Norte the Cockatiel made a flight of fancy from Quesada to Los Montesinos – leaving its owner in a flutter for two and a half days – after escaping from an aviary
“After Norte went missing I thought I’d never see him again,” said owner-breeder Alex.
Norte was re-united with Alex, after his mum Tatiana placed a message on Facebook about his disappearance.
After no initial response from the public, Norte was spotted flying in Los Montesinos and Helen Atkinson spotted him, unknown to her that he’d gone missing.
Six-year-old Norte landed on a solarium roof and Helen courted him down, whistling and calling – only to swoop down onto her head!
After posting a message on Facebook about the Cockatiel being found, Laura Sway contacted Helen, saying she’d seen a post about a lost bird.
Laura said: “I searched for an hour, before I came across the posting again, and contacted Helen, and Tatiana.”
Tatiana said: “I was crying with joy about the news. I didn’t think I’d see him again.
“I told son Alex, ‘Norte is found!’ Oh, my God. It’s my son’s baby. He had flow out of the aviary, when he was surprised by another parrot who got into a fluster, when I was putting water out for the birds. I cried and cried and cried.”
Helen’s neighbour Leen Storms-Vannappen kept Norte in a bird cage overnight after feeding and watering him: “He was very hungry, but was okay and settled down,” said Leen.
Tatiana added: “Alex adores Norte, and he has learnt him to dance to him whistling – he loves the ‘Adams Family’ tune!”.
