One of my goals this past summer was to make friends with a crow. I didn’t have any specific reason for this other than I’ve heard that they are intelligent and it would be cool to do. Who doesn’t need a random personal challenge to round out the summer?

Unfortunately, I didn’t achieve my goal, partially because I have a cat. My cat will happily drive a wedge in between me and any bird that might want to be my friend. So I gave up on my dream and left the US without a feathered friend.

So the other day, I was working by the pool at my guesthouse home, and suddenly, a large bird took a dive into the pool. It looked like a cockatiel or a parrot with a feather crown that stood on its head. I think she/he thought it was a solid surface and was surprised to be in water. Before I had a chance to react, the bird had managed to fly out of the pool. Here is where I thought the bird excitement for the day had ended.

Once the bird realized her accidental landing spot was water, she became intrigued. She decided she wanted a drink from the pool. Unfortunately, the pool’s water level was too low for her to bend over on the edge to get a drink, but rather than just moving on, she would not quit. I watched as she spent nearly 40 minutes trying to find a drink on every side of the pool. Even with her strategic process, the laws of physicals prevailed, and the water level was the same on every side of the pool.

After the poolside expedition, she started walking back toward me, and I knew I could not let her down. I dunked my plastic crocs into the pool and made a foot-sized bowl of water for her. It took her a few minutes to believe that her good fortune could be real, but finally, she ran over to my shoes and got her much-desired drink.

After the drink, she jumped up onto the table near me as if to thank me. It wasn’t until later that I decided to investigate what type of bird that was. According to Google, it was, in fact, a cockatiel, and after further digging, I realized that they are native to Australia, not Africa. My research made me believe that my new friend was someone’s escaped pet.

The climate here will not be a problem for my new friend, but I hope she has the skills to survive in the wild. My advice: Fly free and don’t take any shit, Madam!

I haven’t seen her since, but I’m hoping we meet again.