I lost one ..my Petrie from a move in 2005. Petrie grew up with me. My partner, Eric, was moving in a large piece of furniture and didn't realise I was talking to Petrie. We just drove 3hours. I opened up the travel box and was talking to my poor tired bird. It was my first time moving in with Eric. I am still with him. Eric knew Petrie, but he didn't live with birds.
Petrie was afraid and flew out of the door. It was one of the most devestating things .. we looked for him for 4 hours. Asking every person ..knocking on every door...I kept whistling. Suddenly the whistle returned back, I heard him respond.
My heart raced. I saw him... The highest tree... The highest branch. He saw me.. he started our little song. We whistled it back and fourth. Petrie got excited.. start whistling more panicked. He released the branch he was flying to me. He was not flighted. (I was not as knowledgeable as I am now.) He tried to fly down to me. I knew he was hungry and scared. He was so happy to see me.. (geeze even writing this and I am tearing up after all this time.) He tried so hard. He flew over my head. He overshot. He flew into a thick forest.
It was such an emotional day..the excitement of the move. The fear of never seeing Petrie again... The joy of seeing him... The devastation when I watched him fly into the forest.
I made posters, I went to all the local animal shelters and pet shops. I hoped everyday. I looked longingly into the trees. Talked to neighbours....crashed a child's birthday party.
I never saw my sweet little one again. He was my best friend growing up. We were very bonded. He was a white face cockatiel. Such a sweetheart.
After all these years .. I still feel so saddened. It is just such a terrible thing.. not knowing. Not knowing if he was eaten.. not knowing if he was found. Maybe he ended up living a happy life.
Also Eric was really mad at himself ..for a long time. He is a very kind man. It was a stupid mistake. It was an easy mistake.
It is really hard not knowing. I like the idea that they find a kind warm soul, nice healthy food and a safe place to sleep. I can never know the reality. But that idea helps me. I also learned. I now work on recall training and encourage my birds to problem solve more. I also work on steep descent training.
Wind is surely different...but at least they have a stronger starting point if something ever happens again.
Our poor lost birdies
I really relate to how you feel.