Understanding the mentality of your grey

[birdhouse]

Wow! I wish we could all let our birds be free flyers. To me, everything we try to do for them isn't enough to make up for taking that away.

 

That first pic is my favorite.

[shanlung]

Birdhouse and friends

 

Free flight is extremely dangerous. I hope I do not sound too hypocritical in urging you all not to do what I do.

 

Allowing your birdie to fly freely at home made safe for that is more than good enough.

Read my last account, and be frightened, very frightened of doing free flight.

 

Riamfada free flights in villa // And around neighbourhood

http://shanlung.livejournal.com/121070.html

 

Riamfada freeflight hide&seek // When I am with her, am I with her? // Handing over sequence

http://shanlung.livejournal.com/121091.html

 

 

 

Warmest regards

 

 

Shanlung

 

山龍

[birdhouse]

Free flight is extremely dangerous. I hope I do not sound too hypocritical in urging you all not to do what I do.

 

Not at all. It's because I don't see anyway to make my birds safe that I don't see them ever being allowed to fly free. I just wish I could give that to them, is all.

 

Flight is, after all, the essential uniqueness of birds. My ekkie can never fly around the house because of her aerodynamics. I'm just very sorry that was taken from her because she was born a domesticated bird.

[Birdnut]

Shanlung, thanks for those beautiful photographs of Riamfada in flight.

 

I know it will be very hard to leave her.

[shanlung]

Riamfada last few neighbourhood walks //Riamfada at home on perches// Dommie last neighbourhood walk

http://shanlung.livejournal.com/121502.html

 

Paw prints in the sand

http://shanlung.livejournal.com/121818.html

 

 

 

 

 

Warmest regards

 

 

Shanlung

 

山 龍

 

http://www.geocities.com/shanlung9

[shanlung]

Final handover

http://shanlung.livejournal.com/122016.html

Warmest regards

 

 

Shanlung

 

山 龍

 

http://www.geocities.com/shanlung9

[Luvparrots]

Thank you Shanlung for sharing your knowledge, wisdom and love of your beasties and birdies with us. Until we meet again. Janet

[birdhouse]

I'm so sorry this wonderful experience has ended, Shanlung. I'm also very grateful that you chose to share it. Thank you very much.

[Cupid]

Thank you for your kind wisdom Shanlung. I am grateful to have read your knowledge.

[Greywings]

Tears un-looked for shed for your pain, great memories to treasure for years to come, appreciate your stregnth in sharing so much of your life with us all.

[bluedawg]

I LOVE this philosophy - Thank you so much, This will help me tremendously with Dayo. I never wanted to be the Alpha anyway Thank you, Thank you, now I can just let her be her and me be me. And the part about asking before you "do" - Just makes perfect sense.

 

I just read the back story - so heartbreaking and sad. So sorry.

Edited March 25, 2013 by bluedawg

[kins2321@yahoo.com]

bluedawg.... Shanlung has excellent advice. I disagree with letting " dayo" be comfortable being " her", and you being comfortable being " you!" You will find yourself with a very unruly bird, who doesn't understand the limits. Most of us, don't have the " comittment", that Shanlung has with his birds. There is no comparison! He works hard with his birds to train outside. We don't. We can't compare our parrenting ability to Shanlung. We can learn from him, but our birds are on different levels. Nancy

[shanlung]

Hi folks,

 

I am now in Taiwan.

Already 4 days with Tinkerbell here, and on Sunday, will be leaving her to be with other Taiwanese friends in other parts of this beautiful island.

 

I wrote a precursor to this trip. And if you like hornbills, you might like this as well

http://shanlung.livejournal.com/142279.html

 

I just read above and have to add my warning that you all should not take your bird outside unless your bird in a carrier or in a harness. I hope you all do not hold a flame to my toes for doing what I ask you all not to do.

There are some things in life with no rational explanations as you will read in below.

I can only say what you all know, free flight in the open is extremely dangerous.

