Autumn is here

Well autumn is here and we have had 4 nights of frost this week and we haven't even reached the middle of October. The last few day have been stunning with clear blue skies. The sun light and the colour of the leaves have been stunning.

 It is always easy to work outside when it is like this. I always love watching the changing of the seasons. Autumn and spring are my favourite seasons. Times of real change and amazing to watch everyday.

I mentioned in my last entry that things had been quiet and were about to get very busy which they did. I ended up having my busiest September ever even though things started quietly it then became very busy with some large events happening back to back. All good fun with variety of events as well. From doing a display for one of our competitors, to a display for a group of tourists at Culzean Castle to doing a historical event at Paisley Abbey.

Corrie (European Eagle Owl) at Culzean Castle

Brel (Harris Hawk) in action at Paisley Abbey

September may of started quietly but it finished in a blur of activity.

October has been at a more steady pace. The bookings have been steady and Pele (Harris Hawk) has been causing the biggest stir over at Cameron House.

Last week we were doing a hawk walk over at Cameron House and a gray squirrel appeared. I hadn't seen one in ages as there had been a cull in the area but one ran out in front of us not far from the front door of Cameron House. Pele spotted it and swooped down missing it, the squirrel ran up a tree and Pele landed in a near by tree and watched the squirrel. I walked towards the squirrel was in, it spotted me and went to go further up the tree, Pele must of noticed that the squirrel wasn't watching him but distracted by me and made his move, grabbing and falling out of the tree with it. I moved in quickly and killed the squirrel. Squirrels are the one of those prey item that I don't like the birds going for because there is a real risk of the bird getting injured. Squirrels have sharp teeth and claws. I have seen pictures of birds that have lost toes, tendons severed and also a very real risk of infection as squirrels have so much bacteria on their teeth. Saying that if we catch one and the bird is ok I am always happy as they are good eating for the birds who love them. This time the bird didn't get hurt so it is all good and the squirrel is now in the freezer.

Later on in the same session in the back woods Pele took a wood pigeon. I just saw him fly into some trees and there was a burst of silvery gray feathers and I knew he had caught a wood pigeon.

Pele with a wood pigeon

It was a eventful hawk walk. Next day we were back over at Cameron House doing another hawk walk and this time Pele was flying again and on form once again catching a rabbit.

Pele again in action this time it was a rabbit he caught

After last weeks excitement this week has been a bit quiet so far with not alot happening. It has been a bit frustrating this week my car has been in the garage for the last 2 days. Tomorrow though I am meant to be going out and looking at some new hunting ground but the weather is not good with rain all day so I don't think I will be able to fly anything but we shall wait and see.

The big thing so far this month has been Minnie (Ferret). I noticed Minnie had gone bald on her tummy and I asked Jo to look at her as I thought this was a bit odd. Jo took a look and said she could feel a large mass in Minnie. So it was off to the vets for Minnie. When she was opened up Jo found that she had a large ovary tumour which she removed. Minnie is now in the house recovering from the op. I am glad she has pulled through though she is still feeling the effects of the general anaesthetic at the moment. Minnie may not be the best working ferret I have ever had in fact she is rubbish but she still deserves a chance. While she is getting on a bit in the fact she is over 6 years old which is reasonably old for a ferret it is not ancient. Patch and Fatty both lived until they were 8 1/2 years which is old for a ferret but I have heard of older.

The coming weeks in the centre are not that busy but that tends to happen at this time of year as things build up for Christmas. All I am really interested in is what will be happening with the winter a freezing and dry winter or a  cold and wet winter time will tell.

1142

It's been a while

Well it has been a while since I have put an entry on the blog. Sorry about that.

Things have been crazy. July was busy and August was just nuts right up until the last Monday in August and then it just went quiet. Looking back it has all been a bit of a blur with events and bookings coming thick and fast but all good fun with a lot of positive feed back. The amazing thing is that we were able to do so many bookings with all the rain we have had this summer. Thinking about it we were lucky - very lucky with the weather at times. There were a lot of big events this summer that fell victim of the weather.

We are now at the end of the summer and entering autumn. Life in the centre is starting to slow down a bit. Last month I was trying work with 18 birds at 1 point. That number is dropping as the number of bookings tails off. August is a month where we change what birds are being flown. Alba (Barn Owl), Lobey (Turkmanian Eagle Owl), Sanda (Lanner Falcon), Midge (White Faced Scops Owl) and Bob (Gyr x Saker Falcon) have all stopped flying and are being allowed a well earned break. Bella (Barn Owl), Pele (Harris Hawk) and Corrie (European Eagle Owl) are now back flying. This week I will probably stop flying Mardy (Harris Hawk) and I will hopefully have Oran (Harris Hawk) back flying the week after. As you can see the team is rotating. I would say by the end of this month there may be another 2 or 3 birds dropped from the flying team as we prepare for the winter schedule.

