Found a Pet Bird in Winnipeg? Who to Call and What to Do

You Found a Bird in Winnipeg — Here's What to Do First

A tame parrot, budgie, cockatiel, or lovebird sitting on a fence, a balcony railing, or low in a tree in Winnipeg almost never got there on purpose. Pet birds don't migrate and they don't survive Manitoba weather for long on their own, especially outside the warm summer months. If you've found one, you're likely its best chance at getting home — and the first hour matters more than anything else you'll do.

This guide walks through exactly who to contact locally, how to safely secure the bird, and how to use this site to reconnect it with its owner as fast as possible.

Step 1: Confirm It's a Pet Bird, Not Wildlife

Before you do anything else, make sure you're actually looking at an escaped pet. Manitoba has plenty of native birds that can look unusual up close — a young hawk, an owl, or an injured songbird can all seem "out of place" without being lost pets.

Signs it's a pet bird: - Bright, non-native colouring (green, yellow, blue, grey with a crest) — think budgie, cockatiel, conure, or African grey - Tame behaviour: it lets you get close, steps toward people, or lands on shoulders or hands - Clipped wing feathers, or flight that looks weak or uneven - A leg band (a small metal or plastic ring)

If the bird is a hawk, owl, duck, goose, songbird, or anything else native to Manitoba, this is not the right resource — visit found a wild bird instead for wildlife-specific guidance.

Step 2: Try to Safely Secure It

Pet birds are drawn to sound, especially the voices and calls of their own species, and they contact-call to locate their flock — including a flock of one very worried owner. If the bird is approachable:

• - Stay calm and move slowly. Sudden movement or chasing will likely push it higher into a tree or further away.
• - Offer a stable, elevated perch — a broom handle, a tall plant, or your arm held out steadily. Many tame birds will step up onto an offered perch out of habit.
• - Try quietly talking or whistling. A bird that's used to human company often responds to a calm voice before it responds to food.
• - If it won't come to you, set up a simple lure station nearby: its favourite cage, a familiar perch, a dish of seed or millet, and a shallow water dish, left in a quiet spot where you last saw it. Escaped birds often return to a reliable food source, especially at dawn and dusk when they're most active and hungry.
• - Once you have the bird, house it somewhere secure, warm, and quiet — a spare cage, a covered box with air holes, or a small room with the windows and doors shut. Winnipeg's weather is genuinely dangerous for most pet bird species if they're outdoors overnight.

Step 3: Who to Call in Winnipeg

There isn't one dedicated "lost parrot hotline" for Winnipeg, so cast a wide net quickly:

1. Local avian and exotic vets. Search for avian or exotic-pet veterinary clinics in Winnipeg and call them directly. Vet clinics that see birds are often the first place a frantic owner calls, and many will let you post a "found bird" notice or take a description.
2. Winnipeg Animal Services. The city's animal services department handles found-animal reports, including birds, and can log the bird as found in case an owner files a matching lost report.
3. Local bird clubs and rescues. Manitoba has bird-specific hobbyist and rescue communities, often active on Facebook and other social platforms. A quick search for "Winnipeg bird club" or "Manitoba parrot rescue" can put your find in front of exactly the right audience of experienced bird owners.
4. Wildlife rehabilitation centres — but only if you're not sure whether it's a pet. They can help you tell the difference and will redirect you if it's a domestic species.

Step 4: Post It Here Immediately

Phone calls help, but the fastest way to reach a searching owner is to get the bird's description in front of everyone looking, right away.

• - Report the bird as found with the species (or best guess), colour, location, date, and a clear photo. A good photo is often what makes an owner recognize their own bird instantly.
• - Check the lost bird listings to see if anyone in Winnipeg has already reported a matching bird missing.
• - Use near-me search to find lost reports filed within a radius of where you found the bird — owners usually search close to home first.
• - If you saw the bird before catching it but couldn't secure it, or if you're still looking, file a sighting too — sightings help build a timeline that owners use to guess where their bird is headed.

Step 5: While You Wait for the Owner

Keep the bird in a calm, low-stress environment. Avoid introducing it to other household pets, keep the room temperature comfortable, and offer basic seed, pellets, and fresh water — most common pet species (budgies, cockatiels, lovebirds, conures) do fine on a simple seed or pellet mix short-term. Avoid feeding avocado, chocolate, or salty foods, which are unsafe for birds.

If several days pass with no owner found, keep checking back on your found listing and on /lost — some owners take time to realize their bird is missing or to find this site. For general next steps and a fuller timeline of what to expect, see what to do when you lose a bird in Canada, which covers the reunification process from both sides. If you'd like to help spread the word further, our flyer guide has tips that apply just as well to a "found" flyer posted around the neighbourhood where the bird turned up.

Give This Bird Its Best Shot at Getting Home

Every hour counts for a lost pet bird in an unfamiliar Winnipeg neighbourhood. The single most useful thing you can do right now is get the details in front of the person searching for it.

Report your found bird here and help reunite it with its family today.