Well it must now be Spring. Stuff the clocks changing. That just meant I got 1 hour less in bed. The big sign for me was the fact I saw my first bumble bee of the year. I also saw what I think was a Osprey. It was at a good height up in the sky and was getting a hard time from several sea gulls which it dwarfed. I struggled to get a good look at it with my binoculars but the markings looked about right. Spring is here. I know this may not be very falconry but 1 of the joys of working outside is you get to see the seasons changing. Spring is a great season as everything comes to life from the snow drops pushing through the frozen ground, to the first bumble bee, migrating birds, buds on the trees bursting open and feeling the warmth of the sun on your face. It is all good. Winter is about dealing with it, Spring is about awakening, Summer is fun and Autumn is all about preparing. That's how I see it.
Back to life at Strathblane Falconry. The last week has been quite steady. The 2 schools went well. Bob (Gyr x Saker) behaved at his first school visit and sat quietly on the glove while I spoke about him. I was a little bit worried about him as he has not been the most steady of birds and was nuts when I got him but he was very good. Alba (Barn Owl) did her stuff and flew round the school halls. The first schools hall was great as it was a big hall and she must of been up 30ft some times and I would call her and she would drop down on the glove. The second school had a small hall but it was ok as it was 1 that she has flown in many times before so I knew what to expect.
The weekend was fully booked. Saturday was very busy. I had an all day session in which lasted 5 hours and then it was straight into a family fun 1 hour session. I was feeling it at the end of Saturday and the birds all flew well. On Sunday we had 3 people out in the morning for a half day session and then I treated myself to the afternoon off. Some of the birds also got the whole day off. It's not a case of all work and no play.
I don't like my guys sitting at fly weight day in day out being hungry. If the bookings are coming in and we are very busy then fair enough they are working but if there are times when I can give a bird a break and little bit of chill out time I will. Over the last week I have been able to do that.
Artemis was the first. I gave her a deers head as a treat and she was delighted and it was a case of close the outer door to her aviary so she could work on it in peace. I am always amazed as to how much she can get out of a deers head. I gave her the deers head on the Wednesday, Thursday I took it off her and didn't feed her as she hadn't cast, Friday she did cast (a cast is what she can't digest and doesn't pass through the gut) and I weighed her - she had put on 4oz in weight. That's alot. A 4oz increase in weight is massive. I was able to do a bit of work on Saturday with her.
Next were the falcons Sanda (Lanner) and Uist (Lugger). Both have been working hard flying and also doing verticals (jumping from a block perch to the glove) to build up their fitness faster. They each got their daily foo of 3 or 4 de yolked chicks and 1/2 a quail on Saturday. Sunday was spent chilling out. and relaxing. Oran was another who was given a chance to relax in the fact that he got a quail to eat on Sunday. When left in the early afternoon he had finished it and was looking very please with himself. I have also been able to give Alba (Barn Owl), Jerry (Tawny Owl) and Luca ( Northern Hawk Owl) mice as well. I have said it many times before but when I give my birds quail, mice or rats or any food other than day old cockerel chicks I always feel good. I get a real kick out of how worked up they get when they food like that. The sad thing is I suspect in a lot of places where birds of prey are kept for commercial purposes food like that is a myth for the birds.
Talking of food. I was given a bag of deer bones by someone who does deer stalking. They will be good tiring for the birds. This is where they will have to work at the bones to get the last of the meat of. It helps to keep their beaks in good order and also enrichment for the birds themselves in the fact they have to work to get their food. There is a fair bit on the bones as the guy who butchered the deer is not a butcher. I will try some of it on the birds over the next week and see how the get on.
The coming week is not to busy so I will take the opportunity to take Sanda and Uistok to fly them on the farm as i have been using this farm for ages and the farmer knows that i know how to conduct myself on his land especially during the lambing season. Also the 2 falcons are not going to do anything to his sheep or lambs. This is totally different to Artemis (Steppe Eagle) being taken out to a farm to fly.
Mardy (male Harris Hawk) flew free on Friday for the first time in 6 months after his moult and was back dealing with clients on Saturday. As he was so good so I have decided to put Amber in for the moult and stopped flying her. Brel the other male Harris Hawk should be flying in the next day or 2 once I have put a bell, tail mount and new flying jesses on him.
The coming week with longer days and hopefully better weather will be all about working with the birds that have been rested over the winter to get them flying and up to a good level of fitness. I really enjoy this time as I get to fly the birds for myself.
