I couldn’t decide which title to go with.

I know I’m behind a post for this past week. I have a good excuse though,  I just got home from visiting Dave and Jamie at the circus in Coney Island, NY where they have been stationed for the summer. It was so much fun. This was my first time out to see the show. It was strange to see my friends in this bizarre setting, and stranger still that they fit in so well.

The show was GREAT. I have decided I like a 1-ring circus better than a 3-ring because it is so much less overwhelming an experience and I think you see much more cool stuff that way. I watched the show three times and I still hadn’t gotten enough of it by the time I left.

I worked in entertainment most of my life and have seen a lot of strange things happen in backstage areas, but nowhere else will you walk back there to find an elephant standing around casually wagging its trunk back and forth right next to a guy juggling items that were moving too fast to identify. There was a guy warming up before his act in such a way that would’ve dislocated my joints, and everyone was wearing costumes that were so bedazzled that they probably weighed more than the people wearing them. Then there’s Stevie the clown who takes spiky hair to a new level. It’s all part of a typical day in the circus.

Of particular interest to me was watching the trainers interact with their animals, not all of whom were part of the show.  The care and attention they received was an all day/everyday thing with no small detail being overlooked. The animals and their enclosures were kept in pristine condition and it was heartwarming to catch a trainer talking baby talk to their animals when they thought no one was watching.
Of course, I was paying a lot of attention to how the birds were faring, and they all looked in great health and spirits. If I’m going to be honest, I was expecting to see some wear and tear on the flock (and on the Womachs), but I didn’t. They all looked and acted much like they did before they had left on tour. Jamie and Dave have done a spectacular job in raising the birds to be able to handle their lifestyle which always includes a lot of travel. The birds are well adjusted and therefore open to change and new experiences. And, man, do they look beautiful flying across the ring during the show.

So, you’re probably wondering where recall training fits into this post. Unfortunately, in order to explain, I have to throw Jamie under the bus for a second.  Following the final show on the first day I arrived, Jamie was carrying the macaws, Comet and Tusa, from their backstage cages to the aviaries for the night when Comet broke loose from her grip. I remember my jaw hitting the ground as I watched Comet fly ahead of us and bank to the right and out of sight. Jamie yelled to Dave, who was at the aviaries, that Comet was loose and he somehow managed to be on top of the aviary in the time it took us to round the corner to see Comet circling back and landing in his hand. These accidents happen to trainers too. If it weren’t for the excellent recall skills trained into these birds, Comet might be gone.  I think Jamie will forgive me for bringing this out into the open in the hopes that it will serve as a lesson for others.  Hopefully she’s forgiven everyone for all the teasing she received following the incident.   Got to have a sense of humor around here!

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When I first came to live in Orlando, the first month was spent sharing Jamie and Dave’s house with their 11 birds and my flock of 5.  I tried my best to integrate into their lifestyle and could only hope for cooperation from my flock. It was easier for them to make many of the changes because they were the out of their element in someone else’s home.
When the Womachs are not working, their birds follow a natural daylight schedule, going to bed at sunset and rising with it in the morning. Most of their birds were out in the aviaries and mine occupied the bird room which is situated right off of their bedroom. The first sounds they heard in the morning were the raspy chattering of my quaker and the cockatiel’s good morning songs which, according to Dave, began promptly at 6:31am. Every day. For a month. Turns out that this was the exact time of sunrise during this time of year, changing by a minute or two as the season progressed.
This is a great schedule for a bird. Natural as can be. However, by about day 15, I’m pretty sure Dave wanted to start putting the quaker in the dryer overnight to get some sleep in the morning, and I was thinking about keeping the cockatiels in an underground cave somewhere because I could hear them clearly all the way upstairs. I love hearing my birds greet the new day, but could they greet it a little later?  Say around 9:30 or 10?

After Jamie and Dave left for the tour, I settled into my own routine here at the house. This includes beginning to cover the bird’s cages at night as I had when I lived in Austin. I work varied hours, sometimes not returning home from work until after 11pm. On the days that extend so far into the evening, I need to be certain that I am not awakened at the crack of dawn. I have found that covering the cages is the best way to ensure that I get enough sleep.
However, my selfish need for sleep is not the only reason that I cover the cages. Many years ago I discovered that the solution to a behavioral problem with one of my cockatiels was in ensuring it a peaceful, secure night’s sleep, which came once I began covering the cage at night. The unwanted behaviors simply stopped following this change. I began covering the cage of my daughter’s umbrella cockatoo, and found her to appear more rested as well.  I have covered all my bird’s cages since this time. I know that it offers security to some of the birds and it adds a little more darkness to the morning to allow a good night’s sleep for us all.

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Watch a LIVE video demo of me taming our wild, biting Macaw, “Tiko.” (See how I handle “Tiko” as he lunges at me, screaming and biting — how I lovingly calm him down… and mesmerize him so much that he BEGS me to pet him with my BARE HANDS 5 minutes later!) Click for more »

Q: My friend says that I shouldn’t get a mirror for my cockatiel because he will become infatuated with the “bird in the mirror” and want nothing to do with me.  Is this true?
Sharon M., Waterford, WI

A:  In a word, no. Cockatiels do love their own reflections and will spend a lot of  time staring at and singing to “the bird in the mirror”. Mine do, and I have never experienced my relationship suffering with any of my birds because of mirrors.

It is a bit difficult to understand a bird’s relationship to its reflection. There is really nothing in nature, besides water, that is so highly reflective that a bird could see itself. It would have to be a very still day for a bird to be able to recognize its reflection in a pond, and I have never read that anyone has observed this behavior in a wild bird. So why are so many enamored with their reflections in captivity?

It has been the subject of scientific study whether a bird recognizes the image in the mirror as itself.  Scientists believe that dolphins do recognize themselves and suspect that birds do as well. I know my umbrella cockatoo, Linus, recognizes his own reflection simply by the fact that he doesn’t try to attack it. However, my quaker gets aggressive when anything refective goes into his cage, including stainless steel bowls. Theo, my goffins cockatoo, sleeps cuddles up next to her stainless steel mirror, and lately I have watched her holding a corner in her foot and manipulating the image behind her. Very clever.

We may never have the answers to the questions this topic brings to mind. The bottom line is that if it makes your bird happy and there are no unwanted behaviors resulting from it, there’s no reason to disallow this form of entertainment.

Be very sure to select mirrors that are appropriate for your bird’s size. For the small birds, budgies and cockatiels, try Hall Of Mirrors. It’s a three sided mirror that gives multi images and is safe for their bite pressure.  My cockatiels love it so much I had to order another so they each had their own.  For any bird larger, conures on up to macaws, only use stainless steel mirrors for safety reasons.  NEVER use glass of any kind in your bird’s cage.  This includes hand-held and compact mirrors.

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