They, however, are not the main attraction — it is pet parrot Cassie that gets most of the attention.
The bright red eclectus parrot was a 21st birthday present from Mr Ireland’s parents last year, and often accompanies the young couple on walks around the city.
‘‘I’ll usually go for walks around where I live, in North Dunedin, or to the gardens. I’ll just chuck her on my shoulder and off we go,’’ Mr Ireland said.
‘‘She’s come to Wanaka, Queenstown and Arrowtown with us.
‘‘She’s a very well-travelled parrot,’’ said Ms Martin.
Wherever she went, Cassie quickly became the centre of attention.
‘‘When we were in Queenstown, people loved her.
‘‘People were coming up to us saying they had heard about Cassie from their friends and had come down to see her,’’ said Mr Ireland.
To keep the almost 2-year-old parrot from flying away, Mr Ireland was training her to perch on his shoulder by feeding her from his hand.
Her favourite foods were fruit, vegetables and, for a treat, sunflower seeds.
‘‘She probably eats better than your average scarfie does,’’ said Ms Martin.
The pair were not exactly ‘‘winging it’’ in terms of daily care, as Mr Ireland’s father had spent a number of years a keeper at Auckland Zoo, and Mr Ireland himself was studying ecology.
In the Ireland home, it was ‘‘animals, animals everywhere,’’ he said.
When not on an outing, Cassie loved to play with her stuffed toy dog and pebbles, and enjoyed imitating the television.
The eclectus parrot is native to the Solomon Islands, Sumba (Indonesia), New Guinea, northeastern Australia and the Maluku Islands and usually lives for 30 to 50 years.
