- Species: African Grey - Congo (See species list for details)
- Location: Haiku (Maui), Hawaii, United States 96708
- Date Lost: July 27, 2011
- Banded: No
- Microchipped: No
- Contact Person: Nicholas
- Phone Number: 808-xxx-xxxx
Thanks!
The basic approach to a successful rescue was to mobilize the neighborhood. Although Manfred was apparently seen about a mile away, he may have flown there the first day, but then returned to about where he went AWOL in the first place.
Postering phone poles near stop signs and places where people congregate (for example, across the street from a church) gets the word out quickly. So does Craigslist. And there is a parrot sanctuary nearby where several people work, and these people tell all their friends.
So every time Manfred would give off some isolation (find me) peeps and whistles, helpers would call in. After asking their address, one could get a rough fix on the likely location of the bird. Of course, the peeps tended to be early morning or late afternoon; nothing during the day when the light is better.
What was interesting is that everybody, bird owner or not, recognized that these peeps were not from the usual birds in the neighborhood. They’d say, does your bird make a sound something like this?
In any event, given the rough fix, a friend went with me to scout the likely hiding places. We talked a lot, making whistles, come here, etc., and eventually we heard a couple of relatively faint peeps. This led us to a large, maybe 40 ft Norfolk pine, and when I got close enough for Manfred to see me (I couldn’t see him yet) he let out some very loud whistles and started talking.
After a couple of minutes, I saw him close to the trunk, and he was very well hidden about 12 ft up. So his self-preservation instincts are certainly intact. Once I got closer to the tree (thinking how on earth will I get him out?) he began slowly picking his way down the branches and stepped onto my hand.
Manfred didn’t seem particularly distressed or shaky, but clearly was very happy to be home, after his adventure. He wasn’t all that thirsty, and ate some food, perhaps a little less than usual. A call to the vet was made prior to allowing Manfred access to food, because I was afraid that the bird might gorge itself and get sick, but the vet said if the bird was only gone 2-3 days, it was probably OK to let it decide how much to eat. I was concerned that it might be highly dehydrated, but apparently it wasn’t the case.
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My bird was recovered… how to I change the Lost listing to Reunited?
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Manfred is a big, friendly African Gray, and he talks a lot. Actually Manfred appears to be a “she”, but the name stuck. Manfred is capable of flying, as I found out unexpectedly today, even though he had shown no prior interest in doing so.
Manfred talks quite a bit, especially at sunrise and sunset. He wolf-whistles, imitates me, will say “go on” when he is acting aggressively towards other birds.
If you have any information, you may e-mail me at nicholas.bedworth@digitaldirect.com, or call/text 808.xxx.xxxx any time.