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Monday, 28 March 2011
Monday, 21 March 2011
Strange week
Well after the initial burst of activity doing 6 bookings in 2 days - 2 were at the centre, 3 were at Cameron House and 1 was in Bishopbriggs so there was a fair bit of driving about and loading up of the car with both days turning into 12 hour shifts and then it went all quiet and I had no booking Thurs, Fri, Sat or Sun. The Thursday was great. A nice lazy day where I got to work in the centre with the birds with no rushing about which after the 2 previous days was great. Friday was much the same as Thursday. By Saturday though I was starting to get a bit restless, Sunday I was wanting to do a booking and then today I had 2 bookings so it was back to normal which was great. Having 4 days of no bookings is strange especially over a weekend in March. I normally get a day here and there but 4 days in a row that normally only happens in January. A little bit odd but things are back to normal with the coming week.
While I was a bit restless it was great to be able to work with the birds that I will be flying over the coming months during the spring and summer months and the bookings are still coming in with some very interesting enquiries. At the moment everything is still up in the air but once things confirm I will be able to say more. A venue has made enquiries for 2 events -1 of which will be an evening and the other will be over 2 days. I have done demonstrations at this venue before for other companies but this is the first time that the venue has come to me direct.
The work with the birds has been going well. I will start with the Harris Hawks Brel and Mardy. Brel is almost at flying weight. He has been a lot more sociable in the last few days. Stepping up onto the glove when I am putting him out on the front lawn or putting him away. I should be able to start flying him in the coming week. Mardy is in the same position. Still being a bit grumpy but Mardy has always been like that. By the end of the week 1 or both will be back flying free and it will be a case of just building up fitness. This will mean Amber (female Harris Hawk) will be put in the back aviary for her moult. I should also be able to give Oran a few weeks off but that is something I can think about over the coming week.
Next are the falcons Sanda (Lanner Falcon) and Uist (Lugger Falcon). I mentioned in my last post that we had put their tail mounts on so that we can attach a transmitter when flying them. Well I started flying them free on Wednesday. Both are really unfit but progress can be seen in the 5 days that they have been flying, especially with Sanda. She was using the wind to get height on me today and came in a really fast. this only lasted for about 2 passes to the lure and then she started to tire but it is progress. Uist is moving a bit slower but still looking good for only 5 days of flying.
All it is with Sanda and Uist is time. I just need to find the time each day to fly them and they will get fitter. Fitness is important when working with any bird of prey but with a Harris Hawk you can get away with flying it for a bit on 4 days a week with falcons that just doesn't work. Sanda and Uist will be flown 7 days a week for the next week or 2 to get them to a descent level of fitness then I will cut them to 6 days and that is what I am aiming for each week. 6 days with 1 day of rest. I should point out both of the above pictures were taken last summer
Then there is Artemis. I think we have turned the corner and she is coming straight to the glove. She is coming straight in from 60m. As soon as the glove goes up she has been coming to it. The only disappointing thing is she needs to be flown free and while I can do it at the centre I am a bit limited on space and there really isn't enough space to fly an eagle. I really need to get her out onto 1 of the farms that I have permission to fly on but I can't do that as the lambing season has started and the last thing the farmers want to see is me with an eagle on their land during the lambing season. So I may have to stop with her and start again later in the summer
I will see about Artemis. It has been a long slow process with her. The simple answer looking back at it would be just to strip the weight of her but I didn't want to do that. I am glad I took it slowly with her and now she is looking good. Her manners are not to bad. She can be a bit of a handful on the glove when coming in for food but once she has eaten it she tends to quieten down quite quickly.
for someone wanting to use a voucher they have bought.
The coming week is a mixture of school visits - 1 tomorrow and 1 on Thursday. The 1 tomorrow I am looking forward to as the first talk is on medieval falconry and hunting and the second talk is on birds of prey. The medieval talk is not 1 that I do that often so it is a nice change and I will be taking Bob with me. This will be his first school visit so hopefully he will be on his best behaviour.
Thursdays school visit is also on birds of prey and is a school in the local area and they book me every year which is great. Tomorrows school visit will be the first time I have been at this school.
The weekend is fully booked so it will not be case of getting a bit restless as I have no bookings things will be back to normal.
300
While I was a bit restless it was great to be able to work with the birds that I will be flying over the coming months during the spring and summer months and the bookings are still coming in with some very interesting enquiries. At the moment everything is still up in the air but once things confirm I will be able to say more. A venue has made enquiries for 2 events -1 of which will be an evening and the other will be over 2 days. I have done demonstrations at this venue before for other companies but this is the first time that the venue has come to me direct.
The work with the birds has been going well. I will start with the Harris Hawks Brel and Mardy. Brel is almost at flying weight. He has been a lot more sociable in the last few days. Stepping up onto the glove when I am putting him out on the front lawn or putting him away. I should be able to start flying him in the coming week. Mardy is in the same position. Still being a bit grumpy but Mardy has always been like that. By the end of the week 1 or both will be back flying free and it will be a case of just building up fitness. This will mean Amber (female Harris Hawk) will be put in the back aviary for her moult. I should also be able to give Oran a few weeks off but that is something I can think about over the coming week.
Next are the falcons Sanda (Lanner Falcon) and Uist (Lugger Falcon). I mentioned in my last post that we had put their tail mounts on so that we can attach a transmitter when flying them. Well I started flying them free on Wednesday. Both are really unfit but progress can be seen in the 5 days that they have been flying, especially with Sanda. She was using the wind to get height on me today and came in a really fast. this only lasted for about 2 passes to the lure and then she started to tire but it is progress. Uist is moving a bit slower but still looking good for only 5 days of flying.
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| Sanda Lanner Falcon |
 | ||||
| Uist Lugger Falcon |
Then there is Artemis. I think we have turned the corner and she is coming straight to the glove. She is coming straight in from 60m. As soon as the glove goes up she has been coming to it. The only disappointing thing is she needs to be flown free and while I can do it at the centre I am a bit limited on space and there really isn't enough space to fly an eagle. I really need to get her out onto 1 of the farms that I have permission to fly on but I can't do that as the lambing season has started and the last thing the farmers want to see is me with an eagle on their land during the lambing season. So I may have to stop with her and start again later in the summer
 | ||
| Artemis coming to the glove |
for someone wanting to use a voucher they have bought.
The coming week is a mixture of school visits - 1 tomorrow and 1 on Thursday. The 1 tomorrow I am looking forward to as the first talk is on medieval falconry and hunting and the second talk is on birds of prey. The medieval talk is not 1 that I do that often so it is a nice change and I will be taking Bob with me. This will be his first school visit so hopefully he will be on his best behaviour.
 |
| Bob |
Thursdays school visit is also on birds of prey and is a school in the local area and they book me every year which is great. Tomorrows school visit will be the first time I have been at this school.
The weekend is fully booked so it will not be case of getting a bit restless as I have no bookings things will be back to normal.
300
Monday, 14 March 2011
The snow is back
Last Monday I was at a meeting and I was speaking to someone and they told me that it was going to snow over the coming week. I totally dismissed it and said no chance. How wrong was I. The snow wasn't that bad and it didn't come to anything but it did snow and on more than 1 day. On Thursday I woke up to find there had been a dusting of snow and on Saturday all the bookings were cancelled due to the snow showers. The hills are still streaked in snow. Hopefully that will be end of the snow.
The weather has been all over the place and so have I. The last week has been steady with 9 bookings spread over 6 days with 5 happening away from the centre. On Saturday the 2 bookings cancelled due to the weather. 1 was booked back in for Sunday and the other has been booked back in for 2 weeks time so no big deal. The week flew by and it all seems a bit of a blur with the bookings coming 1 after another.
The 1 day that does stand out was Thursday. It rained, the hale came on, sleet, strong winds, sun shine and I finished the day locking up the centre with the snow back on. I was still able to get the 2 bookings that I had booked that day done in between all the showers. Thankfully the weather is not like that to often.
In between all the bookings I am still rushing about getting birds ready for the up coming events. Sanda and Uist had their tail mounts put on the other day so that we can attach a transmitter to their tail's when they are flying. The birds are unaware that they are wearing the tail mounts as they are super glued to 1 of their deck feathers (birds have 2 deck feathers. They are the 2 central feathers in their tails). I won't fly my falcons with out a transmitter on. Sanda (Lanner Falcon) and Uist (Lugger Falcon) are both quite reliable in the fact that they tend not to fly off but it is just good practice and management for the bird to wear a transmitter. This is why I bought another Marshals telemetry system earlier in the year. The other thing is that if a falcon decides it is going to fly off for what ever reason then it can go a distance. I have tracked falcons down over a couple of miles away and the only way I was able to find them was due to the fact they were wearing a transmitter. I generally use telemetry on all the bird if I am flying birds off site at a demonstration or an event. There is no excuse to not use it.
Going back to Sanda and Uist. Hopefully I will be flying them free this week at some point as long as the weather stays dry and there is no more snow. Mardy is not that far way from flying as well. I was able to weigh him today and he was about 1lb 7 1/2 oz. he need to below 1lb6oz before I will fly him free so hopefully he will be flying at the end of the week. That just leaves Brel and we are getting him closer to his flying weight. They should all be back flying to a good standard by the time the big events come round.