I always feel this is a time for reflection of the last summer season. At times it was crazy - getting up at 3.45am to get ready for a event or doing 15 hour days where I seem to be getting by on caffeine and sugar (not recommended). On the whole it has been very satisfying season. Looking at how events have gone, watching the birds fly in certain situations knowing that when I step out in the main ring of an event and at least 500 people are standing watching me I know that all the hard work and training that has gone on before hand is going to come good. I know that the birds I have selected for that event are not going to let me down. Don't get me wrong we have had the odd thing thing not go to plan but nothing major. I haven't had to go and look for a bird this summer. That alone is a great thing but when that little moment of unexpected brilliance on the birds part happens it is fantastic. To give you an example. Uist (Lugger Falcon) was flying at the Bruce Festival in Dunfermline. A few seagulls had been swooping overhead when Brel (Harris Hawk) had been flying but nothing that full on. Brel finished and it was Uist's turn . I got him ready and cast him off  he circled the arena to get his bearings and 2 sea gulls came into give him a hard time. They chased him about the venue, taking it in turns to swoop at him. He had to twist and turn flying in between the trees to try and shake them off which he did. I was watching helpless thinking I am going to have to go and look for him as the gulls chased him further away from where I was standing. I was getting ready to reach for the receiver to track him down when he managed to shake off the gulls, came flying back across the main arena and carried on with the flying display like nothing had happened.

Looking back it has been a good summer apart from the weather. There could of been an improvement on that front but I guess that is out with my control.

Some of the birds really stood out this summer. Lobey (Turkmanian Eagle Owl) over August was on great form on some days doing 2 booking in a day. He turned 10 this year. It doesn't feel like over10 years since I went into the aviary and took him out of the nest at 12 days old. I am glad he is getting a well earned break at the moment. Alba (Barn Owl) always reliable. Brel (Harris Hawk) for simply being Brel. When that big event comes round and I know I need a bird to fly who won't mess around or be spooked by anything it has to be Brel. Bob (Gyr x Saker) for the way he continues to develop into a demonstration falcon. This was the falcon that when I got him over 2 years ago was always baiting and crashing about his pen just because some one stopped to look at him. He finished this summer flying at the Bruce Festival in Dunfermline

While things are slowing down for the winter it has not stopped. The last 2 weeks have not been that busy but kicking off tomorrow things pick up again for the next 10 days with 5 large events at different venues around Scotland not to mention 11 bookings at Cameron House and at the centre as well.

I suppose the big stand out this summer was the fact that I tried to get the message out there that birds of prey are not for stroking and or giving money to those people who think it is ok to stand there and charge to have your photo taken holding a bird of prey. One event organiser even said I was running a campaign and could everyone please support it which was great to hear. Hopefully some people at the events took on board what I had to say about this subject

I will finish up there and I will try not to leave it 3 months until my next entry on the blog.

1106

Over 1000 views

I'm a little taken a back. I checked the counter before I started this entry to my blog and I see that it is showing that Strathblane Falconry's blog has been viewed 1012 times since we started keeping a count. I know we started the counter after the blog had started so the number should be higher. I have been doing the blog for 2 years now and while I don't know how many times it has been viewed it is great to know that it is being read and it is over a 1000.

I was given a bit of good news that other day concerning an enquiry we had for a event in August. An e mail came through from  a gentleman asking if I could do a static display at a event he was organising and he mentioned in his e mail that he had read my blog (always good to hear) and that he agreed with my views on certain types of work with birds of prey - namely the way certain people seem to think it is ok to stand somewhere and charge for photographs while people hug/stroke the birds and why it is wrong. I like to think that is why I got the booking.

 I mentioned my views on this subject in my last  blog entry and I am going to mention it again. As I said it is something I feel strongly about. I feel it is just pure cruelty. When I see pictures of birds of prey tethered for hours on end on concrete/ paving slabs with no access to water in some street/shopping centre with donation buckets scattered about for members of the public to make donations for the up keep of the birds (that in my opinion is begging and these groups are not charities) and charging for photographs, I find it really upsetting. there is no honour or skill in what is being done. There is no concern for the birds welfare in my opinion.

I admit I make a living from birds of prey and I could make an even better living if I stopped flying my birds got a pitch somewhere or trailed around the local gala days charging for photographs but I have always said NO to this type of work and I will continue to say NO to this type of work in the future. Getting to work with birds of prey everyday is an honour and I know how lucky I am to be able to do it. For me it is being about them, interacting with them and working with them. It is about flying be it Jerry my Tawny Owl flying perch to glove and back again or 1 of the Harris Hawks following on through the trees working with me like I am part of his pack if he was in the wild or watching 1 of the falcons getting ready to make a pass at the lure. That is where the magic is not standing somewhere charging a few £££ for a picture holding a bird. I know I have missed on jobs because I won't stand and charge for photos but if that is the price for giving a damn then so be it.

