My neighbors bird got loose outside today!

[Pips mom]

Ok, so I go to work today at 3 and at about 4:30 this afternoon, I answer the phone at work and I hear this voice asking for me, so I say....it's me! Then I realize it's my neighbor who lives right next to us....the ones who have birds and always take Ivy for me when we go away and this year took Ivy and Pip for me while we were away on vacation to Florida. She proceeded to cry, almost hysterically when trying to tell me that she took her birds outside today in their cages because it was so nice out, but apparently she had forgotten that her parrotlet Bob's cage still had a door open and he got loose outside. He was still in sight up in a tree in their back yard and she called me thinking maybe if I brought Pip out, that if he hears him chirping, it might lure Bob back to his cage. While Pip and Ivy stayed with them, Pip and Bob were out together and seemed to be making friends and Bob liked Pip. Anyway.....I told her I would try to leave work, called my boss and dropped everything, ran to my car and raced back home.....luckily I only work about ten minutes away from home! I came in, got Pip and went out looking for them. They were in the back yard and for a while Pip was doing a really good job chirping away to Bob, then they tried nudging him out of the tree and he flew further away towards the back where there's all woods! I kept thinking.....this is not good! The lady next door was so upset that she wouldn't come out and stayed in the house crying......she came out at that moment and said......I'm gonna lose him, aren't I......I didn't know what to say! Bob the parrotlet is clipped, but apparently not clipped so much that he can't gain height. He didn't go up too high, but he did go up just out of reach. Bob is also not very tame and afraid of people, so this made it even harder. The husband and the son both had nets to try to catch him. Finally Bob flew a couple of times and landed on the ground! second time he went on the ground they got him with the net! I am SO very glad that they got him....I think the wife would have been sick if they didn't get him back today. Then....back to work I went after putting Pip back.....Pip did a pretty good job for a little while until Bob flew towards the woods in the back. Between this and work tonight.....what a stressful time!
Warm weather's upon us......PLEASE double check all cage doors or other openings to make sure they are closed and secure before taking your birds outside to enjoy the nice weather!

[bookworm0550]

Holy cow! Omg! How very scary and stressful that was. Glad they caught him. I was afraid to read the ending!

[linda040899]

Thanks for sharing this story with everyone, Kim!

With nice weather coming back, we all think about taking our birds outside and there are bound to be accidents! I'm glad Bob was captured and is now safe and sound inside. I'm sure he was just as stressed as everyone else, as he's not used to being free and outside in the great outdoors!

Enjoy the warm weather......safely!!

[michael]

Boy am I glad this one had a happy ending! ......Nothing like whiteknuckling it half way through the story! ...:omg:...Whew!... Hopefully, lots of poeple read this BEFORE they take their birds out for some springtime air..........8)

[Enko_chan]

UGH!! Thank goodness for you and Pip!

Parrotlets are AMAZING fliers.

Ben and Sayuri are both clipped as much as I would clip any bird and they can both fly across my house and gain height. When full flighted they're as close to hummingbirds as any parrot I could imagine.

[Elle]

I'm glad they got him back. Really glad! It's a good reminder that a clipped bird CAN fly under good circomstance and a little breeze in the air.

[wilkiecoco]

that's exactly how i lost my parrotlet Coco. He was clipped, door was open, and off he went. It is misleading to assume that a clipped bird cannot gain height. With one gust of wind, they are off. For Coco he took off to a far tree, and disappeared. We never found him despite searching for months.

I am so glad that your neighbor had a happy ending. :happy: She must be so relieved, and you were so nice to help her.

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE - do not assume that just because your bird is clipped, they cannot fly. It could have horrifying consequences.

[diljaa]

What a scare! Glad you and Pip were able to help them out, even if it was just for some moral support. Glad the little one made it back home.

[Pips mom]

that's exactly how i lost my parrotlet Coco. He was clipped, door was open, and off he went. It is misleading to assume that a clipped bird cannot gain height. With one gust of wind, they are off. For Coco he took off to a far tree, and disappeared. We never found him despite searching for months.

Ohh, I'm so sorry! I think this is one of the worst ways to ever lose a bird! Knowing he's out there, worrying and wondering. There actually was no breeze at all yesterday while Bob was out, yet he had no trouble flying....his clip was probably growing out or something.....from one day to the next with small birds, you can't see the new flights under their wings growing and before ya know it.....they're up up and away! My neighbors were so lucky.....I actually prayed that they would get him back on my mad rush to get here from work......I even told work that I would probably be gone for an hour and that's exactly how long I was gone. It's almost like I had a feeling they would get him back. Luckily Bob was not really getting into flying while outside, he stayed put in trees and they watched him with binoculars. Apparently he didn't seem too stressed out. It was a beautiful day after all and he was free up in a tree. He was hanging upside down and playing around from what we could see. Almost seemed like he was having a good time! Maybe that's good as this kept him in one spot and not flying off...he really only few off once and it was kinda far, but not too far.
After Pip and Ivy's stay at their home while we were gone, we had talked about me bringing Bob over sometimes to play with Pip, as they seemed to like each other. Poor Bob lost his mate before coming to live with them, probably about a year and half ago. He doesn't get along with her other bird, a senegal and their other bird is a big cockatoo, so he has no birdie friends. Now he'll have the chance to! either with Pip or maybe even with Rudy! (at least once in a while)It's nice when we can interact our birds with theirs because we know they're all healthy! Having them right next door is such a wonderful thing! I'm so lucky to have them right here!

[CompassionAk]

This must have been so scary for everyone involved and I am so happy to hear it had a happy ending!

[Janie]

WAY TO GO, PIP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! What a happy ending! :happy:

[carrier]

:omg::omg::omg:

What a good ending to what could have been a tragedy! Bless you (and your boss) for helping out. I can't imagine what I would do if one of my two got loose. They're both fully flighted, so if they wanted it, freedom would be thiers.

It just doesn't seem worth the hassle as things like that CAN, and DO happen.... My boys only go outside when a vet trip is in order, and that is in a small travel cage and only to the car and back.

Other than that, they can hang out by the screen in the window if the weathers' warm enough and call out to the local fids from inside. Too many bad things can happen with domesticated birds and the outdoors, IMHO.

[Chickobee]

I just saw this post! :omg: What a frantic time that must have been trying to capture Bob to bring him back inside. Kim, it was wonderful of you to come home to help out. I was also afraid reading the post that it wouldn't end well, and was happy that it did.

We bought one of our cages from someone who was cleaning the cage of their pionus on their porch outside, with their bird still in the cage. He escaped under the man's arm and headed for the treetops and they never recovered him. That had to be awful.

We don't take our birds outside to sun because we have so many eagles and hawks in our area. I think the lovebirds would be so afraid of the other birds that being outside wouldn't be a good experience for them. Even if I was sitting right next to the cage it wouldn't keep them from being scared when a large bird flew overhead, even if it didn't swoop down toward them.

I've seen the eagles close up and their beaks and talons are HUGE.

I'm so glad this story had a happy ending. :)