The Avian Behavior Podcast

This interview with Gail Buhl from the Minnesota Raptor Center and Partners for Wildlife is a thoughtful journey filled with raptor behavior tidbits, the evolution of operant conditioning in bird behavior management, raptor rehabilitation, imprinting and so much more. We talk about how working with rehabilitated birds of prey provides such a unique tapestry that has informed our progression as trainers to humane methods of choice based training, and Gail's owl mentors in her work with small owls. We go into depth about how providing these crucial contingencies gives our birds a language that they learn to rely on. For information about AvOCET, of which Gail is a speaker, check out our events page. The University of Minnesota Raptor Center Raptor Academy Care and Management Workshop registration is here. The How to Raise and Owl Ambassador Masterclass is here. Join the Avian Behavior Lab for a free 14 day trial with the code AVIAN to try out all of the features essential for your growth as an avian care provider.

We are going to talk about an old school term in weight management of free flying and ambassador birds, and that is ad lib weight. Another term might be trap weight or base weight. Reason why this is old school is that for some people implies your bird has this same reference weight throughout their lives, regardless of muscle tone, seasonality, and age and it can be downright dangerous. There are many issues with ad lib weights, such as how we figure it out without coercion or restraint, the assumption that all birds can achieve steady state, and that some birds come from a place of food trauma. Not to mention that use prescriptive numbers to assess health can be problematic. Let's level up! We look at many different metrics that help us cross reference a dynamic set of reference weights across the seasons that help us identify healthy birds and high welfare. If you know us, we are going to discuss with you actionable, practical science based training tips that help you level up your training program that you can put into place right away. This podcast is from our bonus class from our Avian Behavior Lab Masterclass on Progressive Weight Management that we did on a YouTube livestream. Be your best with birds, and join us for lively discussion on deep topics. You can attend all of the masterclasses with a free 14 day trial of the Lab with the coupon code AVIAN. Check out this entire class on Youtube

What did we learn about birds in 2023? What was the big bird news of the year? (or, Simone and Hillary talk about owls) Hillary sits down with fellow falconer, bird lover, and owl enthusiast Simone Lupson-Cook to talk about our favorite facts about bird behavior, ethology, conservation, and more that we learned about birds this year. From birds in the news, our visit to the Raptor Research Foundation Conference in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and reading books together, we share our favorite facts that we have come across, from snowy owl talons, barn owl math, Succession, and the many many threats that face birds globally past and present. For links to relevant books and works cited, visit our full show notes page. To see how this work fits our behavior and training work, try out the Avian Behavior Lab for free for 14 days with the code AVIAN

Lead poisoning is a really big deal for wildlife, and Southern Ground Hornbills appear to be particularly sensitive to lead levels in the blood. In August, Avian Behavior International visited the Mabula Ground Hornbill Project in South Africa to identify some key behavior objectives to enhance the reintroduction strategy for the Southern ground hornbill. This bird has one complicated life strategy, punctuated by a long life and intricate social structure. If you are interested in how ethology impacts your work with conservation ambassadors, check out the Avian Behavior Lab, where we discuss the science of behavior and how it impacts our reinforcement strategies. Use the code AVIAN for a free 14 day trial. Notes and references for the just a small portion of Dr. Kemp's extensive hornbill work that also went into Hillary's report on the show's page Dr. Kemp spoke at the first annual Avian Online Conference for Education and Training, AvOCET, hosted by Avian Behaivor International. The second conference is being held April 26-27, 2024 with amazing speakers as well!

Having a parrot with extremely complicated screaming, attacking, pair-bonded behavior that won’t let you out of their sight without an intrusive cascade of undesirable behaviors can be a problem for the entire household. It also means layers of stress when you are torn between appeasing your parrot and your family. This excerpt from our deep dive masterclass series for members of the Avian Behavior Lab helps us look at the angles of this complex issue and how we tease apart which challenge we take on first from a science-based perspective. This series was extremely enriching, and we know you will glean some actionable details from the science here. Sign up for our newsletter for your latest bird nerd information! For more information on how we avoid using restrictiveness and intrusiveness as metrics, check out Episode 58 For AvOCET 2024 information, check out our registration page. Stay up to date on our workshop schedule here.

