reggieroo

I'm planning on getting there first thing but it might not even be him, seems a little far away 40 miles but not impossible. There has been a few others that have gone missing in that area, I called one lady & she got hers back. Haven't really got anything I can take apart from the bag I carry around in the car with his food bowl, toy & a pillow case.

Could be a prank caller but I have their number so not likely. They always call & with hold their number so you can't call them back or report them. I don't have much of a plan, not sure how to get him even if I do see him, just hoping he will be pleased to see me & fly to me.

I'm thinking get there for first light with his bowl of food. He won't go anywhere now, should just stay in a tree for the night. It's a big wood from what I can see on Google maps.

Just had a txt, saying an African grey has been seen in Dudly area, buffery park. It's about an hour away & 35/40 miles from me & is now dark. What do I do? If I go all the way there now he won't make a sound in the dark & it's pitch black. Just txt them back & asked if they could catch him but they say he has now gone but will keep an eye out. It might be him, but is it best to wait till morning?

Thank you so much!

The books from the mid-nineties (1992 for example) are out dated. Still worth a read so you get as much info as possible but coming on forums is the best way to get the latest methods/training & advise. As somebody has already said, they are a family member & not just a bird, unfortunately that is how a lot of people perceive them as just birds. When doing the press articles for Murphy's great escape the journalists didn't quite understand the bond we have & were quite amazed at how important Murphy is to our family. I could tell they just thought of him as a bird, an exotic one but still just a bird. One thing I didn't know was that you shouldn't let them in your mouth & also about Aspergillosis, also the toxic fumes from non stick pans & plugin air fresheners. I think these are some of the most important things a new owner needs to know about

I understand how you feel Jess, I feel the same way without Murphy. Good to see you popping back to say hi. Stay safe out there!

Keep up the positive work with Tule, he will get there in he end. Just tell Harlan to be slow & gentle round Tule till he learns to trust him, no sudden movements. If you tell Harlan to do interesting things like he did with the newspaper than Tule will most likely get curious & come over for a nose. It's all about building trust & that is something an African grey finds hard to do but once they trust you, then the world is your oyster.

Thank you guys, your support means a lot to me & has been tremendous.

Murphy used to do that too but when I read about the dangers of letting them in your mouth I put a stop to it...................well I tried & he kept trying to get in the little monkey.

Unfortunatly Dan I haven't had any sighting in I think over a week now, It's not looking good. I know that people get reunited at all different times from days, weeks to even years after they have been lost but in reality I don't hold out much hope right now. As soon as the sightings cease you kinda lose your hope & all you have left is luck & prayers.

Pictures are great, good job. I couldn't read too much of your post as it made me feel upset right now. Murphy & Issac are like cyber brothers & reading your posts in the past was like a two month window into the future of Murphy & not having him here right now makes me feel sad. I've tried to stay involved here at grey forums but it's hard.

Well the weather hasn't been so nice & warm, no so much cold but wet so I guess he could get a little cold at night if he is wet. I wish I had some better news for you guys.

No nothing, I haven't had a sighting for ages now........hope is fading fast!

I miss my little mate so much!

I keep trying to tell myself he is a grey & greys are smart so he won't go to far but if he has got himself lost then he is plain lost. The thing is you are always trying to guess what they are thinking but you will never know, for all I know he has already adjusted to the outside world without me. Not forgotten me but getting on just fine without me, maybe he has found a new flock with a bunch of pigeons although I can't imagine they will be good company. It's the unknown that kills you, is he sad, is he scared or is he happy & free having a good time. There is plenty to eat so I'd imagine by now he has learnt to forage like a wild grey, he may even be enjoying his new diet eating things I couldn't get him to eat. I'm always wondering, thinking where is he, what is he doing, where does he sleep, does he miss me as much as I miss him, is he trying to find his way back home or is he happy to be free?

Unfortunatly no more sightings. I went to bed last night thinking the same thing that I'm worried for him, I was thinking about how the greys are phobic & although Murphy wasn't to bad he still didn't like new things in his cage. So it got me thinking about all the things he might come across outside in the big wide world & I was trying to picture how me might react to something he hadn't seen before. I wondered if that might be the reason he keeps on the move because stuff is frighting him & he just takes off. I have a horrible feeling he has gone too far now & out of the radius I have covered with posters, word of mouth & press articles etc.

