|
Flyabout
is a term we use for flighted parrots when
they
just want to fly from exuberance or perhaps to
check
out the area that they are allowed to fly.
Often,
this flyabout is accompanied with calls of
happiness
from them
This
is very different from a spook flight when they
take
off in a panic mode and always silently with very
strong
wing beats going straight up or in a line away
from
you.
When
Tinkerbell was flown in big enclosed area (huge
office
under renovation), after doing her recall cues,
she
initiated flights taking off from my shoulder to
sweep
around the room and re landing back on me.
On a
few occasions under harness flight, she also did
the
flyabouts. You have seen I just use a reel.
Unfortunately,
the reel cannot be unreeled fast
enough.
So when she reached the end of line(with half
a
reel left!), she turned with the line and continue
on a
circular flight calling her 'argh argh argh' of
delight.
In
the last few days, I jerry rigged a holder for the
reel
by cutting off the bamboo handle of a sacrificed
broom
to allow fast deploying of the line should the
occasion
arises where Tinkerbell can safely go on her
flyabout
(eg, big meadows) with minimum risk of line
getting
tangled or snagged. That holder is basically
like
a sawn off fishing rod with the reel and a guide
ring
for the line. This works fine the past 3-4 days
in
flying tests in the nearby school.
I
bought another 100m of 0.7 mm braided fishing line
and
70kg breaking strength but black in color this
time
for use in her future 'flyabouts' and yet another
reel
to hold that new line. The old line has been
cannibalised
by me time and time again to fix up 'self
closing
screen doors', additional restraints on
motorbikes,
baskets, etc etc.
Even
at home, from time to time, Tinkerbell goes into
her
flyabout routines. She will take off to fly
around
the room, crying away, to land back where she
started
off from.
I
decided to try to capture that into what I hope a
cue-able
action.
I
dug out my old trusty clicker. I cannot click every
time
she takes off as she may just be flying across
the
room to yet another perch or to harass Bim or Zor.
Clicker
training will normally break the action into
smaller
components that we try to cue them into. But
in
the case of flyabout, it seem difficult to try to
break
it into components as in this case, the whole is
more
then the sum of the parts.
I do
not want to click when she just want to takeoff
to
come to me or to another perch across the room.
But
when she does her flyabout, I try to click
whenever
she complete it to my accompanying shout of
'fly
fly fly' and praises of 'good girl, good girl'
and
sunflower seed treats from me. 'Good girl, good
girl'
is understood by her as praise when she does her
normal
recall to me which will then be followed by
treats.
There
have been times I hold the clicker in readiness
and
she did nothing or she just fly from point A to
point
B.
Then
there have been times with no clicker in hand
that
she did her flyabout. I will then try to name it
for
her by crying ' fly fly fly' and 'good girl, good
girl'
and going to her to give her treats.
With
this intention of trying to capture that action,
I
took to observing her closely. A flyabout is
normally
initiated with intent stare from her and with
flicker
of her head to sweep around room before
resuming
her stare and starting on her flyabout. A
direct
flight normally does not have flicker of her
head.
'fly
fly fly' will be my cue to her at later stage to
get
her into flyabout, when I can run after her while
letting
her pull and deploy that line. Where
hopefully,
she can fly in all exuberance and I not
have
the risk of her spooking to the next town.
It
may be my wishful thinking. But Tinkerbell seems
to
gather that I want her to circle the room. When
she
does a 3/4 circuit of the room, she gets no 'fly
fly
fly' from me. She gets no 'good girl good girl'
and
no treats.
From
a sporadic once every 3-4 days of a good flyabout
in
the apartment, she now does that about 2-3 times a
day,
and always to my shouting of 'fly fly fly' and
'good
girl good girl' and her treats.
She
tries to confuse me too. She will do a 3/4
circuit
and double back 3/4 to her starting point.
She
does a half room and double back making myself
wonder
should I click and treat her for that.
One
day will come when I feel she is ready enough to
try
to initiate her to a flyabout in the apartment.
Then
I will take her to another rice field (far far
away
from any airport/airbase) or one of those vast
river
flood plains to see if I can get her to 'fly fly
fly'
with a 100m line available to see what she will
do.
I
appreciate any of your thoughts on this new approach
that
I am trying.
=====
With
warmest regards
Shanlung
Joy
- wife, Tinkerbell - CAG & surrogate daughter
earlier
emails and photo links on Tink -
http://www.geocities.com/shanlung9
|
