Blue-throated Macaw, Ingrid, freeflying with her mommy, Neena

We had the pleasure of being able to join Neena and Ingrid for a freeflight exercise (Ingrid is the one with the feathers). Ingrid always stayed close to Mom of her own accord. She also loves to check out the guests and their equipment. LOL Note the barking dog in the beginning video -- and how it doesn't even ruffle her feathers a bit. She is very much at ease with her freeflight and the environment.

We also got to try taking both video and still images of Neena and Ingrid. Unfortunately, it was a very gray day in November -- getting close to sunset -- and we had a nice long telephoto on the SLR (aka slower lens), along with a consumer-grade video camera. Therefore, we had to use a slower shutter speed for the stills, which meant the action wasn't completely frozen, and in the videos, it's sometimes hard to see Ingrid against the background. Even so, she gave us a great show and we know you will enjoy watching!

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WARNING!!! Neena has spent a LOT of time researching, reading, and training her bird. This is NOT something you should try without proper guidance from someone who has been doing this many years.

Because we lost Chomper, we have been too scared to try this. And... if those of you reading this have seen how well trained our other birds are, that should tell you something right there. It doesn't mean we are opposed to outdoor freeflight -- it means we don't take freeflight lightly. It means that while we support it, we don't encourage it for those who aren't already committed to it. We DO encourage flight in the home and aviary -- but ONLY if that includes Recall Training. What is "recall training"? It is a fancy name used by the expert trainers for teaching your bird "come" and "stay". It also involves other important training, but we encourage you to at least teach your bird to "come" when requested (yes, even clipped birds). It will also give you a better relationship with your bird. Enjoy your baby!

Category:

Pets & Animals

Tags:

• Freeflight
• parrot
• bird
• blue-throated
• macaw
• recall
• training
• flying
• outside

[bobblimp]

do you know about the aviator harness? you said you've lost "chomper" why not prevent this from happening to such a lovely bird!

[flychomperfly]

@bobblimp although not trained to freefly, chomper had been outside a couple of times before--like ingrid, here--and always flew back to us. when we lost chomper, she was attacked by a hawk. we did not know how much of a threat hawks were in modern cities--we were not properly prepared

we have now watched ingrid out-fly hawk attacks several times. BEWARE--it is a constant, and probably the worst threat to a freeflighted bird.

experienced freeflyers recommend flying little birds only in flocks

[flychomperfly]

thinking about this...there is probably one danger even greater than hawks...humans.

all the trained freeflighted birds i know of have occasionally wandered off, and almost always made it back home. but it's not usually hawks that get the truly experienced freeflier. friendly freefliers tend to visit humans, but then, the humans takes them home. sometimes the humans honestly believe the bird is lost, but not always.

that's what happened to the parrots in the video

'Amazon parrots free flight'

[flychomperfly]

@bobblimp yes, we know the aviator harness. it's a good idea, and we generally recommend it.

however, keep in mind that a harness isn't foolproof--there's a grey right now lost in CA, usa, with the aviator still on!

and some have been attacked in harnesses... yet flight can be worth risk

also, the aviator is too bulky for many little birds. chomper hated it--she used flight suits. but then those aren't good for big birds...

READ --TEXT-DESCRIPTION-- of our video 'Bobo the Parrot Undresses'

[bobblimp]

@flychomperfly Yes that makes total sense! I have a rainbow lori and in the Australian wild they do all fly in flocks, it would be their best defense mechanism. I have recently acquired an aviator harness for him and while it is easy enough to get on or off he doesn't really enjoy being in it, spending 90% of the time trying to get it off! I just couldn't handle watching him disappear over the horizon.

[debra210000]

great!!!! but i will have afraid to leave fly in open space

[chrisbiro1]

Neena is doing great with Ingrid! We loved flying with her and we are delighted she and Ingrid continue to learn and expand their skills. Chris

[AverageFisherman]

id love to find a big indoor area to start freeflying my macaws