I would like to point out that I do allow people who come out on sessions or who see me at events with the birds to take photos. The difference is that the bird is being flown for a food reward or is sitting on a perch and does not care about the camera. There is a massive difference between taking a photo of a bird flying to the glove for a food reward or sitting quietly on a perch with members of the public staying a respectable distance and the poor birds that are taken off their perches placed on a glove for someone to get a photo with it to then be placed back on the perch to maybe picked up a few minutes later for the whole process to happen again.

While I love the interaction with the birds I know there are limits to the relationship. I view the relationship between me and the birds as a business or working relationship. There are limits. Ultimately the birds are still wild in their minds and this means you can't just take liberties with them and stroking them is taking liberties. They are not social so they don't enjoy being touched or stroked. They deal with me because they trust me up to a point and I have food for them. This limitation in the relationship is part of the attraction. I never expect any loyalty or affection from my birds.

I said when I first started doing the blog that I wasn't going to use it as a soap box and after 2 years I guess I have kicked that rule into touch with this entry in the blog. Oh well.

Anyway back to what has been happening at Strathblane Falconry.

Things have been steady. I would say that is the best way to describe it. I suspect the weather has something to do with that. Today was the longest day of the year and it rained most of the day. I had to cancel today's booking because of it. So much for summer.

When the weather has been dry things have been busy with a few interesting events. In my last blog entry I mentioned we were going back to Kelvingrove Art Gallery. The event went well and there was a lot of interest. The flying display was interesting due to the local crows and magpies not being to happy to see Brel (Harris Hawk) flying about and they had plenty to say about it.

Myself and Brel (Harris Hawk) doing pest control at a well known venue in Glasgow

Sanda (Lanner Falcon) on a photo shoot

Myself and Bob (Gyr x Saker) at Kelvingrove Art gallery

Myself and Artemis (Steppe Eagle) at Mount Stewart in the rain

Myself and Bob (Gyr x Saker) doing a historical talk

As you can see never a dull day in the day to day running of a bird of prey centre.

The other big news is that Cooper (Harris Hawk) who has been flying really well over at Cameron House and I mentioned in my last blog entry that he had been flying with real purpose and intent. So much purpose and intent that he took 3 rabbits in 1 week in the grounds of Cameron House. We are normally lucky if the birds catch something every 5 weeks on average. So to take 3 rabbits in 1 week was a bit unusual and I didn't have a camera with me for any of them.  Coopers form has been halted for the moment due to the fact he needed to have a operation on 1 of his toes which had been cut and become infected. The operation was a success and he should be flying after the weekend again after having 3 weeks rest for it to heal.

On a hunting front I feel I should mention Brel (Harris Hawk). As I mentioned earlier I have been doing a bit of pest control work this month and I decided to use Brel for it for the simple reason I only wanted to scare the pigeons.That was the plan and on the first night that is what happened . On the second night Brel had other ideas - he caught a pigeon. After that there were a few close calls for the pigeons as he tried to catch them. Even though I don't use him for hunting and never have if the opportunity presents itself the boy is straight in there. I have to admit that while I don't want him for hunting I was cheering him on when he was chasing a flock of pigeons.

Well I have been a bit slow with updating the blog this month and it is almost the end of the month of June. The coming weeks are looking ok with several large events in the next 2 weeks to think about which is great. Hopefully the weather will improve as it makes such a difference. I will try and update the blog a bit quicker next month.

1012

It's official

Well it's official. I received a copy of the Government Vet's report for the inspection of Strathblane Falconry and the centre passed and has it's zoo licence for the next 6 years.

Even though the centre is not technically a zoo in the fact that I don't have set opening times. The centre is open by appointment but if I am there and the gate is open people are welcome to come in and look at the birds and ask questions. It is because people are welcome to come in and have a look that I have been advised that I need a Zoo Licence.

The one thing I will say is that I am happy that I do have a Zoo Licence. I feel it gives Strathblane Falconry a level of respectability. It shows what I do is regulated. That there are requirements that I need to meet and standards that I need to maintain. It confirms that the level of care that I provide for the birds is correct. At the end of the day I have nothing to hide.

