A report from Karen Walker

I went to the Ken Globus (The Bird Whisperer) TASC sponsored workshop on 5/21/05.  I did not know what to expect but I decided to go with an open mind.  What I saw was at moments tense, then enlightening and finally exhilarating.

I arrived at the workshop site at 8:30AM.  Most of the birds were checked in and the final room set up was being performed.  Ken was meeting people and parrots, listening to the concerns and expectations of the people in attendance.  He was answering questions and giving handling tips.      I got the impression that he truly cares about the birds and their families.

When the workshop started he explained his technique and what to expect, he also told the owners of the birds to let him know if what they saw disturbed them.  He was careful not to “push” anyone harder than was necessary – people or parrots.

His techniques are explained on his web page, but to see him in action is quite enlightening.

He then held each bird on his hand for a few minutes.  If the bird tried to bite he gave his hand a mild “quake” and a “no” command, if the bite was committed the response is an exaggerated wing flap. If the parrot persisted in biting attempts he let it bite his gloved index finger, placed his thumb on the upper beak to control the bite and spoke gently to the bird for a few moments.  He explained that if the parrot can not control the bite and it has no effect it will be hesitant to bite again.

  This process included what he called “pressure on”, “pressure off” this involved looking at the bird out of the corner of his eye, looking away or lifting it above his head when the body language showed fear, lower it and glance at it again, observe the reaction, and take it to the safe place if there is fear, repeat until the bird calms down and its body language shows that the bird is becoming comfortable with him.  Most of the birds needed only a few wing flaps, a few times at the “safe” place and kind words to become calm.  When the bird has calmed down he put it on a T stand. The T stand was at chest level.   For the majority of the birds these first steps were done with no gloves or the gloves were removed after the initial greeting.  He did receive a few bites but did not react to them other than to put the bird down, stop the bleeding, and start again. The Goffins cockatoo did require him to wear thin leather gloves for part of the training session. He removed the gloves when the cockatoo’s body language became more relaxed

The T stand training starts with “the bubble of fear” Ken moved his hands near the bird to find the edge of its comfort zone.  He moved slowly, watching the body language and proceeds with his pressure on pressure off techniques.  He called this “Progressive Desensitization” push the bird a little bit and back off.  Pressure on; he moved his body within 12-18 inches from the bird, reached slowly toward the bird while talking to it, studying the body language. Pressure off; he looked away, turned his back to the bird or walked away a few steps. He repeated this process slowly until each bird was comfortable with his touch.  Each bird dictated his reaction and timing.  He was careful to keep the energy level as low as possible. Another technique in this process was “The fist of Iron” he brought the back of his closed fist slowly to the bird and see if or how aggressively he bites.  He also did this with the top of his head or the flat of his palm to see how committed the bird is to biting without risking a severe bite. 

His pressure on, pressure off technique was interesting.  He would “ask” a bird to turn or move with a slow moving hand at the edge of the birds “bubble” or comfort zone.  He would stop a bird from running up his arm with a simple open hand finger wiggle.  When a bird managed to flutter to his shoulder he calmly removed it with a slowly executed “ear swipe” Palm of the opposite hand starting at the top of his head and slowly moving the palm (with elbow forward) along the side of his face, (looking away from the bird) down his neck, across the shoulder until the bird steps up.  If the bird ran across his back he slowly backed up to a wall, allowing the bird to come back to his shoulder and tried again with his back tight to the wall.  All moves were executed slowly and calmly, Ken stressed never raise your voice or your hand to a bird and if things get too tense BACK OFF and bring the energy level down.  Ken did back off (pressure off) but he did not give up on any of the birds.  They all responded with signs of fear & aggression diminishing and body language becoming calmer.

Some of Ken’s desensitization techniques looked odd for this first time observer but other than a few barks, flutters and bites the birds adjusted amazingly quickly.  He held the Conures loosely cupped in his hand to calm them, he gently patted the Macaws backs until they lifted a wing for a scratching or tilted their head to get a feather ruffle.

The truly amazing part of the day was when each of the people was asked to hold their own bird.  Several of the parrots in the workshop had not been handled by anyone for years and a few of them had never been calmly held.  Yet each person was able to handle their own bird and gently pass it to another by the end of the workshop.  Ken demonstrated proper step up commands and techniques, stressing that you have to be a firm perch and “melt away” the perch the bird is stepping from.  Some of the parrots’ families had tears of joy and relief to be able to handle their bird and see the fear subside. 

The final portion of the workshop was spent talking about behavior problems and a group discussion on how to solve them.  Ken did not hesitate to explain that some of the perceived problems were normal parrot behavior and needed to be accepted.  During this open forum Ken would stop and correct some of the people’s handling techniques, his attention was always directed toward the parrots and how we interacted with them. He stressed that this was not an instant fix and we needed to be patient and continue working with our birds.  He also gave his phone number to the people who had brought birds to the work shop and asked them to call him if they needed help.  He assured them that the follow up calls were free for a specified number of weeks.   The workshop broke up at approximately 4:30 PM when there were no more questions and the people were satisfied with there progress. Ken stayed to address individual questions and concerns.  Karen Walker, Bird lover