- April 28, 2026
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It was like any other day when Tom Rumph walked to the mailbox in front of his Braden Oaks home.
Until it wasn't.
As the norm, Rumph was with his pet bird, Shiloh, who would sit on his shoulder everywhere he went around the house. Shiloh, a sun conure (a parrot native to South America) had flown into Rumph's life about seven years earlier when it landed on a screen at his home, and wouldn't leave.
Shiloh became a family member over those seven years, and all was well.
Then, during that fateful walk in the middle of March, Shiloh simply flew away.
"He always has been right there," Rumph said. "I have been out to that mailbox 50 times with Shiloh on my shoulder. But he flew ... I thought heading toward the coast. He never had gotten off my shoulder before."
Rumph had to go inside and tell his wife, Helen, that Shiloh had flown away.
"She was so angry," he said. "She said, 'You killed my bird.'"
Helen Rumph made her husband sleep on the couch the next couple of nights.
"I was in the doghouse," Tom Rumph said. "But I told her, 'He will find a new home. He will be fine."
A Christian, Tom Rumph then prayed that Shiloh would be safe in his travels.
Four miles away, at Jiggs Landing on April 1, James Kleiner was working inside the concession stand with the window open. A sun conure flew into the window and sat on Kleiner's shoulder.
"You could tell the bird was domesticated and had escaped," Kleiner said. "He hung out the whole time I was on my shift, probably from 12:30 (p.m.) to 7:30 (p.m.)"
Since the bird apparently had no desire to leave, James Kleiner called his grandmother, Denise Kleiner, who owns the concessions at the park. They had to find a cage to transport the bird.
"I thought it was a joke since it was April Fools Day," Denise Kleiner said.
It wasn't a joke.
So James Kleiner, who is 18, loaded the bird into a cage and headed toward his grandmother's Tara home, where he has been living since he graduated last year from high school in Cherry Hills, New Jersey, so he could "follow in his grandmother's footsteps" at Jiggs Landing.
While they both loved the bird, and animals in general, they knew somebody had to be heartbroken by the loss.
A sun conure is a medium-sized, vibrantly colored bird that can be very loud in the sounds it makes.
"It was a very loud bird who is a nut for music," Denise Kleiner said. "I had James play a couple of songs for him and he would dance, bobbing up and down. I kept the music on. We found out that he likes Simon and Garfunkel."
They decided to name the bird Mai Tai.
While they loved Mai Tai, they knew with their schedules it would be impossible to care for him properly. Even so, their initial searches to find the owner were fruitless.
Ten days passed and Denise Kleiner and her grandson were researching sun conures in case they couldn't find the owner. Then, they finally connected with Tom Rumph on Nextdoor, the social media app.
But while Rumph said he had lost the bird, they wondered whether this one was, indeed, the bird.
Rumph sent them a video with Shiloh dancing to music.
Yes, it was Shiloh.
"They are the heroes," Rumph said of Denise and James. "They were so nice, and they did a nice thing."
Rumph had pretty much given up hope he would ever see Shiloh again. He had posted the loss of the bird online, but received no responses.
"I have to be more careful," he said of taking care of Shiloh, who loves flying all around the Rumph home.
When Rumph went to pick up Shiloh, the bird gave him a big kiss. James Kleiner said it was obvious that Rumph was the owner.
They headed home to play some music.
"This bird will dance to any kind of music," Rumph said. "He has rhythm. I have to play music to get him to come outside his cage."
While Rumph mostly plays gospel and rock and roll at home, he said Shiloh, who can mimic sounds, was exposed to some new tunes with the Kliners.
"He did come home with some new vocals," Rumph said.
But everyone is dancing in the Rumph household these days.
"It is amazing I got him back," Rumph said. "That is a phenomenal, young man, and Denise is so nice. I would have shared Shiloh with them."
James Kleiner, who is studying marine technology at Manatee Technical College, said Shiloh belonged with Rumph.
"He was so nice, I was happy to give it back," James Kleiner said. "We kept the bird about 10 days and I grew attached to him. But I was more worried for him."
Rumph said that while he used to hunt in the Jiggs Landing area years ago, he hadn't visited since Denise Kleiner expanded the concessions. He said he might be a more frequent visitor now.
He feels be owes the Kleiners.
"I was sleeping on the couch, and they saved my butt," he said.
