Dimitri again

Dimitri and I have ultimately had a good day today. It started rather miserably. We seem to take two steps forward and four steps back. It is sad and frustrating but I have to remember to see things from his point of view. He couldn't care less what I'm thinking or feeling. He is behaving exactly as he should behave; showing anxiety and fear and a readiness to exit his position at the first sign of (perceived) danger. Spent much of this afternoon reading articles and letters on mytoos.com which strengthened my resolve to be patient and give him the time and understanding he needs. Frustration and disappointment are useless emotions. He certainly is sensitive enough to pick up on them and as they are negative it would confirm his suspicions about this strange biped which looms so frequently in his territory.
This morning he wouldn't have a bar of me. My first step onto the verandah was enough to send him scrambling from his tree perch. Thankfully I can say he hasn't hit the deck in days which is some consolation. I'd either exit or quickly go to the other end of the verandah and show an interest in something else, like c/t Tachimedes (who is a whiz kid with the targeting) .
Perhaps food is part of the issue, beyond his natural fear of humans. It is not easy to try him on different foods as he recognizes very little as food. I tried him on almonds. Split one into 4 pieces. He had 1/4 and nothing else. Tried oats and barley; they were uninspiring. Then I tried kernels from corn on the cob. He has a piece every day. When I first brought him home he wouldn't eat it. Now he's discovered he likes it. I withheld it and fed him a kernel at a time. Well, he was leaning forward ready for the next one before I had it torn from the cob. Didn't try anything else but c/t'ing that over and over again.
This afternoon I went foraging with a will and a pair of secateurs. Cut things I know the galahs love and brought them into his forage box. Ho hum. ' He's just not that into' weeds. He is getting the idea of the forage box as I've put in thistles (the non-pointy kind) and he's eaten the seed heads. Of course there are seed heads which burst while on the verandah so we have a kind of seed 'snow' which floats around. While we grazed the galahs this afternoon I watched with particular interest what they were eating. I'd already tried him on some of their delicacies which he has ignored. Noticed Marvin was eating the seeds from shepherds purse so I've brought some of that in and tied it to his tree perch. He'd already put himself to bed (good bird!) so he won't see it until tomorrow.
Also read some of the recipes on mytoos.com and will purchase the ingredients tomorrow to make some hopefully delectable meals for him. I do want to convert him from seed to pellets but don't think now is the right time. He is still too stressed as evidenced by his reaction to any invasion of his territory. Conversion from seed to pellets is stressful as seed is withheld until the afternoon so he doesn't need that extra stress at this point. Should say that I've never found mixing pellets into the seed mixture and reducing the seed has ever been successful for me. The birds eat the seed and leave the pellets. We've had a little success (but not much) with making 'rissoles' of dampened pellets with seed mixed in. It is easier and less stressful in the long run to do the pellet thing all day, then allow seed for the afternoon feed. Usually (but not always) the bird will realise, with a little hunger as incentive, that the food offered in the usual food dish is actually edible.
Now of course I go to work for 2 and a half days and that always sets things back for by the time I get home at night he has gone to bed. I only get to see him in the morning and even then for just a few minutes. But we'll persevere. I do think we've made progress. He has gone from one end of the verandah to the other while I've been sitting in a chair. He has approached me on the ground quite freely when I've been fiddling at the opposite end of the verandah. Naturally, if I turn around and look at him while he's waddling (and he does, bless him, waddle) towards me, he skedaddles. All in all, however, we make tiny baby steps towards trust, despite appearances of this morning. For that I am grateful. He is a lovely lovely soul.
One other thing, he's 'hooting' more. I'm not sure how to interpret it. It's a quiet hoot but still a hoot. He hoots before he starts climbing down his tree perch. Not every climb down is a 'bad' climb. Sometimes he just wants to investigate what goodies may be on the ground. I answer each hoot with a 'hoot' of my own.
I love this little guy - so overwhelmed with his new life and so brave in spite of everything. I am confident that with time, and whatever time that is, he will be a happy and participating member of the family.
One other thing; mytoos.com. This is the hardest, saddest yet most beneficial bird site I've ever found. I cannot bring myself to read much of it for I just cry and cry. There are so many sad sad cockatoos out there. We've seen them, we've rescued and released some. Algernon is a case in point. He's a free bird. A solo bird at the moment but as they are so long-lived surely he'll meet his fourth wife at some point. We're trying to get another cockatoo now. We have offered to rehome a cockatoo (for eventual release) and are hoping the owners will decide to give us the bird - if they can overcome the plea of their teenage daughter who wants it to come live with her in Brisbane while she attends university! If I had my way I'd tell the daughter to stick it and think of the welfare of the bird -- but we have to be patient, give the information to the owners and hope they make the right decision. Haranguing them will only make them turn against us and therefore kill any chance of them releasing the bird to us. Anyway, here's hoping there will be a good outcome and not another mytoos.com horrific story in the making.