Photo by Jamieleigh Location: Saipan, MP Macaw: Military Macaw "Cash" Fellow entertainers scared of birds... beware! If you're looking for me backstage, just go towards the sounds of the parrots! Because that is where I will always be. When there was only one bird in the show, it made it real easy to hang out with just that bird all the time...

Photo by David Location: Orlando, FL Upside down: Galah"Bondi"  The first bird I ever trained to go upside down and do the "bat" was my galah, Bondi, who is currently 4 years old. The second bird I trained to do the bat impression was my blue throated macaw, Jinx, and most recently I trained my 1.5 year old Congo African Grey parrot, Cressi, ...

Photo by Jamieleigh Location: Orlando, FL Shown: Hyacinth Macaw "Hymie" & Nephew "Jimmy" I've never trained a bird with a 15 month old around...  And while my nephew Jimmy was visiting, it was VERY hard to train Hymie, the hyacinth macaw I am working with for a client for 6 or so weeks. I had no idea how distracting Jimmy would be for Hy...

Photo by Dave Location: Orlando, FL Flying: Hyacinth "Hymie" It has been getting easier and easier to ask Hymie to fly and here's why: When he was younger, he used to fly around his owner's house with a green wing macaw in tow. So he has had experience flying before and enjoyed it enough to want to experience it again. I've been spending ...

Photo by Jamieleigh Location: Musha Cay, Bahamas Meditation Parrot: Blue and Gold Macaw "Jersey"  Dave and I got Jersey when she was 6 months old. We purchased her over the internet and had her shipped to Dave's brother. He and his wife were the first ones to meet Jersey (and her brother Chayko) and had them for a few days before Dave and I a...

I'm a HUGE believer in working with your bird's NATURAL capabilities and habits. For instance, my cockatoo "Bondi" is most talkative in the car above other places. So, since we were on a road trip from Washington to Arizona, I thought I'd use that to my advantage and grabbed my training bag with me up front. Now, she is mostly talkative with D...