My budgie has escaped! What now?

Open the window
To lift into a dream
Baby, baby
You can barely breathe

- from R.E.M. "Parakeet"

Image © Recurrence on Flickr

It often goes like this: you are not paying attention for a few minutes, while your budgie finds a way outside and all you can do is watch it fly away.

Precautions that most people forgot to take

If you know that your budgie may be able to open its cage by itself, because some of the bars are in a bad shape, you have to buy a new cage. Secure the windows with mosquito nets and close all doors. Budgies are extremely acrobatic and can escape through small openings. Tell your children never to let the budgies out of the cage without your assistance. Remember yourself never to go outside when you're carrying a budgie on your shoulder!

Scared to death

If your budgie has escaped out of fear, the chances of getting it back are not very big. Scared birds don't think about landing in any nearby tree, but fly on and on without any orientation until they are exhausted. At that point, they are at the mercy of anyone who finds them, because they won't find the way back home. Some budgies die because they have nothing to eat, or they get killed by a car or a cat... there are too many dangers to sum up here.
 
If you are lucky, you will get your bird back. Keep an eye on the local papers, listen to the radio, look for signs outside, contact the vets in the area where you live. Another good idea is to check internet! Quite a few lost budgies end up exhausted in the garden of someone who may not even live so far away from you. That is how we got our first budgie: a dark blue bird landed in my grandma's garden, at the end of his power. The budgie didn't even struggle when she picked it up. We have taken good care of him, and he even started a family at our place. Nobody ever came to ask after him.

Within eyesight

Image ©Mark MacLaughlin on Flickr

If you are even more lucky, you will see that your budgie landed somewhere within eyesight.
Then you have to do this: keep all the windows open and place the cage on the window sill, or the garden table, just pick a place that is easy to spot for the budgie. It's also a good idea to stay near to the budgie, and don't panick. It's better that your budgie becomes curious about his new surroundings instead of scared. If you are in the picture, your bird might be extra reassured that everything is ok.

DON'T wave your arms or scream at your budgie. The smallest tension could cause him to take off again. There is not much you can do at this point. Just stay calm and try to lure him back to you with soft words, or food.

When your budgie comes back to you, you can approach him carefully. Stretch out your hand, offer him a millet spray. Once he sits on your hand, it's easy to carry him back into the cage, inside his safe home.