We sat down with Paige Sutherland, Director of Wildlife Programs at Shavers Creek Environmental Center in Pennsylvania for a powerful discussion on wildlife training programs. This far ranging conversation stretched from challenges of family life in the animal care field to how to organize your time as a program leader. We have the pleasure of working with Paige more deeply through our Owl Ambassador programs and exclusive mentorship this past spring and our Advanced Animal Training and Behavior Workshop this November 2023. For more information on our programs for 2024, you can check out the 2024 workshops  Or our email list   Our How to Raise an Owl Ambassador Masterclass is extremely popular.

News flash, if your bird is attacking you, it probably doesn't mean that they hate you. What it does mean is that we have a lot in our relationship to unpack, from environmental conditions to expectations. When parrots in our homes come at us, either from the ground or on the wing, it can be really scary. Even cockatiels and small conures can pack a punch with those little beaks. Bird drama also can cause family drama, and no one wants to feel unsafe in their own home. We talk about behavior advice that belongs in the Dark Ages and why it is keeping you from success, we get real with how to realistically approach this problem, and we introduce our free challenge, Stop Attacking Me! Join us with the live version starting October 1 2023, or whenever you can! As always, enjoy a free trial of the Avian Behavior Lab with the code AVIAN at https://avianbehaviorlab.com

Karla Bloem, Executive Director of the International Owl Center in Houston, Minnesota, and Hillary have a fascinating conversation about owl vocalizations and Karla's journey with Great Horned Owl behavior. They discuss owl behavior observation influences, species differences, reinforcement strategies and all things owl. This conversation will fascinate any professional or amateur owl enthusiast. If you have yet to take one of our free challenges or just want awesome bird information, sign up for our newsletter. For more information on ABI's Advanced Animal Behavior Workshop, check out our few spots left here. For the International Owl Center Conference, you can get information here. Sign up for their awesome newsletter here.

Hillary answers more questions from a workshop regarding how to prepare a bird for a program, are we friends with our birds, how to know when you are doing more harm than good and much more. We get philosophical on this one!    For more information on our upcoming Advanced Workshop in November 2023, check out this page for registration and details Welcome to the Avian Behavior Podcast, where we bring innovative approaches to progressive animal training and behavior, wildlife conservation, bird nutrition, and all things avian. We appreciate all of the supporters who have helped us fund our collaboration in South Africa with the Mabula Ground Hornbill Project coming up in August. You can still get your trouble-making hornbill merch and much more! You can make the most impact with a small donation to GoFundMe You can get your Hornbill swag here Caracara shirts are one of the most popular The full page is here.  

Hillary answers questions from a workshop regarding do's and don'ts on building relationships with birds of prey, what to do about a kestrel that attacks the bait bag, weight managing owls, and more. For more information on our upcoming Advanced Workshop in November 2023, check out this page for registration and details Welcome to the Avian Behavior Podcast, where we bring innovative approaches to progressive animal training and behavior, wildlife conservation, bird nutrition, and all things avian. We appreciate all of the supporters who have helped us fund our collaboration in South Africa with the Mabula Ground Hornbill Project coming up in August. You can still get your trouble-making hornbill merch and much more! You can make the most impact with a small donation to GoFundMe You can get your Hornbill swag here Caracara shirts are one of the most popular The full page is here.

We sit down with good friend and well known aviculturist Dick Schroeder to talk about what we can learn about working with the Southern ground hornbill in a variety of different ways. Dick is a celebrated member of the avicultural community, he has raised numerous hornbill species, including over a dozen Southern Ground Hornbills (baby Kipling was his eighth!). He has boards seats, first time breeding awards, speakerships, and other accolades all over the world in aviculture. We talk about community and the importance of working together. This conversation kicks off our fundraising campaign for our efforts to work with the Mabula Ground Hornbill Project this coming August. Help us reach our $4000 goal and enhance the release and monitoring program. The website is https://avian-behavior.org/hornbill/ Our Patreon is https://Patreon.com/avianbehavior.

