A pet budgie who escaped during a storm has been rescued after taking refuge in a drain a mile from home — found only because a passing motorist spotted her tail sticking out of a pipe.
Luna, an 11-month-old budgie, lives in a flat in Northampton, England. Her unexpected journey started when a window of the flat blew open during last month’s Storm Boelo, and she flew out into the storm. She was later spotted by a motorist who called the RSPCA after seeing Luna jump down a drain.
A beak peeking from a pipe
RSPCA Inspector Richard Durant and trainee Animal Rescue Officer Rosie Cowie searched the drain and found Luna in her “hidey hole” on 26 October. “We peered down the drain and there was Luna’s little beak peeking out from a pipe,” Cowie said. “I gently grabbed her and popped her in a pet carrier; my first rescue, and one I certainly won’t be forgetting.”
Luna had travelled about a mile (1.6 kilometres) from home before taking shelter in the drain. The rescue was reported by the BBC on 5 November 2026, and featured on UPI’s Odd News Minute the same day, alongside the world’s loudest woman and a record-breaking dog.
Home safe
Luna is now back home in her flat in Northampton, safe after a journey that could easily have ended very differently for a bird so small. Budgies are not built for storms, and a mile of wind, rain and traffic is a long way for an 11-month-old pet who had never been outside before.
Her owner, Kimberley Frost, had feared the worst. Instead, a motorist who stopped, an inspector who peered down a drain, and a trainee officer on her first rescue brought Luna home. Sometimes the smallest rescues are the ones that stay with you longest.
Sources: BBC Northamptonshire (Alex Pope), 5 Nov 2026; UPI Odd News Minute, 5 Nov 2026; RSPCA (via BBC).