Well MarcusCAG you were right on the nail about another lead today. I had a phone call from a lady that has some builders in, they seen Murphy in the tree at 1.00pm this afternoon in her garden but she didn't get the news till 3.00pm when she called me. Her house backs on to a massive allotment full of fresh fruit & veg growing all ready for the picking, he must have had a feast, then he flew across towards the river out of sight. I went straight down there but he was not about, spent some time in the allotment & trying to find my way to the river bank to call him but I didn't see or hear him. I did see a bird fight up above but couldn't tell what bird it was being attacked, was a large bird with a big wingspan with two blackbirds or rooks going at it. It was dodging & weaving but they couldn't catch it, I thought it was Murphy but it flew off in the other direction into the tree tops far away & I couldn't figure out how to get to where it was. He seems to be in a 10-15 mile radius of my location & always on the move so I can't pinpoint his location. It's making it almost impossible to get close to him or even figure out where he might go next. I've just got in now & been out since 4pm but I feel so frustrated that I can't catch up with him. I have mapped the sightings which are on facebook but he could be 15 miles south of the last sighting or north or east or anywhere or even just down the road.

Unfortunately Dan, I didn't get a sighting 10 hours ago, I was referring to the last proper sighting the other day, it was around 10 hours to late by the time I got the call. He was seen in the morning at 8am but I didn't get the call till 7.30pm & by the time I got there nearly 10 hours had passed. So when I got this one I was told they were looking at him in the tree talking to him so I thought great, I have a chance now to catch him & even see him again. But NO, just some freak sicko getting kicks out of my misery!

Just had a sick bastard call me telling me that "I have your parrot in my garden, in my tree, come quick to catch him" I got the address, raced down there at record speed breaking every law you can imagine, only to get there & no one home. Caller withheld their number so obviously a wind up to get me on a wild goose chase for their amusement......................I'm so ********* pissed off.........excuse my french! I was so happy that I had the first positive sighting in real time not 10 hrs ago, really thought I had a chance to get him back.

Thank you everybody, you have been amazing in your support for me & my flock. We were due to go out today to a family party 70 miles away but I cancelled in case I got a phone call about Murphy. As you can guess I didn't hear anything but had I gone I would have had a call.

Already did that the first day he went, also did parrotalert911, John Haywood at the parrot society & parrotalert.com

Had another phone call at 7.30pm tonight with another sighting but it was 8am this morning. I quickly jumped in the car & headed to the sighting area which was this time 13 miles away but no sign of Murphy. So I just did my usual & put some posters up & came home still disappointed. Anyway we have now setup a facebook page to help in our search for Murphy nationwide, please join & spread the word. https://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/pages/Help-Find-Murphy-the-African-Grey/126552240768451

Well guys, it has been like Dan said "great big shot in the arm for you of HOPE" for me. I feel more positive that he is still out there surviving & most likely looking for me as much as I'm looking for him. I just need to be in the right place at the right time now to catch sight of him in a tree & that all depends on peoples help with spotting him. I'm just hoping for a more solid lead that somebody actually has a sighting of him right now so I can try & get there before he takes off again. I get the feeling he isn't staying put in the same place for long either. Does anybody now how fast they can fly & what sort of distance they can cover in one go?

Ok so yesterday I was feeling a bit like well I must get on with stuff I have too do as I have spent 8 days staying in & around the house waiting for phone calls & sightings so I can rush out at a moment's notice. I didn't want to go far in case somebody called me up to say they have seen him so for 8 days I've hung around not getting anything else in life done. But yesterday off I went up to my parents house about 12.30pm some 35 miles away to sort some things out etc & 30 miles away I get a phone call from Kate. She tells me she has just had a call from somebody who has seen him in a tree a few miles away in a village on the opposite side of my village to the last sighting. So I called them up & was told that they had seen an African grey in a tree a little distance off from their garden in the morning about an two hours ago, they then went out to the supermarket to get my number off the poster they had seen there while leaving one person at home keeping a look out. So I rushed back 30 odd miles even though I felt he would be long gone but still I couldn't just ignore it & get on with my day knowing he might be there hoping to be found by me. Anyway I got there & a few hours had passed since the sighting, I spent a couple hours in & around the area looking, calling, whistling & postering but no luck. They told me they had kept greys & other parrots before so knew for sure it was a grey & whats the chances of it being another lost grey in the same rural area? I'm pretty sure it must have been Murphy & if it was that means he has been flying about a five miles radius around the area of my village. I'm hoping this his grey intelligence is telling him "Dad must be round here somewhere I just need to stay around here" It's been 9 days now but still hope, it is difficult though as It's like trying to find a needle in a haystack & the fact that he is on the move make it even more of a challenge. :eek: