I wrote an article about the many risks facing companion parrot owners that were considering training their birds for free flight in 2014, and my conclusion was essentially “Please don’t.” The stipulation to that is that in-person guided mentorship is a critical component that is most...
This article is a reprint from our 2014 learningparrots.com article. This paper went on to be translated in to seven different languages, and I presented it in front of audiences in three different countries. [caption id="attachment_2581" align="alignright" width="300"] Author Hillary Hankey on a training project with...
Barn Owls in Mythology and Pop Culture At our first ever Family Farm Day at Avian Behavior International on June 2, 2018, we learned how virtually anyone could set up a barn owl nest box in their yard and enjoy not only the thrill of watching...
In the spring and summer, we often get calls from members of our community about what to do when someone comes across a wild baby bird on the ground that fell or flew out of the nest. This is a really common problem, as accidents...
In this age of the ever-expanding human population, we see so many headlines of people doing horrible things and animals bear the brunt of our callousness towards each other. The story of Plucker, my red tailed hawk that I hunt with for falconry here in...
Even living in the city, we are lucky to find wildlife all around us. In fact, San Diego County, known as a biodiversity hotspot, is the most biologically diverse county in the US, according to the Nature Conservancy[1]. It is also home to around two hundred...
Avian Behavior International held its first ever animal training retreat at the beginning of February, and boy, was it an incredible week! Guests came from all over to hone their skills and learn brand new ones, working with our farm animals (miniature donkeys and mini...
2017 was a whirlwind year for us at Avian Behavior International, and we have so many people from our San Diego community and beyond to thank for that. The birds we raised and trained here in 2016 have all been successfully moved to Omaha’s Henry Doorly...
Earlier this year, we had one of the things San Diegans prize the most: a visit from Dagmar. Dagmar Midcap is a weathercaster with NBC Channel 7 San Diego, and a popular one at that. Originally from Canada, Dagmar had a much loved role as a...
Those close to me have called Avian Behavior International a passion project, borne of an idea hatched many years ago, and buried in a pipeline of steady jobs, bills to be paid, and of course, comfort and security. Dreams often get put off because they...