Late once again with the blog but it is getting done now.
The end of June is upon us and when I look back the main memory is rain. There was a lot. Several booking were cancelled due to it which was not good but that's 1 of those things when you work outdoors.
The weather hasn't been the only bad news. Last Thursday my the trusty Volvo came to the end of the road. When it starts blowing lots of blue smoke that's the end. I am now actively looking for a new car. A big thank you to Brian for lending me his van so I can get to work.
The last 2 weeks have been steady even with the rain making it difficult.
A highlight was doing a hawk walk at Cameron House for Brain Jackman who is a travel journalist for the Daily Telegraph. He also got the first wildscreen award for the script for the wildlife film Osprey and he has a real passion for nature/wildlife. I felt the pressure was on. Things got off to a brilliant start as I was explaining what was going to happen when I spotted a Osprey flying overhead which I pointed out to him and his wife. I looked on it as a good sign for the hawk walk. Oran (Harris Hawk) was brilliant and both Brian Jackman and his wife were very impressed and seemed to have a great time.
The following day was a bit different. We were off to do a demonstration at a school sports day. I have never had to do a display at 1 of those before but it went well and the birds flew well. Bookings like that are great because they are totally different to what I would do normally so they really change the routine of the day.
The next big incident was Oran catching his first rabbit last Thursday. This I would like to point was not planned but when a Harris Hawk sees an opportunity to catch something it tends to be game on. We were coming out of the woods behind Cameron House Hotel and I thought Oran had gone on ahead and was heading back to the aviaries as he does. We were just about to walk in that direction when I heard a quiet squeal somewhere behind me and I knew straight away Oran wasn't ahead but behind us. I doubled back and he was sitting on a rabbit that he had caught. This is his first rabbit and I was proud of him (a special moment) even if we hadn't been trying to catch it.
Since then things have been busy which is great but it does make finding time to work with some the birds difficult. It is always a challenge at this time of year. The diary is busy with booking but I still need to find time to work and fly some of the birds myself. Over the last weekend it was just too busy. On Saturday we had 4 bookings. I did 3 and Jo did a demonstration for the wedding at Strathblane Country House Hotel where we are based. I spent the morning in the centre and the afternoon over at Cameron House where we had 2 hawk walks booked. Oran did both and spent the afternoon looking like he was a mission to catch his 2nd rabbit. With it being so busy some of the birds were given a well earned weekend off.
Sunday was was busy with a highland games at Chatelherault just outside Hamilton. I was a bit worried about this event. The concern was the weather and would it stay dry. Thankfully it did and we were able to get the demonstrations done and we had good numbers come and watch and look at the birds when they we doing the static display. The only down side Brel (Harris Hawk) who is normally very reliable at these type of events was not that responsive. Sometimes he was great but at other he was a bit reluctant to come to the glove. Not sure what his problem was. Hopefully it was a 1 off.
While things have been steady with bookings and the rain has made it a bit difficult to get things done with the birds we have still been flying and working with the birds with 13 out of the 19 birds we have flying in bookings or in training.This is 1 of the things I like about a small team of birds to work with. Yes it sounds great to say I've got 50 or 60 birds but how many are being flown at any 1 time and how many are sitting about as there is no time to fly them. With a small team you can more time into them individually and also spend more time flying them. The days at the moment usually finish with the falcons being flown. All them are doing ok. Sanda (Lanner Falcon) and Uist (Lugger Falcon) have been there usual reliable selves, Gigha (Peregrine) is now flying again and looking great and then there is Bob(Gyr x Saker), he is flying and will come into and attack the lure every so often when being flown but other times he is just flying about. I am hopefully going to get him onto a farm that I can fly on which doesn't have a lot of trees on it so hopefully I can push him a bit more and see what he does.
We are making slow progress with Bella the young Barn Owl but today she made real progress flying close on 30m to the glove and being quick when called. I am hoping to have her flying free in the next week or so which will be great. Up until today it has been slow going but it is like she has worked out what is expected of her and she is doing it. Hopefully we will get the same tomorrow.
