Photo by Glen
Location: Moab, UT
Drinking: Military Macaw “Cash”

I forgot about how much adjustment most parrots need when moving to a warm weather place like Florida. My birds came from Saipan, which is pretty much like Florida but maybe more humid? Not sure. It’s pretty close…

I make sure that my parrots have plenty of water in the summer because it gets so darn hot, that even their water gets warm sometimes and I don’t know about them, but I know I hate drinking warm water. So it’s important to keep it cool for them and try to put it in the shade. I have a huge bowl I will fill and put at the bottom of their aviaries just in case it’s extra hot out.

I also try to keep a spray bottle handy to be able to mist them down if they start looking over heated. In aviaries it’s super important to have lots of water, and lots of shade so the bird isn’t forced to be in direct sunlight. You can also give fruit during the day because it gives the bird extra hydration from the juices in the fruit.

Other than that getting used to the new weather stage, my birds have done great here in Florida and are able to stay outside year round. They love the rain, and the fact that it rains every day really helps them cool down.

Photo by Dave
Location: Sagle, ID
Galahs: “Bondi” and “Ace”

After much consideration and going back and forth for a while now, Dave and I made the decision to adopt Ace, Bandit’s brother from our friends Jason and Janell (and Xander). We’ve had a lot of interaction with Ace as we did a lot of the raising side of things with him when he was a baby and we’ve hung out with him since then and house sitted him and things like that. So we are very confident and excited to bring him into our flock full time.

We have high hopes that he will be an outdoor freestyle flyer with us as he is with his current owners and that he will mix with our flock well, which he has in the past. I am sure it will be quite the experience for him as it will be the biggest change for him aside from his initial move from us to Jason. I think there will be much to document so be on the look out for extra galah related topics from me! I hope Bandit enjoys having a brother again!

You can read about our first time having Ace as a baby here. And we will be getting the little guy tomorrow night!

Photo by Dave
Location: Orlando, FL
Macaws: Blue throat “Jinx”, Camelot macaws “Comet” & “Tusa”

When I moved from Saipan to Florida, I had no idea I needed a permit to own birds there. I never needed one on the west coast, but when I heard that a friend almost had his taken away and now hated Florida, I understood why of course and decided to look into it so I wouldn’t face the same fate.

The permit costs $50/year to have. You can find it here.

Photo by Glen
Location: Moab, UT
My wings: Galah “Bandit”

I was pretty thrilled about Glen catching this shot of me and my galah, Bandit, in Moab, Utah. Everyone says it looks like I have wings and I think I’m lucky enough to say that Bandit is my complete guardian angel… er… bird. He really looks out for me and sticks up for me and I do the same for him, sometimes even if he isn’t always right, hehe! He’s too cute not to have his back like he has mine!

Photo by Glen
Location: Moab, UT
In the tree: Blue and gold macaw “Merlin”

I’ve gotten a few questions about why I have quite the collection of “birds in trees” photos and a few people started to catch on that they are all Moab trees!

The reason is, your freeflight bird is bound to try a tree out whether it’s on accident, out of breath and desperately needing a spot to land or just curious among other reasons. The bummer about them landing in a lot of the trees in Moab is that they have juniper berries in them and the birds soon find out that they LOVE them! The good thing about them, is that they give your bird really great breath, haha.

They won’t harm your bird and they are safe for your bird to eat, so there are no concerns there. Just make sure you have a strong enough recall (with a good enough treat) to get your bird back out of the tree!

Photo by Dave
Location: Palm Springs, CA
Dive bomber: Galah “Bandit”

My parrot Bandit is SO much fun to fly outdoors. He is a chaotic little man that loves his fun and games. Indoors, we play a game where I pretty much throw him like a football into the air and he closes his wings tight to his body and DROPS as fast as he can, opening his wings at the very last second so he doesn’t hit the ground!

It’s AMAZING to watch him do this and he spazzes out afterwards in a flying frenzy and comes back to do it all over again! He always lasts longer at this game than I do…

Photo by Dave
Location: Palm Springs, CA
Dive bomber: Galah “Bandit”

Now, I’m surely not recommending you do this with your parrot but I think it’s a really comical and fun thing mine does. I was able to take a fun game we did inside and do it outside. I make sure not to throw Bandit around too much, because I want him to know he can come and land on me if he’s nervous about something outdoors and is seeking safety.

