Around the Island

The runaway bird: Wherever you fly, I’ll find you

COURTESY PHOTO | at home again with Kelly Dunn.
COURTESY PHOTO | At home again with Kelly Dunn.

 

Pepper the cockatiel was an orphan. Until Kelly Dunn met him. He was left at the North Fork Animal Hospital a couple of years ago. She is a licensed veterinary technician there and she waited for someone to claim him. When no one did, Kelly and her parents decided to adopt him. She said, “I have loved him since I got him. He spends most of his time hanging out on my shoulder, sharing my lunch or singing his favorite tunes.”

Until the day Pepper decided to take a road trip.

Friday, April 17, Kelly went outside to talk on her cellphone with the bird perched on her head. Like everyone else, Pe≠¡pper had spring fever and before Kelly realized it, he was gone. She spent two hours in the backyard, trying to get him to fly back. He did several circles around the yard, then disappeared. Kelly said he had never attempted to fly out a door or window before. They didn’t clip his wings because they wanted Pepper to be able to fly away from their dog if he had to. The dog and the bird became best friends and Pepper got used to flying around the room.

That night, Kelly posted signs all over the North Fork -— even at the North Ferry. The Southold Police Department and Southold Animal Shelter knew he was missing; his photo was on social media and she alerted the Long Island/New York parrot societies.

On Sunday morning, Régine Clément and her husband, Jean-Sébastien Dorais and daughters Anaé and Laïa noticed a cockatiel flying outside their home in Silver Beach.

COURTESY PHOTO | Pepper with Anaé and Laia Dorais.
COURTESY PHOTO | Pepper with Anaé and Laia Dorais.

They called 911 when they realized it was a domestic bird and was looking for help. The 911 dispatcher asked for a description of the bird and asked if he answered to “Pepper,” which he did.

Régine sent Kelly a photo of Pepper to make sure it was him.

Kelly remembered the reunion: “My parents and I raced over to Shelter Island and sure enough, there he was perched on the nice man’s shoulder! It was truly unbelievable. I held up hope but was almost certain I would never see this little bird again.

“Cockatiels are nomadic and don’t have a homing instinct. Unlike dogs and cats, they don’t know their way home if they ever leave. Pepper loves people (especially tall men), so my only hope was that he would land on someone’s shoulder and they would know to call either me or the police.

“We brought Pepper’s emergency travel carrier with us and loaded it with his favorite food and some water … he ate and drank a lot, so he must have gone without eating after he flew away.

“He was quiet for a few days after we got him home, but now he is back to his old self -— singing, exploring, annoying his canine sister. He is a little mad at us for clipping his wings but it’s hard to reason with a cockatiel and tell him it’s for his own good.

“Régine and her husband knew this little bird was somebody’s pet and they were so kind to call the police. I am forever grateful for these Good Samaritans!”