Who's a pretty inmate then?
Tuesday, April 14, 2009 at 12:46 
Taylor Rehoming Centre volunteer Fran Ponting with Storm, the Patagonian Conure parrot which flew into the Verne Prison PORTLAND’S Verne Prison has had to deal with an escapee – but this particular jailbird fled into the jail.
The lost parrot flew into the prison and was found by a member of staff, who took it into the RSCPA’s Taylor’s Rehoming Centre in Dorchester.
Tess Every, deputy manager of the centre in the grounds of Kingston Maurward College, said: “He flew up to the member of staff because he was very tame.
“She brought him in to us and we advertised him and gave him a chance to be claimed.
“We gave the owners seven days to come forward but with no luck.”
The Patagonian Conure parrot was eventually adopted by centre volunteer Fran Ponting, who took the bird on as a friend for the yellow-naped Amazon parrot she already had at home.
Mrs Ponting, 39, of Devon Road, Weymouth, said: “They do like company, even if they are not the same species. He is quite noisy, he says ‘yes’ and ‘no’ and makes telephone noises.
“They kind of talk to each other, but I really don’t mind – I just cover them up in the evenings and they quieten down.”
Mrs Ponting, a self-employed home helper, has named the new addition Storm, because its grey/black feathers reminded her of a stormy day.
And she might refer to the bird as a ‘he’ although she’s no idea whether it is a boy or girl or even how old it is.
Mrs Every said they would have to send feathers away to determine the sex.
Mrs Ponting, who has been volunteering at the centre for eight months, is no stranger to adopting unclaimed animals.
In the past she has rehomed three cats, and numerous rabbits, guinea pigs and hamsters.
She also takes in wildlife, such as bats and hedgehogs, until they can be released back into the wild.
But very rarely does the centre take in birds.
“When we do, we always have homes we can find for our feathered friends,” said Mrs Every. “The small birds will only be re-homed to aviaries and there seems to be a lot of interest in the West Dorset area in keeping aviaries. We get very few parrots.”
“We have just had this one and a cockatoo in the four-and-a-half years I have been here.”