An online falconry journal (mostly)

122g--Excellent response

accipiter — Tue, 07 Feb 2017 04:13:41 GMT

Got an excellent response out of Millie today at 124g after she hadn't eaten in a day and a half. Very focused and intent and responsive when called--as if aware that no food at 8pm might mean no food until the next morning. Minor vocalizations (chitters, not screams) of excitement when she was getting food rewards. Only hesitated one time and that was when I went out into the hallway, where she'd never flown into before. Afterwards, had her perched on the hand for about 15 minutes. She put a foot up, which is a sign she's getting comfortable. I was hoping I'd get the ultimate compliment of her wiping her beak off on my hand, but it didn't happen. Looooots of beak grinding after her feeding. I'd forgotten how much kestrels tend to beak-grind.

124-125g, flying across the room

accipiter — Sun, 15 Jan 2017 12:49:43 GMT

Jan 13: Had her flying across my office, about 8-10' distances with almost no hesitation at 125g.

Jan 14: Had her flying across "the man loft" (upstairs bedroom/office), about 8-10', with sometimes good response and sometimes hesitation to come or come directly (as there were perches along the way). 124g. Perches and low ceiling might have made a big difference?

click? 127g

accipiter — Tue, 10 Jan 2017 18:26:20 GMT

Seems that Millie might have finally had that *click* moment where she associated jumping to the hand to get fed. She even did so once when there was no visible food. After polishing off her mouse, full, she flew into the closet to try and perch on the clothes rack there to spend the night. Nope. Don't need bird poop all over my good clothes! She seems to be getting calmer, too.

I've never worked at such a slow pace with a bird before. This is all me being busy, but this is what I'd planned on happening. We'll see how this slow approach pans out over time.

Still not vocalizing, so that's a giant plus.

Hops and whistles

accipiter — Mon, 02 Jan 2017 03:42:48 GMT

Millie is hopping about 3' to the glove tonight. No leash. She only flew off (in a room with the door shut so she wasn't going to go far) once. Super-slow response overall at 132g, but she's doing it. After polishing off the last of the mouse (minus the lower intestinal tract/colon, which she flung away) on my hand, she roused a few times and did some winnowing. She is definitely getting more comfortable around me.

We have new neighbors who moved in this past spring. The guy trains his dog sometimes in the back yard and uses a whistle that sounds awefully similar to the pealess plastic version I use for bird training. I bought two different whistles--one that is supposedly the loudest whistle out there (which hurts my ears to use it!) and a wooden pealess whistle I bought while in Colonial Williamsburg the other week. I'm hoping the bird can tell the difference in whistle tones and won't be triggered by the neighbor's when he does stuff in the evenings. (Whistles are used to tell the bird it did something good and to get it to come back, so I don't want a bird that is desensitized to whistles! Even/especially whistles from afar like the neighbor in his back yard.)

Zzzzz

accipiter — Fri, 30 Dec 2016 03:58:32 GMT

We now have bird sleeping in my presence while the lights are on, but only if I'm not moving. Granted, I think she was spent from having a busy day as a desk ornament at the office while I worked, but I'm trying to get her more socialized as opposed to stuck in the Man Loft at home for 9-10 hours with no one there (and then me maybe spending 30-60 minutes with her). Good steps, though.

OMG, was that two days of doing nothing? Also, Millie hops to the fist now.

accipiter — Tue, 27 Dec 2016 05:17:52 GMT

Work insanity died down (temporarily), transitioned immediately into the family vacation to Williamsburg for a week, and we got back home on the night of the 24th. Life has been crazy busy. 25th and 26th? I did jack and squat. Videogames (Witcher 3, which has better story/characters than Skyrim but I'm less thrilled about the combat nerfing and lack of a stealth/range option--but it's interesting playing outside my usual class/type). Reading (Cormac McCarthy's "The Road" in preparation for a post-apocalyptic literature course I teach in the spring, Colbert's "America Again" which is prohpetic in places, and Sedaris's "Holiday on Ice" of which the elf job story is the best IMO).

