Outdoor Flight

[Michael]

May I ask why you are so interested in distance? Personally (and I know my parrot is smaller) I've found that once I've achieved reliability at a reasonable distance, that I'm not interested in teaching the bird to fly too much farther away. I'd prefer to keep the line about the same (I've found 25ft to be the longest I can allow her to fly safely in small square block sized park without risk of tangling on other people or things) and rather work on recall flights and flights that remain in my vicinity. I've started to increase the distance of her flight by running away from her as she flies to me so that she could chase and land on me. This is useful so that she can learn to land on moving target, increase stamina, and if she gets off leash, she'd get used to staying close and following me. I doubt she will ever be completely worthy of untethered flight but we're getting to a stage where I am much more comfortable with her outside and less worried if she got off. At this point I'm more concerned about someone taking her or if she flies into someone's backyard when spooked than not recalling to me without tether.

[notscaredtodance]

So this might be a silly fear but the idea of my bird being snatched out of the sky by a redtailed hawk is just freaking me out. She's clipped pretty short and won't be able to fly for a while, but I'm wondering... how does it work if you do see a hawk? Do you just real in the leash and force the bird to fly back to you?

Also Michael, what kind of harness do you have? I've done a bit of research and I'm pretty set on getting the aviator flight harness.

[Michael]

I have the aviator harness. I'm pretty satisfied with it. It's very easy to put on. Check out the articles and videos about training to put on the harness.

As for the predator threat. First off it is real and present. I watched a Coopers Hawk snatch a pigeon and eat it right in the middle of a playground in Brooklyn. At that point it didn't matter what I did with Kili because the hawk was fed but I grabbed and held her in my hand for a while just in case. Several things to do include being on the lookout for hawks. Look both high in the sky where they may be thermalling and also look at trees if possible. Look around and see if other birds are flying peacefully or fleeing. The parrot will be looking out as well so if it looks stunned or scared, do not force it to fly, look around, and be more cautious as well. The last thing I'll say about the bird of prey threat, I have made a decision to take my bird outside well aware of the danger, I don't recommend it for everyone and suggest each person consider it individually. But I have decided that if I lose my bird, I'd sooner lose it to the threat of predation than stolen, sick, or lost. The predation one is the biggest variable and most out of our control but yet it is also the most natural. So I do my best to protect her from all others as well as predation but that is the one chance that I am knowingly taking.

This is another reason I only harness fly her but not freeflight outdoors. By keeping her on a harness, she's generally closer to me and I try to keep her less open. If I have any chance to grab her at the site of a hawk, that is what I'll do. If she's out and about freeflying, there is absolutely no way she could outfly a hawk. She is missing feathers and is not a very good flier. So I feel that in her present condition, she is safer harnessed rather than freeflying outdoors. The recall training seems pretty uninhibited by the harness and I hardly ever have to pull on the harness to get her back rather than no pressure recall.

In this video I show a typical outing with Kili (it's a bit old, we do somewhat more advanced stuff now and longer distance) and in the middle of it you can see a shot of the Cooper's Hawk with its catch.

[MandyG]

I've done a bit of research and I'm pretty set on getting the aviator flight harness.

From experience I don't recommend the Feather Tether.

[Erithacus]

The playground shares the same ground with a soccer field. I am making full use of the available distance to train my grey to fly to the max. This is the only place she will fly. She won't fly at other playgrounds or parks. Since my Grey loves flying there, I might as well make full use of the distance. In the wild, they fly for miles. This is the best I can offer to my grey - 150ft. Anyway, flying is the best form of exercise.

Cocoa considers this playground as her 2nd home. She is very calm here and she is very playful towards kids here.



The kids were quite rough and I was quite mad at them initially. But since Cocoa didn't mind I allowed them to play with her for a short while.

[Erithacus]

So this might be a silly fear but the idea of my bird being snatched out of the sky by a redtailed hawk is just freaking me out. She's clipped pretty short and won't be able to fly for a while, but I'm wondering... how does it work if you do see a hawk? Do you just real in the leash and force the bird to fly back to you?

Also Michael, what kind of harness do you have? I've done a bit of research and I'm pretty set on getting the aviator flight harness.

There are no hawks in my area. I have seen eagles once. Cocoa won't fly when she saw something was not right. Even a kite would stop her from flying. The only wild bird I am afraid of is crow. They came in great numbers circling us when they saw Cocoa. I make sure there are no crows around when I fly Cocoa.

[notscaredtodance]

Those kids are so rude! It's one thing for kids to be curious about a parrot and want to reach out and touch it, but another to be poking it and pushing it like that. And parents at the pet store wonder why my bird bit through the bars when she was there

Your grey must be very well adjusted and well socialized to tolerate those brats.

[Michael]

Essentially I have the same thing going on with kids when I take Kili to the playground. Many of the kids are nice and respectful but some can get roudy. I would never let kids hit at or toward the bird though. If a child asks me to handle Kili, I'll have them hold their hand out and put Kili on them or hold her beak and let them pet her. But sometimes kids just run up and stick their fingers right at the bird and in that case I don't do anything and couldn't care less if the bird bit them. To my surprise, most of the times she didn't but there have been at least several kids that were taught a lesson in not touching other people's pets without permission.

The other good news is that it can actually be a source of negative reinforcement for flight recall. If the kids bother the bird to the extent that it gets uncomfortable, flying back to the owner is more rewarding than ever. One very strict rule I maintain is that under no circumstances may anyone step on Kili's leash or black her direct flight path to me. But otherwise, I'll stand up to 25ft away and let the kids do whatever. As long as she has a way out to fly to me, she and I both feel comfortable. Most of the time I've found that she likes the kids attention and ends up NOT obeying me rather than the other way around.

[Erithacus]

I managed to get my daughter up early this morning. I need her to video Cocoa's flights at different angles. Most of the time I work alone. One hand holding the camera while the other with Cocoa perching on.




The line got tangled to a bunch of grass on the ground. That's why Cocoa struggled to perch on the bar.




I did a measurement. The distance was 170-foot .

[Erithacus]

I replaced the old line with a new and longer one to make 240ft flight. This is the max I can go as I have already reached to the end of the field.




Cocoa flew back to me for the 1st time.