It is even more dangerous than what you all might think with the best of imaginations.

 

If you are even thinking of free flight, try to read my so-called guide to free flight.

The true nature and dangers of free flight will be starkly clear to you.

If you drop that from your mind after that, I think I done my part for you and most important, for your birdie.

To Shanlung - How to do Free Flight Outside

 

http://shanlung.livejournal.com/129976.html

[danmcq]

Thanks for the update Shanlung. I always enjoy reading your journals and viewing the photo's.

[shanlung]

I might have been the catalyst when I started flying Tinkerbell in Taiwan and riding with her on my bike 14 and more years ago. Birdies were almost all clipped in Taiwan 14 years ago

TV clips had been made of me increasing my exposure to even more than the thousands who had seen of me and Tink as we went out everyday and every weekend.

 

 

Try to seat somewhere firm before you see these couple of videos.

Do not judge how he kept his birdies. Do not EEE or EKKK at their cages.

See that bunch of CAGs that he got and stuffed into the carrier like pigeons.

Remember they the birdies, have a choice of not coming back.

And he is doing this on a daily basis.

 

 

 

 

You all can use the youtube features to see other free flights done in Taiwan.

They went a lot further than me now. Groups of them regularly go to parks with their macaws and 2s and conures and AGs to free fly.

 

Below is a video of a group of free fliers with mass start.

You can see they from all walks of life.

 

Enjoy the video. Remember that free flying without the knowledge and understanding can lead to death of your bird.

So do not do free flight in the open.

Allowing your birdie to fly safely at home give them all the benefits without the risk of Murphy and gang saying hello to you.

 

[Inara]

Thank you, Shanlung for the visual treat of watching so many birds flying as nature intended. The man's birds certainly know where their home aviary is up on the rooftop, and I liked how he had strung a rope along the railing so that it was easier for them to land and grip as they came home. What a flock he has!

 

Seeing the flight group out together was very interesting. Those last two stragglers made my heart pound a little bit until they returned.

[shanlung]

Thank you, Shanlung for the visual treat of watching so many birds flying as nature intended. The man's birds certainly know where their home aviary is up on the rooftop, and I liked how he had strung a rope along the railing so that it was easier for them to land and grip as they came home. What a flock he has!

 

Seeing the flight group out together was very interesting. Those last two stragglers made my heart pound a little bit until they returned.

 

More for your viewing pleasure and for those not paranoid at watching this.

Not only not all birdies are suitable for this.

Not all humans are suitable for this either. And when those two combined, even that much less so.

 

That being said, the right combination is possible. Such as below.

I think it is better to accept that then to deny all possiblity of that.

[SRSeedBurners]

I know it's possible. They do it every year for three weeks straight at the Texas State Fair Birds of the World show. The finale is similar to what's seen in the video, they release almost all of their non-predatory birds for a few laps around the stadium.

[kins2321@yahoo.com]

interesting. Nancy

[shanlung]

I know it's possible. They do it every year for three weeks straight at the Texas State Fair Birds of the World show. The finale is similar to what's seen in the video, they release almost all of their non-predatory birds for a few laps around the stadium.

 

 

Ah yes! Steve Martin, one of the better trainer, or should I say, trainee of the birdies. I think you all can gauge for yourself how similar my approach is to Steve.

 

There is another side of the coin too. I had a call yesterday from a friend of childhood days. A couple months ago, I had another call from him. His CAG, with clipped wings, flew off.

And on a tree in his garden unable to come down. I shot off my primer on how to get lost birdie back to him Search & recovery of your lost birdie .

I advise him over the phone to keep birdie in sight and do not drag ladder and stuff to scare her. Get stuff to encourage her to fly down and maintain 45 degree slope. A couple of hours, she flew down.

 

That call from him woke me up yesterday morning. Followed by a wanted poster to my XiaoMi WhatsApp of yet a different CAG. I took a cab over as I thought that CAG (with clipped wings) flew off that morning.

