Ever wonder what it’s like to be one of the BirdTricks birds? Or maybe be one of the Womach’s? Well this post is all about a glimpse into a day in the Womach flock.

It all started with a BBQ outside, Dave cooking chicken for the two of us…

The birds were playing in the aviaries and everyone was enjoying their day.

I went over and grabbed Comet, our eldest camelot macaw who is freeflight trained by us, and let him hang out on the chair by the pool with us. He shared in a little of our grub, took a slice of my tangerine and flew a few times in the backyard. We hung out on his own chair and performed a few tricks, then just spent some quality time with us. As I screamed and jumped up from a lady bug almost walking itself into my mouth off a piece of food I had, Comet didn’t even stir uneasily.

Comet went back into the aviary to play and I brought out his younger brother Tusa.

He flapped like always when first out of the aviary and into a large space, then shared in some short recalls across the pool and some quality hanging out time in the yard.

Even Tusa was up for showing off his “wave to the camera…

Which actually got better and higher than ever before. We were proud “parronts”.

It’s just a little of what your day with your bird could look like if you chose to enroll in our Freestyle Flyer’s Club, which is our freeflight course personally taught by Dave Womach. It’s a lot of fun and so far all our clients through it have become some of our best friends. For information on how to enroll email info@birdtricks.com.

And one more thing, here’s a video of Comet performing some tricks and doing a short flight in our backyard:

Two years… 730 Days… 17,520 hours… Countless Miles… No matter how you look at it, two years on the road is a long time!  Especially when you travel the country by truck and RV… correction; make that two trucks, and two RV’s, a flock of birds, magic props, motorcycle, and a house cat.  Driving separately from Jamie can be painstaking, but it does give me some time to reflect.  Not only on shows and future plans, but on training, and what I can do to become a better trainer.

Image Copyright Feld Entertainment 2010

I’m one of those people who is constantly in the pursuit of perfection.  Always trying to learn more, and always trying to become a better person and professional.  At many times, it’s to a fault.  These past two years have really given me the chance to realize how important it is to live in the moment.  It has also given me phycological insight on how to get my birds to reach perfection on and off stage.  After all, I’m hired to perform a 1st-class production with professionally trained parrots – and likewise, my birds are expected to be “1st Class Performers” as well. It would be hard to be “the best” if my birds would land in the rafters, or fly out the backdoor and disappear into the Vegas desert, only to be found a week later by strangers.  In my industry, there’s no room for errors.  Sometimes that can translate to a lot of pressure for my birds, after all they didn’t sign the contract, I did.  So I always do my best to reward their every moment.

October 30, 2011 finally arrived, and we performed our last show in Wilkes Barre, PA.  I had performed for five different Ringling Shows over that two year tour, and it was all coming to an end.  Aside from a huge sense of accomplishment, there was a strange calmness that suddenly overwhelmed me backstage shortly after performing Catapoultry with Bondi.  I looked around and realized… 5,000 people in an arena, sold out shows, TV, Radio, Print… it was all coming to an end in 73 minutes from that exact moment.  Surrounded by black curtains and 7-sets of birdie eyes staring at me through the dimly lit backstage, as if they could tell I was finally processing it all; I took each bird out, kissed them on the head, held them for a moment and thanked them out-loud for being there for me for the entire tour. The ups and downs, the tornados and snow storms, 20 degrees to 120 degrees – it didn’t matter, they had achieved perfection in nearly every show, night after night, mile after mile, audience after audience.

Fiji’s Last Show – Photo Mishelle Statford

It was when I picked up Bondi, who had been looking at me concerned the whole time, that a single tear made it’s way past my right eye, and was now slowly passing my lips.   I kissed her on the head, thanked her for giving her all, even on days that she wasn’t feeling well.  It was as if she and I connected more than ever.  She mirrored my mood through every phase of the tour, from being a rock star on stage, to the tender moments offstage that an audience and cameras never see.  When we lost Fiji, she completely shut down with me, as if she was mourning her loss through me.  And on October 30, 2011 she once again  understood my feelings and that this was her last show, and we could both go home and relax until our next journey begins.

Bondi Performing Catapoultry

I learned many things on this tour about life & training.  From the highest highs to the lowest lows, and yet one lesson stands out miles ahead of anything else I could ever possibly write.  A lesson that we should all live by, a lesson that keeps you moving when your down and constantly elevates you while you’re up.

“Always love your birds like it’s the last day you’ll see them, for they provide more to us than could ever be transcribed into any human language.”

I’m so grateful for everything they’ve given me.  Those of you who can truly relate know the exact feeling I’m conjuring when I say these words.  And those of you who are just now paving that path with your birds will soon understand the feelings that are impossible to put onto paper.

Photo by Dave
Location: Moab, UT
Flying: Congo African Grey “Cressi”

Our latest freeflight student is a 13 year old Moluccan Cockatoo named Pooh. He comes from California where he will only eat colored pellets and lots of fruit but refuses veggies.

I was disappointed in his diet but we had a ton of other things to work on so we didn’t make a big deal of it right off the bat in his training. I knew it would come at some point or another anyway, and if anything, come to work naturally making it a much easier transition for his human companion.

Just as I thought, far enough into the training, we took Pooh outside for some serious skill learning in outdoor flight training. We brought along our three macaws too, to teach Pooh a thing or two and add in some observational learning.

It worked like a charm and Pooh was flying longer than he had ever flown before. By the end of the day, both Pooh and his human were tired from all the excitement! The day before Pooh stayed in our dressing room while shows went on and every time we left the room he’d scream his head off. This day, however, after spending the entire morning flying, he didn’t make a single sound during the show. Dave and I were laughing inside because we knew how exhausted he must be from all that irregular exercise (add a little wind resistance to your flights and you’re working hard!).

Photo by Jamieleigh
Location: Cruise ship
Shown: Congo African Grey “Cressi”

As we said goodbye to Pooh and Kai, I told Kai when he got home to offer Pooh lots of veggies. “I know he has refused to eat them in the past, but with his body working as hard as it did and will be in the future through all your flight training… his body is going to CRAVE those healthy foods and nutrients so offer them and you will be blown away by what he eats!” I told Kai.

Two days later we spoke with Kai for our weekly consult and sure enough Pooh had devoured a whole thing of broccoli. Kai was shocked and I was more than happy! I told him what changes he could expect in Pooh’s attitude, energy level and body as he builds muscle, loses fat and continues to eat the good stuff.

Flight training can easily lead to a breakthrough for many birds in eating healthier. When you work out and take care of yourself, your body takes care of itself too by giving you the proper cravings for foods it needs to replenish itself so it can continue working hard and being healthy.

Photo by Dave
Location: Moab, UT
With me: Congo African Grey “Cressi”

So if your bird isn’t a healthy eater, try giving him more exercise and see what he starts eating that will surprise you!

Remember:

1. Feed the healthiest foods first when your bird is the hungriest.
2. Stay organic as much as possible, even when it comes to the pellet you feed.
3. Encourage mental and physical stimulation (trick training, puzzles, foraging toys and flight training)
4. There’s more than one way to skin a cat; try serving the healthy stuff in a variety of ways from cooked to raw to shredded to baked into things and more.
5. If you can, use your bird’s favorite food as treats. Our birds, believe it or not, respond better to blueberries as their reward than pine nuts!

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