The Story Of Issac's Day Out - Part 2

[Elvenking]

At 4PM, I charge up the back hills again by the tree line again to try once again. This is after having gone to the streets of the neighborhood and the back hills at least 4-5 times prior. I get a response from some of the trees. It took a few times of hearing him to locate him, but I did it...I got line of sight on him and he was relatively level to the hill I am standing on. At this point, I am thinking, 'I am going to be here for one of two events, he flies to another tree, or he comes to me'. So I begin calling him and doing microwave noises to him. He was doing all the noises back. He was just not flying out no matter how many times I asked him if he wanted to eat. I kept regetting his attention untill he finally took flight. Then he flew large circles around me. I was standing on an open hillside with no obstructions and he was garcefully flying circles around me. A couple times I though he would just come and land on my extended hand. He just kept flying an contact calling. Then he landed once again in a tree that was lower and close to the same area. I started calling again because I could not see him anymore again...but I could hear him calling back. The people who live in the house where the tree was, notice my attempts and ask, "Is that your bird up there?" I told them that it indeed was and asked if they could see him, they could. I hopped the fence to get into the their yard, and again...I could see my baby. He was sitting in a pine tree...preening....yes...that's right PREENING. Again appearing to just be enjoying a lovely day in the sun and trees. He is totally ignoreing me and preening away, not making a sound. So i wait out his preening which lasts about 25 minutes. This time, I take his forumla cup out and and say, "Hey baby...wanna eat boy?? Wanna eat??" This time I can see that I have connected with him and he was responding. He gently flys lower branch by branch until he finally lands on top of a swing set in the back yard. Now this is the point in the story where I cannot tell it or type it without totally crying, but here it goes. I look at him, now about 10 feet away from me and say, "Yes boy, come on down and lets eat baby." He then gently flies to my hand and looks at me as if nothing is wrong at all. I curled my other arm around him and hugged and kissed him in tears whaling out the words, "Ohh thank you baby thank you so much I love you...thank you!!" It was such a loud and joyful cry that I am sure half the neighborhood heard me. The people of the house I was at, allowed me to quickly get him inside. I held him so close to my chest and kissed him constantly. I didn't care if their family saw the breakdown I was having for my bird. It was uncontainable. So I had to put him in a temporary box to get him home, and the lady of that house drove me to my apartment. All the while I am peeking in on his curious little self to reassure him that everything was okay. He was doing just fine. I was crying with joy, I couldn't believe it. Calling my mother who was crying with me at the incredibly joyful news.

 

I got my baby home and it was like the life and spirit came back to my house. My baby was home again. All the joy I was missing came rushing back and I cried some more. And yes, it was time to eat for Issac. I brewed up a batch of his formula that he still loves so much and fed my baby. He appeared to not have any concept at all that anything went wrong. He was his playful self. However that night he was tucking his head into my neck and hands for scratches and being extra loveable. Or maybe it was just my perception.

 

I cannot tell you what an exhausting experience that was. I am so glad that we have the contact calls for each other. It is the only way I could find him. The fact that he still loved his formula so much is how I got him to come down. In the final moments when he was coming down. I was reassured that he still had a desire to be near me. He just appeared to be his old self on his way back to me. I have to admit that there were moments that I thought he didn't want to come back. He was probably just hanging out in the trees without a care. But I knew he wanted me involved because he flew by my apartments calling for me. I guess when I was near, he relaxed and preened and thought all was well. I am so grateful that he came back to me. The whole evening was surreal. Just a few hours before, I was in the worst place of my life, and then quickly rushed back to the magic that it is of having Issac in my life. I am going to take more action to make sure he never gets away again. He is so much of my life, and we have such a good time together.

 

This bird is my best friend. It is in tears I write that Issac makes up the spirit and happiness of my life. Of course I have my daughter too, but he is there when everyone else, is not. He defines me. When he was gone, I felt loss like I have never felt in my life. Now that he is back, I am again the happiest guy in this world. Thank you all for your support and prayers through this difficult time. It was rather surreal to be posting about my baby flying away. Because I had remembered reading about other birds flying away, and shedding tears for them, knowing how I would feel. I hope no one has to feel that kind of pain. Thank you all again for the kind words and celebrating my baby's return. It was the toughest 24 hours of my life.

