Mischief Enrichment

Among our responsibilities to the birds at WBS, enrichment is one of the most exciting and important. By exploiting a bird’s natural behavior and curiosity, enrichment provides not only physical activity, but also necessary mental activity. Besides which, it is fun to watch!

Last week I decided to try a new entertainment. I brought a clean and empty milk carton from home and, with Mischief the white napped raven carefully observing my every move, placed several live meal worms inside. As you can see from the video, the project was a hit. Mischief, whose monikers include “Destroyer of Ankle,” lost all interest in me as she wrestled the milk carton into submission.

In the absence of planned enrichment, birds as intelligent as Mischief take it where they find it. Mischief, for example, has been known to enjoy the excitement provoked by a sharp nip to the human ankle or shin. And there is no amusement park ride to compare with clinging to a person’s leg as it tries to escape your fiendish grasp. For obvious reasons, this is not a behavior that we want to encourage. Keeping an eye on the behavior of our birds allows us to “listen” to their wants and needs and to respond accordingly.

As you can see, enrichment makes both birds and people very happy campers.