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Since we were in Del Mar this morning to shoot the morning workouts at the track, we figured we might as well take advantage of it and visit Free Flight (again for me!) since it's right down the road from the track.  Rich was anxious to visit and take some photos, and we both enjoyed out time there this morning.

I learned a little more about this sanctuary today...for example, some of the birds we saw are just being boarded here.  There's a variety of reasons, from the owner being out of town, to the birds needing to be socialized a bit more.

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Another interesting piece of information we got today concerns the two birds who are always together, grooming each other, "talking" to each other, and just keeping each other company.  The birds were donated to the sanctuary after their owner died with the stipulation that they would live out their lives there, and not be adopted.  They have been together over 30 years, and one of the birds is 40+ years old, and the other over 50!!

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Most of these birds live longer than our average lifetimes!  The worker at Free Flight said the best approach is to purchase your bird when your child is one year old, then the bird will live his life with you, and later your child.  That's quite a commitment.

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Rich had a great time inviting the various birds to hop on his arm for a little up close and personal time.

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