In this heartfelt and insight-packed episode, Hillary Hankey sits down with winter intern Levi Soucek, a wildlife rehabilitator, educator, and outreach coordinator at the Southwest Virginia Wildlife Center. Levi reflects on her transformative 12-week internship at the Avian Behavior Ranch, sharing how hands-on progressive training experiences reshaped not only her approach to ambassador bird care—but also reignited her passion for the work. We explore: What it means to truly train with positive ...
Mar 27, 2025•45 min•Season 5Ep. 78
This is an excerpt from our live parrot recall training, focusing on the pitfalls of over-training and the importance of recall in various scenarios. We share examples of a black palm cockatoo named Jupiter, whose wings were rehabilitated using falconry techniques, and a 24-year-old cockatoo named Henry, who was initially clipped. Hillary emphasized the need for systematic and methodical training, avoiding forceful interactions, and using neutral or positive reinforcers. She highlighted the impo...
Feb 19, 2025•38 min•Season 5Ep. 77
Traveling long distances with your parrot doesn't have to be stressful. We have moved cross country with our bird family many times. What happens if your bird hates the dark, like one of our palm cockatoos did? What about hotel stays or what supplies to bring while traveling with your parrot? What crate do you travel in? We have you covered with this guide, plus the bird food pumpkin pie story that Hillary's family still tells over 20 years later. Try out the Avian Behavior Lab with a free 14 da...
Nov 14, 2024•28 min•Season 4Ep. 76
Our Fall 2024 Bird of Prey Workshop focused on key topics such as managing fear and aggression in raptors using the constructional approach and non-coercive negative reinforcement and using progressive weight management techniques. Handling fear-based reactions, like those seen in a juvenile bald eagle, requires careful arrangement of the environment and building skills with your bird to have more reinforceable behaviors. The workshop also highlighted the importance of fitness and motivation ove...
Oct 01, 2024•22 min•Season 4Ep. 75
Training your bird for transportation isn't just an important part of education programming, it's a good life skill to have. For wildlife rehabilitation organizations, nature centers, and other small bird of prey centers, this is an essential skill that trainers rely on. For companion parrot people, this is an important behavior to trainer before it is needed in case of emergencies. This episode is an excerpt from our roadmap on Your Bird's First Education Program inside the Avian Behavior Lab. ...
Aug 22, 2024•17 min•Season 4Ep. 74
Looking to the wild for answers is a common refrain among bird people when it comes to care advice, particularly nutrition. And while this concept seems well grounded in science, the actual practice is much more complex and nuanced. For parrots, we don't always know what, how, or why the eat what the eat. And when we do know, replicated the conditions and food stuffs can be impossible for those of us who have parrots in our care. We sit down with fellow science communicator Dr. Stephanie Rosenbl...
Aug 03, 2024•55 min•Season 4Ep. 73
"If you are looking for guarantees with free flight training in birds, you are in the wrong place." In this episode, Avian Behavior International founder Hillary Hankey and ABI Animal Training Lead Katie Pnewski talk about how developing skills for birds and training staff around fly offs has been instrumental in their practice as team leaders. A practice of safety and growth doesn't come from expecting mistakes not to happen, it comes from preparing for them to happen and getting the most out o...
Jul 03, 2024•55 min•Season 4Ep. 72
Owls make remarkable ambassadors to highlight conservation work, but they can also make for challenging training subjects and divisive ideas in the training community. We have remade our entire Owl Ambassador Masterclass to reflect the nuances among species differences and address some of the challenging conversations around parent raised owls, rehab vs captive bred ambassadors and even falconry equipment. To access the Raising an Owl Masterclass, check it out here: https://avianbehaviorlab.com/...
Jun 26, 2024•16 min•Season 4Ep. 71
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 ta...
Mar 29, 2024•32 min•Season 3Ep. 70
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...
Mar 16, 2024•56 min•Season 4Ep. 69
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 as...
Feb 17, 2024•56 min•Season 4Ep. 68
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 t...
Jan 05, 2024•1 hr 11 min•Season 4Ep. 67
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 i...
Dec 20, 2023•36 min•Season 4Ep. 66
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...
Nov 01, 2023•51 min•Season 3Ep. 65
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 adv...
Sep 28, 2023•48 min•Season 3Ep. 64
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 fo...
Sep 05, 2023•59 min•Season 3Ep. 63
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 nutr...
Aug 04, 2023•29 min•Season 3Ep. 62
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 avi...
Jul 25, 2023•26 min•Season 3Ep. 61
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 commu...
Jun 24, 2023•37 min•Season 3Ep. 60
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 fla...
May 30, 2023•42 min•Season 3Ep. 59
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 ...
Apr 19, 2023•1 hr 9 min•Season 3Ep. 58
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 ...
Feb 28, 2023•33 min•Season 3Ep. 57
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 Train...
Jan 28, 2023•54 min•Season 3Ep. 56
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 crucia...
Jan 05, 2023•34 min•Season 3Ep. 55
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. W...
Nov 26, 2022•27 min•Season 3Ep. 54
Board certified avian veterinarian Dr. Scott Echols discusses some pretty intense concepts in veterinary and wellness technology. He covers how new technology is discovering diseases we never even knew existed and how we are able to diagnose and treat them. We also talk about how CT scans are able to help us identify issues that blood screening and biopsies aren't catching, which for me is has come up when I take a bird to the vet because I know something is off but we can't find anything wrong....
Oct 29, 2022•47 min•Season 2Ep. 53
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...
Oct 06, 2022•1 hr 15 min•Season 3Ep. 52
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 ...
Sep 28, 2022•40 min•Season 3Ep. 51
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 manage...
Sep 01, 2022•50 min•Season 3Ep. 50
Why does science in animal care matter? My bestie Barbara Heidenreich and I sit down - this time in person - for a conversation about what it actually means to be scientific in animal care and behavior. And why that's important. We talk about natural behavior, species differences, the constructional approach, and so much more. Resources for the Avian Behavior Lab (it's growing, people! We have big things on the horizon!) can be found on the link. You can check out Barbara's Animal Training Funda...
Jul 09, 2022•1 hr 14 min•Season 3Ep. 49