Talking of levels of care. I was given a little bit of good news. One thing that I have always said no to is standing somewhere and charging for photos. We have all seen them. Some guy standing there with a few birds (mainly owls) charging people to have there picture taken with it and they normally have a few donation buckets sitting there as well so the public can seemingly donate for the up keep of the birds. I have my own suspicions as to where this tax free income goes and I suspect it is not to the birds. I have seen pictures/videos of this type of set up and I can normally tell most of the birds if not all of them are showing signs of stress just by looking at the birds body language. This is because the birds know they are not going to be given time to settle. They are constantly going to be picked up and stroaked which they get no pleasure from. All they know is that there feathers are going to be damaged by people touching them. I always find it upsetting and annoying that people treat birds of prey in such a way. There is no dignity or honour in this type of work. There is no respect shown to the bird. When I am out doing an event I am keen to speak to people and explain why I don't allow people to stroke / touch my birds. I also point out how my birds are displaying signs of natural behaviour be it preening, standing with 1 foot tucked up or as tends to happen with Corrie my European Eagle Owl - falling a sleep. He has a habit of doing that at events. The birds welfare is always the most important thing and I am sorry but if you are subjecting birds of prey to used for hours on end as a photo prop then you don't give a damn for the birds welfare. That's my little rant over. I said at the start of keeping a blog that I wouldn't use it as a soap box but this is a subject I feel very strongly about.

Well the good news that got me started onthis topic is the powers that be are looking to regulate this type of work. Especially as some these so called companies work out of back gardens and are not open to the public so they don't need a Zoo Licence. So basically no one is checking up on there level of care, the systems in place for the birds up keep and the standard of care provided. Birds could be kept in boxes over night, not flown or allowed to exhibit signs of natural behaviour. I hope that legislation is passed quickly and maybe some of these companies can smarten up and improve their standards. Fingers crossed but I doubt anything will happen soon but if they are looking into it hopefully something will happen.

Now to what has been going on in Strathblane Falconry.

Life in the centre is busy at the moment as it always is at this time of the year. The flying team is always changing. There are 13 out of 20 birds in the centre who I am currently working with at the moment. Luca (Northern Hawk Owl) has now stopped for the summer and will be allowed to moult. Sanda (Lanner Falcon) is about 2 days away from flying free. She is almost at weight to fly and I can't wait. Sanda is 1 of the originals in the fact she has been with me from the start - 10 years. A typical Lanner Falcon - a bit laid back. Maybe a bit too laid back at times but always a pleasure to be around and fly.

All the birds are flying well even Kyle (Common Buzzard) - even if it is only to me. I haven't asked him to fly to anyone else yet as I suspect the answer will be "NO" and he will fly up into a tree and take the huff. I am not sure what I am going to do with Kyle this season but it will do him good to have him flying even if it is just to me. I have been trying to get him to follow on like a Harris Hawk and I think I will introduce the dummy bunny (a rabbit lure) to him again and get him chasing that. If for nothing else my own amusement. I should point out Kyle is your typical Common Buzzard - stubborn, lazy difficult but if you put the time in he will fly and is ok. Just don't expect anything too spectacular. One thing I will say for him is over the years I have learnt a lot from him

 There are 2 birds who do stand out at the moment. Cooper our young Harris Hawk. I am using him a lot over at Cameron House at the moment and he is flying well. It is great to watch him working/flying through the thick woodland behind the hotel. Saying that there have been time when he hasn't been flying through the woodland it's been more crashing through or crashing in. He caught his 2nd rabbit the other day - once again crashing into a big patch of brambles to catch the rabbit. He definitely is flying with real purpose, determination and a little bit of menace.

The other bird who stands out is Bob (Gyr x Saker). I can see real improvement in our working relationship and in what I want him to do. When I first got him I didn't enjoy working with him. It was a real challenge. This may of had something to do with the fact he spent most of his first 4 years with his previous owner sitting on a block not being flown. Now though when I go to pick him up I am looking forward to it. He will always have his crazy moments round the centre and he also has his crazy moments when flying which have had me diving out the way on a few a occasions.

We had 1 the other week. Bob was flying in a display at a agricultural show. It was all going well. The condition were good - dry and sunny with a bit of wind. Interesting conditions to fly a falcon in. Bob looked like he was going to fly over me and at last minute he flipped and did a small vertical straight at me as I was swinging the lure which I wasn't expecting. All I remember is ducking out the way and the crowd laughing at me. He wasn't even that high I would say he was lucky if he was 20 ft above me when he pulled this manoeuvre. At the end of the day all he was trying to do was catch me out so fair play to him.

As well as the agricultural show we were down a Traquair House in the Scottish Borders. A beautiful part of the country to do a demonstration for a group from South Africa. The birds flew well. Brel (Harris Hawk) once again was the stand out bird for ignoring the tempting distraction of chickens that were in near by runs.

This weekend though I have a talk and flying demonstration at Kelvingrove Art Gallery. It is tough venue as it is in the middle of Glasgow so there are lots of things that need to be considered. I am limited in what birds I can fly. There will only be 2 birds flying - Alba (Barn Owl) and Brel (Harris Hawk). We were there a few years ago doing demonstrations and it all went well so I am hoping things are the same this time round.

Well it's time to finish up this blog entry.. Thank you for taking the time to read it.

975

Inspection

Ok lets start with the big news.

