Free Flight Diaries, Part I

I have never written an article or given a lecture about the free flying of parrots, but here I discuss the subject with much caution.

Free flying parrots is something I have been doing on and off for over 30 years. But the risks to the psittacine are so rigorous, and the skill level demanded of the keeper so great, that it has always been my decision to avoid encouraging the wrong persons with the wrong birds to attempt such a thing. Oh, I have consulted with many a bird owner on how they go about free flying his or her parrot in a safe location. I have also spent many long hours on the telephone helping owners recover hookbill pets or breeder birds that have ‘flown the coop,’ so to speak. The latest was someone’s Amazon parrot out in the countryside during a recent three-day holiday weekend.

However, spring has now fully arrived in the Northern Hemisphere, and I know many people are going to be taking their birds outside to enjoy the weather after a cold and dark winter. Those keepers that have allowed their psittacines outdoor flight in the past will no doubt be ready to repeat such activity. Hence, I am going to cautiously broach this subject with, an emphasis on safety, and many of my own experiences…

Read more in the magazine…