A pet bird named Hope who escaped her Jamaica Plain home last month was captured in Hyde Park by a Boston School Police officer.
The 3-ounce cockatiel, an Australian bird, was found in Ross Field. That’s four miles away as the crow—er, cockatiel—flies.
Hope escaped July 13 while trying to land on the shoulder of owner Maggie Rosenthal as she left her Lamartine Street home. The bird swooped outside.
“Do you have any idea how bad it was to say, ‘Hope is lost’?” said Rosenthal, who found herself second-guessing the bird’s name.
“There’s a song I sing to her called ‘I Love You, Lord,’” said Rosenthal, describing how she walked around the area whistling the tune in the hopes of drawing Hope home.
But by July 15, Hope had made it to Hyde Park, where Officer Bill Willis was talking with youths. Willis, who has experience in dealing with wildlife—he once captured a coyote—spotted the distinctive bird, which has a yellow head.
“I saw the bird and knew it wasn’t native to the area,” said Willis. “I said, ‘That bird’s gonna get eaten.’ That would be food for a bird of prey.”
After Hope failed to land on a pole and sat on the ground, Willis borrowed a shirt from one of the youths and captured her inside it. Hope returned to Rosenthal the next day