Oh, and I've got Millie doing hesitant hops (of about 6") to the fist. Normally I'd have a bird doing this in 2-4 days, but I got a kestrel acknowledging my time constraints during the academic year, and I don't feel guilty for doing little more with her than tossing her a mouse each day and weighing her from time to time. "Working with her" has largely been me, on a futon couch/bed, grading papers or writing reports or sleeping, with her about 4-5' away and in plain sight. Irregularly, as sometimes I don't want an overhead light on all night long and I like to "bed surf" from location to location in the house anyway. So, if you're reading this and you're an apprentice falconer, don't do anything I'm doing; your sponsor will likely drop you. :) But hopefully there's a method to my madness.

That and I got a DVD on raptor exercise/conditioning, so hopefully we'll move on to that phase soon. I'd like to do jump-ups with Millie to build breast/flight muscles and reinforce training.

accipiter — Tue, 13 Dec 2016 15:48:17 GMT

Not too much to report as I haven't really worked with the bird any other than sometimes sleeping in the same room as her at a distance of about 4'. She's getting used to people being around her, but not /near/ her. Still, that's progress. And not too bad considering how much work has been stomping my butt during finals week and, after finals week, how I've been swallowed by an important administrative project. Oh, hey, and there's that research project data I now need to manually enter at some point. And that other thing that....

New bird!

accipiter — Thu, 08 Dec 2016 15:10:22 GMT

Trapped a female American kestrel a little over a week ago. Named it "Millenium." (Millenium, the falcon. Insert Star Wars reference here.) Naked trap weight: 140g, a big girl! Had 3 days to work with Millie before I went to a conference and my better half got to tend to her for 5 days. Got Millie to jump to the glove last night at 130g (not naked), Not too bad for a bird that really hasn't been worked with much at all due to end-of-the-semester workload. But I'm not looking to fly her anytime soon. This is mostly a spring-fall bird to fly at bugs and just let me keep a digit dipped in the falconry pool.

Trapping: fun but fruitless.

accipiter — Tue, 15 Nov 2016 03:09:42 GMT

My first bal-chatri trap, I think I tied the drag weight too close to the trap and made the hole that the fishing line noose slide through too big, as the nooses spring open if there's not a continuous pull. Had two birds on the trap so far--a kestrel and a red-tail--and it didn't snag either. So yesterday I built a second trap with tighter noose holes. Went out in the AM and PM today, but couldn't get anything to come down to the trap. Trapping in the mountains--and on the opposite side of the mountain than the migratory route--is way more difficult than trapping just across the Mississippi River in Arkansas, which as tons of fields with prominent perches by the road.

I'll get one eventually; I'd just prefer sooner rather than later.

tap tap tap "This thing on?"

accipiter — Wed, 02 Nov 2016 18:52:39 GMT

Oh, hey. I have a LJ account. Theoretically about falconry foo. Hmm.

Well, I took a three-year vacation from it when work went insane, they laid off about 20% of the professors, and then things went uglier--and I got a "promotion" of sorts that demanded more of my time and I wasn't terribly keen on but it felt like a good idea to take when it was offered because of job security. Fun times!

But this fall, I've decided to say "Eff it!" and get a bird. I'm thinking a kestrel as I won't really have much time to fly it during the school year, but they're a hoot to fly on grasshoppers in the summer when I don't have teaching obligations to deal with. We'll see how this all works out.

Oh. And. Uh. Hi there.

New bird. Not dead.

accipiter — Sun, 20 Jan 2013 22:53:25 GMT

Oh, hey. This journal exists. And I have a bird again, so I should post crap here.

Trapped a female American kestrel really late in the season and have had it now for about a week. No clue if it's a haggard or a passage, as kestrels can be vexing that way. (After spending some time with her, I'm thinking haggard.) Trap weight was 130g, empty crop. Must be a northern migrant at that weight! Rule of thumb is that response weight is often at 10% below trap weight, and she does respond--albiet with great hesitation, at about 117g. Had her down to 112g today and she wouldn't go after a mouse in the bathtub (though she expressed interest), so we've clearly got more work to do.