Our two favorite subjects, owls and raising ambassadors. Owls are considered flagship species, which means that while they may not necessarily be directly endangered, they are species chosen to raise support for biodiversity conservation in a given place or social context. This means that due to their widespread appeal, they have the capacity to draw in an audience to more complex issues related to their ecosystems and less charismatic components. What this also means is that they can act as flagship individuals for education programs. We often say people come for the owls and stay for the vultures. But raising an owl for life as ambassador is challenging, even to be a glove bird. We want the bird's presence to reflect the care and expertise that the organization requires. In this episode we discuss what this looks like in the beginning stages and how the many mistakes we made led us to our mission of raising ambassadors over ten species of native and non-native owls. You can sign up for the Masterclass of How to Raise an Ambassador Owl and you can also find our exclusive, limited seats only 4 week live mentorship, Train with Me - Owl Ambassador Training and learn the ins and outs of this intricate and incredibly important process. Join us with a free 14 day trial in the Avian Behavior Lab with the code AVIAN  

We are going to be talking about how LIMA (least intrusive, minimally aversive) and the humane hierarchy structure stopped serving me in my animal behavior progress, what got me there, and how I help my clients instead. We take a HUGE look at how it's not uncommon in science for us to wittingly or unwittingly select the results that we want to move our hypothesis along, and this can have enormous results in health, nutrition, and yes, animal behavior. To purchase the entire conference of AvOCET on demand: https://avianbehaviorlab.com/avocet-conference-recording/ The full video is here  ► Having issues with your bird not stepping up on your glove or approaching you? Take the free 7 day fearful and aggressive Challenge https://avianbehaviorlab.com/fear-and-aggressive-behavior-challenge/ ► Learn the Fundamentals Of Animal Training https://avian-behavior.org/39-2/ ►Shop our Amazon Store for bird supplies https://bit.ly/3QWjjJR ► Join a community of passionate bird owners and learn from hundreds of hours of science and behavior based on demand courses and live trainings - FREE for 2 weeks!  Subscribe to Avian Behavior here: https://www.youtube.com/avianbehavior  Our mission at Avian Behavior is to strengthen the connection between animals and the humans that care for them with the most progressive and positive reinforcement techniques. Sources Scientific Method  Monsanto study with Stanford University https://www.todaysdietitian.com/newarchives/0518p38.shtml P hacking: Maintenance Phase School Lunches, P Hacking, and the Original "Pizzagate" Buzzfeed News article 

In this session of our Behavior Makeover Series, we work with a rehabilitated non-releasable raven that is showing a lot of avoidance behavior around his trainer. We create a behavior shaping plan using non-coercive negative reinforcement instead of counter conditioning or systematic desensitization to build the raven's trust. This works on all species, from parrots to eagles and mammals too. As always, follow your local and federal laws when working with native and exotic species and we do not condone rescuing wild birds without proper permits. For more bird training and behavior tips: ► Having issues with your bird not stepping up on your glove or approaching you? Take the free 7 day fearful and aggressive Challenge https://avianbehaviorlab.com/fear-and-aggressive-behavior-challenge/ ► Learn the Fundamentals Of Animal Training https://avian-behavior.org/39-2/ ►Shop our Amazon Store for bird supplies https://bit.ly/3QWjjJR  ► Join a community of passionate bird owners and learn from hundreds of hours of science and behavior based on demand courses and live trainings - FREE for 2 weeks! https://avianbehaviorlab.com Connect with Hillary on Social Media  Instagram: https://instagram.com/avianbehavior  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/avianbehavior  Podcast: https://avian-behavior.org/podcast Subscribe to Avian Behavior here: https://www.youtube.com/avianbehavior Our mission at Avian Behavior is to strengthen the connection between animals and the humans that care for them with the most progressive and positive reinforcement techniques.

