SCRANTON -- Treetops in Scranton may have looked and sounded a bit more tropical over the past few weeks.
Two parrots have had folks on a wild goose chase of sorts. They've flown a long way from home.
Above the sound of kids playing, employees at the Day Nursery Association in Scranton heard a squawk Thursday. They looked up in a tree, and saw a macaw parrot looking down at them.
"I was in the building and when I came out they had sighted the bird up in this pine tree over here. Then it flew across the court and you could hear it making its sound," said Megan Roberts of the Day Nursery Association.
It stayed for quite a while looking down, as the kids looked at it. But, when Scranton Police arrived it took off.
Then later on, the green macaw was spotted again high up in a tree just off Monroe avenue in Dunmore. But again, it flew before anyone could get close.
The macaw is one of two parrots folks have seen in this neighborhood.
The other is Layla, an African grey parrot that flew away from her owners home in Dalton last month. She's befriended the macaw months ago and the two of them have been circling Scranton's Hill Section and Dunmore for a few weeks.
Newswatch 16 talked to Layla's owner Kelsey Slowey over the phone.
"They like to go to places with schools, with children, a lot of activity and noises. There's a lot of schools in the area, there's the University of Scranton. That's why I think they're still in the same area," Slowey said.
Slowey is hopeful that forecasted rain this weekend will force the birds to stay in one spot. Since they seem at home in Scranton, it's just a matter of slowing them down.
"This has been like an emotional roller coaster, I have been really attached to her, I'm still really attached to her. I never thought when she was given to me that I would become so attached to such an intellectual animal. They're such smart birds," she added.
Slowey said Layla likes to sing. If you hear her whistle or spot the macaw's green feathers, you're asked to call animal control.