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Post by hawkeyes on Feb 20, 2020 16:29:26 GMT -7
I have a new woman in my life gentlemen, one who is very fiesty with one nasty bite. She speaks her mind and that is that! A very healthy female who is showing exceptional progress, very much looking forward to wreaking havoc on the local country sparrow population. Being the smallest true falcon in NA the family is able to actively engage in training which wasn't the case with my red tail. The real boss loves her little "Sweet pea" yes wifey named her sweet pea. Actually fitting as she is rather sweet unless she isn't happy. Spence, I know you've had K bird experience as well, any secret tips I may not have came across? I'm just amazed at how quickly she has learned so far. However she doesn't fancy the beam sacle but doesn't mind the digital perch version at all. Her trap weight was 121grams, healthy happy female weight. I need to get her used to standing on the more accurate beam scale. I fear the digital scale isn't accurate enough at 1 gram, need that tenth of a gram accuracy.   |
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Keith
Hunter
Bushfire close but safe now. Getting some good rain.
Posts: 1,002 
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Post by Keith on Feb 20, 2020 16:43:25 GMT -7
A beautiful raptor. Great images, thank you for sharing.
Keith.
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Post by spence on Feb 20, 2020 17:06:42 GMT -7
My experience with the Kestrel was A+ from beginning to end. Flying a true falcon is totally different from flying a hawk, even these very small ones, and is very special. I agree, they learn very quickly. I spent a lot of hours flying it to the lure, and it went by the book. I never hunted it. One pleasant advantage to the little one was that even my youngest son could get involved.  Spence |
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Post by brokennock on Feb 20, 2020 17:40:38 GMT -7
Oh my! That is one absolutely beautiful bird. That face is just gorgeous. I hope more pictures and reports of her progress will be forthcoming.
Congratulations on the addition to the family.
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Post by spence on Feb 20, 2020 17:59:12 GMT -7
I had a lot of special experiences in my involvement in falconry, not all of them of the type you would expect. One special one happened with the kestrel. My wife had a good friend in college, Sue, who had been legally blind all her life from a condition called congenital nystagmus. In that condition you can’t keep your eyes still, they move constantly and rapidly from one side to the other, you can never focus on a spot. In spite of that Sue aced college, graduated with honors. My wife lost contact with Sue after graduation and for 25 years after. Then, we engaged with a blind man to tune our piano, he brought his wife along, and it was Sue. Big reunion, of course, On another visit my wife told Sue I was involved in falconry, and Sue remarked that she had always been sad that she had never been able to see a live bird because anything had to be almost touching her face for her to see it clearly.
I had a better idea and set to work. We have an interior sliding glass door, so I got the kestrel and held it almost touching the glass, while Sue put her face almost touching on the other side, so the bird was about 3-4 inches from her eye. Somehow, that allowed her to see the bird clearly. She started squealing like a girl and shortly broke down and began crying. Her eyes weren’t the only wet ones.
If you only get to see one bird in your life, you could do worse than the American kestrel.
Spence
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Post by artificer on Feb 21, 2020 2:02:42 GMT -7
Hawkeyes,
A fine Lady indeed! Thanks for sharing.
Spence,
What a heart warming story! Thank you.
Gus
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Post by hawkeyes on Feb 21, 2020 7:55:57 GMT -7
Raptors in general are just so special and dear to the heart. With an experience like that Spence just makes them even more special.
This little falcon has certainly turned my falconry experiences upside down. The differences between the two species is night and day. I see the biggest change in temperament and personality. This little falcon is a joy to be around, quick to respond without hesitation, well mannered and very docile. A large female redtail has been an entirely different experience. While an exceptional opportunity it was in training her, things were always a struggle in some way.
While I'm not a text book falconer, I see now how the little K bird can fit right into the life of a family, win your hearts but yet be a ferocious hunter and successful at that. Nothing like being able to hunt birds right off the deck and anywhere in between.
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Post by spence on Feb 21, 2020 8:56:48 GMT -7
Yes, a totally different experience in the falcon and the hawk. A large red-tailed hen is special, but in a different way.  Spence |
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Post by hawkeyes on Feb 21, 2020 10:00:48 GMT -7
That they are, certainly do miss my girl.  As you know first hand the bond you develop with them certainly is something special and out of this world. After her first molt before our last season together she grew in her red tail, absolutely flawless. For no reason she dropped two perfectly healthy deck feathers and grew two more, again flawless. I interpreted that as her gift to me as a way of saying thank you. Those two feathers are worth more to me than any other material posession. |
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