Thanks Mercedez
No offense, taken, but I assure you, what I do is true free flight. Haley was raised in Los Padres National Forest, in southern, Ca. She has not been clipped for 6 years. She has flown outside from the time she was 1 1/2 years old. I did extensive recall and bonding training with her. I started free flying in Omaha NE, in 1998, with the help of a man (whose name escapes me) who was the editor of Amazon Quarterly. He lived in Washington State, and died of cancer a few months after we first connected on the internet.
I was on the AOL Amazon Chat Board at the time, reading everything I could by Chris Shank, of Cockatoo Downs, when I connected with her, and other professional free flight trainers, like Chris Biro, whom, I believe, still writes a free flight teaching forum (he charges a fee for subscription). I started reading clicker training manuals, and followed the first clicker website (I think) that started here in the US (I think operant conditioning is the way to go BTW). Haley is clipped, and supervised when allowed out. Her flight will be restored to full ability when she molts out. It's not uncommon for people who free fly to occasionally clip, or partially clip a bird who is going through a "stage" (my term). Having just moved, Haley is extremely excitable, loving the new neighbors, and the attention they give her. Her recall is/was suffering (to put it mildly). Her clip allows her escape in case of predation, in the house, but does not give her safety. To get her used to the new neighbors, and surroundings, with her great flying abilities, I have to clip her. She needs a time out, so to speak, when she can get her bearings, emotionally, and remember her recall, and her bond with me, etc, etc. I need to have her outside, clipped, or there's no way she will acclimatize, again. When she was a baby, I started her flying outside with a partial clip. She had to flap like mad to make it to my outstretched hand. Once her feathers started growing in we went further and further with it.
I free fly because I think it is generally safer than clipping, and surely healthier, in a safe environment, than clipping. I do have a 8x16 aviary (by Corners Limited, a zoo-quality enclosure, really great company, and economical), where she can spend the day in safety, outside. I do not let my bird (s) be outdoors unattended, and now that Haley has been clipped, I have to be right next to her to let her outside, except in her aviary.
I think you are dead on to post what you did, but I am an experienced free flier, as is Haley. During her first 6 years of life she was outside, unclipped, and flying, more than she was inside. I lived in a remote mountain cabin, in a national wilderness area. She was taken to the ground by an immature Red Tail, and has been chased several times by Coopers hawks. I was standing within 20 feet of her when the Red Tail took her. I am almost positive she bit it. As I ran to her aid, the hawk flew off. She had a red mark just below her nares, and right under her lower mandible. She also had a small, shallow puncture wound under one wing.
She harasses local cats, and squirrels, and talks to crows. She is a blessing in my life, bringing me always closer to the earth. I'm really sorry for the loss of your scarlet. Many thanks again, for the note.