Carlinville man convinced two macaws belong to his late father

Mark Meredith, Don Peyton and Preston Warren, 11, greet the macaw after it flies down to the feeder for the first time. Shannon Kirshner/The State Journal-Register Two blue-and-gold macaw parrots that have been spotted on Goodwin Court will return to Carlinville if one man has his way.

Mike Nejmanowski, son of the late Carlinville bird enthusiast Del Nejmanowski, said he is certain the birds are his father’s. Since Del’s death, the birds have been flying around Carlinville.

“I read the (newspaper) article about how there’s some toes missing,” Mike Nejmanowski said Tuesday. “Yeah, it’s those birds.”

A Blue-and-gold Macaw takes flight from a feeder to be near its mate after it was startled by a truck on South Douglas Monday, March 9, 2009. The two birds have been seen in the neighborhood for the past week and local bird enthusiasts built a bird feeder today to provide a safer spot for the two to feed. Image by Shannon KirshnerThe parrot pair has been a fixture in the Goodwin Court neighborhood since last Friday, according to residents. Many State Journal-Register readers expressed concerns about the birds’ well-being Tuesday, and some offered to take care of the parrots if caught.

The Sangamon County Department of Public Health has not received word of any complaints about the birds, according to director Jim Stone.

“At this point, I’m not certain if the macaws would fall under a protective class of aviary that would require a special permit for capture,” he said.

Nejmanowski shed light on how the birds ended up in Springfield, which is about 40 miles from their home.

Michael Von Behren, left, and Tim Geving install a tall bird feeder so that the macaws can feel safer than feeding on the ground. Image by Shannon KirshnerDel Nejmanowski had a heart condition that caused him to be forgetful just before he died. He was living with his son before his death, and the birds were caged in his son’s backyard.

One day, Del forgot to shut the door to the cage after feeding the macaws.

“They’ve been loose for several months,” Mike Nejmanowski said. “When they’re in Carlinville, they come by my house every day.”

“They went as far as Litchfield and Girard, and they always fly back to Carlinville,” Mike Nejmanowski said. “Maybe they’ll come back to Carlinville again.”

About two weeks ago, severe wind gusts blowing from south to north probably carried the birds off course, according to Mike Nejmanowski. He hopes he can get to them today before someone else
does.

Catching them, as he’s learned in the past, won’t be easy. The tropical birds are wary of nets because of a past attempt to catch them with a fishing net.

There also have been reports of the birds flying near Litchfield recently.

Rachel Brewer, who lives in Coffeen and regularly visits relatives in nearby Litchfield, said she saw the birds on Litchfield’s State Street about a week ago.

“It was mid-afternoon, about 4 p.m.,” she said. “They were just sitting on a telephone wire and then they started flying. I happened to look up and I saw both birds, and I wondered what they were.”