Strategies to Utilize when a Flighted Parrot Escapes By Barbara Heidenreich www.GoodBirdInc.

com My blue fronted Amazon parrot, Tarah, does not have clipped win s. However li!e many birds that were clipped durin the fled in process, he has never "uite learned the !ind of fli ht s!ills that mi ht earn him the title of a #flyer$. I often said #He%s has his fli ht feathers, but he doesn%t fly.$ &ne day I learned, the hard way, that this wasn%t e'actly true. I was visitin my parents as I was movin from southern (alifornia to northern (alifornia. )hen I arrived I brou ht Tarah in his ca e to my old bedroom. I opened the door to the ca e to allow my bird some much needed free time. Before I !new it, he bolted off his ca e, throu h the bedroom door, too! a ri ht and made his way down the hall. He then ban!ed left and flew throu h the livin room. At that very moment my father was *ust openin the slidin lass door to step out onto the dec!. Guess who went throu h the door too+ The dec! was on the second floor, so my bird had two stories of lift to assist him on his rand fli ht down the fairway of the olf course behind the house. Than! oodness he was a reen flyin bric!. He ran out of as and slowly descended to the soft reen rass before a tree offered its branches as refu e. ,uiced by adrenalin, my feet barely touched the round as I ran after my bird. I have always been very careful about the choices I ma!e havin a fli hted bird in the house. But I was very surprised by the amazin fli ht my bird made on that day. -ometimes birds that we thin! will never fly do indeed fly. -ometimes birds that have fli ht feathers trimmed surprise us when feathers return. -ometimes e'perienced flyers et fri htened or find themselves in unfamiliar territory. )hatever the situation, there are some strate ies that can be very useful to recoverin a bird that has flown to a location undesired by you. The followin information is provided to prepare you for that day when your bird may find itself airborne and headin in the wron direction. These strate ies apply if you bird has no fli ht s!ills or is a world class flyin athlete. Bird is flying away (all to your bird loudly as he is flyin . it may help him find his way bac! to you. As your bird is flyin , do not ta!e your eyes off of him. /ote the last place you saw him, the level of his fli ht, how tired he loo!ed. He may have landed in that area. 01adio or phone contact for a roup of people searchin can be very helpful in this situation. Grab your cell phone23 Searching for your bird If you have a roup of people, spread out and circle the area you last saw him. If you cannot locate him, call to him. He may call bac!. -ay words or sounds he !nows or mimics. Most parrots are located by their screams.

If he has another bird he li!es, put that bird in a ca e and brin it to the area you last saw him. )al! away from the bird in the ca e. It mi ht encoura e the bird in the ca e to scream. This may inspire the lost bird to scream. 4eep tal!in to a minimum so you can listen for the scream. 5oo! carefully in a limited area 0within 6 mile3 in the early sta es of your search. 7arrots usually do not o far unless, blown by the wind, chased by a bird of prey or e'tremely fri htened. 4eep in mind your parrot may see you before you see him. )hen this happens, parrots are sometimes very "uiet. This may be because the parrot is more comfortable now that you are present. 8espite some parrots bri ht colors, they can be very difficult to see in trees. 5oo! for movement buried in the trees as opposed to your whole bird perched prominently on the tree.

You have located the bird, but he is out of reach &nce you find you bird, rela' 0unless the bird is in immediate dan er.3 It is better to let the bird sit where he is 0if he is inaccessible3 while you wor! out a strate y. 8o not frantically try to rab the bird, hose or scare him down. If the bird has *ust landed. He will probably not fly a ain 0if at all3 for awhile. Brin the bird%s favorite person and9or favorite bird friend 0in a ca e3 to the area where your bird is located. Brin favorite food items, familiar food bowls and the bird%s ca e if possible. Be careful not to as! your bird to fly from a reat hei ht or a steep an le. Try to position yourself 0or bird buddy, or bird ca e3 to allow short fli hts or short climbs to lower places. Try to lure your bird to fly or climb to branches9ob*ects that are similar to those upon which he is sittin if possible. A bird may be too fri htened to climb onto a distinctly different perch. 0:or e'ample, the bird mi ht be afraid to climb off of a tree onto a fence.3 If you have no other option, e'pect the process to be slower and be patient with your bird as he builds his confidence. He may also fly a ain if he touches the new perch and is fri htened by it. 8o not raise unfamiliar ob*ects up to your bird to have him step onto it. More than li!ely this will only scare your bird to fly farther away. If you have a familiar item, you may have a chance that the bird will step onto it. 4eep in mind thin s li!e ladders, people climbin trees, cherry pic!ers etc. may also scare your bird. Go e'tremely slowly if you resort to usin these items. -top any action if your bird loo!s li!e he wants to fly away. Try to call your bird down when his body lan ua e indicates he is ready to try to come down. 8o not constantly call. Try hidin from your bird on occasion. This will create a level of an'iety in your bird which may cause him to try to come to you once you reappear. ;sually birds will scream and or start movin around a lot when they are ready to ma!e an effort to return to you. If you notice this activity, come out from hidin .

