To Shanlung ~ Flight Outside

[dna]

I have read a lot of your posts and am amazed at how wonderfully trained your lovely birds are. I may have missed a post or something, but I would love to know how you went about getting them to do that. I have several parrot friends and they are all very trusting of me. I would love have them be able to fly while outside, but I keep them clipped now because of a recent accident for a vet visit (except my Citron cockatoo due to being handicapped) and feel terrible about it. Any information would be most welcome!

 

[shanlung]

dna

Total free flight is very dangerous and I cannot recommend anyone to try that.
If you allow your bird to fly inside the house and the house secured properly, your bird
will have 95% of all the benefits from flying.
Part 2 - Tinkerbell Legacy that you can read in index will tell you how that can be done

My photos and descriptions of free flights can be enjoyed by everyone.
I enjoy seeing people doing rock climbing, and skiing down black diamond slopes or BASE jumping . But I know I do not
have the training and the skill to do that.

In the same way, you can enjoy what I do without any risk to you in doing that. I could do what I have done maybe because I have a very strong bond, and understanding with beasties and birdies. How many do you know who could call his/her cat into the water by the ocean.

You might like to see
shanlung: Buwah Free Flight 2 // Wadi Harban // Riamfada with Jabris again

shanlung: Chile // Riamfada free flights at the edge of Rub Al Khali

with photos of cat outside
shanlung: Reflections on Riamfada at edge of the Empty Quarter and some rants

bird & cat by the sea
9-11//Dommie final visit to ocean Ramadan 2010 & unsheduled Riamfada free flight//The Day Approaches
shanlung: 9-11//Dommie final visit to ocean Ramadan 2010 & unsheduled Riamfada free flight//The Day Approaches

Nothing is completely safe.

I am mentally prepared for the worse. Can you do that ?

First Tinkerbell, and then Riamfada was trained in harness and line in small steps by small steps before free flight.
They learned to fly in strong winds, in cross winds, in tail winds, in side winds, from high up to me down below, from down below to me high up above.

I did not just do recalls. I did very complex recalls. They fly to different perches with names in the order I called, and then fly back to me at home.
I hide in rooms and call them to do hide & seek recalls. That they fly to me out of sight and search for me.

I watched them until I knew they do not spook easily, and knew they recover quickly from spooking.

And what about parroty jokes. Birdie loved to do macabre parroty jokes at the expense of your heart.

Even if not parroty jokes, can you cope with exuberance flight?
When your birdie flew high above you and then continued away to disappear at the distant horizon?

Riam did that to me not one, not twice, but three or four times. Al in the course of 2-3 minutes in shanlung: Chile // Riamfada free flights at the edge of Rub Al Khali

Can you remain calm all through that? Fear in your heart might well frightened your birdie so much your birdie might not come back.

The risk of accident is always there even with a well bonded and well trained bird. What if a hawk suddenly appear to chase your bird?
Read
Reflections on Riamfada at edge of the Empty Quarter and some rants on my solution to maximise the return of the bird.
shanlung: Reflections on Riamfada at edge of the Empty Quarter and some rants

The risk of accidents must be accepted so you will be mentally prepared to act fast and act immediately on recovery.
I think many people became frozen during accidents and end up losing their bird.

Read an accident that happened to me with Riamfada and how I acted immediately.

shanlung: Jebel Akhbar with Kat //Seifa Al Sheik - the Great Escape and recovery


shanlung: Replies & thoughts of Seifa Great Escape // Cyrus Oriole // An iftar meal

Be honest with yourself. Will you be able to react very fast in case of sudden accidents and you see your bird flying away?

And if you want the best for your bird, total free flight add only 0.1% of the benefit of flight.
Flying at home will give 95%
Flying with a good harness add 4.9%
read shanlung: Harness for flighted parrots - To Nick and folks on training to use harness and how to make the best harness.

YOU MUST READ THE END PART WHERE I REPORTED ON ALL MY ACCIDENTS, ESPECIALLY IN BANTIENYEN. DO YOU THINK YOU WILL BE AS LUCKY AS ME?

Can you handle Murphy if Murphy is standing by your side?

