It's been busy

It's been 2 weeks since my last post. I do try and make time to do this every week but it is just not possible at the moment. The days are long - somewhere between 10 - 11hours and when I get in it is difficult to find time to do the blog. Eating tends to be a bigger priority, walking dogs and then sleep. It is then a case of getting up and doing it all over again.

The last 2 weeks have been busy wit a steady flow of bookings. In my last post I mentioned that we were out doing 3 demonstrations at weddings in 3 days, 2 of which were off site. All the bookings went well. Glenbarvie House went well and was a lovely venue. The venue for the display in St Andrews - St Salvators Quad was very impressive. As a location for a demonstration I was a little bit worried because I worried about what sort of problems the local sea gull problem would cause but they weren't that bad and we got the demonstration done. We did have 1 scare though Alba (Barn Owl) caught a light breeze that carried her over a wall and she disappeared. I had to go and look for her. I found her quickly as she was wearing a transmitter. She was sitting in someones garden just across the road. I won't fly my birds at a demonstration unless they are wearing a transmitter. In my opinion it is just good management and practice. I decided that Alba had done enough after that. Corrie (European Eagle Owl) was next up to fly and was brilliant even with the local seagull population shouting at him. A big thank you to Amanda for helping me with these 2 events.

St Salvators Quad

Brel (Harris Hawk) at Salvators Quad

 After we got these bookings out the way it was time to get ready for the next big booking on the Sunday. Millerstain House. It was a good day with the weather. It was meant to rain and I thought it would be a long day standing in the rain but the sun shone and it was all good from that point of view. Brel had another wobble with his form not sure what his problem was as he had been very good. He went up into a tree and was slow to come back but did in the end. It happened in the first demonstration but he was perfect in the second demonstration of the day. Uist (Lugger Falcon) though did screw up though. He was flying well and looking good when he went a grabbed his tail and basically couldn't turn so he went off and sat in a tree. I had to go and look for him but he hadn't gone far and came straight back to me when I caught up with him

The new car at Millerstain House

After all these booking that were a bit different it was back to the norm with bookings in the centre and over at Cameron House. Last weekend we did 13 bookings in 4 days. Friday was a marathon with 4 bookings, 3 of which were over a Cameron House. That was all easy, the marathon started as we left Cameron House. The A82 was closed due to a serious accident where someone had died. We had to take a detour. A 30 min journey to get back to the centre became a 4 hour marathon. The other highlight of the last weekend was Oran (Harris Hawk) who caught his second rabbit. We were doing a hawk walk at Cameron House and Oran who had been flying great but just at the end he slowed up and wouldn't follow on. I called for him and no sign. I thinking maybe he had moved when I hadn't been watching but I was sure he hadn't as I hadn't heard his bell. Next thing I see him dropping out of a tree straight down in to the undergrowth and there is a squeal. I knew straight away he had caught a rabbit. Sure enough he had. Not planned but it's second rabbit. I need to say a big thank you to Gordon who helped me all last week on his EMS placement from Glasgow University Vet School.

Oran (Harris Hawk) with his 2nd rabbit

This week so far has been a bit quieter which has been nice. A slightly calmer pace. Today I spent the whole day in the centre something I haven't done in a week. This has been all great as it allows me to get ready for this weekend. This weekend is the Hopeton House International Horse Trials where we are doing 2 displays on Saturday and Sunday. I have been looking forward to this booking for a while. Hopeton House is a stunning venue. Hopefully the weather is ok. I don't want  it to be too warm as this can cause problems for the birds and I certainly don't want rain. What I am looking for is a dry day which is mild with a gentle breeze to help the birds fly.

It will be a long weekend starting each day at 5am and finishing at about 8pm. That's ok though. I love doing these big events and what a venue. Finger crossed that it all goes well. Hopefully the birds all fly well. I will let you know hopefully next week.

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Slow start

It is a bit scary to think we have entered the second half of the year. The first half of the year has flown in. The second half has now started and the first few days have been quiet. This is partly my fault as I have taken 2 days off. The first 2 full days I have taken off this year. It was meant to be Friday to Sunday as I was going to T in the Park but I ended up having to work Saturday so I only got 2 days off.

