Reward offered to catch missing parrot spotted across Northamptonshire

A "scared" and "good" hand-reared parrot escaped his cage and has been flying around Northamptonshire for months.

The family is offering a reward to whoever catches him.

Ten-month-old Monty, an Alexandrine parakeet, flew out of his Woodford Halse home and has been travelling since October from Yelvertoft to Crick and West Haddon.

Melanie Boyce, 35, from Daventry, adopted Monty when he was just two weeks old.

She said: “He’s green. He’s got a long tail. He was very tame, but he wouldn't come to us, so that tameness is obviously gone. He used to live on our heads.

“He used to go on a little skateboard and play with his yellow ball. He was a good little bird. I don't think he would do any of that now if we got him back.”

Monty's journey began three months ago, on October 3, 2023, around 3pm. Melanie said he flew past her through the back entrance of the house. The water bowl door was accidentally left open, and Melanie had no idea that he had made his way out of the cage.

“It’s been hard. I think at first we were a bit shocked and didn’t really know where to start. We went out looking for him right away.

“I think we just thought he would come back, but he didn't. It was quite frustrating when he was in our village and would not come to us. No matter what, he would fly above our heads, but he would not come to us,” said Melanie.

Monty remained in the village for five weeks until the evening of the bonfire night, on November 5, 2023. Soon after, he departed, and the family lost track of him.

“You Google these things on what to do, and they tell you to put his cage in the garden, play music, play bird noises—we tried all of that. Nothing worked. His cage was in our garden for about two weeks, and then we moved it around daily. He was just not interested in his cage,” said Melanie.

Since then, Melanie has been asking people to notify her if they saw the bird via posts on the nearby Facebook community groups. A few days later, a parrot was spotted in Yelvertoft, and Melanie discovered that it was Monty.

“We visited him every day. We talked to him, and he loved it. There were two occasions in Yelvertoft where he fell asleep in the tree right in front of us, but he was just too high,” said Melanie.

Melanie attempted to catch Monty using a ladder, but each time he flew away.

Following his brief stay in Yelvertoft, Monty decided to visit Crick. He was spotted flying in Jubilee Wood several times throughout his visit there.

“He was getting lots of sightings there, so we actually went there every day as well. I spoke to him while he was in the trees, and he loved it. We had another chance of almost catching him.

“He was in a tree that didn't seem very full of leaves, but the net just kept getting stuck. It spooked him, he flew off, and then we couldn’t find him again,” said Melanie.

Residents started searching for Monty over time. On January 16, he was spotted on the main road around Jubilee Wood. On Sunday, January 21, Monty was on the A428 near West Haddon. Melanie continued to look for him, but she was unable to locate Monty.

On Wednesday, January 24, Monty appeared in West Haddon once more.

“Hopefully more people will see him. Whatever we do, he will not fly to us. He’s not interested in his cage; nothing. It’s costing us lots of money to keep going there all the time.

“I wish he was in the next village rather than 30 to 40 minutes away. I think he thinks that West Haddon is his home,” said Melanie.

Melanie believes he travelled to West Haddon in an attempt to find more hawthorn berries.

“The berries are going to be useless now. They started to go black. I don’t know what else he’s feeding on. I personally do not think we’re going to get him ourselves. He needs to be really desperate for food, but I don’t know when that will be,” said Melanie.

The person who can locate Monty and return him home will receive a £100 reward.

“He used to love sunflower seeds. He would do anything for a sunflower seed, but I really do not know if he even knows what they are now. He is not going to be the same tamed bird that he was,” said Melanie.

People can contact Melanie at 0754 2803 252 if they spot Monty.

“I think he’s scared. People are saying that he is enjoying himself and having a great time, but I don't think he is. I think he is actually petrified. I don't think he knows what he needs to do to come back to us.

"My mum and dad have been helping a lot. We need somebody who knows what they’re doing to offer their help to come and get him,” said Melanie.

Sadly, the saga of Monty the parrot continues since he has not been spotted for a few days now.

With the cold weather and scarcity of food at this time of the year, his family and two other parrots are waiting for him to return home.