep. I cried for a whole week,” she said. 
A friend suggested Sathya start posting online to locate the bird. She found pictures of Blue posted in different Facebook neighborhood groups in Illinois. But no one was able to catch him, until Blue landed in Brandon’s yard. 
Brandon brought the bird into his garage. He posted a picture in the Cerro Gordo Neighborhood Watch Facebook group to find the owner. 
The post caught the attention of David Stukins Jr. of Maroa, who grew up in the area.
“Investigative stuff is kind of fun to me. So I saw that, and I just couldn’t resist looking into it a little bit,” he said. 
He searched on Facebook for nearby missing parakeets. He found a post of a similar bird missing from the Naperville area. 
“I took a screenshot and put it in the comment section and said, ‘hey, this might be a long shot, but it might be worth it,’” David said. 
After David’s finding, Brandon reached out to Sathya via Facebook. 
“The moment I saw the photos and videos, I figured out it was Blue,” Sathya said. 
They coordinated a time to come pick up the bird from Cerro Gordo the next day. It was a six hour round trip for Sathya and her husband. 
“The moment I had Blue in my hands I was in tears. I couldn’t express my happiness,” she said. 
Their beloved Blue had been missing for two weeks and flew over 100 miles from home. 
Brandon was surprised to hear the bird traveled that far. 
“If you think about all the stuff between Chicago and here, like predators, dogs, cats… it’s cool he made it all the way here. I never thought in a million years I’d see something like that.” 
Sathya and her husband have 3 other birds: Snowy, Minty, and Minnie. She says the parakeets seem happier now that Blue has returned. 
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