With me taking some time off this means that the birds are going to get some time off as well.  On my day before T in the Park started most of the birds in the centre were given as much as they wanted to eat with lots of pigeon, quail, rat, mice and duck neck being used up with chicks only being given to the birds who would be flying on Saturday at the demonstration but don't worry they were all given a good feed after the demonstration with more quail, rat and mice being used up. I feel it does the birds good to have a few days off every now and then just to sit and relax. The birds work hard doing sessions and displays and I am sure they appreciate getting a few days off. My attitude is a lot of birds of prey in the wild don't fly for food everyday. For example if a Peregrine kills and eats a pigeon it is not going to hunt the next day. It will sit about for a day or 2 digesting the food. Birds of prey in the wild will gorge themselves so they don't have to go hunting everyday. In falconry it can be a bit un natural because we may want the bird to fly/hunt every day which is something it wouldn't do in the wild unless it had young to feed. There are other reasons why birds of prey in the wild will fly for example to find a mate, to find a territory, to escape predation and some birds of prey migrate. In captivity it is all to do with food - hunger. A few days of feeling full and well fed in some ways would be quite relaxing for them.

With all this extra food the birds have been getting the last 2 days have been spent getting the birds ready to fly again. Monday was spent weighing the birds and seeing who needed to loose weight. Tueasday I flew Bob (Gyr x Saker) and he was ok in his usual style as was Uist (Lugger Falcon). Sanda (Lanner Falcon) on the other hand was rubbish but her weight was a bit heavy. Today we flew all the falcons and they were all in good form with Gigha (Peregrine Tiercel) in great form. He was just picking his moments to come in and attack the lure flying with real determination. Oran (Harris Hawk) and Bella (Barn Owl) on the other hand need alittle bit of work put into them to get them back into the routine.This though was why I made sure I had no bookings in the days after T in the Park.

I do love flying Gigha (Peregrine Tiercel) to the lure. He is great fun to fly. It is just the sheer speed when he is fit that he comes in at to attack the lure. I don't know what speed he is doing but it's quick. He may not be the biggest. Sanda (Lanner Falcon) is 4oz heavier and a wing span that must be twice the size of his and Bob (Gyr x Saker) is 12oz heavier  and look about half again as big as Gigha but when Gigha leaves the glove you can hear the power and when he grips on to the glove and flaps his wings you can feel the power and strength that he has. I love working with birds of prey but when I pick up Gigha to fly him I always get a feeling of anticipation, a little flutter of excitement in my stomach as I walk out on to the field to fly him.

The run up to T in the Park was steady with a few booking and the rain causing a few problems that we managed to deal with. Thankfully though the weather did hold for the corporate event at Dundas Castle where the sun shone and everyone had a great time. I was a little bit worried about Brel (Harris Hawk) after the demonstration at Chatelherault where he wasn't at his best but at Dundas he was his usual reliable self and flew brilliantly in a 7 group rotational event. This is where I will have 7 groups come 1 after another, with each group staying for say 20 mins to learn a little bit about falconry hold a bird and fly a bird and then they move on to their next activity. These events are hard work as you are always watching the clock as you don't want to run over as this could mess up the whole event yet you are trying to give everyone a chance to fly a bird. Brel is great at them as he just gets on with it and he was back on form for this 1.

Now that i have had a few days to get things back up and running again it is time to look at the next few days. Demonstrations at wedding are the order of the day for the next 3 days. 2 of the demonstrations are off site. The first 1 is at a hotel  out near Falkirk, the second 1 is in St Andrews at St Salvators Quad and the third 1 is at Strathblane Country House where we are based. Now that may sound a lot but there is also a hawk walk over at Cameron House tomorrow once we get back from the 1st wedding demonstration, before the third wedding demonstration I have a 1 hour family fun session in the morning and a half day session in the afternoon. Once I have got through the next 3 days it is off to Kelso on Sunday to do a demonstration at a highland games. The next couple of days are busy to say the least. After a few days off and a more gentle pace about the centre it is good to get back into the routine and working with the birds again.

The other good news is I have a car again which I get on Friday. Just in time for going through to St Andrews and then down to Kelso. A big thankyou to my friend Brian for lending me his van and keeping me on the road.

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