A bird is to a tree as a fish is to water, but not all birds are meant for the great outdoors.

Life is back to normal for Ronn Coon and his macaw, Killer. A couple of weeks earlier at a family get-together, things were a little different.

“Some guests were leaving and they left the door open and Killer decided to fly out to me from the back porch. When he started flying, other guests got spooked and the dogs got spooked and he went right out the door.”

He flew out the door and into a nearby tree. Since he is only about six months old, Killer was just learning to fly and got taken up even higher in the tree, too high for even Coon to reach him.

Coon called the Omaha Fire Department, animal rescue and the Nebraska Humane Society, who responded, but were unable to reach the bird. After several more phone calls, Coon finally got a hold of general contractor and arborist Jesse Ott.

“Jesse was awesome. He was here in Omaha shopping with his wife and son, took the call and he didn’t even hesitate.” After driving back to Ashland to get his gear, Ott returned to Omaha and got to work.

“The bird was actually so high in the tree we couldn’t get to it so we had to stick a pole out, get the bird to climb on the pole and then we lowered the bird down to me and I put him on my shoulder,” said Ott.

Even though it was his first bird rescue, Ott was able to get Killer down unharmed. Coon is incredibly grateful. “He’s just got a heart of gold.”

As for Killer, Coon said he won’t be going too far anytime soon. “Well, Killer’s clipped so he isn’t flying anymore.”