The coming week is steady. We have a corporate event at the beginning of next week with should be good fun over at Dundas Castle - a venue that we are at on a regular basis. It is also game fair weekend. This is for all those interested in hunting, shooting, fishing, falconry and country pursuits. I treat it a bit like a trade fair. it is where I can get work wear and equipment for the birds. On the shopping list this year are a hood for Sanda, a few nobel bells for putting on the birds, a new falconry bag, maybe a new glove, mole skins, jumper, a pair of walking boots and maybe 1 or 2 things that take my fancy.
458
Wednesday, 29 June 2011
Monday, 13 June 2011
I'm back
Ok I'm back. Moving house is a busy stressful time. There are still thing to sorted but at least I can start to get things back to normal in the centre again.
It has been over 2 weeks since I last made an entry in the blog and things have been a bit busy.
We have been at the Drymen Show doing a static which was great fun but hard work as it was very windy and every so often there was heavy rain showers coming in which would only last a few minutes and then blow over and the sun would come out. The weather conditions were hard going but the birds all did well. The Sunday was spent in the centre which after the Saturday was great. It was a busy day with the afternoon fully booked with a half day session.
I was then going to try and keep the following week clear to move house which didn't quite happen the way I wanted it to. I needed to go up to the centre every day to open up, clean the aviaries and feed the birds. Also at the end of the day I would need to go up and lock up. That is a given. The thing is I ended up picking up 6 bookings and having to go and collect bird food. The bookings were all straight forward and went well. Thursday and Friday were both full on days.
On Thursday I made my 3 monthly trip to go and collect the food for the birds. There was the usual assortment of food - chicks (which is the birds main food), quail, rats, mice and duck neck. I kind of messed up with the order and ordered an extra 4 boxes of chicks. This did cause a bit of a problem as I struggled to fit it into the freezers but I got there in the end though. I just had to jam or weigh the freezer doors down so they wouldn't burst open. Artemis got a deers head which I wasn't planning to de-frost as there was just no space for it in the freezers.
The last week has been steady with a quiet mid week and a fully booked weekend. In some ways this has been great. May was full on very busy with a lot of bookings (a fair few out on the road at different locations) and with the whole moving house it has been good to get a few quiet days just to get things back into the routine in the centre.
While it has been a bit quiet with bookings this allows me to fly and work with the birds. Sanda(Lanner Falcon) is back flying again. I am getting her ready for a large event at the end of July. I will reveal all closer to the day. Sanda is 9 years old and 1 of the original team. Normally very reliable unless it is getting to the end of her season and then she can be a bit wayward. To get her flying because of her age and experience it is just a case of take her weight down to 1lb8oz and let her go. She will normally go and sit some (she is not meant to do this) and take a minute to look about and then she will fly to the lure and this will happen for a few days and then she normally stops sitting and gets on with it.
Uist (Lugger Falcon) is flying well also but I may give him a week off at the end of the month just to break up the routine for him. I have also been having real fun with him by moving about a lot when flying him so he is really having to work to try and catch the lure. I have even been running while swinging the lure just to get into a position which may catch him out. There have been a couple of time where he has expected me to be in 1 spot only to find I have doubled back on myself and I am in another spot. It is no mean feat to run and swinging a lureat the same time with a falcon chasing you. It does make the lure work even more fun.
Normally I would have 2 falcons flying at this time of year but not this year. Bob (GyrxSaker) is flying free. I am still not convinced that he knows what he is doing but he is flying so he is getting fit, he comes to the lure when called and will stoop to the lure every so often. Just to give abit of info on Bob. He is second hand. I am always very wary about taking on a second hand bird as you could be getting someones problems or mistakes. Lets just say Bob had some problems when I got him just over a year ago. I tried to fly him last year and it was a bit of a disaster but hopefully this year he will fly better and we should have a better season together. Time will tell.
That's 3 falcons now flying. There is 1 more - Gigha (Peregrine). He is not flying just yet but hopefully at some point this week he will. I will start working with him to get him ready for this event at the end of July. I always love flying Gigha. It is just the thrill of flying a Peregrine even if it just to a lure. Once he gets fit I know I need to be focused or he will catch me out. You can watch him in action on our Fcaebook page or on You Tube. Just look under Strathblane Falconry.