In this final part of our series with Dr. Scott Echols, board certified avian veterinarian, we cover A LOT of ground in terms of avian health and welfare. If you want the straight science about how to get your bird exercising, even in terms of rehabilitated wildlife, diet management, and osteoporosis, we talk about it all. Dr. Echols is as always, so generous with his time and information, and we are forever grateful. To sign up for AvOCET 2023, the Avian Online Conference in Education and Training and learn more from Dr. Echols and other incredible minds in avian science, check out our conference page. Join the Avian Behavior Lab with a Premium Membership with all of our features, including a bottomless library of courses, a private forum for expert feedback, and live classes with a free trial using the coupon code AVIAN. If you want to discover more of our courses and challenges, you can find them here

Working with rehabilitated birds of prey as education ambassadors is rewarding work, but it can be fraught with challenges as well. From working with unruly (and opinionated!) audiences to dealing with heartbreaking avian losses and health issues, it can feel thankless at times. In this episode, we focus on two big issues: working with a volunteer staff and sensitive birds coming from a place of trauma. Volunteers are the backbone of many wildlife rehabilitation centers, and their work is crucial to the survival of so many birds. But managing a volunteer staff can have unique obstacles when it comes to working with sensitive education birds as well. We still have spots in our Bird of Prey workshop at the beginning of March 2023 Our virtual conference AvOCET is at the end of March '23 and is filled with incredible speakers! Join the Avian Behavior Lab with a free 14 day trial with the coupon code AVIAN

The Problem Solving Paradigm teaches you how to manage really complex and sometimes uncontrollable variables when trying to train your bird, so you actually can realize real change.   Because let's just be honest here - trying to train new skills in a busy household or work environment is REALLY hard.  Life happens! Uncontrollable variables like family members, other trainers, and outside influences - like the mailman, construction, random crows flying above - can get in the way of your progress.   We go through three specific phases as well as how and when we apply them. Ready to solve your toughest bird behavior problems? Want a deeper dive? ►The course! For more bird training and behavior tips: ►Try out our free Bird Behavior Toolkit! Loads of videos for free! ► Take the free 5-day Go Home Challenge and teach your bird to go home voluntarily!

Bonus release from our earlier interview with Jon Rossi of the Rossifari Podcast. We talk free flight training and how it relates to our leadership philosophies, being a woman in leadership, bird nerdin' and so much more. You can check out our swapped episode on mentorship on Jon's Rossifari podcast page and so much more on zoos, conservation, and animals. If you are loving our ethos on animal training, teaching and working with humans and non-humans, check out the Avian Behavior Lab and you can take advantage of our free trial for 14 days with the code AVIAN.

Using food as a contrived reinforcer to train our parrots is often fraught with emotions and tension. And not without good reason. But we can discuss the differences in contrived reinforcement and natural reinforcement and how both are important components in building strong relationships and decode our interactions with our birds. These concepts can uncover why our birds might stop doing what they used to do, what skills they need to build to be successful in our homes and lives and how we can become better buddies together. Show notes cite our references here. As always, let us know what you think on our social media and in the Avian Behavior Lab community forum as a Premium Member. Join the Avian Behavior Lab for a free 14 day trial with the code AVIAN Check out our Patreon

Training free lofted birds of prey can be an incredibly enriching program for trainer and bird, but it can also lead to an unnecessarily protracted program that brings all parties a lot of stress. Bird of prey trainers that are interested in this type of training need to assess a number of environmental conditions, including their own skills and support system in their assessment prior to commencing a project such as this. This is because a lot of stress can be transmitted, either in over management of weight or in rehearsal of fear patterns while we plod on, footloose and fancy free of deadlines. We highlight two case studies of two very different birds we recently worked with free lofted, as well as discuss the costs and benefits of free loft training It's MemberFest at the Avian Behavior Lab this week! We have our special for premium annual memberships, a limited release of our sold-out  mentorship program, behavior makeovers, and much more! Our 2022 workshops are also completely full and we will be announcing our 2023 workshops this month.