Karen,

That is a Wonderful shot of Pippin!!

Karen,
this is a perfect shot.....how did you time this....
I see that pippin has long nails...Don't they schatch you....It does in my case...i have scratches all over my hands....

Well I just stood about 6 feet away, focused on my hand, and then called him over, snapping the shutter as soon as he took off and before he was actually in the picture... because if I wait until i see him in the viewfinder, it's too late.
His claws might be a little long. I think I'd trimmed them a month or two ago at the time. I end up only trimming his claws once a year. He has a grooming perch but doesn't use it; I guess he's active enough to keep his claws at a reasonable length on his own. My general rule for claw trimming is if the tip of the toe is raised off the ground when the bird is standing on a flat surface, the claw is getting a little too long.

Karen
Chico (conure) and Pippin (budgie)
WI

Great shot!

Little guys definitely have an advantage inside. If I could get Bean up to this speed inside and to stop like this we could do wonders outside. Instead he tries to circle tightlly in our tree lined yard which is maybe 150' wide and goes over the trees and 100' up to both our amazement.

I love Budgies. I had one when I was 12 named Barthelemue. He would fly through the house to find me. If only I would have started learning then about flying!

Pippin can fly incredibly fast through the house. We estimate he may be going 25+ mph in the livingroom. And he's most likely capable of flying much faster if he had the space. But he doesn't make the best landings when he's going really fast. At least not when he's aiming for a finger (sometimes he will end up slipping and somersaulting forward, or crashing into me, or even missing my finger entirely). Usually if he's flying to me from a distance, he goes for my head and then hops down to my finger.

It must be incredible to freefly a bird. I wouldn't dare with my guys though. Being such small birds, the house gives them enough space for a reasonable amount of exercise, and they would be more at risk from crows or hawks outdoors.


Karen
Chico (conure) and Pippin (budgie)
WI

Little guys CAN become great freeflyers. Don't know about budgies, but my lovebird is completely trustworthy and "streetwise" outside, in sharp contrast to my macaw and U2. i got him when he was a baby though and he pretty much fledged naturally with a "babyclip" while the other two were rescues. i would expect Mouse, my LB, do have a much better chance of escaping a hawk, crow, or even a cat than Zazu or Pongo. Predators don't want to waste a lot of energy chasing an agile little flyer around when they'd be not worth the caloric trouble (ie calories expended hunting would be greater than calories gained if captured and consumed) so maybe little guys have the advantage outdoors. i sure would like to see more folks freeflying little birds - they're so rewarding.


lisa
"Good judgement comes from experience. Experience comes from poor judgement."

I just think with my birds, they can get plenty of exercise indoors, so why risk outdoors? If they saw a hawk or crow they would be gone, and finding a tiny, quiet, green bird in a tree-filled suburb would be nearly impossible.
Pippin is very friendly and likes people, but he's also very easily spooked. And being a budgie, he's built for flying fast through wide open spaces, very much unlike a rainforest species like my GCC. For such a little guy he really isn't all that maneuverable. I wouldn't trust him outside; I'm sure he'd just fly off and simply never manage to find his way back.
My conure is a very bonded, trustworthy bird who I even have taken outside on occasion. But he just won't even try to fly in an unfamiliar place unless really spooked. I don't think a hawk could catch him, but it would certainly frighten him away and, well, I don't know if he would ever find his way back or if I would be able to find him.

Karen
Chico (conure) and Pippin (budgie)
WI