It was a nice warm day about a year ago and I was outside cleaning my birdcage. It still held my birds inside it as I was cleaning the fold out bottom. My brother kept walking around the cage, talking to my little twittering birds, but I was not too worried. I walked around to the backyard to help mom. As soon as I was done, I headed back to take the cage inside the house but what did I see? The cage door was open, my brother was running around and all of my birds had flown away but Skipper, my smart female who was chirping for her husband and friends to return.

My parents, brother and I desperately tried to get them back but no use. There is a flock of wild little finches here and I shouldn't have been so worried, but in merely a few days. Winter would come before us and I had the feeling that those little guys would meet their maker. But as winter approached I forgot about them, at least MOST of the time. Winter came and ended as it always has, and six months later or so, as it had warmed up a bit, I found myself riding along the streets on my electric scooter.

I was downtown when I passed the post office and in front of it was a telephone pole with a laminated sign on it. It had a picture of a male zebra finch with markings identical to Skippers husband!! (I know because I got a picture of him for pet day). I also knew he was mine because, I mean, how often do you see a male zebra finch flying around Oregon? I soon figured out that he and the other wild finches were nesting around the high school only blocks from my home!!! A high school teacher caught him and kept him in her classroom. All the high school students named him 'Chirpy' and this was because he chirped to them while they were in school! Now THAT is one heck of a class pet!!!

Article © Ellen 2003