Lost Grey in downtown Austin

[wzhang]

Our 15 yr old grey Mino just flew out of the window in our 14th floor condo last night. Tonight the low is 32 and we're very worried about him. Lucky we're in Texas, but still the weather gets pretty chilly and windy at night.

 

We've read many guides on how to relocate a grey, but most of those seem targeted toward those living in single family homes in residential neighborhoods.

 

My question is, does anyone have any advice on where to go to look for him in the middle of skyscrapers anad parking garages? We see that other birds find lighted areas at night to roost, though no sign of him yet. Will they instinctively seek out warmer areas to roost and also forage like a pidgeon or other city bird? Also, since he escaped from the 14th floor, is it likely that he's miles away by now? Do greys have a good sense of direction and is he even capable of flying back up 14 stories? We've got his cage out here on the balcony, but it feels like a hopeless effort. Please, any advice is much appreciated.

[judygram]

I am sorry to hear you have lost your grey but looking for him is the same whether you live in a skyscraper or a single family home, put the word out and notify all the tenants of the building that he is missing and put up posters all around for your chances of getting him back will greatly intensify if you have a network of lots of people on the lookout for him. We do have a few threads here with some ideas of what you can do to help your chances of finding him and maybe some you hadn't thought of so far, they are in the rescue room. Please keep us informed and by all means let us know if you do find him for it makes us all worry when one of our tender souls is missing.

[Birdnut]

Hi wzhang,

 

I know you are looking everywhere and calling for Mino. Be sure and look low and well as high, in places where a frightened parrot might hide.

 

Make lots of posters with pictures of your bird (or at least of a grey), description, contact information, and offer a REWARD. Make your poster with bold letters and easy to see.

 

Put your posters out at pet stores, veterinarians, stop lights, telephone poles, building lobbies, supermarkets.

 

It sounds like you're in the downtown area. Go in shops and restaurants in the area and leave several posters. People may come into the shop talking about having seen a parrot. Visit those parking garages and talk to the attendants. See if they'll put your poster up at the attendant's booth. If someone sees your bird in a parking garage, they're likely to mention it to the attendant. Visit the downtown churches and ask to put up a poster. Talk to the people who are the eyes and ears of the community and who are dealing with the public: security guards, parking lot attendants, valet parking, hotel doormen. Use your imagination.

 

You're not far from the animal shelter, so be sure they know about your grey, as if someone finds it there is a good chance they will take it to the shelter.

 

Go by the capitol and talk to one of the rangers on duty there. Put up a poster at the main public library and the courthouse. Put up posters around Zilker Park.

 

You won't be far from the University of Texas. People come to the university from all over town. Put up posters at the main building, the libraries and the malls.

 

Take your posters to pet shops and veterinarians all over town. No telling where your downtown neighbors go for these services.

 

Run ads in the lost and found of the paper. Be sure to run an ad in the Chronicle.

 

Check with the building management for the buildings in the area. See if you can arrange to get a look around the rooftops of buildings.

 

Tell everyone you see about your lost grey.

 

Register your bird with 911parrotalert.com and birdhotline.com.

 

I am in your area. PM me if I can help.

[judygram]

I am in your area. PM me if I can help.

 

Thanks Birdnut, you could prove to be invaluable to help Wzhang locate Mino.

[ranaz]

Birdnut gave priceless advice, also put some posters with photo in schools, cjoldren tend to notice birds more than adults, hopefully one kid will see him and notify the teacher.

I really hope you will find him soon, please keep us posted

 

[Birdnut]

No response.

 

I'm gonna cross my fingers that Mino has been found.

[Luvparrots]

Praying Mino is home safely. An update on your progress with finding Mino would certainly be appreciated. Fingers-crossed for Mino's safe return.

[wzhang]

So today concludes day 2 of the search. We put about 40 flyers out in the downtown area, mainly around the Whole Foods where everyone living DT shops and other businesses as well as all the condos/highrises/apartments. I've read that he won't get hungry until about day 3 so I'm hoping this is where the search will get easier as he will need to reveal himself to get lower to food and I will have more eyes on my side.

