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Cliff boy

Alan J.

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Alex on a section of sea cliff near the Mossel Bay light house, which is one of very few remaining operational light houses along the South African coast line.

2023-03-11 By the Sea - Macaw (15) (1).jpg
Lighthouse.jpg

For perspective, here is the light house above and beyond Alex's apartment.
 

Emma&pico

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Tyrion

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Wonderful Pics :strhng:
 

Xoetix

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Whoa :wideyed: that's so beautiful
 

Kiwi's Dad

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What a beauty! :heart:
 

April

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What fabulous pics as always :heart:
 

Clueless

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Your pictures are always awesome.....
 

Kassiani

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Alex looks amazing! His beautiful feathers and the "moody" looking sky in the background is so stunning!
 

Xoetix

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What kind of camera do you use?
 

Alan J.

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I am not the photographer Megan. A chap by the name of Riaan is out every morning taking pictures of the sun rise over the ocean. Alex and I are out and about at the same time and Riaan has sort of adopted us. He always comes over and takes a few pics.

He uses a 35mm single lense reflex Canon, but I don't know the exact "model" or the make of lens he used. I can find out for you.

Thank you Kassiani, Clueless, April and everyone else.
 

zoo mom

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He is as beautiful as always.
 

Alan J.

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Many thanks Elaine.

Oops, apologies Megan, the camera is a Nikon D500. Riaan says he used various different lenses.
 

Shezbug

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As always, such beautiful pics! Riaan does an awesome job of catching Alex's best angles :heart:
I love how Alex has his own apartment, but it does make me a tad curious.. do you ever stay over at his place or stay and have dinner or lunch with him?
 

Alan J.

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It is sort of a long story Shez.

I was renting a house overlooking the sea when Alex and I got together. About a week after Alex arrived, I was informed by the owner of the house that Alex was not welcome. It was devastating news and in a knee - jerk reaction, I told the owner that if Alex was not welcome, I no longer felt welcome either and gave notice. So suddenly, neither of us had a home (but Alex had to be out pretty much straight away, while I had a month's notice to wait out).
During the next few days, I spoke to every estate agent in our town and the story was initially always the same. Folks renting out their properties, did not want a "pirate parrot" in the house.

We live in Mossel Bay, which is an extremely popular place to live. Most homes are seriously upmarket and owner who rent out have lists of rules the tenant has to abide by.

By a stroke of luck, I came across the owner of 5 apartments, snuggled away in a building right next to my work. I spoke to owner about Alex (thinking at that stage that it would be a temporary solution during the month that I was "serving" out). I had a carpenter make various pieces of "jungle gym" type wooden stands for the apartment and Alex seemed to settle in very well. A huge, huge advantage was that my business was literally a minute walk away and as I work for myself, I was free (for the most part) to go and collect Alex for outing as often as I felt the need.

And so began out 3 outings every day. Each is around 2 hours, which makes for some 6 hours of absolutely one - one time for us daily.

As life would have it, a week after Alex moved into the apartment, a friend of mine asked if I would stay in and take care of his house. He was moving in with his girl friend, but did not want to trust his (beautiful) garden and home to renters he did not know.

I was told though that he had difficult neighbours, who would complain if Alex was noisy. The fact that his house is a fair drive from my business, also meant that I would not be able to spend as much time with Alex should he have moved in with me, so I took the house offer, considering it to be temporary and Alex stayed in his apartment, with me considering that to be temporary.

With the passing of weeks though, Alex appeared relaxed and settled into our routine of me collecting him 3 time a day. He has a view of the ocean from his lounge window and watches people swimming and sunbathing from a long perch in from of the window, so is kept entertained when I am not around. He has never been caged and can move throughout the apartment on the various pieces of jungle gum so can move to wherever he chooses to, whenever he wants to.

And I suppose the rest is history. Alex loves our outings, which we would not be able to do as frequently daily or for as long a period, if he lived elsewhere.

I know this sounds crazy, but after a week or so, I began viewing the apartment as his. Everything was set up for him and not for a person and as he seems happy and content, everything has remained the same. For 10 years now.

The though of it being different, seems absolutely weird to me now.
 

Alan J.

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Oops, I never answered your question of do I ever stay over.

I have never stayed over Shez. There is no people furniture in the apartment. Alex sleeps on the shower door, which he climbs up and down with great ease. He chose this spot about 6 years ago and uses it ever night. Ladders, made for him, have been secured to all the wooden doors and he previously slept on the passageway door (fixed in the open position). For the first year or so, he slept on a high perch in the lounge.

I not sure what our sleeping arrangements would be if I brought a bed over. Would Alex try to sleep on the bed (head board)?

Before I leave in the late afternoon, I clean the apartment and Alex chills on a perch (the first and only time each day that he is not on my arm or shoulder). He begin to slow down and prepares for the evening, preening and talking softly.

I leave him in the lounge after telling him "see you tomorrow my big boy". If he is ready for me to go, he will say "bye bye". If he doesn't say it, It means he is not yet ready for me to go and I stay with him a bit longer.

Some time after I leave, he moves to the bathroom and climbs up the shower door and this is where I wake him in the morning.
 

Toy

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Amazing story! He's sure a beauty. Is Alex fully flighted?

I know my B&G JaKhu would have the doors, door frames, window frames, walls, etc., all chewed to pieces by now. There's no way I could let her alone out of a cage.
 

Alan J.

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Alex is super good that way Toy, he does very little, if any damage.

At a point Alex was fully flighted, but over the years, I have tried various light clips.
 
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