Parakeet makes surprise visit at Milton Landing

A small blue and white bird, likely a parakeet, landed on the oar of a crew team rowing at Milton Landing on May 10.

Instead of getting their feathers ruffled, the members of the team waited patiently for the bird, also known as a budgie, to fly off on its own, according to Milton resident Bill Gallagher.

“It was a really great day when a little bird captured everyone’s wonder,” he said.

Gallagher, a member of the Milton Yacht Club, was working on his boat when he heard the commotion on the Neponset River.

He has kept an eye for years on the Bald Eagles that are nesting a little farther down the shore, but the little bird was far more charming, he said.

Gallagher said he saw the bird flying around the eight-person crew from Milton High School before landing on the oar.

The crew members asked advice about what to do from a kayaker, and it took roughly three to five minutes for the bird to fly away, he said.

Milton Animal Control Officer Nancy Bersani said that small birds, like parakeets, sometimes escape from their owners. 

“Sometimes people let them go when they don’t want them any more,” she said.

For more on this story in print or online.