And then found out I did not read his wanted poster to have found she flew off on Saturday. Found in his house (or rather cage) a beautiful M2 or Pink2(Cacatua moluccensis) and that earlier CAG. Birdies are his son living with him, but loved by him and wife and daughter. I know well enough the traumatic pain of a loss of a birdie. If I was called on the same day, his chances of getting back the birdie would be that much better. Except he told me he felt so bad that day he dared not call me then. I told him his CAG is 99.9% in the hands of someone else who will not give him back. No point even to look.

 

I tried to impress on him how vital it was to have a flight room where proper interactions with birdie can proceed and go at least into recalls. My heart skipped a few beats when he took out the M2 that he told me was clipped. He was beautiful and willingly stood on my wrist. I much rather M2 be taken out into an environment where perimeters were all protected. I reckoned his house would be worth about $30 million at least so he was not short in pocket.

 

I accept that he love his birds and so do the rest of the family. But clipping of wings is not the best way of looking after the birdies. But I could not keep stressing that point and perhaps driving a fear into him that would force those birdies to remain rest of their lifes in little cages without interactions with those that love them.

 

Strange part is that what I write are read largely by you and folks of other countries and not by my own childhood friends. Unless with their toes hold to fire. Even childhood friends with birdies do not want to read what could have saved them a world of hurt.

 

Yet strangely, it is not the flight birds on free flights that you have seen that went missing. More often than not, those that go missing are birdies with clipped wings.

 

Like my friend's CAG that I went to help locate yesterday. I will dread the day when I received a call of a missing M2 from him.

[shanlung]

I thought I add photos to show the birdies of my friend.

That CAG that flew off a couple months ago and that M2.

You see the cages located under a covered veranda which open out to the big blue yonder outside the house.

The more I know, the more I hurt.

 

 

[shanlung]

Just saw a Whatsapp note from my friend send to me yesterday but noticed only today.

Saw he got his grey back. Called him to get details that his son got the grey with clipped wings which flew up the 10 meter hill behind his house after circling behind the house to end up in neighbour property.

Yes! tell me again grey with clipped wings that cannot fly!

 

He was lucky he got that birdie back.

I took the opportunity to tell him to do himself and me a big favour by keeping the cages inside the house. That at least the birdies will not have direct access to the great blue yonder.

He told me he will consider that very seriously.

 

Sigh!!!!

[shanlung]

I thought an old posting I did long time back in this forum still apply. My old friend did not realised how lucky he was to get back his grey gone two times already. So his greys did

do free flights.

The birdies you saw truly free flying about in Taiwan were a lot safer than that kept by my old friend not cued even to step up on a perch. You all might have noticed no toys and foot toys can be seen.

And I thought too agonising for me even to try to teach him as his attitude was that he knew a lot.

He was surprised enough that his M2 step up readily on my hand that he probably thought was a fluke.

 

He never thought of joining the many parrot forums where he might have learn a bit more and seen a bit more of me and realised he knew that bit less than what he thought he knew.

Below is a letter I wrote in another forum just a few days ago (actually a long time back) which I think has its place in this thread, to minimise the nightmarish time.

That was for a birdie Echo who flew away, and with a happy ending of being rescued.

I high lighted a line there. That was highlighted before in bold, but I enlarged that font as well here.

 

 

aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

 

 

The strange part is that the BULK of escaping birdies were birdies with clipped wings , not fully flighted birdies.

Even more strange is that more birdies are kept fully flighted now, at least from the polls I seen.

Surely, shouldn't it be the other way? That more birdies that are fully flighted be lost instead of birdies that are clipped forming the bulk of lost birdies?

 

It is not the scissors that prevent unwanted escapees.

More often than not, that lead to undeserved complacency.

 

 

Consider how my saga with Riamfada started.

She was clipped, and assymetrically clipped on just one wing. A clipping designed to cause imbalance to birdie and about the worse of clipping.