 

Today we managed to spot a parrot in the wild, as well as a grey. Unfotunately it was a wild quaker and the grey was someone else's parrot in their backyard. I must say however that it's reassuring to see wild parrots making it in Austin because it gives me hope that Mino can hack it too. I also received an email from someone on Craigslist saying that they watch wild parrots on shoal creek which is coincidentally where I suspect Mino's last heading was. The lows have been in the mid 30s the past few days so it makes me really worried for him. I'm hoping he knows how to get to warmer places because there are plenty here in downtown.

 

If it is nighttime and dark, do parrots usually tend to fly towards light? I think that will determine where we will concentrate our search. Since he was so high up, it's likely he could've gone very far, and since he never seems to really turn while flying, assuming that he flew towards the most brightly lit areas would narrow down our search area significantly.

[wzhang]

BTW thanks to all who are praying for us. Birdnut your advice is heeded and we will plaster the downtown area with ads. I have a few general questions that I'm not sure if people will be able to answer.

 

1) Will he attempt to cross a body of water about 200m in length? I'm trying to determine if he has what it takes to cross Town Lake and do some walking searches on the south bank.

 

2) Do greys prefer quiet areas or gravitate towards noise? The downtown area is very loud and there are lots of construction as well as trains. My guess is that large moving objects will freak him out and he'll tend to stay away

 

3) I understand that if a grey gets lost in a suburban neighborhood he will have a hard time gauging where exactly home is. However our condo tower is 44 stories tall and the downtown area in general is more brightly lit and obvious from the horizon. What are the odds that he will tend to stay around the tall buildings knowing that it's closer to home?

 

THanks for all the help we've received here. I realize these questions are half wishful-thinking half speculation, but if anyone has any insight it would help us plan the way we comb the area.

[Birdnut]

Hi wzhang,

 

Sorry to learn Mino is still missing. Don't give up. These guys are often found many days later, and folks here on the forum who have had Greys escape have had a pretty good record of recovering them.

 

When it's nighttime and dark, parrots are not going to tend to fly at all. They're going to tend to stay put wherever darkness overtakes them, until morning. Sounds like the window he went out must face toward Shoal Creek. That's probably a good thing, as the area that direction would be less hostile to a lost parrot than the other. When Milo gets hungry, he will probably seek out places where people are. Keep putting out your flyers everywhere. He will probably show up on someone's balcony or back porch.

 

More flyers!!! It's going to be someone else who finds Mino. They're going to need to know you're looking for him and how to contact you. Hit those neighborhoods between West 6th and Enfield. Go door to door. Don't be shy. Be sure and put some flyers out around the ACC Riverside campus. Those folks are coming from all around town.

 

Don't just focus your flyers on places you go. Not everyone can afford to shop at Whole Foods. And get flyers out in a wider area. Mino probably didn't go far, but these Greys have been known to travel for miles before being found. Be sure to put out flyers all over the UT campus; those students live all over.

 

Try calling the radio stations and see if you can get them to mention your lost Grey.

 

And offer a substantial reward. You don't want somebody who finds Mino selling him for Christmas money!

 

Hoping for the best for you and Mino. Do PM me if I can help.

[wzhang]

Birdnut, my window actually is east facing towards I35, however his initial trajectory took him due southeast between the area of the Austin American Statesman and Auditorium Shores. The problem is that as I was getting dressed to go look for him, my fiancee and friends saw another bird (who they all claim was him) fly back toward us from that initial trajectory only to cruise by the building about 2 floors below us. There are seldom any birds that fly that close to the building, especially not around midnight so it seems and awfully rare coincidence.

 

I was relying on their testimonial that it was indeed Mino and concentrated my search efforts in the north and western parts of downtown. I believe this was the case because the only thing that was lit up in his initial trajectory was the Silicon Laboratories rooftop, a garage about 7 stories tall. I had assumed that he landed there, and then made a 180 to try to make it back. However I'm starting to think that I need to shift my focus over to the initial line south of town lake. I'm not sure if a scared parrot has the moxie to turn 180, and make a B line for their origin in the darkness of night (albeit downtown is pretty lit up and our tower is all glass with alot of lights on during a weekend night)

 

Im interested in everyone's opinion on this because it will significantly alter my search area as well as flyer posting routes.

[judygram]

I'm hoping you have some good news for us soon that Mino has been found.

