Not much! 
this little wooded area is just behind our property so Saphira thinks it's her territory and likes to hang out in the trees.
It's out of direct view from our house and if she didn't answer my contact calls, I would have trouble locating her! just to show you that I see more of this than majestic flights some days... and even though you'd think a flashy Macaw would be hard to lose sight of... they blend in with nature suprisingly well. Just imagine what it's like with smaller birds...
Also, out of view range exploratory flights always happen at some point, so don't underestimate it thinking your bird is so bonded to you that it won't fly away. The first few times, she was still learning how to descend in circles and I nearly had a heart attack! even though she did fine and I was expecting it, there's always a learning curve that you can't replicate before hand.
The first few times they land in high trees like this, no matter how well you've trained them inside and outside... they have trouble getting down. For her first time, I remember it took her 3 hours and a few missed tries to fly down and land on me. The same happened with my patagonian conure at first, she now has nearly 3 years of experience and is amazing.
My point is, if you're interested in this lifestyle, I advise you to seek professionnal advice, not risk trying it out on your own... you'll need guidance from someone very experienced and the emotional support that comes with it. If you're not interested in free flying your companions, please try and recall train them indoors! it only takes a minute for them to escape and it's realy your best chance to get them back in case it happens. It's also a super healthy and bonding daily excercise!
Please don't think clipping their wings will keep them safe... it just makes them more vulnerable should they escape. Instead, teach them to fly down to you from high perches in the house, recall when you're hiding out of view, get them used to responding to a loud wistle that they can hear from a distance, get them used to their outdoor environment either in a cage, aviary, travel cage, harness... so it's familiar enough that they won't panic and fly off, should they get out. Also, get them used to natural outdoor branches with leaves and everything so they know how to land on them and navigate them. Many inexperienced birds are afraid of landing on trees because it doesn't look safe with all the tiny bendy branches and leaves. They keep flying further and higher because of it...
You'll have a much higher chance of finding a confident parrot that's properly recall trained and has the flight skills to stay safe. The vast majority of lost birds are too scared and inexperienced to focus on finding their way back to you or sit somewhere safe and call for you...
this little wooded area is just behind our property so Saphira thinks it's her territory and likes to hang out in the trees.
It's out of direct view from our house and if she didn't answer my contact calls, I would have trouble locating her! just to show you that I see more of this than majestic flights some days... and even though you'd think a flashy Macaw would be hard to lose sight of... they blend in with nature suprisingly well. Just imagine what it's like with smaller birds...
Also, out of view range exploratory flights always happen at some point, so don't underestimate it thinking your bird is so bonded to you that it won't fly away. The first few times, she was still learning how to descend in circles and I nearly had a heart attack! even though she did fine and I was expecting it, there's always a learning curve that you can't replicate before hand.
The first few times they land in high trees like this, no matter how well you've trained them inside and outside... they have trouble getting down. For her first time, I remember it took her 3 hours and a few missed tries to fly down and land on me. The same happened with my patagonian conure at first, she now has nearly 3 years of experience and is amazing.
My point is, if you're interested in this lifestyle, I advise you to seek professionnal advice, not risk trying it out on your own... you'll need guidance from someone very experienced and the emotional support that comes with it. If you're not interested in free flying your companions, please try and recall train them indoors! it only takes a minute for them to escape and it's realy your best chance to get them back in case it happens. It's also a super healthy and bonding daily excercise!
Please don't think clipping their wings will keep them safe... it just makes them more vulnerable should they escape. Instead, teach them to fly down to you from high perches in the house, recall when you're hiding out of view, get them used to responding to a loud wistle that they can hear from a distance, get them used to their outdoor environment either in a cage, aviary, travel cage, harness... so it's familiar enough that they won't panic and fly off, should they get out. Also, get them used to natural outdoor branches with leaves and everything so they know how to land on them and navigate them. Many inexperienced birds are afraid of landing on trees because it doesn't look safe with all the tiny bendy branches and leaves. They keep flying further and higher because of it...
You'll have a much higher chance of finding a confident parrot that's properly recall trained and has the flight skills to stay safe. The vast majority of lost birds are too scared and inexperienced to focus on finding their way back to you or sit somewhere safe and call for you...
