Stalking the Blue Eyed Triton Cockatoo

The search for Mozart's Younger Brother!

Part 5: Broken Eggs, Broken Dreams, Hurricanes blow our hopes awry

Updated: 06/20/2005

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April came and went without any Triton chicks appearing at the American Bird Company. We received an email condolence from the couple we met with Mozart in Bryce Canyon, on the "Wall street" part of the Navaho Loop Trail, in Fall 2003. Its a comfort to hear from other people that met and remembered him.

In mid-May it was time for another trip across the Potomac on Whites Ferry to check for a Triton. Why not just use the telephone and call? Well the truth is that we like the trip and enjoy seeing the baby birds.

On our mid-May trip to the store we found the large Cockatoo cage which once housed "Rascal", Pat's companion Citron Cockatoo was empty again. The beautiful Moluccan Cockatoo Ginger turned out to have some personality quirks that did not fit the environment of the store.

The Umbrella chicks were sleeping soundly that afternoon, but the smaller Dusky Face and Myers parrots were noisily seeking attention.

Alas for us there was no Triton chick. All that Pat could tell us was that all the Cockatoos were laying, and to check back again in June to see if a Triton chick had hatched.

Checking again in June to see if there is any news about a Triton chick we learned that the Tritons had broken their eggs, no chicks would be forthcoming for a while. That was a hard blow to our hopes. It could be quite a while before Mozart's parents got busy again. Maybe not until Fall or next Spring? Pat could not tell us and we were longing for the magic of a Cockatoo. So we decided it was time to broaden our search and not limit ourselves to another offspring from Mozart's parents. We decided to ask Susan at the Featherheads store to see what she could do for our search.

Expanding the Search

The small Triton with the beautiful blue eye ring at Featherheads turned out to be a female, and is still not weaned. But it is cute and loving as ever. Susan has checked locally and further afield, but no Tritons are available. It seems that the path of the hurricanes in Florida last Fall have taken their toll and had a detrimental effect on the supply of baby birds. No Tritons are available at this time, only eggs that have yet to prove fertile. So it may be another month before we have any news about a chick and then more weeks after that before it can be DNA sexed. We are so eager for another Triton, we have not even asked about the price yet!

Pele

The news about Pele is that her condition is improving and she seems on the way back to good health. Her legs improved enough to remove the upper neck collar. The Vet decided to leave the cervical collar that he fashioned to keep the neck collar up high on her head. Pele disagreed and within two days had chewed through the collar and removed it. Unfortunately, she cut her left leg in the process, in the same place as the original wound. But she did not chew on the wound and it is beginning to heal. We're keeping an eye on her. She has a new collar from the Vet that fits her better and does not need the cervical support. We will keep that on until her new wound is healed. We take it off on weekends so she can take a shower and keep her under observation to make sure that she does not pick on the wound. But the collar goes back on at night.

She has finished a feather molt to replace some of her plumage. She has become her regular aggressive self and occasionally leaps off the kitchen table to take up territory in a corner of the kitchen floor. You can view her on the Bird cam page. Next...

Story Links

• Part 1: Stalking the blue eyed Triton
• Part 2: February/March a Sterile Egg
• Part 3: April no Easter Chick
• Part 4: Mid-April Cockatoos are Laying
• Part 5: May, Scrambled Eggs, Broken Dreams
• Part 6: A new companion is found!
• Select R2JWEB Images (follow link to Photo and Travel Galleries for more pictures).