Edited August 3, 2010 by Elvenking

[pearllyn]

Gee whizz! What a day. So glad it did have a happy ending! Please tell me you're not going to rush out now and clip his wings! It's a good thing you had that contact call worked on - a good lesson for everyone! Thanks for sharing.

[Elvenking]

Gee whizz! What a day. So glad it did have a happy ending! Please tell me you're not going to rush out now and clip his wings! It's a good thing you had that contact call worked on - a good lesson for everyone! Thanks for sharing.

 

Nope....having his wings clipped never crossed my mind. It is more about what I can do to prevent this from happening again.

[pearllyn]

Oh that's great - good for you. I've heard 3 stories lately of birds getting out and the first thing their people did when they came home was clip their wings. So sad. Isaac is a lucky boy.

[dhorje]

This is the best Grey story I ever read. I am glad Isaac has a good dad like you. : )

 

My friend punished his escaped Cockatoo by clipping his wings. His Grey was punished too because his Too flew away.

[Luvparrots]

Thank you for sharing Issac's Adventure with us Stephen. Your perseverance helped Issac to find his way home. What a great job you both did to get Issac home!!!! Hooray!!! and Amen

[Elvenking]

Thank you for taking the time to read that story. My nerves are finally returning to normal. I just can't wait to get home to my birdie again.

[danmcq]

Thanks for the story of Issac's return to you. Teared up here too reading it. I am so happy for you and Issac.

 

It is as if you did in fact lose your very soul......... Thank God you are now reunited.

 

One thought on him calming down and preening with you in sight. When birds are young, they do fly from the nest and tree to tree. The parents are always watching nearby and protecting them as they do so. I can only imagine that Issac felt that same level of trust that the father was watching over him.

[chelseaB]

Thanks for sharing Issac's story with us, I know putting it down in words must have been very painful. Issac probably has his own story to tell about what an awesome time he had exploring the neighborhood! Him coming back to you sure tells what he really wants! He is one lucky bird, and you are one much loved birdy dad!

[judygram]

Thanks Stephen for sharing that story with us, you are one lucky fella to get your precious Issac back safe and sound, now don't let it happen again.

[Birdnut]

Thanks for taking the time to write your story. I bawled when Isaac escaped. I bawled when you got him back. I bawled reading your story. Whew!

Just so happy for you - for getting Isaac back and for the special relationship you have with him.

[Elvenking]

The emotions were so powerful, that scribing it to the forums was pretty natural. Although my eyes were welled up the whole time typing it. And I lose my breath every time I envision the scene of him gently flying back to my hand finally. Thank you all for your kind words, these threads have been the warmest ever. I cannot thank everyone enough for thier wishes and prayers, it made me feel less alone in those super sad moments.

[Elvenking]

By far...the contact call was what saved the day. Playing that 'game' with him all along, was establishing our flock communication. I highly recommend contact calling your bird as well. Not just responding to him, but findoing out how to make him do it as a response, and not just a request. If I had to rely on finding him with my eyes, I would not have my baby today, I guarantee that. I found his location in 3 hours with that. And many more times the following day the same way. Ultimately leading to me having him home in the first 24 hours. There are no words for how grateful I am.

 

PS: He is on the floor getting horny with his Babble Ball. Wings all drooped low and panting.

[rawleyd]

PS: He is on the floor getting horny with his Babble Ball. Wings all drooped low and panting.

haha

cute?

[Malikah]

Yikes, how frustrating when he was flying around out of reach. Congrats again on getting him back!

[Elvenking]

Yikes, how frustrating when he was flying around out of reach. Congrats again on getting him back!

 

The funny thing is that I don't think he thought that anything was wrong. I believe that he was happy I was there close by, and just being a bird. I blame him for absolutely nothing. Since he has been home..he has been very, very affectionate and sweet. I feel so lucky. I hope he had a great day and I am glad he didn't have to go hungry for more than 24 hours. The images that pass though your head in these moments are horrifying. If he wants to fly like that again...it's going to have to be on a harness. I am going to try to get him used to it again because there was something very majestic about him flying about. It was really beautiful. The amount of love I carry for this bird is more than I could ever imagine. I just really cannot put it into words. All I can say is that he fills a huge hole in my life, being a single person living alone. He;s the first thing I see in the morning, he's there for everything I do at home. I am about to tuck him in his cage for a nice sleep. He gets a ton of kisses. He has this new habit of diving for my toes when i kick them up on my table. He wants them to love him up and scratch his head. He loves it!

Edited August 4, 2010 by Elvenking

[shanlung]

Nope....having his wings clipped never crossed my mind. It is more about what I can do to prevent this from happening again.

 

Good that Issac is back home again.

 

Tinkerbell Legacy, or Part 2 in Tinkerbell Webpage on how to live with flighted parrot at home

http://www.geocities.com/shanlung9/

 

might contain much that is useful.

There might be answers there even to questions that you have not thought of asking yet.

[tarm]

Just remember it was the time and connection you made with Issac doing contact calling, which sounds to me to be the beginning of indoor recall training, that played a huge role in getting your baby back. Great job!!! While you certainly will have guilt for allowing him to get out, and should, do not forget it was that time you took that also got him back. Thank you for putting to print what you went thru. It is a emotional roller coaster uplifting story you have shared.

 

Those hanging beads that are like a curtain ( those 60s-70s type hanging beads) may go a long way in preventing it from happening again as he will likely not stay on your shoulder as you push thru the beads. They were mentioned to me in another thread. They will likely also prevent a break for the big sky if a door is open for a bit too long. Keep up with the contact calling and work on getting him to come when you ask. That will arm you should he ever get loose again.

 

Again I am sooooo overjoyed you two are reuntied.

 

Congrats

 

Cheers,

 

Tim

Edited August 4, 2010 by tarm

[Birdnut]

I highly recommend contact calling your bird as well. Not just responding to him, but finding out how to make him do it as a response, and not just a request.

 

Would you tell us more about how you went about doing this? Sounds like this is what saved the day, and I know I could definitely learn from your experience.

[Elvenking]

Would you tell us more about how you went about doing this? Sounds like this is what saved the day, and I know I could definitely learn from your experience.

 

What I would do is answer Issac with a 'Yooo Hoooooooo' kind of whistle when he would contact call me from out of sight. After a while, I could just do the 'Yooo hoooo' whistle and he would contact call back. Sort of like a challenge\response kind of behavior. I am a noise maker by nature as well so I just like to make noise as well as talk to him. Maybe in another life I was a bird.

 

I think the key is to make your noise when he makes his contact call. Be consistent with that and then try to initiate the 'game' by doing it first sometimes. Eventually, and rather quickly as I remember, your bird will follow instead of just leading. I haven't a clue as to what I would have done to find him without that. Even when I heard him multiple times, it would still take a few minutes to actually see him. they are nearly impossible to locate on sight when they are in trees. They blend incredibly.

[Birdnut]

Maybe in another life I was a bird.

 

LOL!! Thanks for the description of how you worked with the contact calls. I have been answering what I take to be Moussa's contact calls by calling "Yoo hoo." I can't really whistle, so I've just been saying it in a high-pitched voice. I hope that can work as well. I'll start trying to initiate the contact call sometimes.

[GoDiego]

Issac is very lucky having a daddy like you. You never gave up on him and because of this you got him home safe and sound! I'm so glad your both reunited again, like everyone else my heart was breaking for you at the time.

[Janfromboone]

OK, now now you've made me cry. So happy it turned out so well.

[Eckobird]

OMG WOW I've missed alot!! I was in tears reading this!! I am soo happy Issac is back!!!

[Spock]

Greetings, Spock here...Issac said most of your story was true. He also told me that it was only logical...his intentions were always to return. He knew where you were at all times. He never had thoughts of going anywhere else. He knew he would never find anyone who would love him and spoil him as much as you do. (He told me that he missed your feet) He informed me that he had heard somewhere that "the grass is greener on the other side" and he wanted to see what the grass was. You are a very deserving "parront" if I do say so myself.

Live Long and Prosper my friends Issac and Stephen,

Spock