Bird named Budge Lightyear after it was found at space centre looking for owner

A lost budgie, affectionately named Budge Lightyear after it was found at a UK space attraction, is looking for its owner.

The brightly coloured yellow and green bird was discovered on Thursday by a visitor at the National Space Centre in Leicester, and alerted staff.

Budge Lightyear was rescued by RSPCA staff, who called the bird a “feathered voyager” and took it into care at the charity’s Woodside Animal Centre in Leicester.

The RSPCA suspect the lone budgie is an escaped pet as it is ringed and numbered, but staff could not contact the owner as the bird’s details are not registered.

Animal rescue officer Ellie Grindod, who nicknamed the budgie, has urged anyone who recognises Budge Lightyear to contact the charity.

She said: “It is highly likely that he is an escaped pet and we would love to reunite him with his owner, so we urge anyone who recognises him to get in touch with us.

“Thanks to the swift action of everyone involved, Budge Lightyear has now embarked on a new adventure at our Woodside Animal Centre, where he is getting a lot of TLC.

“His epic journey serves as a reminder of the importance of compassion in safeguarding our feathered friends, wherever they may roam!”

Malika Andress, from the National Space Centre, thanked the RSPCA for rescuing the budgie.

She said: “We cannot thank RSPCA staff enough for their help with Budge Lightyear, who was found by a visitor in our car park.

“We got excellent advice on the phone on how to make Budge comfortable in the short term, and then a member of the local team was able to get to us really swiftly to pick them up.

“Our team rallied round to ensure Budge enjoyed their time with us but, despite being scientists, engineers, educators and specialists in our field, looking after budgies is outside our expertise – we know a lot about other flying things.”

Anyone who believes Budge Lightyear is their pet should contact the RSPCA on 0300 123 8018.