Police seek owner after escaped parrot spotted in Hatfield Township

A parrot perched high in a tree near Bergey Road and Cowpath Road in Hatfield Township has police trying to reunite the bird with its owner before an outdoor night becomes a bigger problem.

Hatfield Township police said the bird was first reported around 1:40 p.m. Wednesday, May 14, 2026, in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. Officers posted photos and believed the parrot was someone’s pet, but attempts by police and residents to safely capture it were unsuccessful. By later in the day, the bird was still believed to be nearby and was last seen high in a tree, calling out loudly.

For parrot owners, that scene is familiar and unnerving. A bird that is vocal and visible is not necessarily safe. Even if it seems settled on a branch, an escaped parrot outdoors faces weather changes, predators, hunger and shock. The longer it stays loose, the harder it becomes to keep it within sight, especially if it moves from one tree to another or slips deeper into a neighborhood.

That is why early response matters so much after a bird gets out. Lost-bird guidance from parrot rescue groups says many escaped parrots stay close to the escape point at first, which can make neighborhood alerts and quick reporting more effective than waiting for the bird to travel far. In this case, police were still working on the assumption that the parrot had not gone far from the area of the initial sighting.

The other big factor is identification. The American Federation of Aviculture says a leg band number or microchip ID number can be among the most useful recovery details for a pet bird. Birds registered under the AFA Exotic Bird Registry are recorded in a database by leg band or microchip ID, and local Humane Societies or SPCA offices can use that information to contact the owner by phone or email.

Lost-bird networks such as ParrotAlert and 911 Parrot Alert are built for exactly this kind of scramble, when a family needs eyes on a bird fast and a local sighting can mean the difference between a reunion and a long night outside. In Hatfield Township, the bird was still in the trees and still calling out loudly, which was a sign the search was not over yet.