Today was an important day. If you like VERY IMPORTANT

This afternoon I had my Zoo Licence inspection. I have mentioned in the past when I have had inspections and I have 3 a year - 2 from Alistair Lawrie the vet who I use if the birds are unwell or get injured checks over the centre and the birds every 6 months and once a year the council vet does an inspection. This year is slightly different. I have a 4th inspection from the government vet due to the fact that my Zoo Licence is due to expire in the coming months. This is what was happening this afternoon.

I am happy to say that the inspection went well and the government vet plus 1 person from Stirlingshire Council Environmental Health who issue my Zoo Licence were very happy with centre, the systems I have in place for the upkeep of the birds and their needs.

I always feel quietly confident when it comes to inspections of the centre. Strathblane Falconry has never had any problems with inspections in past and the centre has always passed any inspection first time. This is something that I am very proud of. I always want to show not only my birds but the sport of Falconry in the best possible light.

So what has been happening. As per usual - quite a lot.

I was talking in my last entry that I was going to go and get food for the birds. Getting the food is always a big deal for me. I am always looking for new things to feed the birds so when I go and speak to the guy who supplies me with food I am always asking if he has anything new. This time time the answer was no so it was just the norm - 26 boxes (250 chicks to a box) of day old cockerel chicks, 40 quail, 2 kg mice, 3 kg rats and I am not sure why but I decided to buy 10kg of duck necks. I suspect it was the bulk discount that won me over. I normally only buy 2kg. Needless to say I am using a lot of duck to feed the birds and they seem to be loving it. I always feel it is important to give the birds a good variety of food where possible. The cheap and easy option is to feed the birds chicks every day and some people do but when I see 1 of my falcons working hard eating a duck neck pulling at it working it's neck muscles to get it's food or an eagle owls reaction when I give it a rat to eat I know I am doing something right for my birds. It is not only the nutritional requirements that I am trying to meet but also environmental and behavioural requirements that I am trying to enrich.

I also had the first big display of the year - Glasgow Vet School Rodeo. This was my third year doing it and it all went well. I have received some good feed back from various people who watched my flying displays. The birds all behaved  and flew well. The Rodeo is a well run event with a great static area which more than meets my requirements when the birds are sitting out  in between flying displays. The sun shone as well so there was a big crowd. It is also a chance to catch up and say hello to some of the vet students who come out on EMS placement to the centre. I have to admit it is 1 of my favourite events as I always a good time at it. Out of the birds there was 2 stand out moments. Bob (Gyr x Saker) caught me out  in the 2nd flying display and struck the lure. Thankfully I was getting ready to finish up with him. I was going to do 2 more passes to the lure and then finish but he struck the lure so I had to finish there and then with him. The other was Artemis (Steppe Eagle). I have never flown her at a event like this but I decided to set up a line which she was attached to and see if she would fly which she did. I didn't put her in the demo but as I had such a large static area at the Rodeo for the birds to sit out in there is more than enough space to try a few things out. As it was I had a huge crowd while Artemis was flying from T perch to T perch. I may look at putting her in a few demonstrations later in the summer. A big thank you to Alix who helped me on the day and also to Gail who was attending the Rodeo who also gave me a help at 1 point.

That wasn't he only large event I have done in the last few weeks. We are in Corporate Event Season. This is the time of the year when corporate work tends to happen. It can happen at any time of the year but in the spring / early summer this is when enquires and events tend to be most common. The following Saturday after the Rodeo I was at Kirknewton House to do an event. Brel (Harris Hawk) was the stand out bird swooping out of trees onto the clients glove as we were in the gardens of the big house which were very impressive. It is funny. The weekend before was a large event with 2 flying demonstrations where I was flying Brel, there was lots of people watching but no crowd participation and he was perfect - as soon as I called him he was on the glove. The following weekend it was rotational event where Brel needed to fly to people and once again he was perfect except he wouldn't fly to me until he had landed a guests glove first. If I called him in he wouldn't do it even if I offered him food. If I asked a guest to put the glove on, put their arm up even if there was no food Brel was straight to them and then he would fly to me. It's like he knows what is expected. He is a fantastic bird to work with. He maybe grumpy and bad tempered at times but he doesn't seem to be scared of anything and just gets on with it where ever I ask him to fly.

