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Such an awesome story overall.

Haa, I get goosebumps just reading how you found him. The birdman in me says it was just meant to happen. I know how much these guys mean to some of us. Would love to see more about Willy.

Welcome to the fourms! What a lucky find! I hope he is settling in well and adapting to his new home.

That must have been rough, divorce is no fun. (understatement) That's great that you got to see Odie again- bet it was a heck of a reunion! I developed a habit of clicking on every ad for a Grey I saw on CL, just looking for him. I saw the pics first (my profession is very detail oriented, and relies on my ability to see subtleties and differences in individuals, so I'm something of a freak when it comes to seeing.) I saw the pics and just knew it was him by posture, mannerisms, and colouring (gave me goosebumps and all), then read the text, saw the name, and dialed the phone as fast as I could.

Oh I don't doubt you knew it was your bird when you met face-to-beak. I'm just wondering how in the world you saw a CL ad and knew who it was. I have a bird I lost 25 years ago to a divorce. She ended up with my aunt so I was able to see Odie (my Grey) after we hadn't seen each other for 20+ years. We both knew each other instantly. But I'm not sure I would see an ad and have any inkling it was Odie. I'm just amazed.

I was sooooo lucky I saw the ad so quickly. It was only up for an hour and I was one of three people who had already responded. And the rescuer was so kind to have me meet him to see how he reacted to me, and gave me dibs because I knew him previously. Just so, so lucky.

Huh, I never gave it a thought that he could forget me; I don't forget people that quickly, some horses (lots of ungulates, actually) remember people even if they've only met them once, and dogs retain scents for life. Never even entertained the possibility that a Grey could forget a person they'd known for years.

Hello, I'm a new owner of a rescue(?) African Grey, and have just passed the 24 hour mark. I've had some negative experiences on completely unrelated forums in the past, but when I've stumbled upon a good one I've found them to be unparalleled sources of knowledge and experience, and a quick perusal of this site led me to hope that'd be the case here. I've got no burning questions thus far, but thought I should introduce myself, so, hello!

Thanks again for the welcome, everyone! Willy's doing really well, talking up a storm and seems overall relaxed and playful. Right now I've got him in my studio (attaching pics from his view- forgive the plant mess, I just moved everything back inside for the winter, and am placing everything painstakingly), as I'm generally in there working. He has a rolling play stand, and I'm setting up a flight cage in our living room for him, too, so he has a cage besides his studio bedroom cage, and can be more in on the action after he's settled a bit. He's going through his sounds to see what gets my attention when I'm not in the studio. I am ignoring anything I don't want repeated fifty times a day. 😊 We took a nap together yesterday during a nice autumn thunderstorm. (After I managed to get soaked wrangling the guineas and chickens back into their coops, lol.) Only issue I'm having so far is trying to get him to accept pelleted food and veggies. Always was a seed and fruit junkie, and that has not changed. I'd like to balance his diet, though. Any tips?

Wow! I'm amazed that he could still recognize you after all these years!

Oh, poor kitty! I will definitely say a prayer for her quick recovery.

Wow, how fortunate that you happened to see him! Thank you for giving him a forever home

Well, his name, age, location, the history that the rescue was aware of, everything he says, all the sounds he mimics, and his band. Plus, he recognized me. That was important, too.

How did you recognize it was your birdy?

Yup, that's correct, not quite a decade, but almost..

Am I reading that right? You were re-united after you found him again on CL after a decade? That's pretty dang'd amazing story!

Welcome to you and Willy! Looking forward to learning more about the two of you.

Welcome aboard! Looking forward to getting to know all about you and your new rescue!

His name is Willy, and he's 26. Long, sad story short:: we've been reunited after nearly a decade. I couldn't take him when my life long best friend (she's since passed away at a relatively young age) decided to rehome him, regretted it ever since, and just found him last week on Craigslist when a rescue was rehoming him. He's had an alarming number of homes in his life, and we just spent the best first day reminscing. I've done equine, canine, and feline rescue for decades, but just got into birds (guinea fowl, chickens, zebra and Gouldian finches), and finally, thanks to an orchid hobby, keep my home warm enough for the indoor species. I have nearly zero parrot experience (did due diligence before bringing him home, but am still a noob), except second hand with Willy back when my friend had him. He's home forever now. I know the cage in the pic is too small for him. It's only his "bedtime" cage in my studio. I work from home, so he'll be out while I work, and I do have a parrot flight cage that I'm setting up in our living room so he can watch tv with us, too. This all happened very quickly, but I'm doing right by him, finally.

Welcome! We luv pics! Can’t wait to hear more...what’s your greys name?