Written by Doug Cook, all rights reserved.
A few weeks ago I was bending Chris' ear on the phone about the
state of the bird community--and Chris bends ears pretty good, too....and toward
the end of this epic summit, Chris made an interesting comment about one aspect
of birds with clipped wings . He mentioned that birds who are clipped and
climbing about in huge flights must have a fear of FALLING. A flighted bird
doesn't have to think about falling.....and Chris reasoned that by nature, a
bird should not have to live with (or suffer, or endure) such a fear . It
took a minute or two, but I had to admit despite 30 years of living with birds,
this concept had never crossed my mind. Sometimes the profound stuff just slips
right on by. But, anyhow, I found myself saying (several times) "Damn,
Chris, I never thought of that" and "wow, you're on to
something". The concept has been crashing around in my head ever since. (Oh
yeah, I can learn new stuff.....) Anyhow, one of my contracts involves the care
of a small flock (12 birds) at a local theme park locally. These birds spend
most of the year in large indoor enclosures, and the warm months in huge
outdoor flights ( about 12 x 18 x 15 high). I make sure that there's a lot of
branches/perches in there for the birds to climb on (or grab in case of a fall).
The park policy (for 18 years) has been to keep everybody clipped in case
one of the idiot employees leaves doors open etc. I have seen a fall or
two over the years (when our macaw show was appearing at the facility), but the
birds usually slowed themselves against the wire or by grabbing branches, and
nobody seemed to get hurt ....BUT after Chris' comment, I feel certain that the
possibility of falling must occur to the birds, and may indeed inhibit their
"bird nature" to some degree. Soooooo, since I am now the sole
person to enter the flights (and a non-idiot, if I do say so myself), I elected
to let all 12 birds flights grow in.....and I had a safety door, and extra lock
installed on the entry foyer. The long-flightless cockatoos took to flying
almost immediately. The macaws are less adventurous, but most are taking at
least short "flying hops" from tree to cage wall to tree, etc.
But here's the interesting thing.....the macaws that are flying are all climbing
around the ceiling of the flights, moving smoothly and confidently, or might I
say "FEARLESSLY". When clipped, a walk across the ceiling was a slow
and deliberate undertaking - very cautious. Now there seems to be a much more
"free" demeanor in the flock, more activity in general, and less
aggression between flight-mates. It really appears that the "fear of
falling" may have a more profound effect on these creature than most of us
realize. I guess it's a hard point to prove definitively, but observation
and gut feeing says "Damn, Chris, you're on to something ...."
Thanks for kicking starting my rusty old brain, my friend.....and I bet there
are a dozen birds that are thanking you for ending years of fears...
This concept alone makes this list worthwhile.
Doug C