I mentioned in my last blog entry how Cooper the young Harris Hawk who I got in Sept last year was looking like he was going to catch something. Well it happened. I said it was on the cards. Last week he caught a rabbit at Cameron House. I had done a few hawk walks over there in quick succession and I could see he was flying with a bit of purpose and intent. Lets just say he wasn't just going through the motions. There had been a few close calls and a confidence to his flying. He had taken a shot a a goose that gave had  given him some grief when he was sitting on the ground - he just took off and as he flew past the goose and he hit it. The goose didn't look that impressed. I was about 2/3 of the way through the hawk walk approaching some woods. Cooper was flying about with as I said intent and I knew I needed to keep an eye on him and then I saw him fly down into the woods and I knew he had seen something and I was off and running. I had seen him fly like this a couple of times recently and just stood and watched but this time though I just knew he was going to catch something. Sure enough as I made I made my way to him in the middle of a large patch of brambles I could tell he had caught a rabbit. His first and with the way he is flying I know it won't be his last. I would like to point out that I have never encouraged or trained Cooper to hunt. He saw an opportunity and took it. All birds of prey have the instinct to hunt and they will if they see an opportunity that they think they can take.

The coming weeks are looking busy with a good variety of events from the activity days in the centre to photo work and a good selection of work out on the road either at Cameron House or at other venues. Hopefully I will remember to take a camera so  I have some pictures to show what myself and the birds have been up to and where we have been.

949

Getting ready

Three weeks since my last post. The time just flies these days.

Starting with a bit of good news. Corrie (European Eagle Owl) who in my lost blog entry I was talking about how he got lead poisoning the previous month. Well it looks like he has made a full recovery. He is moulting at the moment. I am picking up handfuls a feathers that he is moulting out everyday when I go in and clean his aviary. The fact that he seems to be having a good moult should be a sign that he is feeling good with himself and he has recovered. He is also more like his usual self which is great to see.

Things have been busy either with bookings or just working with the birds. At times it has been interesting trying to get everything done. I work on my own mainly. There are benefits to working on your own and there are disadvantages. First up the benefits - everything gets done the way I like it and I don't have to sit down and discuss what is going to happen with anyone. The down side is there is no one to answer the phone if I can't get to it and there is no one to delegate to which would of been handy at times. Saying that I have been working on my own now for 10 years and I have managed so far.

Most of the bookings booking I have been doing recently have been fairly routine things - activity days or hawk walks at the centre or over at Cameron House. Two bookings do stand out though. The first was a ring delivery that I did flying Alba (Barn Owl) at a wedding at a local hotel. Alba was a star. She flew straight down the aisle landed on the grooms glove, I took Alba off the the grooms glove and removed the pouch that the rings were in and handed it to the best man. Congratulations Stewart and Suzie the happy couple. I haven't done a lot of ring deliveries at weddings so it was all a bit new for me and Alba but I was quietly confident that there wouldn't be any problems for the simple reason - it was Alba who was flying.

The other booking that sticks out was a visit to secure unit for young people. I have done a few of these and it is always a bit of a wake up call visiting a place like that. The young people are no problem but I always come away and realise how lucky I have been. I did 3 talks and I try and make the sessions as hands on as possible to allow the kids (teenagers) to be more involved. Most are interested and are happy for the birds to fly to them, others are a bit worried  and some are really enthusiastic and happy to be involved. There is only so much I can do and show in these sessions due to the location and the fact that the talks happen in doors. I took 4 birds - Taz (Kestrel) for handling, Uist (Lugger Falcon) to talk about the hood and why we hood birds, Alba (Barn Owl) and Lobey (Turkmanian Eagle Owl) for flying. All the birds did well.

As I said earlier the other bookings have all been routine stuff but 2 do stand out and both involved Cooper (Harris Hawk). In my last blog entry I mention how I misplaced Cooper on a hawk walk at Cameron House due to me going to slow and him flying off ahead and following some other people. Well the next day I was back over at Cameron House flying Cooper and I managed to misplace him again. This time it was not because I went to slow, it was more to do with the fact that he saw something he thought he could catch - a wood pigeon. Out came the receiver for the telemetry (all my birds wear a transmitter when flying free) and I quickly tracked him down at the other end of the hotel. Once again as soon as he saw me he was straight on to the glove when called. I think it is only a matter of time before Cooper catches something. He crashed into some bushes today Cameron House trying to catch a rabbit. He also made a half hearted attempt to catch a goose but thought better of it thankfully.

