June 2 (UPI) -- Members of the public, firefighters and animals services personnel came together in South Carolina to rescue a macaw perched on a pillar at a federal building.
Barbara Gillis said she was walking past the U.S. Custom House in downtown Charleston when she heard an unusual bird call.
"I'm like, 'That doesn't sound like a bird from around here,'" Gillis told WCBD-TV. "So, I started looking. I'm an animal lover and had a feeling this was not a regular bird, probably a pet."
Gillis said the bird, a macaw parrot, appeared to be stranded atop a pillar outside the building. She called the Charleston Fire Department.
"They sent a firetruck out," she said. "It wasn't a ladder truck but, there were like four or five different firemen who did get out, did try to assist, but they don't have the right equipment to get her down."
The bird's owners, Joseph Weeks and Mike Grindstaff, said their pet, named Miss Kelly, had flown off after getting spooked.
The rescuers were able to pry a window open and get Miss Kelly onto a perch, but she became spooked again and flew to a nearby building, where she was rescued by animal services personnel.
"Feels great, man," Grindstaff said, "to have her home. She's tired, she's hungry, she's scared. Now, she can be home. I slept here with here on the grounds last night just so she knew there was somebody familiar here with her. And we finally got her."
Line workers with Green Mountain Power in Vermont were called in to help with a similar rescue in February when a macaw named Kaiba escaped from his owner and flew 60 feet up a tree.
The workers used a bucket truck to reach Kaiba and reunited the parrot with his owner.