It looks like there will be quite a few big events in the coming months. The 3 days of events that we were asked to do over the Easter weekend has confirmed which is great. I don't want to say to much but it is a fantastic venue and 1 that I have never done an event at before. There has been an enquiry for 2 days work in October doing a product launch but it is early days on that 1 and I am not sure if it will happen. I am just waiting to see on that 1. I did have to turn down a booking today for a demonstration at a Highland Games as I was already booked up on that day for another event. I always hate turning work away but I work on the simple basis of first come first served. It is a bit of a problem when you are 1 man operation but unfortunately it can't be helped
The coming week is a strange 1. I have 3 booking tomorrow and 3 the next and then nothing for the rest of the week. I suspect that will change and something will book later in the week. If not then I will have loads of time to work with the birds.
295
The weather has been all over the place and so have I. The last week has been steady with 9 bookings spread over 6 days with 5 happening away from the centre. On Saturday the 2 bookings cancelled due to the weather. 1 was booked back in for Sunday and the other has been booked back in for 2 weeks time so no big deal. The week flew by and it all seems a bit of a blur with the bookings coming 1 after another.
The 1 day that does stand out was Thursday. It rained, the hale came on, sleet, strong winds, sun shine and I finished the day locking up the centre with the snow back on. I was still able to get the 2 bookings that I had booked that day done in between all the showers. Thankfully the weather is not like that to often.
In between all the bookings I am still rushing about getting birds ready for the up coming events. Sanda and Uist had their tail mounts put on the other day so that we can attach a transmitter to their tail's when they are flying. The birds are unaware that they are wearing the tail mounts as they are super glued to 1 of their deck feathers (birds have 2 deck feathers. They are the 2 central feathers in their tails). I won't fly my falcons with out a transmitter on. Sanda (Lanner Falcon) and Uist (Lugger Falcon) are both quite reliable in the fact that they tend not to fly off but it is just good practice and management for the bird to wear a transmitter. This is why I bought another Marshals telemetry system earlier in the year. The other thing is that if a falcon decides it is going to fly off for what ever reason then it can go a distance. I have tracked falcons down over a couple of miles away and the only way I was able to find them was due to the fact they were wearing a transmitter. I generally use telemetry on all the bird if I am flying birds off site at a demonstration or an event. There is no excuse to not use it.
Going back to Sanda and Uist. Hopefully I will be flying them free this week at some point as long as the weather stays dry and there is no more snow. Mardy is not that far way from flying as well. I was able to weigh him today and he was about 1lb 7 1/2 oz. he need to below 1lb6oz before I will fly him free so hopefully he will be flying at the end of the week. That just leaves Brel and we are getting him closer to his flying weight. They should all be back flying to a good standard by the time the big events come round.
It looks like there will be quite a few big events in the coming months. The 3 days of events that we were asked to do over the Easter weekend has confirmed which is great. I don't want to say to much but it is a fantastic venue and 1 that I have never done an event at before. There has been an enquiry for 2 days work in October doing a product launch but it is early days on that 1 and I am not sure if it will happen. I am just waiting to see on that 1. I did have to turn down a booking today for a demonstration at a Highland Games as I was already booked up on that day for another event. I always hate turning work away but I work on the simple basis of first come first served. It is a bit of a problem when you are 1 man operation but unfortunately it can't be helped
The coming week is a strange 1. I have 3 booking tomorrow and 3 the next and then nothing for the rest of the week. I suspect that will change and something will book later in the week. If not then I will have loads of time to work with the birds.
295
Monday, 7 March 2011
A good day
I feel I should start with what happened today. Today was 1 of those days where I walked out of the centre at he end of the day and felt like I had a good day. There was no bookings to be done. I did a little bit of work with Artemis who was rubbish. The good news was that the e mails were mainly enquiries. I may be fully booked for Easter. I had an e mail from a company asking me to do 3 demonstrations over the Easter weekend. I also booked in a corporate event in July for a group of Americans. Both pieces of work were repeat bookings for companies I have done work for in the past which made it even better. I also picked up a booking for Cameron House this Thursday so a very good day.
The last week has been a good week on the whole for bookings with bookings on every day apart from today. It has been a good mixture of bookings with a few half day sessions, a school visit, a couple of bookings over at Cameron House and then there was Saturday. On Saturday we had out first vet student sessions. This is where we had 32 vet students out at the centre in 2 groups.