A lot of what I have been doing over the last week in between bookings has been getting ready for the first big show of the year. For the last 2 years and again this year it is the Glasgow Vet School Rodeo. I have been busy flying birds getting them up to a descent level of fitness so that they will fly well on the day. Over the last 5 weeks I have been working with Brel (Harris Hawk). It has nothing to do with his ability, with Brel it is down to plain and simple fitness. After spending almost 6 months out he was really unfit so it has been just a case of flying him and building him up again. After 5 weeks of being flown for 20-30mins almost everyday for the last 5 weeks he is looking good and should be in good form for the flying displays at the rodeo. When I do these large events or any event for that matter it is not just about picking up a bird and letting it go and hopefully it will fly ok. I always try and make sure I have the birds in good form, flying well so when it comes to show time and doing the  flying display I can let them go I know that they are going to fly and come back and not fly to the nearest tree and sit. It may sound hard to believe but I am thinking about and preparing for displays that are weeks ahead. Thinking what I need  to get ready, looking at how the bird is flying, putting together a team, who I  think will be best, which bird will be flying the strongest for that event. This all starts weeks in advance. Now the Rodeo is upon me. It is happening this weekend and the next 2 days will be spent getting things ready. Some of the birds who are flying at the Rodeo will fly tomorrow and then get Friday off. The day before a big show I always try and rest the flying team. Feed them in the morning so that they are all hungry a willing to fly the next day. Saying that while the flying team get a day off to relax I will be flat out. I will spend Friday getting things ready for the next day and I am full booked with bookings at Cameron House in the afternoon. Then on Saturday it is show time. Time to see if the preparations I have done has all been worth while and the birds fly well. Don't get me wrong it can still go wrong, things happen that can be out with my control but I will always do my best to have my birds in the best condition for a flying display.

While putting everything together for the Rodeo I have also need to go and do the food run for the birds tomorrow. Something that needs to be done every 3-4 months. Tomorrows order to feed the birds for next 3-4 months will include day old cockerel chicks, quail, rat (I am running low on squirrel and not sure when I will get some more), mice and duck neck. I always try and give my birds a good selection of food.

Time to finish up this entry. Up early and it will be a long day between getting ready for the Rodeo and collecting bird food.

919

Lead poisoning and a little bit of magic

Time has flown by once again and it doesn't feel like a month since my last blog entry.

We seem to be going through a faze where things are really busy or really quiet. This week is starting to get really busy with 6 bookings in the next 2 days while last week was quiet and next week is quite quiet at the moment but I am expecting that to change as quite a few bookings have been coming in last minute. To be honest having a quiet week or 2 at this time of the year is not a bad thing as I am busy in the centre getting this ready for the coming season. At the moment I am working with 15 birds out of the 20 that I have in my collection so things are busy and the days are getting longer. 9 hour days are becoming the norm but the other day I ended up doing a 13 hour shift. All great fun.

The big news of the last month concerned Corrie (European Eagle Owl). I noticed Corrie has been a bit slow and not really firing on all cylinders if you like. I was a bit worried about him as he seemed a little bit out of sorts. I put it down to the fact that he had been flying for a year and maybe needed a bit of a break which he was due. Things weren't that busy and I decided that I would give Corrie a squirrel to eat. Something a bit richer than chicks and then a few days off to chill out and hopefully he would pick up a bit. He ate the squirrel and I waited for him to bring up a pellet (fur and bones which he can't digest) to say he had digested it. I was expecting the pellet to appear 2 to 3 days after he ate the squirrel. I gave him the squirrel on the Friday. The pellet should of appeared Sunday or Monday. When no pellet appeared I started to get worried. I weighed him and his weight said that he was empty - that he had digested the squirrel. I thought maybe the pellet had fallen down the back of his aviary and out of sight. The thing was he looked ok and seemed himself in someways but not in others. I decided to book him into the vets. I got an appointment on the Friday morning. On the Friday I was really worried as I could see a huge difference in him. He seemed very weak. I took him to the vet. The vet examined him and said it could be lead poisoning. I said no way I'm careful about that. he then said well it might Capillaria which is a type of parasitic worm. The next step was to run some tests to see what was going on with Corrie.

I got a call on the afternoon to say that they had x rayed Corrie and found a air gun lead pellet in his stomach and that he had lead poisoning. I went over to collect him with Jo to hear what the situation was with him. We were shown an x ray showing the pellet in his stomach.

The air gum pellet is the mushroom shape in his stomach

The air gun pellet is the white oval shape in the x ray

 The x rays also showed that his stomach was swollen and inflamed. I was sent away with a whole load of different meds to give him. The plan was to try and get him to pass it naturally. A blood sample was also taken for testing to find out how much lead he had in his blood.

Once we got him on the medication to deal with the lead he picked up and seemed a bit brighter. He had to have medication administered down a tube put down his throat and straight into his stomach, medication in his food and get an injection each day. Lucky we were able to do this at the centre as Jo my girl friend is a vet with exotics experience. We gave Corrie his medication with me holding Corrie. Jo and Becky (4th year vet student) administered the medication. Quite a team effort. A big thank you to Jo and Becky for all their help.

A week later we were back at the vets with Corrie. The air gun pellet hadn't been passed and it was time to try and get it out. I was also given the results of his blood test. I was told anything under 20 is low, 60-80 is high and 100 is acute. Corrie's blood test results came in at 580 so he had a massive amount of lead in his system.

It was decided that the best option was to flush the pellet out. I once again left Corrie at the vets not feeling very confident that this would end well. I was told that the last time they had put Corrie under a anaesthetic to x ray him he had not been very stable and at one point they had to help him with his breathing. I was seriously worried about Corrie but I had no option the air gum pellet had to come out.

