A train driver stopped his train in the Flemish Brabant municipality of Liedekerke on Thursday in order to be able to offer assistance to a an injured rose-ringed parakeet that had become caught between the windscreen wipers. The train was traveling from Hasselt (Limburg) to Ghent (East Flanders) when the driver saw the injured parakeet.
Train stops for injured ring-necked parakeet: "Our fluorescent jacket served as a nest"
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The Belgian rail company NMBS’ spokesman Dimitri Temmerman told VRT News that "The driver had no choice but to stop the train and help the parakeet. The train driver saw the injured parakeet between the windscreen wwipers of the train. This meant that he had no choice other than to make a short stop to save the bird.
He used his fluorescent vest as a nest and took the bird with him into the driver's cab. The parrot sanctuary in Beernem (West Flanders) was informed and the bird was picked up at Ghent (East Flanders station), Mr Temmerman said.
Four minutes late
At first the driver thought he had rescued a parrot, but it has since transpired that the bird is in fact a rose-ringed parakeet.
“Train drivers know a lot about trains, but apparently less about birds”, Mr Temmerman joked. “The bird sanctuary will keep the driver informed and tell him when the parakeet has get better.”
The train arrived at Ghent just 4 minutes late as a result of the delay caused by the rescue operation. “But those 4 minutes made a big difference to the life of the rose-ringed parakeet,” Mr Temmerman concludes.