Carly Lu’s Flight Blog

I was just sent a link to a new membership parrot site, canned variety, where for just $10.99 you can get access to SECRET information like this preview!

How to tame your parrot

Taming your parrot is the first step towards training it. Taming your parrot includes making it comfortable in your presence and in its surroundings so that it doesn’t aggressively resist training. Our membership site tells you the secrets of taming your parrot. Here are a few pointers.

[You don't want your parrot to resist training aggressively. Resisting passively requires less first aid.]

• Clip its wings…

[Of course the first thing you want to do is make your bird totally dependent on you and unable to get away.]

• Praise and reward it every now and then…

[Just every now and then. Avoid making it systematic or having any logic behind it because you might inadvertently teach him some behaviors.]

• Carry it around your house or garden. Initially, wear protective gloves when handling your parrot…

[Don't forget the protective gloves! Your bird can't fly, so if he wants to tell you he's had quite enough carrying around thank-you-very-much he will probably bite you, and then you won't be able to keep carrying him around.]

• Keep other pets at a safe distance from the parrot…

[Your parrot might fall off your hand and bite them, and they aren't wearing protective gloves.]

• If it behaves aggressively or bites, don’t shout or punish. A firm ‘no’, over time, does the trick…

[You would not want to punish under any circumstances, because by definition 'punishment' is anything that will decrease a behavior, so be careful that you say 'no' in a tone the parrot finds pleasant. Eventually he will realize that no matter what he does, you're not going to stop carrying him around the freaking house and he'll just give up.]

• Let it roam around the house on its own at times. Just make sure it is safe…

[I personally recommend protective 4-toed gloves]

• Introduce your parrot to other family members…

[Suggested introduction: YOU: "Parrot, this is Sally." SALLY: "Pleased to meet you."]

On the positive side, almost everything is spelled correctly.

Forgive me readers, for I have sinned. It has been 7 months since my last blog post.

Carly’s beach flying was on a bit of a hiatus for awhile after I discovered last fall that there were two nesting pairs of Peregrine falcons whose territories overlapped right around Scripps Pier (our usual starting point). So we have been flying a bit around the Cuyamaca College campus — with Piper — and hit the beach again this weekend on a beautiful warm day after a kelp tank dive (see the nice new Kelp Cam!)

Instead of flying by the pier, where there are fewer human distractions, I let her fly around La Jolla Shores area where there is less likelihood of falcon distractions. Lots of pigeons and seagulls there, and fortunately the crows that had been abundant and always harassing her were no longer around. But instead of getting lots of exercise in the air she chose to do just a couple trips and then spend time visiting with people. What can you do? You can lead a bird to the beach…. She met a nice family of surfers who had just been competing in a girls competition — ages 8 to adult — and enjoyed a lot of time being adored. A new trend? Girls??

Carly & Piper's love nest.

On the home front, breeding season has been highly active! Piper (4 years old) has still not quite figured out the mechanics, but they are working on it daily. I don’t know about other Grey couples, but this one is not shy about when or where. Carly has been in full nesting furor. I had to put up a sliding door to block off the kitchen because she was so determined to make use of the kitchen cupboards. I think I have successfully set up an area around the cage that is keeping their interest with lots of stuff to chew on and crawl inside: bottlebrush branches, bamboo cuttings, baskets, a wooden nest box, and other goodies. Right now Carly is over there chewing while Piper is keeping watch. When I walk up he does a very fierce display of floofed feathers. At least I think it’s supposed to be fierce.

The nest watch.

This morning I was biking through Balboa Park, and the San Diego Bird Rescue group was there as usual on Sundays. They have a very nice 7-month old Grey named Siri (great name for a Grey!) who is up for adoption. From what I have heard them say about training it seems the group is on the right track. They have an application process for adoption that includes a home visit, discussion about the responsibilities involved in having a parrot in the home, a visit to their aviary to find a good match, and classes on caring for parrots for those who need them. They directed me to the web site for more info — I asked if they offered classes for other parrot owners — but the web site doesn’t say much. I’d like to know more about how they operate, and their facilities, training methods, etc. It’s nice that they bring a group out to the park to be outdoors and be around different people. (All clipped of course…)

Siri, age 7 months.