I ordered a box of 50 frozen quail shipped 3-day UPS last week. It got delayed three times due to bad weather, UPS doesn't deliver Saturdays or Sundays. Monday is a holiday. That'll be 8 days, no refrigeration. Those quail are going to be very juicy, pungent, and hot from decomposition--they're shipped in plastic bags. Hopefully insurance will cover it. Otherwise I'll be out $250 and re-ordering. (Of course, part of that $250 was insurance, so I have to assume that it's covered or I wouldn't have been charged an insurance fee to begin with.)

Oh, and I made up a series of bad names until shutterbugjones overruled me and declared her name to be "Ishtar." Yes. After the movie/goddess.

Made some interesting new portable perches using stainless steel dog bowls, aluminum metal strips (bent into U shapes), metal screws (to fasten the U-bent metal to the inverted dog bowl, cement (to fill the dog bowl and weigh it down), and truck bed liner spray (to prevent the base from skidding. Portable perches for under $20! Can't beat that with a stick!

Hitched!

accipiter — Tue, 30 Oct 2012 13:56:44 GMT

Nothing bird-related to report other than I put in for--and received--a permit to trap. I might be forgoing a bird this year due to finances and time constraints/demands.

In other news, shutterbugjones and I got hitched this past Saturday. :)

Gonzo released.

accipiter — Tue, 24 Jul 2012 19:11:58 GMT

I'm birdless now. (Unless you want to count five chickens.) I'm not planning on flying a bird this upcoming season, so I can focus on job/marriage/apprentices, so don't expect very many posts!

<3

accipiter — Tue, 29 May 2012 00:36:23 GMT

shutterbugjones said "yes!"

=)

Chickens!!!

accipiter — Sat, 21 Apr 2012 04:44:30 GMT

shutterbugjones and I purchased 6 baby chickens last weekend. We lost one, but that's apparently not very unusual with baby chickens that are only 1-3 days old. The remaining chickens all seem to be active and healthy--and ridiculously cute. I started catching bugs for them and hand feeding these treats. There's one chicken who tears across the box to get the bug. Then, cheeping excitedly and loudly, it tries to hide in a corner to eat the bug. But the loud, excited cheeping alerts all the other chickens that it has something, so they all mob the one to try and get what it has in its mouth. Chaos ensues.

Chickens: Funny but not so smart.

Season over: 18 squirrels, 1 rabbit.

accipiter — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 02:12:59 GMT

I think this might be the first season there were no "misc" kills, which means--hurray!--no snakes!

It was also the 2nd worst season I've ever had with a red-tail--after my 1st season with my 1st bird, Mortimer. Although I can't fault Gonzo one bit. She's a good game hawk, but the combination of my new job with a heavy work load and not having located good fields to hunt hindered us both--and that's all my fault. Still, I had a blast with her the times we did get out.

After the season ended on Feb 29, Gonzo has only had to do one thing: endure being presented two three separate classes of 1st graders. Hopefully there'll be one or three fewer boys inclined to shoot a hawk now that they've gotten to see one, learn about them, and touch one.

I installed a food chute so SBJ's dad could easily feed Gonzo while we were off on a cruise. Gonzo seems to have figured the game out quickly and is now ready to pounce on anything coming out of the tube.

I'd emptied her bathpan on Tuesday to let it dry out and kill the algae. Wed afternoon I came home to find her sitting in the empty bath. (Cute!) She soaked herself after I refilled it.

Today I noticed she'd dropped a contour feather. That might explain the bathing: itching from the moult starting. Let's hope for a good, fast, clean molt so I can turn her loose in July.

Finally, I think I've been seeing the fluffy white head of at least one great horned owl chick in the tree cavity on campus. Like 90% certainty. Spring is in the air!

18 squirrels, 1 rabbit

accipiter — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 19:16:18 GMT

Hideous dry spell after the between semester break. I've been able to hunt on campus occasionally (very occasionally--been swamped!), but it's not a good hunting ground. The trees are too big and old--FULL of holes. Unfortunately, it's the only place I can get to during the day with my current schedule. This Saturday, I went out to the hinting club's grounds and Gonzo did a great job following and paying attention--up until she saw a squirrel. She nailed it in a vertical stoop. Zap! Got there to help put it down, but Gonzo'd already killed it. FINALLY she grabbed one by the head. (She's gotten her meat hooks into at least three since my last posting, but each one by the ass--and she got seriously mauled and bloodied as a result. Fortunately no serious/permanent injuries--just lots of blood.) The squirrel was noticeably pregnant. It's a little early for that, but I guess with how warm this winter has been so far....