This next photo demonstrates this game probably the best where Bandit is holding his wings so close that he falls/drops faster than ever for the biggest rush out of flying possible!

Photo by Dave
Location: Moab, UT
Dive bomber: Galah “Bandit”

I have yet to really catch it on video but the first time my uncle saw it outdoors he said, “I thought maybe that bird didn’t work and was going to crash right into the dirt! He didn’t open his wings until the last second!” it was too funny and it’s a great sight to see if you have a chance to join us one day and enjoy Bandit’s amazing stunts!

Photo by Jamieleigh
Location: Orlando, FL
Flock: Quaker “Libby”, Goffins “Theo”, Cockatiels “Tinky” & “DeeDee”

Since I am going on tour this November/December, I decided to have Patty (a blogger from the bird tricks blog) come and live at the house while we’re away for 2 years. It was a great work out for both of us, really. She got out of Austin, TX where her birds were sort of crammed at her other living space and I got someone to use my cages and take care of the house while I’m away. Now her birds get to use the aviaries outdoors and be in a separate air space from her (always a good thing for allergy ridden people)

So on October 27th we got to Florida and the flocks merged! Her birds had never traveled before, except for Linus, an umbrella cockatoo who used to be Dave’s before going to live with Patty.

Photo by Dave
Location: Orlando, FL
Bird: Umbrella Cockatoo “Linus”

All her birds did remarkably well with the long drive from Texas to Florida which we did in one day. Figuring out who goes in what cage was a different story… since we are living here with our flock of 10 birds as well as her flock of 5 for a month before Dave and I leave with our birds and leave the house to her 5. Plus we have another coming in the first week of November (another galah we’re adopting, you will all remember him…)

It has been an interesting few days with all these birds around, and a WHOLE lot of fun!

Photo by Jamieleigh
Location: Orlando, FL
Pictured: Galah “Bondi”, Quaker “Libby” and Goffins “Theo”

The birds are getting along fairly well and were doing so on day one. Our galahs and grey are already hanging out and flying around with Patty’s goffin cockatoo, Theo. Even though Theo is clipped she is figuring out how to use what she’s got and fly around too!

Photo by Jamieleigh
Location: Orlando, FL
Shown: Grey “Cressi”, Goffin “Theo” & Galah “Bondi”

Everyone is getting along great and we started with socializing the birds of the same size (always easiest and safest) for more of their socializing pictures, click here. I think I will have MANY stories from this experience to share and learn from with all of you very soon!

Photo by Dave
Location: Palm Springs, CA
Birds: Blue throat “Jinx” and Galah “Bandit”

It’s so important for our pet parrots to receive real, raw, natural sunlight… and I don’t mean just through a window. If you think about what they get in the wild, you will realize how LITTLE they get in your home. It’s a necessary vitamin they really NEED just like you and me and every other living thing. I notice I personally feel better when I get a little sun in my day.

This is a great reason to join the Freestyle Flyer’s Club so that your bird can get real sunlight in the way he would in the wild, by getting lots of exercise and essential vitamins from the sun as well, while creating an unbeatable bond with you.

If you’re interested in training your bird for freeflight, email info@birdtricks.com and ask about availability and rates. It is a course personally coached by Dave Womach and will be an experience you will never forget!

Here are some ways to offer your bird sunlight:

• Get your bird an outdoor aviary, Cages by Design carries beautiful ones.
• If you can’t afford an aviary, get a second cage that you keep outdoors.
• Take your bird with you on outings whether you use a travel cage where the sun can get through, or on a harness.
• Open a window completely (as in, no screen, entirely open) near your bird’s cage (as long as the weather is nice!)
• Worst case in the winter time if your origin is frigid you should strongly consider Vitamin D drops (comes in oil form)

Photo by Gilbert
Location: Palm Springs, CA

The Freestyle Flyer’s Club is all about people interested in freeflight training their parrots for the outdoors and Dave and I try to visit as many places as we possibly can to share the gift of watching freeflight with everyone who’d like to watch!

