Otley's parakeets make a colourful reappearance (From Wharfedale Observer)

Otley's parakeets make a colourful reappearance

2:23pm Friday 28th September 2007 in Local news By Jim Jack

TWO of Otley's most colourful feathered residents have been spotted again but there's still no sign of Ozzie, the town's African grey parrot.

Wayne Shipley was in the back garden of his house on Peterhouse Drive with his sons Luke, eight, and Daniel, six, when they heard an unusual noise and looked up to see two bright parakeets perched on a lamppost.

Mr Shipley quickly got his camera and captured a few pictures of the birds in the dusk light, after they'd flitted over to a nearby telegraph pole.

He said: "It was getting towards dusk on Friday, September 21 when we saw them.

"My sons who really were the first ones to spot them, and when we looked up we saw two small, multi-coloured parakeets perched on the telegraph pole.

"I managed to take a few pictures but as it was getting dark and they were quite high up it proved difficult.

"I have heard of sightings of parrots and parakeets but this is my first encounter."

For more than a year now an African grey parrot - dubbed Ozzie by some but actually believed to be a female along with two other colourful birds, thought to be an Amazonian parrot and a Rosella parakeet, have been regularly seen around the town.

Ozzie survived the winter, but no sightings have been reported since he was last seen in February.