Pixel’s Tale

Pixel the cockatiel left her Palisades home on Thursday, September 16, at 11 a.m. and flew around the Village until she was rescued, with assistance from Los Angeles Fire Department Station 69, just before 2:30 p.m. near Starbucks. The following story was submitted by the Saslow family.

All bird owners must, at one time or another, have the fear that given an opportunity, their bird would fly away, never to return.

That seemed to be what happened at the Saslow home on Thursday, September 16, at 11 a.m. when their beloved cockatiel, Pixel, who flies freely about their high-ceiling condo on the corner of Antioch and Haverford, slipped out of a sliding door and flew away.

The two boys in the family, Parker, 14, and Sammy, 17, were heartbroken. Was Pixel lost? Would she ever return? Could she survive?

The boys stood on chairs on the roof-top deck, singing and whistling, hoping that familiar sounds would draw Pixel back. They played cockatiel sounds on a Bluetooth speaker, hoping that might be a magnet for her attention.

They ran outside, barefoot, in the direction they last saw Pixel flying and … there she was. Flying in circles and chirping loudly above the baseball field at Palisades Charter High School.

Pixel flew closer, above Theatre Palisades on Haverford, then toward the 76 gas station on Sunset.

The boys ran to follow but Pixel was out of sight, her loud chirps no longer heard. They headed east on Sunset, going on roof-tops and searching with their binoculars. They inspected the trees and kept shouting, “Where’s birdie?” Hours passed.

Sammy made a “missing bird” notice for Nextdoor on his phone and planned to tack copies to telephone poles. He posted on Instagram.

As they approached Amazon Books, Parker heard Pixel’s chirp and saw her circling above the Village Green. They shouted and sang even louder, trying to get her attention. Pixel landed on a phone wire above elysewalker, then flew down to the faux balcony above Starbucks.

A crowd gathered. Sammy ran to Anawalt’s Palisades Hardware to get a ladder, which turned out to be too short. A friend persuaded nearby Los Angeles Fire Department Station 69 to bring a longer ladder, which Sammy climbed, enticing Pixel with millet and pasta in his outstretched hand, while Parker sang and whistled.

“Got her!”

And Pixel was taken back home, acting like nothing happened.

It was a moment of joy for the Saslows. And just maybe for Pixel, too.