Fly Away Home 0133
When young birds are first hatched they identify with the first animal that cares for and feeds them. The descriptive term for this behavior is "imprinting." This characteristic is extremely strong in geese. In cases where nestlings have been raised by humans, the birds now identify with humans and lose their ability to carry on normal goose behavior, including migration. This behavior is characteristic of birds but is stronger in some birds than others. It is used extensively in falconry. A young falcon is trained and raised by humans. The bird, if taught, will hunt and then return to its caregiver rather than flying off into the wild. Endangered whooping cranes have been taught to follow whooping crane puppets and ultra light aircraft. In the movie, "Fly Away Home" young geese become imprinted on the young girl who raises them. She realizes that she must teach them to migrate, else they may not survive the winter. She leads them with an ultra light plane on a migration route in the hope that they will learn this. Basically, if you want a baby bird to return to the wild then you shouldn't hand feed it.
Fly Away Home 0133
When young birds are first hatched they identify with the first animal that cares for and feeds them. The descriptive term for this behavior is "imprinting." This characteristic is extremely strong in geese. In cases where nestlings have been raised by humans, the birds now identify with humans and lose their ability to carry on normal goose behavior, including migration. This behavior is characteristic of birds but is stronger in some birds than others. It is used extensively in falconry. A young falcon is trained and raised by humans. The bird, if taught, will hunt and then return to its caregiver rather than flying off into the wild. Endangered whooping cranes have been taught to follow whooping crane puppets and ultra light aircraft. In the movie, "Fly Away Home" young geese become imprinted on the young girl who raises them. She realizes that she must teach them to migrate, else they may not survive the winter. She leads them with an ultra light plane on a migration route in the hope that they will learn this. Basically, if you want a baby bird to return to the wild then you shouldn't hand feed it.