By Naturally Fun Author: Mark Fadden

Have you ever had a pet that meant the world to you? If so, you might personally relate to this story. How would you feel if the animal you love suddenly disappeared for days on end - would you lose hope of finding them? This is the story of Alexandra, the African Grey Parrot found in Randol Mill Park, and her tiring journey through the wild and into the care of the Arlington Parks and Recreation Department staff.

"I took [Alexandra] outside in the park to stretch her wings, and lost control of her. I had taught her to come back to me but for some reason she got freaked out this time and flew away," Alexandra's owner Calvin Scott said. "I went out to try and find her, but after the first night I started to feel hopeless and eventually just hoped that she found someone to take care of her." Little did Scott know that someone had in fact found her, and that they had friends in the right places.

Even though Alexandra had become disoriented in her new surroundings she attempted to make her new home in one of our City of Arlington Parks. After a few days the African Parrot, who is not acclimated to life in the wild, was discovered by the APRD maintenance staff.

"One of the field maintenance crew members, David Valentine, found the parrot at Randol Mill Park," said Urban Forest and Land Manager Heather Dowell. "We brought her back to the office and she flew all over." The staff knew she was an amazing bird and began to look for someone to care for her.

Fortunately, the APRD had an experienced "parrot person" on staff. Customer Service Representative Rita Moreno intervened to assist in the rescue.

"I've had birds all my life," Moreno, a 14-year veteran of the APRD, said. "So I decided to take her home and foster her until we could find her owner." Moreno's daughter, who has a degree in wildlife management, was able to figure out that the parrot was a female and around 3 years old. "We began checking websites like Craigslist to see if anyone had lost a parrot," said Moreno.

The tables turned when Park Operations Analyst Kristie Blackmon stumbled upon a very specific site, 911parrotalert.com, where she saw an announcement for a lost African Grey Parrot in the same zip code as the park. The bird's owner, Calvin Scott, had put the announcement on the website after losing the bird near Randol Mill Park. Blackmon made contact with Scott; however, the team wasn't willing to merely hand the bird over.

"We asked him questions about [Alexandra] before we agreed to meet him at a public place. Then, when we met, we made him answer even more questions before we were willing to give the bird back to him. We wanted to be absolutely sure he was her owner." Scott was able to answer every question regarding the bird's physical and verbal attributes to a tee.

After an emotional reunion, Scott was so appreciative that he sent the assisting staff members a basket of fruit and made a $100 donation to the APRD's Build-A-Dream Program, which gives out scholarships so that underprivileged kids can participate in APRD youth programs.

"I was just so overjoyed at what the APRD did for me and Alexandra," Scott said. "I am very appreciative for all the work they do."