Merlin the macaw spreading his wings at new home in Ontario [Video]

A beloved Halifax mascot has finally made a friend and his health seems to be improving, according to the Ontario nature park where he is rehabilitating.

For 20 years, Merlin the Rainbow Macaw greeted visitors at the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic until he had to retire due to declining health.

During COVID, Merlin had fewer interactions with his human friends. He plucked his own feathers, a behaviour some birds exhibit when under stress. 

His caregivers decided to find Merlin a new home last spring so he could recover. Perhaps he could make new flying friends and learn to be a bird after being surrounded by humans his entire life. 

Taryn Hipkiss, the general manager at Safari Niagara, said Merlin’s feathers have regrown and he now shares a staff-only enclosure with Kiki, a female blue and gold macaw. 

“We feel that Merlin is making some good progress,” she said, noting …