On the down side it looks like I won't be getting the Prairie Falcon this year which is a shame as I was looking really forward to training and working with it. I spoke to the breeder and he told me that he has had a bad season for breeding and there is no Prairie Falcon for me. These things happen. I was going to get something else but I think I may just work through the summer with what I have got and hold out for next year.
The other big news is that Bella (Barn Owl) is now up at the centre full time. She was put in an aviary where she spent a week and then she had her anklets and jesses put on. Now it is time to train her. This has already started in the fact that she has gone from getting 3 or 4 whole chicks to 3 chicks with the yolk sack removed to 2 chicks with the yolk sack removed as we increase her hunger so she will be responsive when called to the glove.
The coming week is busy with the weekend being fully booked with Friday and Saturday being the 2 busiest days. Both being spent doing events out on the road 1 of which is at a sports day. The days are also busy as well as I am working / flying 13 out of 19 birds that I have in the centre. Just as well the days are long at the moment.
442
It has been over 2 weeks since I last made an entry in the blog and things have been a bit busy.
We have been at the Drymen Show doing a static which was great fun but hard work as it was very windy and every so often there was heavy rain showers coming in which would only last a few minutes and then blow over and the sun would come out. The weather conditions were hard going but the birds all did well. The Sunday was spent in the centre which after the Saturday was great. It was a busy day with the afternoon fully booked with a half day session.
I was then going to try and keep the following week clear to move house which didn't quite happen the way I wanted it to. I needed to go up to the centre every day to open up, clean the aviaries and feed the birds. Also at the end of the day I would need to go up and lock up. That is a given. The thing is I ended up picking up 6 bookings and having to go and collect bird food. The bookings were all straight forward and went well. Thursday and Friday were both full on days.
On Thursday I made my 3 monthly trip to go and collect the food for the birds. There was the usual assortment of food - chicks (which is the birds main food), quail, rats, mice and duck neck. I kind of messed up with the order and ordered an extra 4 boxes of chicks. This did cause a bit of a problem as I struggled to fit it into the freezers but I got there in the end though. I just had to jam or weigh the freezer doors down so they wouldn't burst open. Artemis got a deers head which I wasn't planning to de-frost as there was just no space for it in the freezers.
The last week has been steady with a quiet mid week and a fully booked weekend. In some ways this has been great. May was full on very busy with a lot of bookings (a fair few out on the road at different locations) and with the whole moving house it has been good to get a few quiet days just to get things back into the routine in the centre.
While it has been a bit quiet with bookings this allows me to fly and work with the birds. Sanda(Lanner Falcon) is back flying again. I am getting her ready for a large event at the end of July. I will reveal all closer to the day. Sanda is 9 years old and 1 of the original team. Normally very reliable unless it is getting to the end of her season and then she can be a bit wayward. To get her flying because of her age and experience it is just a case of take her weight down to 1lb8oz and let her go. She will normally go and sit some (she is not meant to do this) and take a minute to look about and then she will fly to the lure and this will happen for a few days and then she normally stops sitting and gets on with it.
 |
| Sanda Lanner Falcon |
 | ||
| Uist Lugger Falcon |
That's 3 falcons now flying. There is 1 more - Gigha (Peregrine). He is not flying just yet but hopefully at some point this week he will. I will start working with him to get him ready for this event at the end of July. I always love flying Gigha. It is just the thrill of flying a Peregrine even if it just to a lure. Once he gets fit I know I need to be focused or he will catch me out. You can watch him in action on our Fcaebook page or on You Tube. Just look under Strathblane Falconry.
 | ||
| Gigha the Peregrine |
The other big news is that Bella (Barn Owl) is now up at the centre full time. She was put in an aviary where she spent a week and then she had her anklets and jesses put on. Now it is time to train her. This has already started in the fact that she has gone from getting 3 or 4 whole chicks to 3 chicks with the yolk sack removed to 2 chicks with the yolk sack removed as we increase her hunger so she will be responsive when called to the glove.
The coming week is busy with the weekend being fully booked with Friday and Saturday being the 2 busiest days. Both being spent doing events out on the road 1 of which is at a sports day. The days are also busy as well as I am working / flying 13 out of 19 birds that I have in the centre. Just as well the days are long at the moment.
442
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