Total free flight give you 0.1% and at great risk.

I wrote of that in

shanlung: Riamfada free flights in villa // And around neighbourhood

Please do not do what you see me do.

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.

I have been thinking. Of free flights with Riamfada. But the last few times when I thought of it, my dear wife screamed. She screamed and cried loud enough to frighten the wits out of me , or back into me , which ever way that you choose.

A parrot truely need not do any freeflights. Allowing him/her to fly inside your home made safe for that will give 95% of all the benefits from flying.

Allowing your parrot to fly in harness and leash, might add 4.9% more. But that being said, the sheer pleasure to you of taking your parrot outdoors with you and to fly cannot be imagined. If you have prepared yourself by first letting your parrot fly in semi free flight conditions (flying in big enclosed space eg gym or in big hall) , and then taking careful small steps outside in harness and short leash, that should be safe enough.

Long distance harnessed flights should be after you and your parrot thoroughly trained together, flying your parrot in head winds, tail winds, cross winds, shifty wind conditions, from high to low, and low to high.

Do not do free flights. That 0.1% benefit to your parrot is not worth the nightmare if things go wrong.

You know Riamfada had been on deliberate free flights.

Free flight is dangerous, extremely dangerous with any kind of parrot, and especially a grey.

Free flight might add 0.1% to the benefits of flight to your parrot. But the adrenaline rush to you is immense. That comes from living dangerously, knowing Murphy might just turn up.

I know with the coming departure, my mood might not be good. But I felt I could control that enough.

I also thought back to Riamfada flights with me. She clearly shown she could think on her wings. The videos of her turning back to my wife when she could not first find me was heartening. And of her flying and turning back to the wall , and then heading to me was heartening as well.

shanlung: Pakistan again// more on mind & tofu // Dommie at Omer//kitties// Riamfada and 3 turns on dime

Then that unscheduled free flight at the beach when that knot to that swivel joint unravelled and she did that glorious freeflight and returned to me had to be considered too.

Her spooking got even more controlled in the villa, just a short flight away before returning to me.

In the villa, Riamfada would so often fly to me uncalled, went back to her many perch to do her thing, and fly again to me. In all our walks in last couple of months, she never showed any desire to leave me. And if she decided on parroty jokes, how many more parroty jokes could she play on me. I decided I could accept her parroty jokes.

And she knew our neighbourhood so well now from all the neighbourhood walks we had done.

I decided to go on neighbourhood walks earlier today. I noticed the light faded too much by time we went out at 530pm. So today, we went out of the house at 5pm.

Riam was harnessed and leashed as we went around the mulberry bush.

Thoughts of free flight hit my mind. Hit it hard today 24 September.

I decided my wife screamed too much. Before she opened her mouth to scream, I premptively told her to shut up. Got her to hold the rod/reel. I then took the leash off Riamfada's harness.

I saw from corner of my eye my wife opened her mouth, as to scream. I told her screaming might well spook Riam, and to my satisfaction, saw her closing her mouth.



And why do I do that? Something that I cannot recommend to be done by you or others?
Why do some people do rock climbing without any safety harness and lines?

Why do some people climb Mount Everest without oxygen?

Why do some people do BASE jumps from edge of tall buildings and cliffs?

How can I give you a meaningful answer?

How about stupidity?

We can talk about adrenaline rush to the head and the heart.
We can talk about beauty and soul desire.
All those involved great risks.

There are some aspects of life with no rational answers.

I can only give warnings that what I do should not be done without careful thoughts and with clear knowledge of the risks.

Sorry if this is not the answer that you might want.

 

[dna]

No, those ARE the answers I wanted and prefer. Honesty is best. I suppose I was admiring from afar, but I'm definitely not willing to take the risks after reading all of that. I would be having heart attack after heart attack now that I see all of the information you have provided. Lol. But thank you so much for the response and time! It is truly appreciated and admired!

 

[shanlung]

To Shanlung - How to do Free Flight Outside
shanlung: To Shanlung - How to do Free Flight Outside

This is most embarassing.
I had not realised that this subject was started here when I posted it up.

I came back later when I realised that to try to delete the thread but could not.
So I cut this to post into that original thread