Seminar in Moab shows how these birds can develop flying skills beyond just flapping their wings.
Written by Ted Brewer. Photos by Clay Myers.
Parrot-trainer Chris Biro gives Ariel (left) and Gleam a place to land after a fly-around.
It was as though some clandestine operation was in the works: a group of 12 people convoying 30 miles out of Moab, Utah to a location hidden behind a grove of tall pines at the end of a two-mile dirt road.
Their mission was not, however, to cache munitions or plot the overthrow of the powers that be, but to learn from bird trainer Chris Biro how to fly parrots freely in the open air – something that might sound to many who have companion birds as risky and renegade, crazy even, as planning the next revolution.
There’s no doubt that what Chris was teaching the participants at his Winging It Live seminar to do is on the cutting edge of bird care.
After first convening at Chris’ secluded home for pre-flight instructions, it was time to see his parrots in action. Seminar participants hiked to the top of a red-rock canyon and stood rapt as four of Chris’ parrots – two calicos, one blue-throat macaw, and one scarlet macaw – launched from his arms and went flying out in formation across the red-rock desert. They immediately soared up and over a looming mesa cliff, disappeared behind the rock, and then came bounding back over the rim of the cliff, heralding their reappearance with joyous squawks that resounded against the canyon walls. It was difficult to tell who was more exhilarated, the birds or the people watching.
The parrots spiraled down into the canyon, slalomed through juniper trees and stone arches. They swooped low over spectators’ head, chasing one another and having what seemed to be the time of their lives.
And when they got tired or needed a treat or a drink of water, the birds flew back, deftly landing on the arm, shoulder, or head of any one of the people present.
“Their personalities come out here,” Chris said, as one macaw climbed the rock and flung pebbles with his beak, while another perched on a woman’s shoulder and tried swiping the hat from her head. “It’s been incredible to see them develop.”
Of course, those who have never had a companion bird would think that teaching a parrot to fly is like teaching a fish to swim – it should just come natural to the animal. But there’s a whole set of skills involved in flying other than just flapping wings, skills such as navigation, recognizing sturdy sites on which to land, simply knowing how to land, and returning to base at the sound of the trainer’s recall. And because we’re talking about birds born and raised in captivity, removed from their natural habitat and their natural role models, it’s up to their persons to teach them.
Certainly, the benefits birds receive from flying are numerous. They become more energetic, more playful, more curious, and since they’re getting the aerobic exercise that every animal needs, healthier.
“It’s a quality of life issue,” said Suzanne Cordrey, manager of Feathered Friends at the Best Friends sanctuary and a participant at the seminar. “Flying is their natural and divine birthright. We should honor that and allow them to own it.”
But flying companion birds in the open air is not for every caregiver or for every bird. The risks are great. The bird could simply fly off, never to be seen again. Or the bird could get terrified and remain clinging to a perch for days. Or worse still, the bird could be snatched up by a bird of prey. Armed with luring peanuts, two-way radios, binoculars, and boombox loaded with recorded recall sounds (should a bird distance itself out of normal hearing range), Chris was prepared for any number of worst-case scenarios.
With Suzanne at the seminar was Best Friends parrot caretaker Rick Van Tuyl. Since Chris recommends teaching only very young birds to free fly and because Best Friends receives only older birds, neither Suzanne nor Rick expects they will be free flying parrots at Feathered Friends anytime soon. But with the techniques learned at the seminar, they both hope to begin teaching the parrots to fly within the confines of an aviary, so they at least do get the exercise and the enrichment that comes with being able to stretch their wings outside their cages.
Also speaking at the seminar, and a big draw for Suzanne and Rick, was behavior psychologist, Susan Friedman. A professor at Utah State University, Susan is a seminal figure in the field of animal training, advocating and teaching positive reinforcement as the most effective and humane method for encouraging parrots and other animals (including humans) to behave in ways that are innate and healthy. That can include something as simple and basic as a bird stepping from perch to outreached hand without fear or hesitation – one of the first steps toward teaching a bird to fly in the open. Indeed, Susan’s teachings have played a pivotal role in what Chris has trained his birds to do.
For Suzanne and Rick, her message on positive reinforcement was the essential element they both brought back from the seminar.
“It’s about developing closer relationships between human and bird,” Rick said. “Through positive reinforcement, you’re giving them more ability, more choices, and more freedom.”
“If birds are going to be in captivity,” Suzanne added, “we have to do everything we can to make them feel whole and empowered. For birds, flying is the pinnacle of what we can give them. It enriches their lives, and ours.”
In an upcoming issue of Best Friends Magazine, we will take a look Susan Friedman’s positive reinforcement training methods, and talk with her about how to better teach and enrich the lives of our pets.