On my way into town I stopped by the campus to fly Gonzo near where there's rumored to be a great horned owls' nest. Spotted it! One owl in a tree cavity and another came by to drive off Gonzo. Called Gonzo down, gave her a full meal, and we packed it in. Sweet! Thrilled to have found an active GHO nest site! Looks like an active one, too.

Might have found another nest of some sort on the hunting club's property. Going to have to get the spotting scope out, though.

17 squirrels, 1 rabbit--TRIPLE!

accipiter — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 03:59:39 GMT

Went home for the holidaze. Had two days where we could go hunting. 1st day was a wash--too windy and cold so the squirrels were all buttoned up in their holes. Gonzo thrashed a couple squirrel nests, but nothing in them. The other day was better. Got a squirrel in the yard. Got a 2nd squirrel in an undeveloped lot a half mile down the road. Got a 3rd squirrel later that day in a neighbor's yard. The 2nd squirrel managed to bite Gonzo in the head. (Ow!) Her feathers are an absolute wreck from brawling with squirrels when she doesn't get them by the head. One tail feather broke off and she'll probably lose 1-2 more that are badly crimped. Broke the tips (less than 1") off of about 3-4 more. Shouldn't affect her flying much, though. I just like having a bird in good feather.
Supposed to get down to 11F tonight. Much colder, and if there's wind chill as well, and I'd be tempted to bring Gonzo inside for the night.

14 squirrels, 1 rabbit, 1350g--good response

accipiter — Sun, 18 Dec 2011 22:58:54 GMT

Flew Gonzo on campus today now that the students have all vacated. She nearly got one squirrel, but it went down a drain pipe at the last second. Nearly got a second squirrel, but it ran underneath a parked car at the last second and Gonzo... well, she just T-boned the car. (The car won that round.) I checked her over, but she seemed okay other than a bit of her cere peeled back. We moved on to a different area of campus where the trees are HUGE and unfortunately full of holes. She got waaaay up in a tree and started eyeballing something near the bottom of the tree next to it. I went over to whack the tree with my beating stick. The squirrel moved around towards me, Gonzo power-dived out of the nearby tree on an attack angle of about 20 degrees from vertical. I crouched into a duck-and-cover and *just* missed being involved in Gonzo's follow-through post impact with the squirrel on the trunk. Nothing like a 3.5lbs of taloned fury whacking you in the face at 50+MPH! Traded Gonzo off and we tried for doubles, but no luck. The squirrels were all buttoned down and the day was getting close to ending, so we packed up and went home.

13 squirrels, 1 rabbit, 1310g--good response

accipiter — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 11:39:14 GMT

Took Gonzo out yesterday to the hunting and fishing club's property, where she took a squirrel with great form while some guy was zeroing in his hunting rifle on the back range. The noise from the gunshots only seemed to bother her once, then she ignored it completely. (There's gunshot going off all the time in the neighborhood because we're so close to the gun range, but I was a little worried about how much louder the sound would be on the gun range property.) Gonzo missed the squirrel on the first pass, took a second shot at the squirrel as it went down the tree trunk and missed, took a third shot as it crossed the ground and missed, watched it run off, got back up into a tree, waited for it to go up another tree, got to a higher perch, then made a fast-glide attack, missed, and turned to nail it on the ground when it made another break for it. Traded her off and we tried for a double (as she'd scored in under 15 minute of hunting). Missed a shot at a rabbit and another squirrel, but Gonzo was definitely gamey.

She behaved very well, too. I think a lot of the problems we were having before (not coming when called, free-ranging, not cooperating) were largely due to me not having the time to get out and hunt with her.

