Wednesday 16th July 2025
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The Breaker's Parrot Is Back On Its Perch

By Shannon McFarlin WENK/WTPR News Director
Buchanan, Tenn.—The parrot at The Breakers Marina in Buchanan surely must have nine lives.
The 12-foot-tall decorative parrot was missing for several days after being swept away by high water, but it’s back on its perch now—greeting visitors to the popular spot on Kentucky Lake.
But most people don’t realize that the parrot has already survived other calamities and one genuine disaster.
According to Toni Murphy, marketing director for The Breakers, the parrot was originally at the Isle of Capri Casino in Biloxi, Miss., and survived Hurricane Katrina in 2005. The parrot then was transported to the Isle of Capri Casino in Helena, Arkansas, which then caught on fire. And still the parrot survived.
After that fire, a friend of Rookie Edwards, who is manager of The Breakers, knew that he was a ‘parrothead’, Murphy said, and asked if Edwards would want it. Of course, Edwards said yes and the parrot was brought to The Breakers.
The parrot has actually survived six floods at The Breakers, she said, “but this is the first time it has actually floated away.”
The Breakers posted messages on its Facebook page and WENK/WTPR posted a story about the missing parrot, too. Murphy said, “I think there were people all over the Southeast that were worried and concerned about our parrot. We even had people in Key West, who are friends of The Breakers, sharing our post.”
Finally on Saturday, the parrot was spotted by a fisherman who said he saw it tangled in trees in the east part of the bay. Three young men, Matt Mann (who works at The Breakers) and two of his friends, Evan Pugh and Woodrow Young, took a boat out Sunday and were able to unhook it from the trees.
By Sunday afternoon, the parrot was back on its perch, right where it belongs. Murphy said, “Thanks to everyone who has been as concerned as we were and especially to these three great guys for all their help.”
 

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