If you hear your bird screamin while you are hidin , he may be ready to fly or is already in the air. (ome out of hidin ri ht away. Most parrots scream when they are flyin in this type of situation. Birds also often relieve themselves and also scream ri ht before they fly. Be alert for this. <ou may need to see where your bird flys. Be ready to run if necessary. Avoid havin a crowd of people around the bird%s favorite person. A scared bird may not want to fly into a crowd of stran ers. Give the bird%s favorite person lots of room.

The sun is setting and your bird is still out 7arrots will usually fly a ain shortly before the sun starts to set. This is probably your last opportunity to et your bird bac! before he will be in to roost for the ni ht. Ta!e advanta e of it. <ou can try to et the bird #pumped$ up by yellin and creatin a level of e'citement. This may encoura e one last fli ht. As the sun starts to set, your bird will start to fluff his feathers and et ready to roost for the ni ht. At this point it is best to *ust allow him to o to sleep. 4eep an eye on him until the sun has set completely. 1emember his e'act location. Before the sun rises the ne't day, return to that location. <our bird should still be there, unless he was fri htened in the ni ht 0owls can cause this3. ;sually by =>?@ or A>@@ AM your bird will be ready to fly a ain or ma!e an attempt to et to you. 1epeat the steps described in the section #<ou have located your bird, but he is out of reach$. Your bird has flown off and after !" hours of searching he has not been spotted (ontact the followin people and let them !now you are loo!in for your bird. If a person finds your bird they may contact one of these or anizations. o (all animal control o (all the -7(A9humane society o (all local veterinarians o (all local zoos o (all local pet shops o (all local police 7lace an ad in the classified section of the paper for a #lost$ bird. o /ote> 8on%t ive out the bird%s band number. If your bird accidentally falls into the wron hands this could lead to removal of the band. (hec! the classified section of the paper for #found$ bird. Answer all ads. 7eople are sometimes unaware of what they have found. A (on o African rey may be mista!en for the mythical red tailed pi eon by a helpful stran er who is unfamiliar with parrots. 7ost flyers that state #lost bird$ in the areas you last saw your bird. <ou may also wish to offer a reward as incentive for people to call. &ften times a bird is found within BC hours of his disappearance. The tric! is to find the person who found your bird before you.

#o not give up The !ey to ettin a bird bac! is perseverance. 8o not accept that you will not et the bird bac! once you have lost si ht of him or her. As a professional bird trainer that free flys many types of birds on a re ular basis, I can attest that parrots are often the easiest type of bird to locate and recover. Trust me . nothin is more frustratin than searchin for the silent, but observant owl who has buried himself in the bushes and has watched you wal! by 6@@ times2 Than!fully our parrots often see! out human or bird companionship if and when they have a bi fli ht adventure. Copyright 2005 Good Bird Inc. First appeared in Good Bird Magazine Volume Issue !pring 2005. "o learn more a#out products and ser$ices to help you train your parrot $isit %%%.Good#BirdInc.com Bar#ara &eidenreich has #een a pro'essional in the 'ield o' animal training since ((0. !he is the )resident o' Good Bird Inc *%%%.GoodBirdInc.com+, a company that pro$ides parrot #eha$ior and training products to the companion parrot community. "hese products include Good Bird Magazine, #oo-s, $ideos, and parrot training %or-shops. Bar#ara &eidenreich has #een a 'eatured spea-er on animal training on si. continents and has #een pu#lished in nine di''erent languages. Bar#ara &eidenreich is a 'ormer president o' the International /ssociation o' /$ian "rainers and 0ducators *%%%.I//"0.org+ and ser$ed on the Board o' 1irectors 'rom ((23200(. !he is a #eha$ior and training consultant 'or 4/5"00 and !uper)et. Bar#ara also consults on animal training in zoos, nature centers and other animal related 'acilities. !he has #een a part o' the de$elopment and production o' more than 5 di''erent 'ree 'light education programs and has %or-ed %ith o$er 60 di''erent animal 'acilities. In her career she has trained animals, trained sta'', and7or presented sho%s at 'acilities around the %orld. !he shares her home %ith Blu 8u a Blue "hroated Maca%, 9oe Coc-ertiel and his girl'riend Banana )uddin: a lutino coc-atiel, 1el#ert the chatty 5ello% ;amed /mazon )arrot and "arah, a Blue Fronted /mazon )arrot %ho has #een a part o' Bar#ara:s li'e 'or o$er 25 years.