That is what Lee has done, whether its voluntary or not. I tend to think that he got a bit careless and was carried away by the wind. For a while one could hope that it was a transmitter failure that I was unable to get a signal, but if that was so, he would have been back by now. The only way that we will ever see him again is if he goes begging to someone, and they report it. If he had fallen victim to misfortune, the radio would have given his position away. I have flown North, West, and East with no signal at all. Yesterday I flew the 60 miles to the Idaho border and today was 40 miles North and West to the Alvord. Thursday I will go to the Nevada, border, but I think it is a waste of gas.
While it is true that I need a tiercel Prairie Falcon like I need a hole in my head, still, losing a bird this way is a bit of torture. You always worry that you didn't do enough to prepare him for life's tribulations. While my head knows that I couldn't fly him on the quarry that he would do the best on, my heart is sad at his loss.
My original intention was to take a common Falcon, that was free, and confirm my ideas, formed over 50 years of handling falcons. With Karen's help and tolerance, I did that, and together we raised as well mannered and socially adjusted falcon that I have ever seen. I did get a bit cocky there at the end, by leaving him out longer than I should, but still, its alright. It comes with the territory.
Falcons and all Raptors are genetically imbued with the impulse to disperse, so as to keep the breed strong and free from inbreeding. Perhaps Prairies more so than some others. Eyasses kept tethered are if not carefully flown, lost on the front of a storm in early Sept. by unwary falconers.
On my flight to Jordan yesterday, the wind was calm on the ground, but at 7800 feet the wind was blowing East about 30 MPH. Today the winds were the same , but totally calm on the ground.
I have notified both Oregon and Idaho Fish and Game of his loss, and put the word out to falconers in both states. He may show up, but it is unlikely.
On my flight today, my battery apparently died in flight. I switched it off and flew back with no instruments, no big deal, but worrisome none the less. I have a new battery on its way, and I received the rebuild parts for my brakes yesterday. Apparently I now have time to fix all that stuff, and maybe go fishing.
The first video is the one that I sent you the other day. The other is the flight that I took today. Normally I don't fly until the sun is up high enough to light up the landscape, but I knew there would be winds today and I wanted to get up and back down before they got too bad. When you are flying a thistle, winds can make you pucker more than can be considered fun.
https://vimeo.com/175146420 (looking for Lee) password for both is - owyheeflyer
https://vimeo.com/175416668
Tuesday, July 19, 2016
Sunday, July 17, 2016
Missing!
Unfortunately it would appear that I left Lee out for one day too long. Lee left sometime yesterday and has not returned as of this writing. My assumption is that he caught a thermal, that just drifted him totally out of the area. I expected him to eventually catch something and spend a night out, but as near as I can tell he is nowhere around any more. I attempted to fly yesterday afternoon, but it was so rough that I soon gave it up.
I got up this morning and the wind was nice and calm, so I rolled the plane out and took off, thinking that if I got up high enough that I could hear a signal on the receiver. I climbed up 4000 feet above the ground and nothing but static. The neighbor needed a bit of help, so I discontinued my search and helped him out.
Wind and weather permitting in the morning I will travel East, the general direction of the wind, and see if I can get any signal, but it is my opinion that he is gone. I really don't have a problem with that as such. I just hope that he gets some breaks and can make the transition to supplying his own food. He should have a pretty good chance, as he has never been restricted as to how much food he had available, and he is a strong flyer. As of this writing the wind at 12,000 feet is at 20 MPH. There is a storm front coming through, and all of that will combine to make it harder for him to return. So I am of the opinion that he is gone for good. I would estimate that he has about a week to make a kill. That's a pretty good cushion. I wish him the utmost of luck.
My original intention was to hack a female that would fit into my Duck hunting plan. Ducks are an easy and plentiful quarry for me, requiring minimum effort on my part. Ducks are sometimes difficult quarry for Prairies, but almost impossible for a tiercel, male, Prairie Falcon. Hunting game birds such as Chuckars or Hungarian Partridge, require a lot of driving and more effort than I can produce on a regular basis. I was considering hacking him back to the wild, but I really wanted a bit more time to work on his ability to catch things. So any regrets that I have are centered around whether or not he can make the cut to survive. The stats say that 75 % of the young raptors their first year do not make it. I hope that he does.
My goal was to see if I could raise a well mannered falcon in ideal conditions. I have gained a tremendous amount of insight about how to do that. This is my first mistake in that endeavor. I originally intended to do this using a hybrid falcon. Lee only required a bit of effort and only bad luck mandated that only a male was available. If he had been a female, I would have played it a bit more safe. Hybrids are going for around $2,000 each now.
I have done nothing this summer but tend to Lee. I have yet to go fishing. I have not flown much at all. Every thing has been centered around him and his care. It has been worth it and I hope that my interference in his life has not been a bad thing for him, as it has not for me.
https://vimeo.com/175146420 password - owyheeflyer
I got up this morning and the wind was nice and calm, so I rolled the plane out and took off, thinking that if I got up high enough that I could hear a signal on the receiver. I climbed up 4000 feet above the ground and nothing but static. The neighbor needed a bit of help, so I discontinued my search and helped him out.
Wind and weather permitting in the morning I will travel East, the general direction of the wind, and see if I can get any signal, but it is my opinion that he is gone. I really don't have a problem with that as such. I just hope that he gets some breaks and can make the transition to supplying his own food. He should have a pretty good chance, as he has never been restricted as to how much food he had available, and he is a strong flyer. As of this writing the wind at 12,000 feet is at 20 MPH. There is a storm front coming through, and all of that will combine to make it harder for him to return. So I am of the opinion that he is gone for good. I would estimate that he has about a week to make a kill. That's a pretty good cushion. I wish him the utmost of luck.
My original intention was to hack a female that would fit into my Duck hunting plan. Ducks are an easy and plentiful quarry for me, requiring minimum effort on my part. Ducks are sometimes difficult quarry for Prairies, but almost impossible for a tiercel, male, Prairie Falcon. Hunting game birds such as Chuckars or Hungarian Partridge, require a lot of driving and more effort than I can produce on a regular basis. I was considering hacking him back to the wild, but I really wanted a bit more time to work on his ability to catch things. So any regrets that I have are centered around whether or not he can make the cut to survive. The stats say that 75 % of the young raptors their first year do not make it. I hope that he does.
My goal was to see if I could raise a well mannered falcon in ideal conditions. I have gained a tremendous amount of insight about how to do that. This is my first mistake in that endeavor. I originally intended to do this using a hybrid falcon. Lee only required a bit of effort and only bad luck mandated that only a male was available. If he had been a female, I would have played it a bit more safe. Hybrids are going for around $2,000 each now.
I have done nothing this summer but tend to Lee. I have yet to go fishing. I have not flown much at all. Every thing has been centered around him and his care. It has been worth it and I hope that my interference in his life has not been a bad thing for him, as it has not for me.
https://vimeo.com/175146420 password - owyheeflyer
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)