She flew away and landed in a garden with very high walls around it to be rescued by a lady. She looked and asked around the entire neighbourhood. She was a very determined lady walking about the neighbourhood to find whose grey it was.

 

So it was likely Riamfada flew into her garden from a much further place.

She then gave her to my care.

So not only Riam flew far away with clipped wings, but flew high enough to get over a high wall.

 

I guess as Riam was a wild caught, she retained enough of her flying knowledge to overcome those clipping done on her.

And as birdies have clipped wings, that would make it almost impossible for them to fly down.

 

Flying down is a lot lot lot more difficult than flying up. And as clipped birds probably had never been allowed to fly at all, they do not know how

to turn and fly in any controlled way by them. Flying up is about all they can do.

 

 

 

That is the reality.

Not what most folks love to think.

 

But strangely, folks who clipped birdies and never known of them flying seemed to know so much more about

flighted birdies than I do. And so fond of asking one and all to reach for those scissors to crunch off those feathers on the wings.

Their one infallible solution to any and all problems.

 

 

It is ok for folks.

But its the lost birdies that will pay the price.

 

What chance have they got? Never knowing how to fly with control? Barely enough feathers to fly and no feathers for flight control?

Clipped birds lost outdoors will in almost all likelihood escaped with a death warrant tied to their clipped wings.

Do remember that whenever you reached for that scissors.

 

If Echo was clipped, instead of having all her feathers, Echo would not have been back and likely to have died instead.

Flighted birds, and birds knowing flight, lost outdoors will survive a lot better than birds clipped.

 

It is the knowledge and care and attention to details that keep your birdie safe with you.

Nothing else.

Think about it.

 

Go and clip and hope you beat the odds.

 

 

 

aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

 

 

 

and a follow up letter from me which hopefully can help those with escaped birdies.

 

 

 

aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

 

 

 

Needless to say, I am so happy you got Echo back!

I will not, and never will, wish even the worse villian on Earth be him Hitler or Osama or my ex mother in law , that they lost a birdie, especially a grey.

The pain and anguish is so incredible and impossible to bear that it defied words and description.

 

Now that you got Echo back, can you ever recall the pain and depth of despair that you had when you first saw Echo winging off?

Its just not possible now. That pain was too great and utterly impossible for you to replicate in your heart now with Echo's return.

 

As for Echo on top of tree and not flying down to you, I believe that you missed what I wrote on getting a lost birdie back. If you had, you might have saved yourself quite a bit of pain and gotten Echo back earlier. It is too long and too detailed to copy and paste here.

 

You should read it, as you never know if you ever need it again. After all, Murphy is everywhere.

 

shanlung: Angkor Wat & stuff// Wife to say hi to Domdom and Riamfada// Search & recovery of your lost birdie

 

aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

 

Mike, the Daddie of Echo, agreed if he read that , and the 45 degree rule, he probably would have gotten Echo back a lot earlier instead of begging Echo directly under him on the branch.

But I do understand folks with a birdie up on a tree or building find it more gratifying to grovel and beg directly under the birdie to fly back, not realising that only a birdie

highly trained and experienced in flight can do a flight directly downwards.

[shanlung]

More mass free flights in Taiwan, to be frightened at, or to be enjoyed, or both.

 

 

 

 

Apologies for my repeating my frequent repeats.

But necessary in case some folks go and do what they see being done here.

 

FREE FLIGHT IS LIFE AND DEATH PLEASE DO NOT TRY THIS YOURSELF UNLESS YOU DO KNOW.

NEVER EVER FREE FLY WITHOUT THE KNOWLEDGE AS THIS CAN LEAD TO LOSS AND DEATH OF YOUR BIRD.

[SRSeedBurners]

Those are some neat videos. Wish I had the nerve and knowledge to do such a thing. I'm terrified I would lose my Greybie and I might as well jump in the sea if that happens. I have some pigeons that I would free fly if I knew how. Losing one of them wouldn't cause such anguish.