[Birdnut]

Gee, it sounds like you can't really afford to make any assumptions about what direction Mino may have gone. You would probably do best to distribute your flyers in an ever widening circle in all directions from your building.

 

Please do contact all veterinarians and pet stores, especially any that may have "bird" in their title or description. Anyone who might recover Mino is not likely to know how to take care of a parrot and is likely to contact one of these for advice. Also, don't forget the Town Lake Animal Shelter in your area. Someone may call them to report a found parrot and asking what to do.

 

If Mino is fully flighted, I don't think he'd have any trouble crossing Town Lake. You have a good point about the noise and commotion in downtown. If he wasn't able to relocate you pretty quickly, there is a good chance he moved away from that area. I would still try to get access to the surrounding rooftops for a look. I can only say that members of this forum have recovered lost Greys that remained very close to home, and also that were found miles away.

 

One escaped Grey was recovered when she flew down to a group of children on a soccer field. This makes me think that Mino might tend to approach people where they are out in the open where he can see them. This would suggest schools and parks. I can imagine he might also approach people that he can see outdoors and handling food and eating. I'm thinking of places like Schlotsky's or Taco Cabana there on Lamar close to Town Lake, or other such places. Even though it's been cold at night, it's warmed up enough during the day that people might be seen there.

 

Another escaped Grey was recovered by a neighbor after it had hung out on their porch railing for a couple of days. So it does seem these guys are smart enough to seek out people for help.

 

Do you have any other birds? I'm just asking that because I do have several parrots, and if one of mine escaped, I would be opening windows or putting some other birds outside in their cages during the day when it had warmed up, so that my lost bird could hear them and perhaps return to his flock. Or perhaps some other sound that Mino would recognize as coming from home?

 

It really disturbs me to think of one of these precious creatures lost and scared. I do wish you all the best in your search. We are all thinking of you and hoping for the best.

[judygram]

Birdnut is right, you need to distribute posters in a 360 degree circle from where you live for he could be in any direction no matter what side of the building he left from, sounds like if my bird was missing I would want someone like Birdnut to live close to me for she has given you some excellent advice and knows the area.

[ranaz]

Keeping my fingers crossed and hoping you will find him soon, please keep us updated

[wzhang]

Mino is our only bird so all we've been doing at home is leaving the door open and his cage outside with food. However it seems almost impossible for him to see that considering it's on the 14th floor and I'm not even sure he has the strength to fly that high. It's also kind of depressing because everyday we come home, there is this false hope that he's found his way home himself, only to be disappointed each time.

 

Starting tomorrow I'm going to be doing a much more systematic distribution of flyers and searching. You guys are right, pure numbers on my side is the key right now, and without any knowledge of his whereabouts, I have to play the odds.

 

Looks like Friday is going to be cold and rainy... here's to hoping he's found a roof over his head by then.

[danmcq]

Don't forget to post on Craigs list for your area as well and 911 parrots. All here have given great advice and I hope you have a speedy return of your much loved grey. A reward is also a good incentive so if someone does find him, if they see the reward they may consider contacting you rather than keeping the cute bird.

[Birdnut]

wzhang: Good to hear you're staying after it with persistence. It hasn't been that long, as lost parrots go.

 

As far as weather goes, if Mino is pretty tame, there's a very good chance that he's already in shelter in someone's custody by now. The trick will be to find that person or help them find you.

 

More flyers is a great idea. Can't have too many flyers.

 

BTW: Is it "My-no" or "Me-no"?

 

Thinking of you and wishing you the best.

[wzhang]

It's "Me-no"... I had named him Domino, but he just kept calling himself Mino so the name stuck. I must admit I'm starting to feel defeated checking trees and trying to listen for his calls. There are so many birds and trees in Downtown Austin that even if he called out for me his voice would be drowned out by other birds if not the traffic in the morning or afternoons.

 

I've contacted the local news as well as radio stations today so hopefully someone gets back to me and says they will help w a quick blurb for some additional exposure. Other than that I feel the most I can do right now is just distributing flyers since the random search is starting to wear on me. I suppose the grimness of the situation is creeping every more slightly with each tree I check. For all I know, it's a real possibility that in the blackness of night he flew right into Town Lake and drowned and all this is for naught...

