06/25/11:
Well, the excitement for the day happened pretty early! I had been down at the main house starting coffee & cleaning up but, as I started back up to the barn house, a bird swooped over my head twice, squawking the whole time! At first, I thought maybe I was close to a nest but as I listened to him, I thought to myself ‘I recognize that kind of chirp’ so I looked up into the tree & there sat a beautiful male cockatiel! He was very interested in me but wouldn’t come down too close because there were 2 cats & 2 dogs eyeing him as well! One of the retreaters, Vickie, noticed me staring up into the trees, pointing, so she decided to find out what was going on. She must speak cockatiel because he moved closer to her and once I got the dogs & cats put up, he flew down onto her hand. Unfortunately, as she tried to hold him, he panicked & bit her several times so she had to let him go.
Another retreater, Katie, had been on the deck watching the debaucle but, as Vickie & I decided to let the cockatiel rest for a bit, she chose to stay outside alone to soak up a little silence & sunshine. As things calmed down, the cockatiel flew closer & closer to Katie and finally came to rest of the tip of her tennis shoe! Vickie had been waiting in the mudroom, ready with a towel, so she snuck back outside, inched in carefully, lured him onto the deck with a cracker (just as a curious cat crept in, too!), and then scooped him up in the hand-towel!! Hooray!!!!
Wait, now what do we do with him??
Michael & I tried to call our neighbor to see if they recognized the bird but no luck. Even though he was REALLY cute & sweet, none of us really wanted to keep him so I suggested they take him up to our local vet (Boyd Animal Hospital). Hopefully, if the owner is looking for him, they’ll think to look there; however, the technicians at the clinic seemed completely tickled to have a new feathered friend in their midst! He has a nice cage with greenery, food, & water so I think he’s in seventh heaven for the time being!
I can’t believe I didn’t think to take a picture but at least this story has a very happy ending!
Next up, Sin-amon Rolls… :p
