The FlyAbout brings you among the best and most talented trainers and teachers in the avian world.
Barbara Heidenreich has been a professional in the field of animal training since 1990. Her
experience includes consulting on animal behavior and training in zoos and other animal related facilities. Her
speciality is free-flight bird training. She has trained staff and animals and presented shows at facilities around
the world. She is president of the International Association of Avian Trainers and Educators. Barbara owns and
operates Good Bird, Inc.,
goodbirdinc.com, which provides behavior and
training products to the companion parrot community. She is author of
Good Bird! A Guide to Solving Behavior
Problems in Companion Parrots and
The Parrot Problem Solver. Barbara is also the editor and publisher
of
Good Bird magazine that promotes and educates the companion parrot owner in the techniques of positive
reinforcement training.
Back to Top
Jim Dawson's career as a biologist has spanned over twenty years and involved a series of studies
of wildlife behavior and ecology. His research specialty is avian behavior. His work unraveling the intricacies of
the group-living Harris' hawk was the basis for the film documentary
Wolves of the Air, produced by the
National Geographic Society. Jim applies the expertise obtained from wild birds to the issues and problems of
companion birds. He consults with institutions, organizations and pet owners interested in flight training their
birds. The unique and groundbreaking Raptor Free Flight Program at the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum,
desertmuseum.org, is a project he helped design and develop. He has worked
extensively teaching volunteer and non-professionals to handle and train flight-trained birds. Simplicity and
clarity form the core of his teaching method.
Back to Top
Dr. Susan Orosz is an internationally known avian veterinarian and anatomist. She received her PhD in human neuroanatomy
from the University of Cincinnati Medical Center and her DVM degree from Ohio State University. During her senior year she did her preceptorship
at the National Zoo and an anatomical study of the limbs of the California Condor at the San Diego Zoo. Dr. Orosz authored the award-winning text,
Avian Surgical Anatomy: Thoracic and Pelvic Limbs. She was the recipient of the Dr. J.T. Lafeber Practitioner Award of 2007. She is owner of the Bird and Exotic Pet
Center in Toledo, Ohio,
birdexoticpetvets.com.
Back to Top
Chris Shank has been training free flying cockatoos for almost thirty years. She has experience at
flying her birds individually or in a flock and is adept at flying her birds at liberty. She has held workshops at Cockatoo Downs
relating to training, behavior, and management.
Back to Top