Sunny free flying photos.

Hi again everyone!
I’ve started letting Sunny free fly again which may help me decide on his future.
He had quite the adventure this morning, he flew over the top of that cottage, through the pine trees and around the paddock, about 10 erratic laps. Staying close by until he went a little further.. which I briefly thought, okay he’s left. But alas he appeared a few seconds later just as I was swallowing my tears. He landed in a pine tree right next to a big cockatoo who was looking at him as if to say..you seem different haha, I thought he’d stay there as was very high up but I called him and he flew straight back down towards me.. I think he was a bit intimidated by the cockatoo. But instead of landing he did a couple my laps landing in a tree near me just out of my reach, and there he stayed and enjoyed himself for about 45 minutes. I was happy that he was nibbling at the pine cones and bark etc but after a while I was getting a little bored standing there. With the help of the kid that lives here who climbed said tree and encouraged sunny onto a stick to pass down to me I finally had him back, he munched straight into the apple I had in my hand before returning to his aviary for a rest.















Thanks for looking, I love to share photos hope random photo threads are okay?

Looooove them!


I think you are doing so well- letting him out to see, try his wings and maybe not come back at all ... I know your heart is in your mouth everytime he flies away and yet you find the courage to let him decide.
That is just ....wow.

Spectacular images of Sunshine are always welcome!

ChristaNL said:

Looooove them!


I think you are doing so well- letting him out to see, try his wings and maybe not come back at all ... I know your heart is in your mouth everytime he flies away and yet you find the courage to let him decide.
That is just ....wow.

Click to expand...

This perfectly sums it up! Not sure I would have the courage of conviction to do the same, after a wild bird swept into my life and seems so bonded. Impossible, though, for a human to define "happy" in this situation. We can only imagine the complexity and hazards of a wild parrot's life.

Thank you everyone!
I am honestly so stressed the past few days about what to do about Sunny. Yesterday I was swaying towards keeping him but then in the evening I sat in his aviary crying with him on my shoulder rubbing my face, looking out at the wild birds. I think he has to be free, I would feel so guilty everyday with him stuck in a cage when he is wild born, if you were here you’d also see the amount of Corellas and cockatoos about which just breaks my heart seeing sunny watch them behind bars.
I know I can give him a full and happy life with me, but as Scott said who are we to say what an animal’s happiness is. Surely it’s with his own kind soaring over the hills and forest and having no limitations? He’s come into my life unexpectedly and I’m not even a resident of Australia yet, what if our sponsorships go wrong? And I’m forced to go back to the uk? We are also going to be travelling home for a few weeks possibly every year or at least every second, I couldn’t trust anyone else to care for him.
I love him with all my heart, I truely am anxious and stressed about what’s best for him. I can’t stop thinking.
He’s still young, yes he’s bonding to me but what’s to say he won’t bond well with his real friends and family.
I’m finding this so difficult. It’s mainly watching the thousands of wild birds here, makes it just seem so wrong to keep him.

I was confused and had to read your other thread and now I think I understand. Sunny was found by you and you took him in, nursed him back to health and now the debate lies with do you keep him as a pet or let him be free?

I see in your first thread that you said releasing him back into the wild is your 100% aim. Being a wild born parrot, its my personal opinion that since you are not a permanent resident, and you do have to travel home every year, and you would not trust anyone to look after him, the only option is to let him back into the wild.

While it sounds scary, what would be my biggest concern for him is finding food. You mentioned he was quite skinny when you found him so it's possible that he never learned to forage on his own, and would maybe have this problem if you released him now. What I think would work great is, and what would be a great option for the both of you, is a slow, transitioned release back into the wild.

This would include more free flight sessions that grow longer and longer until you can eventually leave him outside for a longer period of time each time. With the eating issue, there's a very strong possibility that even if you released him, he would venture back to your residence because he would be hungry and knows that you have the good stuff! So there's a good possibility that you could still interact with him and slowly let him be a wild bird again.

Of course this is just my opinion and you are entitled to do what you want with him.

I would feel much better about releasing Sunny if he was demonstrably able to feed himself and integrate with a flock for support and protection. I don't know how many flocks exist in your area and whether they migrate or forage over a distance and return. Or whether they readily accept potentially displaced orphans.

It is possible Sunny bonded to you in a perceived time of need for food and shelter. OTOH, cockatoos are naturally gregarious and are exceptionally suited as companions, the caveat being the right person and structure. (doesn't exist universally, hence the many re-homed cockatoos, especially in the U.S.

HannahandSunny said:

Thank you everyone!
I am honestly so stressed the past few days about what to do about Sunny. Yesterday I was swaying towards keeping him but then in the evening I sat in his aviary crying with him on my shoulder rubbing my face, looking out at the wild birds. I think he has to be free, I would feel so guilty everyday with him stuck in a cage when he is wild born, if you were here you’d also see the amount of Corellas and cockatoos about which just breaks my heart seeing sunny watch them behind bars.
I know I can give him a full and happy life with me, but as Scott said who are we to say what an animal’s happiness is. Surely it’s with his own kind soaring over the hills and forest and having no limitations? He’s come into my life unexpectedly and I’m not even a resident of Australia yet, what if our sponsorships go wrong? And I’m forced to go back to the uk? We are also going to be travelling home for a few weeks possibly every year or at least every second, I couldn’t trust anyone else to care for him.
I love him with all my heart, I truely am anxious and stressed about what’s best for him. I can’t stop thinking.
He’s still young, yes he’s bonding to me but what’s to say he won’t bond well with his real friends and family.
I’m finding this so difficult. It’s mainly watching the thousands of wild birds here, makes it just seem so wrong to keep him.

Click to expand...

I totally get what you mean. I have a wildcaught rescue, Max, who was a completely wild bird when he came to me. However, he has problems flying (he crashes quite suddenly into things) and so I decided to keep him. Unlike Sunny, Max is not the cuddly type. Hands are off limits for him and we have our days, but I truly know he loves me in his own way.

We have lots of wild IRN’s here and Max spends his evenings each day out in the balcony (meshed) watching his fellow friends. It breaks my heart sometimes and I feel like I should let him go, but in my good conscience, I really can’t. I’m not sure Max will be able to forage for food since it’s been quite a while since he was caught (his previous owners bought him from someone who caught him from the wild) and I wouldn’t be able to forgive myself if something happened to him.

Just wait it out and see. If you’re meant to be with him, you’ll know! Please don’t worry about him seeing other birds like him and being sad. To him, you are his flock. You can work on recall with him and take him free flying everyday. That way, you’ll both be happy.

Since Sunny is so young, I think he’ll become more bonded to you as time passes by. And I have a feeling that you love him just as much.

Remember to trust your intuition and hope for the best!

Honestly, he probably has a better chance of surviving with you. If you think that if you can commit to keeping him happy and healthy for his entire life then I see nothing wrong with that.

Here in the US, New Hampshire, there is a seasonal attraction named Clarks Trading Post and for about 100 years they have had trained bears perform for the visitors.

Yes, the bears are trained and yes they are not roaming free in the forest but they have all the comforts of home, want for nothing, and unlike wild bears who average a lifespan of 6 years, these bears live to be 30.

It seems to me that if you continue with the free flying, Sunny will enjoy the best of both worlds.

I LOVE THESE...but they always scare the "H E double hockey sticks" out of me.