Iqaluit budgie home safe after a week outdoors in Arctic temperatures

CBC

06-01-2025

Seven days on the loose in Iqaluit: lost budgie returns home safely
3 days ago
Duration 1:13
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An adventurous young budgie in Iqaluit is safely back home after deciding to spread his wings on Christmas Day and spending a week outdoors in Arctic temperatures.
The budgie — named Blue — survived overnight lows close to –30 C, according to data from Environment and Climate Change Canada.
A woman in Iqaluit's Tundra Ridge neighbourhood discovered the bird on New Year's Day while taking her dog out for a walk.
"There was this chirping noise in my back yard, and I did a double take," Cathy Mcgee said.
"I couldn't believe it."
Blue had snuck out the door of his home when his family left to go to the Quickstop convenience store, his owner, Leah Novalinga, told CBC.
Novalinga's family searched all over town for their beloved pet, playing YouTube videos of his favourite budgie celebrity, Boba, in hopes of getting his attention.
They were heartbroken when they returned home empty-handed, Novalinga said.
"I thought I would never see him again," she said.
"I really thought he was eaten by a raven."
As it happened, Mcgee had met Novalinga and her family during their search for the bird, so she was aware the budgie was at large, she said.
After spotting Blue on her fence, Mcgee approached him slowly and was able to capture him without a struggle.
She then drove him over to Novalinga's house.
"We were eating turkey dinner for my birthday, and I wasn't expecting anybody else," Novalinga said of the moment she heard the knock at her door.
"My friend went to go open the door for me, and before she opened the door, I said, 'Maybe it's Blue' — and it was Blue."
She immediately showered the bird in kisses, she said.
She also gave him food and tried to warm him up.