The idea was to create a session to let the students see a selection of birds of prey that they were most likely to see when they qualify so they know the difference between a Harris Hawk and a Redtail and a Barn owl and a European Eagle Owl. To show them the best way to cast up a bird (to secure it for examination), to show them some basic first aid (crop tubing), talk a little on husbandry and let them fly a bird. It was quite intense and I know I was feeling exhausted after the first group and then it was time to get ready for the second group. While it felt quite intense it was great fun with 2 students asking to come out and do EMS placements after their exams which is great. At the end of Saurday afternoon I felt exhausted.
I need to say a big thank you to my friend Charlie who lent me his Redtailed Buzzard called Ramsay for it so the students could see what a Red Tailed Buzzard looked like
We had some the birds sitting out front for the students to look at.
The sessions then finished with the students flying a bird or practising crop tubing on some dead pigeons.
Hopefully the students felt it was a worth while experience and there have been a few enquiries about doing another 1. We have only been able to do these sessions because of Jo. Having someone there who is a qualified vet means that I am lucky enough to have someone who is more than qualified to demonstrate the first aid for birds of prey. So a BIG THANK YOU Jo.
The coming week has filled up with bookings on 6 days out of 7 with almost an even split between the centre and Cameron House. So a busy week ahead. In between all these bookings I will hopefully start flying Sanda (Lanner Falcon) and Uist (Lugger Falcon) to the lure to start getting them ready for the first big display of the season - Glasgow Vet School Rodeo in mid April. Sanda is almost at flying weight and Uist is right behind her. Uist will probably start next week. Sanda though should start tomorrow with verticals (jumping up to the glove to build up her muscles). Sanda is 1 the originals. She is the first big falcon I ever trained. I have had her 9 years. With the days getting longer I have a bit more time to work with the birds, which I suspect I am going to need. Not that it takes much to get Sanda and Uist going again. Take their weight down to flying weight and show them the lure and away they go. All I need to do is fly them so they get fit.
In between getting Sanda and Uist going and dealing with all the bookings I will also need to get Mardy and Brel flying as well. Brel being the priority as I use him in demonstrations and corporate work mainly. Saying that it is going to take another week or 2 to get him close to flying weight but I can already see that he is becoming a little bit more sociable as we get closer to his flying weight.
Busy times ahead and I haven't even started the display season.
287
The last week has been a good week on the whole for bookings with bookings on every day apart from today. It has been a good mixture of bookings with a few half day sessions, a school visit, a couple of bookings over at Cameron House and then there was Saturday. On Saturday we had out first vet student sessions. This is where we had 32 vet students out at the centre in 2 groups.
The idea was to create a session to let the students see a selection of birds of prey that they were most likely to see when they qualify so they know the difference between a Harris Hawk and a Redtail and a Barn owl and a European Eagle Owl. To show them the best way to cast up a bird (to secure it for examination), to show them some basic first aid (crop tubing), talk a little on husbandry and let them fly a bird. It was quite intense and I know I was feeling exhausted after the first group and then it was time to get ready for the second group. While it felt quite intense it was great fun with 2 students asking to come out and do EMS placements after their exams which is great. At the end of Saurday afternoon I felt exhausted.
I need to say a big thank you to my friend Charlie who lent me his Redtailed Buzzard called Ramsay for it so the students could see what a Red Tailed Buzzard looked like
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| Ramsay the Redtailed Buzzard |
 |
| You can see why they are called Redtails |
The sessions then finished with the students flying a bird or practising crop tubing on some dead pigeons.
The coming week has filled up with bookings on 6 days out of 7 with almost an even split between the centre and Cameron House. So a busy week ahead. In between all these bookings I will hopefully start flying Sanda (Lanner Falcon) and Uist (Lugger Falcon) to the lure to start getting them ready for the first big display of the season - Glasgow Vet School Rodeo in mid April. Sanda is almost at flying weight and Uist is right behind her. Uist will probably start next week. Sanda though should start tomorrow with verticals (jumping up to the glove to build up her muscles). Sanda is 1 the originals. She is the first big falcon I ever trained. I have had her 9 years. With the days getting longer I have a bit more time to work with the birds, which I suspect I am going to need. Not that it takes much to get Sanda and Uist going again. Take their weight down to flying weight and show them the lure and away they go. All I need to do is fly them so they get fit.
In between getting Sanda and Uist going and dealing with all the bookings I will also need to get Mardy and Brel flying as well. Brel being the priority as I use him in demonstrations and corporate work mainly. Saying that it is going to take another week or 2 to get him close to flying weight but I can already see that he is becoming a little bit more sociable as we get closer to his flying weight.
Busy times ahead and I haven't even started the display season.
287
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