dhorje Posted March 28, 2010 Share Posted March 28, 2010 With a new lighter and longer rope/ leash, I took Cocoa out for flying exercise yesterday morning. She refused to take off. Not sure why she didn't want to fly yesterday morning. I tried again this morning. Here she goes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janfromboone Posted March 28, 2010 Share Posted March 28, 2010 Great video. Love seeing Cocoa with so much freedom. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luvparrots Posted March 28, 2010 Share Posted March 28, 2010 Just a thought, perhaps yesterday she was aware of a predator that you didn't see? I love Cocoa's free flying videos. She is so lucky to be able to do so. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dhorje Posted March 28, 2010 Author Share Posted March 28, 2010 luvparrots wrote: Just a thought, perhaps yesterday she was aware of a predator that you didn't see? I love Cocoa's free flying videos. She is so lucky to be able to do so. It could be the weather. I took her out at 10:00am. It was a sunny hot morning. I guess she didn't want to fly in a hot weather. A couple of weeks ago, I took Cocoa to the same place for her regular flying exercise. It was 8am. There were a few crows flying around that morning. It wasn't a problem in the past. On that morning, mid way to the landing platform, Cocoa decided to change course as if she was trying to avoid those crows. When the rope/ leash reached to the max. she turned back and the rope got tangled to a small tree. She flew in circles until she stopped and landed in that tree. The incident caught the attention of the nearby crows and the whole flocks came circling Cocoa. I quickly ran to rescue Cocoa. Cocoa was gripping the leaves with one foot. She was trying to hold on something firm with the other but the branches were too far from her reach. She was about 10ft from the ground and I couldn't reach her. I quickly detached her harness from the rope and placed it around my wrist. I coax her to drop on my palms. The crows were getting very noisy. After a few minutes, Cocoa decided to let go and she landed safely on the ground. I quickly put her on my shoulder and headed home. She was quiet until we reached home. Luckily, nothing untoward happened to her and she recovered very fast. I was labeled a moron by a member in another forum because of my unforeseen mistake as though I purposely put Cocoa in danger. He happens to be a member here too. After the incident, I rested Cocoa for a few days from outdoor flying. In the meantime, I bought a new rope, thinner, lighter and longer. I attached the new rope to the harness and off to flying again. I allowed extra length for her to maneuver should she decides to fly round the small trees along the path. As usual, we went to the same place. This time I made sure no crows were in sight. Cocoa took off like usual. Cocoa flew higher than usual due to the lighter rope. As she was about to reach the landing platform, a common mynah flew past her. Cocoa got distracted by the mynah and she changed course, flew upwards to follow the mynah. Probably she thought it was Mocha. I had no control over the rope. It was tied to a fork like metal (that came together with the Aviator flightline) and was embedded in the ground. The rope was at least 60ft long. When the rope reached to the max. Cocoa had to turn back and was heading towards me. She was flying at least 20ft off the ground. I called out to her and she came back to me, landed on my arm. With all the trainings that she received didn't go to waste. I was so happy she responded to my recall. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danmcq Posted March 28, 2010 Share Posted March 28, 2010 Very good videos of the flights. Thanks for sharing them. :-) The experience of Cocoa getting the line caught in a branch and stuck 10 feet off the ground must have made you're heart jump out. Top that off with a pack of crows attacking and it could have turned into a real disaster. Your quick thinking and actions paid off. Something to think about with harnesses.... stay away from any thing in lines-birds reach like trees, poles etc. that will snag the line and trap your bird. :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
judygram Posted March 28, 2010 Share Posted March 28, 2010 I love watching Cocoa in flight and we all know here except maybe for one member that you do all you can to make sure she is safe when she flies, you two share a special bond and she trusts you without fail. My grey doesn't fly at least yet and I enjoy watching Cocoa with her maneuvers thru the air on the harness. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jessdecutie18 Posted March 28, 2010 Share Posted March 28, 2010 What lovely long flights she does! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luvparrots Posted March 29, 2010 Share Posted March 29, 2010 What an unfortunate incident with the crows but as Judy said we all know that you keep things as safe as possible for Cocoa. I envy the fact that Cocoa can fly and enjoy the outdoors so much with almost "free flight." I wish I could do the same for my Ana Grey. Please keep the flight training going and the videos coming. I love them and so does Cocoa and that is what really matters!!! I use the words, "come here" to get Ana Grey to come to me. Out of curiosity, what recall word or phrase do you use to get Cocoa to return to you? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janfromboone Posted March 29, 2010 Share Posted March 29, 2010 Cocoa is such a lucky bird to have the opportunity to fly like that. I know you try to think of all the safety issues when you fly her. Keep up the good work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dhorje Posted March 29, 2010 Author Share Posted March 29, 2010 luvparrots wrote: What an unfortunate incident with the crows but as Judy said we all know that you keep things as safe as possible for Cocoa. I envy the fact that Cocoa can fly and enjoy the outdoors so much with almost "free flight." I wish I could do the same for my Ana Grey. Please keep the flight training going and the videos coming. I love them and so does Cocoa and that is what really matters!!! I use the words, "come here" to get Ana Grey to come to me. Out of curiosity, what recall word or phrase do you use to get Cocoa to return to you? Same as you, "come here" or "come". Thanks to all for your understanding that I always keep Cocoa as safe as possible when we are outdoor. B) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dhorje Posted March 30, 2010 Author Share Posted March 30, 2010 This morning. 03.30.10 I wanted to stand in between Cocoa and the landing platform to video her flight from a different angle. I placed her on the ground and quickly moved to my position but Cocoa flew to me instead. My plan didn't work out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dhorje Posted March 30, 2010 Author Share Posted March 30, 2010 Helicopters watching. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IQnYOcV6wUE?hl=en_US&fs=1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janfromboone Posted March 31, 2010 Share Posted March 31, 2010 Cocoa sure took those helicopters in stride. That's what happens when you can take your bird out and they see lots of things. They become desensitized to new noises and sights and not as spooky. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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