I got a phone call to later that day to say that they had got the pellet out but it had been a real struggle. The whole procedure should of only taken 30 mins but it took 70 min. The problem being Corrie had been eating small stones and his stomach was full of them. He had probably been doing this because his stomach was not working quite right due to the lead and he was trying help his digestive system.

They had to use a endoscope with a small basket on the end to shovel some to the stones out and then they could flush the rest out along with the pellet.

When I collected him they gave me more meds to help deal with the lead levels in his blood. 5 days later he was back at the vets for a check up and another blood test to check the lead levels. 2 days later I had to go back to the vets to get more meds and the results from his last blood test. I didn't know what to expect from the results. The last one was 580 and that was massive anything below that would be good. I was overjoyed when I was told it had dropped to 47. This is still quite high but it still a massive improvement. One more course of meds and the lead should be out of his system. The vet said he wouldn't need to see him again.

I am normally really careful about the risk of lead poisoning when using wild food to feed my birds. I normally check it over. The squirrel was part of a batch that I had been using to feed the birds over the winter. I had been told they had been caged trapped and then hit on the head to kill them. I didn't check them that closely as I was told that squirrels from the same batch had also gone to conservation projects a to feed wild birds of prey. From what I understand their had been several people trapping and killing the squirrels and 1 of them had been shooting them rather than hitting them to kill them. From now on the heads are all removed and the carcass is thoroughly checked so we don't have a repeat incident.

I experienced a little bit of magic the other week. I got a call from a local farmer asking if I had lost a bird or if I knew of anyone who may of lost a bird as there was a large bird of prey flying on his land with what looked like or could be some straps hanging from it's legs. I said no but I would go out and have a look. I went out to see the farmer and he told me where it was. I asked what it was like he said it has some white on it and that it was bigger than a buzzard. This didn't exactly narrow it down but I said I would go and have a look when I had time over the next day or 2. From what I was told and the questions I had asked I thought someone might of lost a female Harris Hawk. Next day I went to the spot and had a look. He said it had been sitting in an old dead tree. I found the tree and went to have a look about. I was looking for feathers or any food scraps. There wasn't any just some large mutes (bird poo). Too big to from a Harris Hawk. Everything was quiet. I decided to head back. As I made my way back a wild Golden eagle flew out of some trees in front of me and flew over my head no more than 50m away. A magical moment and the closest I have ever been to a wild Golden Eagle.This was the strange bird that the farmer had been looking at.

That's all the exciting news out the way. Now about what has been going on in the centre with the birds. In a word -  LOTS. As I mentioned earlier I am working with 15 birds at the moment. I have birds flying for bookings and I have birds flying to get them ready for the coming demonstration season.

The flying team has been changing. Corrie (European Eagle Owl)has been given a rest. He was due it but all the problems with the lead poisoning just sped it up. He will now spend the next 6 months relaxing, recovering and moulting. Bella (Barn Owl) has also been allowed to moult (drop out old feathers and grow in new ones) with Alba the other Barn Owl now flying. I have to say Bella has been a star. She was brought in to replace Dylan who had to be put to sleep last year. I was a little bit worried as Dylan was very good and always very reliable. Bella has been just as good and a bit more hyper. Anyway she is now being given a well earned break and it's Alba turn to fly. Alba is 7 years old this year and very different to Bella. The difference being she is alot calmer. Next up to be dropped from the flying team will be Pele (Harris Hawk). He has a 1 more booking to do and then I will allow him to moult over the summer. Mardy (Harris Hawk) is now flying and looking good after his winter break. Also Brel (Harris Hawk) is flying and it is all about getting him back up to speed at the moment as he is very unfit.

I have also been flying Uist (Lugger Falcon) who has been looking good. Next up on the falcon front is Bob (Gyr x Saker). I felt I turned a bit of a corner with Bob last summer so hopefully we can build on that and improve on this this summer.

The only other thing to mention is that I was doing a hawk walk over at Cameron House this afternoon and  Cooper (Harris Hawk) flew off. It was my fault. I had stopped to explain something and Cooper got bored and flew off. I thought no worries he will be just up ahead a bit. I called him - no sign. I walked down the path a bit and called - no sign. Time to get the telemetry out and track him down. I switched on the telemetry receiver to pick up the signal from the transmitter he was wearing and got that re assuring beep to tell me which direction to walk in. I caught up with him 10 mins later. He had lost sight of me and had started following some other people that he had come across. I think they were delighted to have a Harris Hawk join them on their walk. When I saw him he was getting a hard time from some seagulls and crows. I shouted and he came straight in. I went back to where I had left the guests and carried on with the hawk walk.

Time to finish up this entry. I am up very early tomorrow as I have got 3 hawk walks to do and a early start so a busy day ahead.

899