Nelly's mom asked me to help her post this.

Missing Macaw Found 80 Miles From Home
By Associated Press

2 hours ago

CLIFFSIDE PARK, N.J. - A pet macaw that flew away from its owners and went missing last weekend turned up alive and well in a most unlikely place _ 80 miles away at the Jersey shore.

Robert Daly, 25, said he was driving near his home Thursday night when he spotted the large blue and gold bird sitting quietly by the side of the road.

He called police, who captured the bird and put it into a box. Officers who had seen news reports about the bird's disappearance notified the owner, Rosalie O'Hara, and the two were reunited Friday.

"I knew it was Sophie," O'Hara told The Record of Bergen County. "She did some little shakes and gestures, and I knew it was her."

Sophia had vanished last Saturday after O'Hara's husband lost his grip on the bird while the couple were out for a walk.

The couple had been looking frantically since then and posted a $5,000 reward.

O'Hara said she is mystified how the bird, which she had raised indoors from a chick, was able to survive so long in the wild and travel 80 miles south from its home in Cliffside Park to the Jersey shore town of Seaside Park.

"I never thought I'd get her, I swear," O'Hara said.

O'Hara said she had contacted Daly to let him know he was entitled to the reward.

Thanks for posting this wonderful news. That's got to be the most awful feeling, to have your friend lost and not know what's going on.

What a wonderful story. Either he's a pretty amazing flyer, or someone found him then dumped him. Either way, thank god she is with her family again. I can't imagine the tears of joy.

I loved this story. I just got back from the Jersey shore on Thurs. so it had a little bit extra meaning to me.

Being someone who has lost a bird to flight, I can tell you there is no more horrific feeling in the world. I didn't sleep or eat for days. I was out looking hours and hours and hours every day. Flyers were posted from Baltimore to Fairfax. Sunny has been missing since Mother's Day, 2005, and I still continue to look for him. I still break down and cry at the most unexpected times. When you lose a bird, and are lucky enough to have it found, you have been given the greatest gift of all. I am so happy that Sophie was reunited with her owner.

Great story!

It's great to see a happy ending to what is all too often a tragic story. Happybirds, my heart aches at your story of Sunny, we can only hope and pray he found his way to safe harbor. Yes, to be reunited after such a loss must certainly be one of life's greatest gifts.

Great story! I am glad that Sophia was found!