A Lesson For All of Us

This is Tuesday, a very sweet umbrella cockatoo that did the unimaginable. This is an extremely sad story but I post it because there is a lesson to be learned. I, myself, have fully flighted parrots and this horrible mishap could happen to me or anyone at anytime. All it takes is one moment...one scary moment. Tuesday was out on her playgym. Something startled her. She flew. She flew outside, over the pool, over the fence, and straight into traffic. She only knew to flee her perceived threat. She was probably unsure of her actions but proceeded out of instinct. Birds don't fight, they flee. If her mom could redo the day, things would be different. Tuesday had never done this before. Who knew? Now the flock is missing one of its members. Tuesday was hit by a car and killed. Know the gamble when you have flighted birds. Know that this, too, could happen to you. It is never a good idea to take a fully flighted bird outside without restraint. Even lightly trimmed birds can become quite "flighted" at a moment's notice. It only takes a split second for your entire world to escalate into pure panic. Try to imagine what a horrible experience this was. Now make sure it doesn't happen to you. My heart goes out to Tuesday's family and flock. I am so very sorry this happened.