As bird lovers, one of the best and most memorable experiences we all hope to have is a close encounter with birds. Be it through meeting a falconer, visiting your local conservation organization or zoo or having a once in a lifetime moment out birding, seeing birds up close is nothing short of amazing. When we think about meeting a bird who is in captivity for educational purposes, what does it take for those birds to feel comfortable with the people that work with them and you as an audience member?  

Today, I talk with Corina Newsome (@hood__naturalist), Ornithologist and Community Engagement Manager with Georgia Audubon, about the extremely exciting and interesting world of avian training for educational purposes. There is a lot to this profession and it is not an easy job. Corina and I discuss different training methods, bird language, species differences in captivity and why relationship and trust building is so important between bird and trainer.  

We then Dig Into It and take all of these ideas around avian training and create a powerful metaphor for how white supremacy operates in institutional settings with Black, Brown and Indigenous people of color. We hone in on and dissect how important the intentionally slow, incremental steps (or approximations) towards re-building relationship and trust with the BIPOC community can be the radical behavioral shift white conservation organizations need to understand if they truly want to dismantle the pillars of oppression within their institutions. 

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Follow Corina Newsome on IG here : https://www.instagram.com/hood__naturalist/

and connect with all her work here : https://linktr.ee/corinanewsome

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Resources for avian behavior and training which focus on choice and relationship based techniques

https://iaate.org/

https://naturalencounters.com/

https://avian-behavior.org/

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Follow me here : https://www.instagram.com/alwaysbebirdin_podcast/

Donate to the podcast here : https://www.buymeacoffee.com/AlwaysBeBirdin