Okay, YES! I would love to see MrSpock write his article in the Health Section as well. It was beautifully articulated, and makes perfect sense by my way of thinking.
David,
I totally agree with what you have written regarding NOT clipping a bird's wings. I have always felt the same way. We have a very busy household with 4 kids (at the time of getting Talon, 2 years ago) ages 6-16. My children have always been taught the importance of closing doors for her safety. Talon is out of her cage for the entire time most days. I too, work from home for the most part. I am the DOOR police, and I always yell and remind them to make sure the door is closed when they leave or come in.
We also have 2 offices in our home, and people are in and out all day long, 6 days a week. I always say, "close the door" when someone enters, or I make sure it is closed. We have storm/screen doors on all 3 of our doors, so it's easier that way.
Most birds are frightened by the outdoors, and are not apt to try and dash outside as soon as someone enters. When my kids have friends over, the same thing goes, my kids know that they need to make sure the doors stays closed. Talon is never left unattended, I keep a very close watch on her.
It really isn't that hard to ensure that your bird doesn't "escape", they can still fly even when their wings are clipped. After all, they want to be with you, not away from you.
I think people who clip their birds wings, don't really understand, that a bird who has not been clipped, doesn't just FLY all over the place at will. It has been my experience that they prefer to be picked up and carried from one place to another.
So there you have another opinion!