We are currently in Palm Springs, CA flying our birds and had lots of people come out and join which only makes it more fun for us – and the birds! Whoever is interested in watching is entirely welcome and we love when you guys share your photos with us so that we can in turn, share them with our viewers.

If you are interested in teaching your bird, young or old, how to free fly outside, feel free to email info@birdtricks.com for more information on pricing and availability for taking the class personally coached by Dave Womach.

We have students with their own birds in states all across the US and try to get together anywhere between 3-6 months (or as often as possible!) and fly our birds together.

You can also email info@birdtricks.com just to find out where we will be flying our birds next. The latest stops were Moab, Utah as well as Las Vegas, Nevada and just recently Palm Springs, California. You can also add Bird Tricks on Facebook to keep updated as well.

Photo by Jamieleigh
Location: Orlando, FL
On the couch: Military macaw “Cash”

After 5 months of my military macaw hanging at Missi’s place, he came back to live with us and I have to say, I was damn excited to see him again!

To read his story at Missi’s, click here.

Missi brought him to Orlando from Naples and along with him, she brought his newest pal, her blue and gold macaw Bailey. They didn’t get along so well at first, but once Bailey stood up for himself against Cash they both found a happy medium and got along great. In the car on the ride down, they were actually feeding one another! That’s how drastic the changes were that were made.

Cash was fully flighted when he went to Missi, however, because of her much smaller sized flock, she found it necessary to clip his wings (5 feathers on each side) to keep him from getting to the smaller birds. As time went on, she went back and forth on asking me if I wanted him back. I always told her I was fine either way – I was happy to have him home again but if she was happy with him, then I was happy to have him stay longer. It was really up to her. I think if I would have known how stressful it was for her at times with him around the rest of her birds, I would have taken him back a lot earlier. But I think a lot of people don’t want to feel like they’ve failed in anyway, and maybe Missi felt like admitting such things would be a sign of failure she didn’t want to show.

Either way, 5 months later and he’s home! My macaws have really grown up in those 5 months and are all over a year old now. Tusa, my Camelot Macaw, immediately established dominance over Cash when he came to our house. Which was a good thing, because Tusa acts like the oldest even though he’s the middle child.

Cash likes to pick on other birds that show they’re afraid of him, but if they stick up to him, he will call peace.

The new pecking order of the macaws is now: Tusa, Comet (if Tusa is around to defend him), Cash and then Jinx. Sadly, Jinx is a lover not a fighter and runs away from any sign of having to be next to Cash. If Cash makes any sort of threatening move towards Comet, Tusa is right there to defend his brother. Although this sounds like tons of acts of aggression, it has made the flock more peaceful by keeping Cash’s normal aggressive habits at bay.

It seemed like the 5 month break was great for everyone. Missi got the experience, Cash got the reality check and my macaws had a chance to grow up and learn how to fend for themselves and for each other.

Photo by Jamieleigh
Location: Orlando, FL
Team huddle: Military macaw “Cash”, Camelot macaws “Comet” & “Tusa”, Blue throated macaw “Jinx”

Coming back from Missi, the only real changes I’ve noticed in Cash is his vocalizations. He has a lot more of them and sounds a lot like Missi sometimes. I really like the new noises, they’re fun and kind of sound like they’re coming from a tiny dinosaur (I guess in some ways that’s true!)

Although I will still be open to sending Cash to Chet every now and again, I think I’ll refrain from anymore long standing bird sitting that isn’t completely necessary. However, it was an interesting experience for everyone and does make me wonder about a bird having more than one home and always going back to number one. I wonder how the new experiences play a role and if knowing they always end up with their true owner, if psychological issues are avoided or not. You never know.

And although Cash is clipped and can’t get any lift, he has been eager to try to flight train with the rest of the macaws. So we do short flights with him, and also work on trick training behaviors in the mean time until he loses his feathers in a molt and grows them back in so he can fully fly. I’m happy to report he has been welcomed back into our flock with open wings!