The birds that live within our homes have unique perspectives on the sphere of life that they are engaged in. It’s almost always a given that our birds have a love of music, often displaying preferences with style by rapt attention and “gettin’ down with it” to the various kinds of music that they’re exposed to. But when the music they love is a factor in retrieving a lost bird, it only stands to reason that music could be used as a tool to recover wayward birds who make their way outside when a door is open for a second too long. That’s the case for Joel, a pet cockatiel who lives in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, as he took an open door for an invitation to roam.
Joel was adopted by his owner 18 months ago from a rescue adoption facility. In the 18 months that Joel lived with his owner, he learned some of the hits from the catalog of the music of Billy Joel. Obviously, his infatuation with Billy Joel’s music contributed to the naming process. As songs go, it’s “Uptown Girl” that has captured the fancy of the cockatiel becoming its favorite song. With Joel’s escape through an open door, the owner quickly moved to the standard method of discovery by posting “Lost Bird – Reward” flyers. They were posted with the essential help of an international service known as ParrotAlert.com, which uses mapping technologies to help narrow the route to help locate a lost bird.
Nine Days Gone
After nine days with no notices, hope began to wane until a text alerted the owner to the possibility that Joel had been located. An agile worker at the SkyWheel ride (a 200-foot-tall ferris wheel at the beach) heard chirping while 100 feet up on a ladder. It’s there that the worker saw Joel standing on a gondola bar. Being people-aware and trusting, the bird made his way to the worker and perched on his shoulder. Joel was then wrapped in the worker’s hoodie for the descent. Soon, one event led to another, and the flyer eventually sparked a memory that led to the eventual reconnection.
After the connection, the staff played “Piano Man” for the bird, and Joel immediately began grooving to the tune. When that behavior was recognized, they were assured that the lost cockatiel mentioned in the flyer had indeed been found. Pictures of Joel sitting on the shoulder of the office staff were sent, and the recovery was soon completed.
Once the owner and Joel were reunited, a quick visit to the vet was necessary to check him out. After all was deemed well, Joel and his owner were happy to be back with each other once again. Joel had been on an adventure. And it was music that helped to reunite Joel with “Mom.” One of the takeaways from this is that specific familiarity played an important part in identifying who Joel was. The flyers were essential in spreading that information to a wider audience. We’re quite pleased that Joel found his home again.
Sadly my cockatiel named Rio flew out the front door as my daughter was leaving. I only wish that I had secured him in his cage. He flew into a tree above my house. I spent many hours trying to coax him back to his cage without success. the next morning he was gone. I live in New Hampshire. This was January. Very cold. Have no seen him since. I am very sad but so thankful for a Happy reunion!?
I’m so very sorry. I lost mine on Christmas Eve. I still think I hear his flock call. ?
Awwwe, Joel was lucky indeed!
Awwwe, Joel was lucky indeed!
Such a great story! Thanks for sharing.
WHAT A WONDERFUL STORY WITH A HAPPY ENDING. BRAVO! JOEL.
MY LITTLE GIRL COCKATIEL, WHO IS NOW AGE 22, IS IN LOVE WITH NORAH JONES!
SHE BEGS TO SIT ON MY LAPTOP KEYBOARD (PROTECTED OF COURSE) WHEN I TURN UP
THE NORAH MUSIC! SHE NUZZLES UP TO THE SCREEN AND MAKES SWEET NOISES OR GOES
OFF TO SLEEP!
Ironic!!!!
my1 year old cockatiel flew off my shoulder tonite on my back porch
he just learned to fly 2 days ago but this evening he flew away like a pro.
I am Heartbroken, I live in Camden, TN
Ironic!!!!
my1 year old cockatiel flew off my shoulder tonite on my back porch
he just learned to fly 2 days ago but this evening he flew away like a pro.
I am Heartbroken, I live in Camden, TN ?????????
I’m so sorry. Go to YouTube, Search “Cockatiel flock call” find one that runs half hour or longer, and play this LOUDLY by the house. It starts them chirping and wanting to join their flock. Recovered many tiels. Good luck.
Call him. Once he hears your voice he will be around. My cockatiel flew away and was flying around our neighborhood. I kept calling him and he did not leave far. I was able to catch her on the second day
How wonderful!
So nice to hear of good people to help.
Awesome that Joel is home safe.
from a feather person also!
What a wonderful and AMAZING story!!!! Goes to show, first of all, be mindful about any open doors or forgetting your bird is on your shoulder, etc. Second, if your bird gets out, a special song or whistle could be an extra assist key in helping reunite you, along with flyers, posting and various bird-finding services.
So glad this story had a very happy ending. “Meet you anytime you want in our Italian restaurant……!”
Wonderful!
Glad the little guy is home again.
Unfortunately many lost birds are not as lucky.
You just hope he’s found by someone.
My new cockatiel was given to me by a neighbor who lost one of her bids and felt she would like to be with my other 2 birds.
Everybody’s happy now but we often think of Pepper .
What a great story and I’m glad Joel found his way home to Mom! My husband and I have two caiques — a white-belly caique and a black-headed caique. They are about to turn 25, Woof in June and Meow in August. They have lived with us since they were three and five months old. Like Joel, they’re very curious and we have to keep an eye on them when they are not in their cages. They have a lot of cages. They each have a large daytime cage, an evening “dinner” cage, and several different travel cages when we go to visit family or friends. They love travelling in the car and are quick to let us know when an approaching car is getting what they considered to be too close to ours. Once a family member’s curious dog went sniffing at one of the cages and Woof, equally curious, gently bit the dog’s nose, which scared the poor dog into running for cover. Fortunately, Woof didn’t hurt him. He only wanted to feel what the dog’s nose felt like. The dog, however, was too nervous to approach him again, although he did come to like the sweet songs Woof whistled for him. I could go on and on with stories about Woof and Meow, but I’ve already taken up a lot f space on your site. Thanks for reading this.
What entertainment they sound like! They must be very happy with you. ☺
Wonderful. ‘Tiels are very smart with huge personalities and great memories.
Nice to have a ‘Lost Birb’ story with a happy ending. 🙂 Precious little ‘Tiel is now safe and sound back at home.
My cockatiel Pisco flew away in Nov, it was a dumb mistake not to put in his cage when I had my dad helping fix the sink. Anyways it was windy and cold, we live in Alberta, Canada so winter was just settling in. After 5hrs calling him, playing cockatiel sounds. We found him being chased by magpie and he was so smart he got in between some branches to be safe. We got him just before night fall and temperature was dropping -10. Since then on I am so careful w them. Now we have 3 cockatiel and 5 budgies.
So my advised to bird owners are
teach them name recall, use millet as a reward.
cockatiel call and sound ( if lost)
sing or whistle is favourite tune, just like in the post.
watch for other birds (wild) as they may be following your bird.
I have one that In leave th cage door open when I am home. He knows his name, .Sweety Pie, he answers Sweety Bird. If he ever got lose I would leave his cage outside and try to coax him back. Hope he never gets lost.