FLY-AWAYS CAN HAPPEN TO ANYONE

By Tracie Reece

How many times have we heard from caring and cautious parrot owners, "My parrots couldn't fly away... and even if they could, they wouldn't want to. I'm the one they love. I'm the one who provides for all their needs -- food, water, shelter and love." Although I consider myself a very careful parrot owner, let me assure you that fly-aways CAN happen to anyone!

My experience on a beautiful March Sunday is one that I would never wish on anyone! The day started out like so many other Sunday mornings around my house...the birds and myself being the only ones up -- the birds because they were eager for their morning food, and me because I knew they were waiting! With coffee started, I went about preparing their warm breakfast. On the menu this morning were beans, wheat, corn, noodles, rice and veggies cooked just right for their beaks delight!

"Good morning, how are you guys this morning, and how's the baby? Look what I have for you!" Of course Daddy Bird Sunny is right at his dish as eager as ever to get to the food! He had to hurry and fill his crop so he could take care of his family feeding duties. With Sunny, it always seems I'm too slow with the food!

With all the bowls in place and birdies' beaks getting stuffed, I change the paper in the bottom of the cages. After this was done I could relax and sit outside with my coffee and the paper while my human family was still sleeping and the birds were plenty happy eating.

The morning was just perfect! It was around 65 degrees outside and the sun was bright. We were supposed to have rain and thunder storms for the whole weekend, but the front had pushed further north...so we just had these big dark clouds that would whip up the wind as they rolled over us, offering a break from the sun. It was very nice and I enjoyed relaxing and sipping my coffee while sitting outside.

The morning was creeping away and I thought it would be nice if everyone would get up so we could make some plans to enjoy the beautiful day. While husband Jeffrey was slowly waking up with his cup of coffee, my two teenage daughters took off to get some fresh baked bagels from the corner bagel shop. Meanwhile, Jeffrey starts his morning rituals...shaving...then showering... "Can you bathe the birds?" I asked him. I knew that Ruby and Sunny would love that! "Sure" he said, so I went to the next room and offered a hand and they both jumped right on. Jeff was not quite finished shaving so I stood there holding the baby close to my chest with Ruby on one arm as Sunny cleaned his food covered beak off up and down the other arm.

"Please take Sunny and place him on the curtain rod for me," I said to Jeffrey. Now Jeffrey being the favorite person in the world to Sunny, reached over with both hands and placed them around Sunny's body pulling him away in a playful manner while asking Sunny, "What 'cha doin'?" With Sunny safely placed on the shower rod, I reached up and asked Ruby to step down, which she gladly did. They both knew what was about to happen as they wagged their tails left to right and shook away their fluffs in anticipation.

Jeff reached for a towel that had been hanging over the shower curtain and somehow Ruby got spooked and darted off the curtain rod landing right in front of me on the floor. Because Ruby had seen something that she needed to get away from, you'd better believe that Sunny was right behind her!

Still holding the baby in my arms, I reached down and picked Ruby up. Jeffrey was right there and I knew that he would get Sunny for me so I turned to walk back toward the bathroom when all of a sudden, Sunny was flying straight for me. ONLY he flew straight over me for about 15 feet before he made a 90-degree turn and headed straight for our living room.

I came dashing right behind him...silly bird, where was he going...I had Ruby and the baby and normally that is all he cares about...staying right there near them! Standing in the family room, I found myself in sheer shock -- the back door was standing WIDE OPEN! Sunny wasted NO time figuring that out -- he was already out the door and I watched in horror as he flew away, turning back towards the right of my house. I then saw him through my kitchen window as he flew by. You would need to know the layout of my house to completely understand Sunny's escape route, but believe me when I say...

SHEER PANIC WASHED OVER ME!

Jeff had been right behind me and it took everything inside of me to stop running after Sunny and hand over Ruby and the baby to him! Ruby also is full-flighted and all I needed to have them BOTH flying loose outside!! I ran out and down into the back yard, heading straight toward the gate. I knew that Sunny had made it to the other side of the house...I had seen him in flight through the kitchen window.

With only a short summer sleep shirt on...no shoes...and "NO" signs of Sunny, I ran all over the yard looking up at trees and calling his name...as if he would come to me like a lost dog would obediently come when its owner called! "Oh my goodness...Oh my goodness...what to do...what to do??????????"

As I made my way back toward the gate, my teenage son was combing the yard in his boxers..."Travis, oooohhhh please keep looking for him...I'm going to get my shoes!" I yelled "Get me some clothes," he hollered as I ran up the brick stairs toward the back door! Seconds felt like hours as I threw on clothes and slipped into my shoes. I ran back outside and tossed Travis some shorts. "You go that way and I'll go this way. Oh my God PLEASE LET US FIND HIM, I prayed! I hustled up and down the roads looking and calling...telling everyone I saw to please look for him! Seconds turned into minutes and minutes into hours as I ran from one end of our subdivision to another. "WHERE COULD HE BE?" I thought desperately.

