Hello all,
This is my first visit to this board. I've had two IRN for 4 years now and my male escaped on April 25th. I was cleaning the floor and openned the door to air out fumes when his mate Leah walked out. She doesn't fly. Tiki does, but he walked out after her and started doing the danger call. I ran outside and they were both clining to the side of the house on some wires trying to get off the deck. Tiki was trying to get her back inside so was calling me for help. She's a biter, so I grabbed a towel and threw it over the top of her and he spooked and flew off. If I had been thinking straight I would have calmy gotten him and then gotten her. For some reason in my head I thought he'd stay. He has never flown toward a closed or open door or window before or showed any interest. He always flew to the basement if he got spooked. It's automatic for him. Well, this time he wasn't spooked until after he was outside trying to save his cage mate.
He went to the woods and sat there up in a tree and looked at my step son and I for an hour but wouldn't come down. We tried to coax him with Leah, but he stayed. My step son climbed the tree and tried to get him to perch on a golf ball getter, but he spooked and went into the woods. I went out to go after him, but nothing. I went out at dawn the next morning and started calling and he answered. I kept going deeper in the swampy woods as he answered back and I kept calling. We found each other. I had binoculars and found him high in a tree with swamp all around him. I tried again for an hour, but he wouldn't come down, so I went to get a cell phone to call the bird rescue and Leah. When I got back he was gone. Bird rescue came out and we searched in the rain and swamp all day, but no luck. We put out fliers the next day and got a call that he was spotted flopping around with a hurt foot at the apartment complex across the street from our road. I went right over and started calling him. Then a man walking his dog asked if that was my bird in the sky. He was so high up and i couldn't tell. He said he noticed when I called, the bird answered and it didn't sound like a wild bird. It flew out of the dense pine tree he was standing next to and it was green with colors in the tail feathers. Sounds like my Tiki. I watched him fly over an apartment building towards the lake, but he may have stopped at the woods there after the apartment. I've been searching there every single morning, afternoon and evening and at least once a day with my bird Leah. The temperatures and winds are bad here. Around 32 degrees at predawn. This was the27th he was seen last. I did notice when I took Leah over we searched all over, but she never said a peep. As we were in the car leaving, I had the windows in the car down and in this one spot she started squawking. We got out of the car but no more squawking.We got back in a drove another 10 feet and this time she squawked louder and said "Leah" that what they call each other and me..Then nothing.
Last night we went all through the complex again and went by that same area, but came in a different way. She said "Leah" twice in that area
I wonder if she's confusing another bird with Tiki or if someone nearby has my bird in their house. I was in the car each time she squawked so maybe it was distorting the other birds sounds making her think it was Tiki. Anyone have any experience with this? I was thinking I'd go over there with flyers and with Leah in a crate and knock on the doors nearby and ask them if they've seen Tiki. If Tiki hears me, he'll talk and then so will Leah.
Anyway, thanks for listening. I miss this bird so bad and can't stop crying. I have learned a hard lesson and it's breaking my heart. Even if they don't want to leave, sometimes they do
Tiki's mom