 

wzhang: Good to hear you're staying after it with persistence. It hasn't been that long, as lost parrots go.

 

As far as weather goes, if Mino is pretty tame, there's a very good chance that he's already in shelter in someone's custody by now. The trick will be to find that person or help them find you.

 

More flyers is a great idea. Can't have too many flyers.

 

BTW: Is it "My-no" or "Me-no"?

 

Thinking of you and wishing you the best.

[judygram]

For all I know, it's a real possibility that in the blackness of night he flew right into Town Lake and drowned and all this is for naught...

 

 

 

Please keep a positive attitude for you will find Mino, maybe not today but tomorrow, the main thing is you will locate him or someone has already found him and you just haven't been notified yet, he is out there waiting to be found and he will be found soon, I am keeping good thoughts of him and you.

[Luvparrots]

Oh my heart aches for you. This is my worst fear for my flighted grey, she so loves to look outside and I know she would fly high the first chance she got. Please don't give up. Look out that window and see where you would go if you where Mino and check it out. Go to or at least call all the local pet shops/stores and vet/animal shelters/hospitals see if anyone has come in or asked about greys. Praying for Mino's safe and quick return to his loving parronts. Be strong.

[Birdnut]

I know it's hard -- I certainly would be feeling devastated in your shoes -- but you have to keep positive and keep acting as though Mino is out there just waiting to be found. Sure, it's possible that he flew into the lake or that something else happened to him, but you don't know that is the case, and if you act on that belief, you lose your chance of finding him.

 

It sounds like you're doing a great job with your search. Keep it up, especially the flyers and talking to the media and shelters/veterinarians/pet stores. I really think that's how you're going to find him, as I think it very likely that someone has recovered him by now. Don't you think he will have gotten hungry and approached human beings?

 

It's wa-a-a-ay too soon to give up or feel defeated. Mino has not been missing very long, as these things go.

 

We're all pulling for you and Mino.

[wzhang]

Thanks to everyone for their kind wishes, I find myself depending on these words of encouragement more often than not when I'm feeling down. I think a majority of that uneasiness comes from the fact that I am somewhat of a control freak and in this case, the matter is almost entirely out of my hands.

 

Today I managed to get an interview on a local radio station KUT so hopefully that gets played and word gets out to more people. I do have a question about flyer distribution though. Right now I've been peppering flyers almost one every 2 blocks and in major retail locations as well as apts and condos and places with heavy thoroughfare (Hike and Bike trail specifically) all within the 1 mile radius. Should I be spreading the flyers out more and go outside the 1 mile radius or stay the course? I've actually made a map of my flyer/search area, the circle is the 1 mi radius area and the red dots are places where I've put flyers. I am open to any and all suggestions because with the amount of flyer posting we've done so far, I'm curious why we haven't even received one call, no matter how weak...

[katana600]

When I think of the cold weather, I also think of the many heat sources coming from a sheltered place on a building nearby. It wouldn't hurt to go out more than your mile radius. A lot of birds have gone more than five miles. You may think it is out of your control, but you are doing a lot of good things to get the word out. Today may be the day you get word of a sighting. Maybe the university would be a place to post flyers, college kids may be commuting and spread the word in places we wouldn't readily consider. When I first read your posts, I felt paralyzed by not knowing what to do for you. I understand how bereft you must feel right now. Keep trying and keep your hopes alive. You live in such a highly populated area, someone may have found Mino and doesn't know you are looking yet. One of the suggestions I have read is to locate places that sell cages and ask them to keep you in mind if anyone comes in to look for a cage for a "found" parrot. There are a lot of good people out there and my heart tells me they will be looking for his loving home to get him back to you.

[Birdnut]

Katana has a great suggestion about places that sell cages. And just pet stores, in general. I know of at least one case where someone who found a parrot called a pet store asking what to feed it. Also the university is a very good idea. People come from all over to the university.

 

I would definitely spread out more. Move over toward Congress Avenue. Do hit those garages and see if you can leave a flyer at the attendant's booth. Spread out a lot wider and hit places where people shop in that area, restaurants, coffee shops, etc. Remember, with your flyers, you're not looking for the bird, you're looking for a person, and people move around a lot. So don't limit your flyers to where you think the bird may have gotten.

 

Great job with the radio interview! You're doing a great job.