Illinois Lost & Found Companion Birds

Losing a Feathered Kid turns your worst nightmare into a reality in a matter of seconds and it’s almost always an accident.  Your life is changed forever and you watch helplessly as your bird flies off, shrieking in panic.  Your heart is racing as you run in the direction he flew, through your neighbors’ yards-much to their dismay-calling his name frantically. No response-he could already be circling the other end of your neighborhood. You realize that, unlike dogs and cats, you need to also search in an additional dimension and for the first time in your life, the beauty of the trees suddenly become obstacles in your quest.  Your search continues until 1:30 in the morning. You hurriedly find your Feathered Kid’s best picture, put fliers together and offer a reward as an incentive to induce others to join in your search. You spend the next few hours placing fliers in all your neighbors’ mailboxes, calling for your bird periodically, knowing that he has probably taken refuge somewhere and is resting. You really don’t expect a response but you call out anyway.
 
At sunrise the search continues.  You forgot to put on that sunscreen, the mosquitoes are relentless,  rashes appear on your arms and legs from walking through tall grasses,  you can’t remember when you ate last but you have no appetite anyway.  Suddenly, you notice hawks circling everywhere, shivers go up your spine and your search becomes more frantic.  The binoculars your neighbor lent you and your fully charged cell phone become items that you keep with you at all times.

Initially, people assume you are searching for a dog or a cat as you call your bird’s name until they notice you’re also looking up at the trees. They immediately become wary of you and you are compelled to explain that you are searching for your pet bird. “How did he get out?” they ask. “Well, his wings grew back before I could get them clipped.” You explain.  End of story. Judgement has been passed.  You are a bad pet owner. The guilt intensifies. Your search continues. Your feet hurt, your head aches, your throat is hoarse and you’re silently praying constantly, “Please, God, bring him home safely. He’s just a little bird”. You beg, plead, and bargain with God. You promise to never, ever allow his wings to grow back again.

As the days go on, you wonder-can he survive this heat, this wind, this rain, this thunderstorm, what about all the bugs, what about the dark? He always needed a night light by his cage. You fear the worst, but hope for the best. You make a decision to keep your backyard lights on all night-just in case.

You’ve called so many places to file a report that your bird is missing-police stations, animal control facilities, animal shelters, trying to cover as many of each in all of the surrounding communities and counties as possible. Post-It notes litter your tables and counter tops and you realize that you need to get organized because you’ve called some places twice. Your fliers are on telephone poles, in pet stores, grocery stores, vets’ offices and local stores are kind enough to let you post your fliers as well.

You’ve posted information on every Lost Bird website that you can find on the internet. You read uplifting stories as well as horror stories of pet birds being thrown out of cars at busy intersections and worse. You read about the one month, one mile rule-North, South, East and West. That’s a lot of trees. And, lucky you, you live next to a forest preserve.  You also learn (and later confirm) that some pet stores accept birds from individuals and place the birds up for adoption.  Some pet stores give the individual a small sum of money for the bird they bring in and this bird is now up for sale.  Some individuals sell birds they find to breeders.  Others give the found bird to people that call themselves rescue facilities.  These places will accept your foundling and then list it up for adoption.  And then there are those who find a bird and their first thought is to buy a bird cage. It’s the Finders Keepers logic.  You soon feel that the odds are not stacked up in your favor. Desperation suddenly takes on a new meaning, you’re spinning your wheels, and brick walls are appearing everywhere you turn.
      
Each day you constantly search your back yard, listening intently to every bird call, hoping to hear your bird call out to you. Bells become a permanent addition to your dogs’ collars. A neighbor complains that they are tired of hearing that tape recorder with your voice on it calling your bird’s name and the man that comes to check your air conditioner  thinks that the bird cage in your backyard  is a nice touch.

One morning, you see a turkey vulture sitting on the top of a telephone pole in the back of your yard casually preening itself.  Is this a sign of something good or of something ominous you wonder and you begin to contemplate the sighting.  At this point you realize that you may be ‘losing it’ and you need to pull yourself together.

As the days go by you constantly begin to question yourself. Am I doing everything that I should be doing? Have I missed something? You come to the conclusion that you really need to check the well-lit offices and warehouses on the street behind your home-perhaps your bird sleeps there. You shine your flashlight checking the trees forgetting that a police car driving by may wonder what exactly you are trying to do.  But there are no birds in the trees. Where do the birds go at night? On the rooftops?

You feel  that you’ve let your Feathered Kid down, you were his guardian, his caretaker.  You know that you will never get those few seconds in time back and you pray again for a second chance.
    
This is, believe it or not, a BRIEF synopsis of my continued search for my lost cockatiel, Peaches.  He has been my best buddy for 15 years.  He has a wonderful, distinct personality and has always been the endearing, always cheerful, little clown. 
  
When I was very ill several years ago, he accompanied me on my many trips to Mayo Clinic in Minnesota and greeted me with a song as I walked into the motel room after each long day of tests. His love is unconditional. The bond between us is very strong. To many people their birds are their whole world.

Please, if you lose your Feathered Kid, don’t give up.  Call police stations, animal shelters, vets’ offices, bird rescue facilities and give your information. Be specific when describing your bird. Ask questions.  Post fliers and include your bird’s picture if possible in any place that it is allowed.  If you have a computer, post your bird’s  information on websites such as 911parrotalert and Craigslist. If you don’t have a computer your local library will have one.  There are volumes of information on the internet to help guide you as you search.  Also, check Petfinder.com every day. This is the website that many bird rescue facilities use when they place birds up for adoption. On occasion, birds are sent to rescue facilities in a surrounding state so view all of the birds. Be vigilant. One of these Feathered Kids may be yours. You will also find that there are individuals who are experiencing the same heartbreaking experience that you are experiencing.  You’re not alone.  Most of all, don’t give up hope.  People do get their birds home safely again.

For those who find a lost pet bird, PLEASE, make every effort to find the owner as soon as possible.  Pet birds are very intelligent and develop strong bonds with their owners. They are just as important as a dog or a cat, they’re just in smaller packaging.  Please keep in mind, that most of the time, the bird’s  flight out of its home was an accident. The Feathered Kid’s parent is not a bad pet owner and their heart aches just as much as yours would if you lost your dog or your cat. Again, there is much information on the internet advising a person as to what steps to take if they find a pet bird. Cockatiel cottage is an informative website.  And, again, 911parrotalert and Craigslist are a couple of good websites to post your found bird on as many people access and read these listings. 

This article was inspired by the loss of my beloved cockatiel, Peaches, whom I am still searching for and by three individuals who have helped and supported me throughout this ordeal. They are also still searching for their Feathered Kids, Molly, Annie and Kelly.

Peaches	Mollie	Annie

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Coconut
Coconut went missing July 27th, 2010 from Sandwich, IL. Coconut is a female 5 year old pearl cockatiel. Please contact us if you have seen or found Coconut.

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Found Birds

QUAKER PARROT
Found in Darien near RT 83 & Plainfield JULY 5th... Contact 630.379.4775 friendly little guy, fed & safe wanting to get him/her to his home soon...no banding or other visible ID. Kindly have pictures or some way to help us correctly identify him

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Have you lost or found a feathered friend? Please contact us today and we will be happy to help in anyway that we can.

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