Since our yard borders thick bush and tall trees on three sides we thought it would be impossible to find him. Our first reaction amid absolute panic was to walk in all directions calling him. Having wings only moderately clipped he was still capable of flying 20M at low altitude and having possibly 5 hours head start on us we realised it was like finding a needle in a haystack. I lost my voice completely after a short while. Darkness fell and we called it a day knowing he would have climbed a tree somewhere to roost for the night.

The next morning I got up at first light (4am). Lorikeets love to call out very loud at the other birds at the first break of day. I thought this would be my best chance of finding him. Unfortunately it is also the time the trees are full of wild screeching lorikeets, but at least there isn't any people noise so you can hear things a long way off.

There was no need to use my voice this time. I just took a few steps into the bush and stood still and listened long and hard. I knew wherever he was he would be hungry and crying out for breakfast so it was it was easy to discard large areas of bush where there was no bird noise.

Wild Lorikeets are in groups and move on quickly. I heard a persistent single lorikeet call from one direction and made my way slowly towards it. It wasn't hard to find him several hundred metres from the house very high up in a tree, a place I wouldn't have looked.

A few whistles to which he immediately answered confirmed this was the bird. As I continued talking to him and holding up my hand as though I was offering food he started making his way down. This was difficult as his claws are trimmed. He lost his footing a few times on the smooth gum tree trunk but flew back and forward between adjacent trees getting lower each time and finally he hopped onto my hand and said "Hello".