12 squirrels, 1 rabbit, 1315g--good response

accipiter — Sun, 04 Dec 2011 00:10:22 GMT

Took Gonzo over to campus around 2pm today, where she flew around a bit, took a shot at a squirrel, missed, tangled with a wild red-tailed hawk, sent it packing, took a shot at another squirrel, missed, and eventually connected with a third squirrel. I was walking with her towards a particularly good spot on campus when I heard a squirrel calling. I guessed what tree it was in, tossed Gonzo up into a nearby tree so she had a height advantage, and then got the squirrel moving. It bailed out of the tree as Gonzo came rushing in, hit the ground running, and didn't make it around the corner fast enough. Gonzo nailed it on the sidewalk and there was a huge rumble on the ground because she grabbed it by the ass and it was still fighting/running. Fortunately it sunk its teeth into the extra-big anklets I make for my birds, so the squirrel had a mouthful of leather. I ran over, assessed the situation, and stuck my gloved hand in to pin the squirrel so Gonzo could get a grip on its head and body. Ended up with about half a dozen students hanging around asking questions as I traded Gonzo off the squirrel for a whole quail. Tidied up and off we went.

Flew her yesterday at the hunting club's range where she got a couple shots at one or two squirrels (might have been the same squirrel twice), but we connected with nothing. Weight was 1280g. I remove her old bell (which was cracked and coming apart) and put on two new bells. Despite casting her in the field to put the two bells on, she still flew great. On the way back to the car, as the sun was beginning to set, I noticed fresh bear poop on the road. I hustled back to the car.

Bears: great at making deep-woods falconry much more exciting!!!

11 squirrels, 1 rabbit, low 1200s

accipiter — Sun, 27 Nov 2011 15:09:17 GMT

Flew Gonzo three times while visiting the parents over Thanksgiving break. She took game each time, and got a double yesterday--a total of 4 squirrels. I'd hoped to fly her once more today, but high winds and rain dictate otherwise. Flew her much lower than usual, and I'm in the process of fattening her up a little. She's taking too many risks at a lower weight--grabbing squirrels by their rear end instead of their heads.

Well, time to pack up and head on back to northeast TN.

accipiter — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 18:28:57 GMT

Has it been nearly 2 weeks since I last flew Gonzo? Gosh, it nearly has been--and I likely won't get a chance to fly her until this Wednesday--weather permitting. Last week was a bit of a wash due to an intense work schedule (I'm starting to regret having signed on to teach an adjunct class at a college about an hour's drive away) combined with coming down with a nasty cold. My fever finally broke Saturday night, but I'm still a snot factory--but a snot factory that ought to be going out of business soon! Amazingly, I managed to get the pool closed during all of this. So.... I got the "Grown up" stuff that needed to be done taken care of, and zero falconry/training.

Here's hoping the holiday weekend will bring some gleeful squirrel death while visiting the parentals!

accipiter — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 03:37:09 GMT

The play Gonzo was to be in, and was in for 5 showings, is now over. So I feel like I can risk flying her once again without the fear of her flying off and injuring a play as a result of her spending the night out (or just flying over the nearest hill). School is calming down a little too, as I'm slated to teach a class I've taught once already--so much less lesson prep the second time around. (Although, cleverly, I took an adjunct class an hour away that I hadn't taught before, so....) And I think I might be coming down with a head cold.

The universe hates me. It's the only logical conclusion! :)

accipiter — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 10:41:26 GMT

Did a walking lecture on falconry and linguistics for the college's English Student Organization on Tuesday. Didn't weigh Gonzo in advance (stupid) and I hadn't been managing her weight at all (double stupid), but she was pretty eager to go. Not unexpectedly, she didn't behave terribly well around a crowd, and I had to go cajole her to come back twice. A couple slips at squirrels, but only one really good one that almost connected--but it was all right out in the open and a ground chase, so the crowd got a good view of the action. Ended up having to redo the lecture because at the end, the crowd had grown by about 25-30 more students/faculty than we'd started out with.

Gonzo's did pretty good the second time she was in the play this past weekend, too. She didn't bate once while visible to the audience. Of course, off stage, she fired a big crap into the treat bag for the miniature pony that's also in the play. The pony's owner shrugged and said, "Hey, it's just more protein." I guess horses eat crap of various critters all the time, now that I think about it. A hazard of being a grazing herbivore.