Somewhere in the Silicon Valley, Gandalf is talking up a storm.

Heather Moore hopes he is. She hopes her 5-year-old African Grey parrot is safe and happy, but she'd give anything to get him back home.

Heather and her husband, James Lucier, have been desperately searching for Gandalf since April 12, when the parrot disappeared from their Almaden Valley home.

``He's like my baby,'' Heather said. ``I got him when he was 12 weeks old. He filled our house with singing, laughing and talking. He was the flock leader.''

Heather and James met on the Internet in an online Conure chat room, when James was seeking advice for a sick Sun Conure. They married in March and blended their flocks. James had Alex, a Bronzed-wing Pionus, and Samson, a Sun Conure. Heather had Gandalf and Chili Pepper, a Jenday conure.

``All was going so well until the evening of April 12, when Gandalf escaped from our patio,'' Heather said. ``We searched for hours that night and for many days afterward, getting up well before dawn, walking for miles and handing out hundreds of fliers.''

The other birds ``were very upset. They just shrieked and shrieked and called to him.''

During their search, Heather and James have heard numerous stories of birds that have been recovered by strangers and kept or sold to someone else.

``With a dog or a cat, people are more likely to realize they should search for the owner,'' Heather said. ``But with a parrot, they don't believe he could be as much a loved family member as a dog or cat and don't bother searching for the owner.

``He's such a delightful, intelligent bird that we can understand someone wanting to keep him, but he belongs at home with us.''

A distinguishing marking for Gandalf is that one of his front toenails is grayish white, in contrast to the rest of his black nails.

If you have Gandalf or have seen a stray African Grey, please give Heather and James a call at (408) 448-1053. Their home and their flock haven't been the same since he disappeared.

Posted on Mon, Sep. 02, 2002

Gandalf the parrot safe at home

Linda Goldston

Four months after he disappeared from his family's Almaden Valley patio, Gandalf is back at home.

I wrote about the missing red-tailed African Grey parrot on Aug. 19. Heather Moore and James Lucier received 10 calls from readers that day about sightings of their bird.

Gandalf flew from their patio on April 12 and ``got caught in a gust of wind after circling and attempting to fly downward back to the patio.''

After his story appeared here, ``one of the calls was from a man named Lennie who reported seeing an African Grey parrot in his neighborhood that very day,'' Heather said. ``We drove up and met with his friend, Ashley, who had seen the bird roosting in the area for several days. She took us around the neighborhood and pointed out the trees he had roosted in but we didn't spot him that evening.

``The next day, we received a call from a young man named Chris who had managed to coax the bird to him using a dish of water. It took him several attempts but his perseverance paid off and he finally managed to get the bird to step up on his hand.''

Heather and James knew it was their Gandy -- he even had the front toenail that was grayish white -- and took him home, where the bird ``readily took to his old sleeping perch on our bedpost.

``He was peaceful -- almost like he breathed a sigh of relief. The next day he went to the vet for a full checkup. He was bruised and scratched and had nail and beak growth sufficient for being out for four months.''

Gandalf also had bacterial and yeast infections and a sprained ankle, which was visibly swollen.

But Heather and James were delighted to be able to take him back home, where he quickly was served all of his favorite foods, including cheese, bread, apple juice, scrambled eggs, carrots and peas.

On the third night home, Gandalf responded to his name. ``He also made the small kissing noise that he used to when getting a kiss on the beak.

``He will need some time to recover, to heal his wounds and to accept he is back in his home,'' Heather said. ``We will give him all the time and love he needs to heal.''

My thanks to all of you who took the time to contact Heather and James about sightings of Gandalf. He was found ``about 15 miles as the Grey flies from where we live.''