A DINNER INVITE THAT LED TO A FAT LIP

I read a story about a parakeet flying through the doors of the Chicago O’Hare Airport recently. Apparently, the poor bird flew through the terminal, landed on people’s luggage and on people’s heads several times, and spent several hours near the Air France check-in line, according to the article. 

I can’t help but be sorry for the poor bird. It must have been very scared. People tried to catch it, but it followed the old fight or flight rule and did both. When it was chased and people tried to catch it, its stress increased and actually bit a few of those well-intentioned souls. Eventually one of the staff managed to throw her coat over it and she took the bird to a vet to make sure it was okay. Now it's being well taken care of and hopefully stress-free.

Advice given: “Trying to catch a loose bird may be an instinctive response, especially when it lands on you or your belongings. But chasing it can make the situation harder to resolve. Wildlife Illinois advises staying calm and quiet around the animal trapped indoors - Quiet? In O’Hare Airport? It went on to explain that yelling and chasing can increase their stress and make getting them back outside more difficult. Stay calm and quiet - again, in O’Hare Airport? The animal is already frightened from being in an unfamiliar place. Poor bird! 

I did not know that Chicago has Wild Monk Parakeets living in several Chicago neighborhoods. Two students from the university did a study and found that there have been bird sightings from 2002 to 2016, in 43 states. Of these, 25 species are now breeding in 23 different states.  Many of them were escaped pets, or their owners released because they couldn’t train them, or made too much noise??? For goodness sake, it's a parakeet! But many of these species are now living outdoors and have established populations.  

All this being said, the wild parakeet at the airport has not been identified at the time the story was published. Native to South America, Monk Parakeets have a long history in the pet trade and have lived in Chicago for decades. The Chicago University says a breeding colony established in Hyde Park (Chicago) in the 1960s and likely originated from pet birds released into the wild.  

So, with this interesting story in my head, having much sympathy for the bird, and being surprised that we have these exotic birds in the outdoors throughout the country, it reminded me of our one and only encounter with a pet Monk Parakeet. I can’t remember its name but I will call him “Pip” and not that 'ruddy thing'!  

When we moved here from California in 1990, we made acquaintance with a couple who invited us for dinner. We were new to the neighborhood and were very grateful. We arrived promptly, were invited in and it started off very nicely. I did notice a large bird cage on the other side of the room near the window but didn't really pay too much attention. I suppose I thought it might be decorative as it fit in with their lovely surroundings.

We sat down on a sofa chatting away when all of a sudden...

this bird - Pip - landed on Gregg's shoulder, coming out of nowhere. Gregg was so startled that he slapped at it, much to the horror of our new friends and Pip screeched and flew away, with them leaving for a few moments trying to find it, to make sure it was okay. Gregg and I were still wide-eyed and looking at each other. I whispered to Gregg before they came back, "You nearly killed it!" Oh dear, oh dear oh dear!

They returned, it was then explained to us that in the evenings Pip was allowed to fly around. It would have been nice for some kind of warning but neither of us remember them mentioning it. I suppose they thought it was safely tucked away in some other part of the house. We probably looked at each other because my heart was doing a drumbeat and I know Gregg's must have been too. He felt bad he nearly flattened the bird, but it was a complete shock and came out of nowhere. Not a good start to the evening. 

And so, we settled down again trying to get the conversation going before sitting down for our meal. Gregg was being shown a collection by the husband, and wife and I were chatting. Wouldn't you know it, our feathered friend turned up again this time on the bottom part of my arm. I definitely wasn't going to swat at the thing, and new friend said something like "Oh there she is, as I watched the bird hop up my arm a little bit at a time.

He was staring at me all the way up my arm, and then all of a sudden...

I couldn't believe it he gave my lip a good hard bite. Well, you know me and wildlife, I didn't swat at it like Gregg did, because we were new to the neighborhood for a start and I was trying to remain as calm as I could and not upset anyone further. His mama got off the couch, said something like "Oh you naughty bird, and took her away." For a few minutes I was on my own and I grabbed a tissue and dabbed my lip. A few spots of blood, holding handkerchief on my lip until she came back, and quietly tucked it into my pocket. There was no "Are you okay?" - nope! So, was not feeling too thrilled at all. My lip was throbbing and starting to swell. I could feel it. But we made small talk at the table, and I worked around the food.  Afterwards we sat back on the sofa, and made small-talk, and I was looking around I can tell you. 

I may have given Gregg the side-eye a few times, for starting this whole scenario. But it really wasn't his fault. I had just had enough, and my lip was playing the drumbeats in 76 trombones by that time. We left early, looking all around to see if flipping Pip was hovering. I was never more glad to have an evening end and get out of that house. We weren't invited again, and I'm sure they were worried for the safety of their beloved little Pip. Just as well! It took about a week for my lip to return to normal.

All in all, and to this day I bare no malice to Pip, we were after all in his territory and I was related to the man who tried to flatten him! When I read the story about the one in Chicago's O'Hare Airport to Gregg, we had one of those 'do you remember when' conversations. We had a great time going over that evening and we both ended up laughing.

So, there you go, that's the story of the dinner invite that lead to my fat lip.

Thanks for reading and I hope your 

week has started well.

(Illustrations requested by me in ChatGPT)