For many apprentice falconers and early-career professionals, creance work can feel deceptively simple. The bird flies out. The bird comes back. The line stays untangled. Progress is measured in distance and reliability. We use the creance to give us an opportunity to layer recall with positive...
If you've ever looked up into the Southern California sky and thought, “Is that an eagle? Or maybe something escaped from the zoo?”—you’re not alone. In San Diego County, we’re lucky to share our cities, canyons, and coastlines with a wide variety of native birds,...
[fusebox_track_player url="https://traffic.libsyn.com/avianbehavior/78_Levi.mp3" ] In this heartfelt and insight-packed episode, Hillary Hankey sits down with winter intern Levi Soucek, a wildlife rehabilitator, educator, and outreach coordinator at the Southwest Virginia Wildlife Center. Levi reflects on her transformative 12-week internship at the Avian Behavior Ranch, sharing how hands-on...
[fusebox_track_player url="https://traffic.libsyn.com/avianbehavior/77_parrot_recall.mp3" ] This is an excerpt from our live parrot recall training, focusing on the pitfalls of over-training and the importance of recall in various scenarios. We share examples of a black palm cockatoo named Jupiter, whose wings were rehabilitated using falconry techniques, and a...
If you have ever been driving down a two lane highway through the grasslands of the US and seen a small, dove-sized raptor perched on a wire, bobbing their head as they scan the fields below or even hovering over a field before plunging into...
If you have never heard the term “spark bird,” allow me to introduce you to a concept that has ignited the passion for birds. A 'spark bird' is that one bird whose presence captures your heart and opens your eyes to the wonder of birds...
[fusebox_track_player url="https://traffic.libsyn.com/avianbehavior/76_traveling_with_your_parrot_.mp3" ] Traveling long distances with your parrot doesn't have to be stressful. We have moved cross country with our bird family many times. What happens if your bird hates the dark, like one of our palm cockatoos did? What about hotel stays or what...
Our Fall 2024 Bird of Prey Workshop focused on key topics such as managing fear and aggression in raptors using the constructional approach and non-coercive negative reinforcement and using progressive weight management techniques....
Training your bird for transportation isn't just an important part of education programming, it's a good life skill to have. For wildlife rehabilitation organizations, nature centers, and other small bird of prey centers, this is an essential skill that trainers rely on. For companion parrot...
In episode 73, we sit down with fellow science communicator Dr. Stephanie Rosenbloom who not only has a PhD in chemistry, but a keen interest in parrot nutrition. We tease apart the idea of the appeal to nature fallacy, that occurs when a person assumes...