"I SAW HIM"!!!!! exclaimed a young boy on a bicycle. "This way...he's this way"! Shamefully, as out of shape as I am, I ran until I thought I would drop -- and then ran some more! I honestly do not know how I kept going...it felt as though I could no longer take in a breath! As I approached the young boy that had sped off on his bicycle, his finger pointed upward. "He was up there. I saw him! He must have flown off."

Hoping for a glimpse of Sunny, I looked up -- but saw nothing. The search group had made their way to us and together we combed the endless canopy of trees. I told my children to keep looking and if they spotted him, not to take their eyes off him!! I was heading back home to call my parents to come over and help us with the search. Now I don't know what it is about mothers, but I am "pushing 40" and when I heard my mother's voice on the phone, I started trembling harder! "Mom"... "What's wrong, Tracie?" I told her all that had happened and I found it very difficult to keep my sobbing under control! All the helplessness that I was feeling came rushing up and out all at once!

She stayed calm, as any mother would, and reassured me that they were on their way! Now when all this started, Jeffrey took the baby back to the nest box. Ruby, Sunny's soul mate, had been placed outside in a large flight with collards placed all around the outside with the idea that both Ruby and the collard greens would tempt Sunny to make his way back home. I heard her call several times so I listened intently for any return call from Sunny.....but the silence was deafening and hope was waning.

Time dragged and I walked back into the house where my daughter came up and wrapped her arms around me. With my hands over my face, head down in the reassuring embrace of my daughter's hug, the tears filled with fear once again rose to the surface! Sunny's future looked bleak and I wondered how we would get through it.

"He's right out here," my husband said excitedly as he burst through the front door! "We can hear him! He is calling back to Ruby!" I grabbed the binoculars and ran out the front door with renewed hope -- as much hope as I had felt all day! I searched and searched the tree with my looking glasses but saw nothing. I heard Ruby sound her loud call several times and strained to hear Sunny. Then..... all of a sudden there was music in my ears! My mouth dropped open and my stomach felt like it had hit the ground! THAT WAS SUNNY! He was calling back to Ruby!! He must have seen us as well because he started calling over and over as if to say, "Here I am! HERE I AM!"

My husband was the first to spot Sunny high in an overgrown Magnolia tree in a neighbor's yard. As Jeff and the kids surrounded the tree, I ran straight back to the house with a plan! I would bring the flight with Ruby inside of it so that Sunny could see her. I was determined to grab it up and carry it! I have no idea where the amazing strength came from as I lifted and carried this large flight through my house, out the front door and down the step to the driveway.

"PLEASE, someone help me carry this closer to Sunny," I begged! My son came over and took half the load as we hurried down the road closer to Sunny. (Now that it's all over, I can enjoy a little giggle when I look back and think what Ruby must have thought as we ran down the road with her in that cage.) By the time we reached the tree, Jeffrey was well on his way UP the thing! I could see Sunny, but he was still so far away! Several times I thought that he surely would take flight and I could only hope that he would aim for Ruby and their flight cage... but thankfully, he never did! Jeffrey climbed up the tree and then out onto the limb where he grabbed Sunny and brought him close to his chest as he wrapped a shirt around him.

Jeffrey said that Sunny must have been very happy to be in his arms because he honked over and over. Down the tree they came...and when he got close enough, Sunny was handed over to me! I have never been so relieved in my entire life...but I reminded myself that it wasn't over yet -- Sunny was not yet safely behind a closed cage door. With all of us hovering over the flight door, it was ever so slightly opened and Sunny was placed on the perch beside Ruby. What a relief!

My husband and son grabbed the sides of the cage and we all walked very humbly back home. With the birds safely back inside our home and in their cage, our grateful family sat and talked over the events that we had experienced. Of course, when all was said and done, it was tempting to try to determine who was to blame. We all had many emotions that had built up, but in the end, we were all just very thankful that Sunny was not harmed!

My reason for sharing this frightful incident with you is my hope that it will help others to be more cautious as the nice spring weather approaches. If our day of fear and panic save one bird, the experience was not entirely negative. Please let our terrible experience be your wake-up call to be more careful so that your bird doesn't end up outside in the treetops!

This could have been much worse...and I think I played out every single one of the bad scenarios in my mind today! What if Sunny had landed in my neighbors' back yard with all their dogs? He would not have been as afraid of them as one would think because Sunny shares a home with a Dalmatian...thus less fear! They would surely have pounced on him! What if he had flown around for days until someone spotted him looking for food and thought, "Oh my, how lucky are we to have found a nice bird like this!" They could have placed him in their living room never even looked for his home. This happens, I had a client who had an African Grey fly into their neighbors yard...she called me because she knew I had "Eros", a Congo African Grey. They were not looking for his owners, but instead had gone out and bought a cage. They considered themselves lucky to have found such an expensive bird... "Finders keepers, losers weepers".....NOT! BUT people do that!!

Anyway, there are many, many awful ways that this could have turned out...I am just very thankful that Sunny is with Ruby and their baby in their cage home which is safely tucked away in my home!!

CHECK THOSE WINGS! DOES YOUR PET BIRD NEED TO BE CLIPPED? AND REMEMBER, EVEN CLIPPED BIRDS FLY AWAY!!

Tracie, Ruby and Sunny