We are a group that is interested in promoting the health of our companion birds by giving them the opportunity to fly in an indoor space that is larger than most homes can provide.  We believe that exercise leads to increased health and well-being for creatures whose bodies evolved over eons for the purpose of flight.  This can be quite an adventure for both the bird and the human.  We advocate flight training in stages to reduce stress and achieve the greatest enjoyment of this activity.

To help you understand just what this idea of having a flighted bird is all about, we suggest checking out some of the websites mentioned below.  Although not all of us free fly (that is, flying unrestricted outside) because we prefer to fly indoors, we have learned quite a bit from people who do free fly their birds and have generously shared their thoughts and information with us.

Please take a moment to to go Chris Biro's website, www.thepiratesparrot.com and click on freeflight.  There is a lot of good information here.

The next question people ask is, "why fly your birds?"  Here is another great website that discusses that question:    http://www.shynefoundation.org/articles.html

Gay Noeth has also written an excellent article detailing the pros and cons of a clipped vs a fully flighted bird:  http://www.geocities.com/gnoeth/clipping.htm

A flighted bird requires training.  The first and most important skills that you should learn are teaching recall and targeting to different perches.  For information on how to do this, go to:

www.featherforum.com/article/recall 
www.featherforum.com/?q=article/flytoperch
www.featherforum.com/article/clipornot

Finally, Dr. Susan Friedman has a great set of articles that help explain the philosophy and theories behind her behavioral analysis solutions.   These articles are also important reading for anybody who wants to undertake the art and science of training a flighted parrot:  http://www.thegabrielfoundation.org/html/friedman.htm.

Again, welcome to the Northwest Avian Flyers.  The one thing that we all have in common is our enthusiasm about the subject of flight and we welcome you in to the adventure.  We are all still learning but we do believe that the most important thing is to HAVE FUN and enjoy your feathered companions!

Mona

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