Things have been excruciatingly slow for spring this year. March had no wind, so every day since then has been windy, cold and just plain nasty. Spring seemed to never come. Of course next week is projected 90 degree temps. Sigh!
I have just not doing anything other than reading and waiting for the spring that never came. I have also been questioning whether the blog has outlived its usefulness.
A falconer from Ashland Oregon, called and inquired about tame hacking a Peregrine falcon here at the house. We have a common friend whose opinion I trust, had suggested it to me, so I agreed to give it a try. I tend to rattle around like a stone in a tin can when Connie is not here, so I agreed to give it a try. We share what happens to be a subject dear to my heart anyway, and gives me a house sitter so that I can do a bit of traveling for a change.
Harry Procise is his name, and he has a Motor home, so we both have the privacy that we need, yet there is company and distractions when they are needed. Harry is a great guest, and after all we have a built in shared bond that drives both of our lives.
It has worked out well with both us and the bird. She has gone from sitting on a play pen to sitting on top of the Hangar or the telephone pole. She is beginning to chase stuff, and is building a bit of strength, and her development will be progressing by leaps and bounds from now on. I must say that she is a jewel so far, and will be more than that when she is done with this stage of her life.
I had not taken any photos of her, nor decided whether or not I would do anything to document her journey, as it is not mine. Today I asked Harry if he objected to becoming the occasional subject of my Blog, and he agreed.
The purpose of a tame Hack ( which translates- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hack_(falconry) Harry has had her since she was 12 or 14 days old, and has done a masterful job. She is quiet, and very nice. She has a lumberjack's appetite, which is a plus.
The goal is to build muscle and experience in flying and transition to a Hunting Hawk. So during the day she is out, being fed a small amount in the morning around 11 or 12 pm, then fed again around 7 pm a full meal. As the days progress she will become more athletic and proficient with her flying. At first he taught her to come to a lure for her meals, then to a kite or drone that takes the lure up ever higher, until she has reached a height that will enable her to catch game birds or Ducks.
She spends most of her time either sitting around watching the world go by, occasionally dismantling a tumbleweed, or trying to give Harry the opportunity to feed her. She took a bath in the morning, then flew around for a while chasing a few birds. Then came back to where Harry was sitting a laid down in the cool grass by his feet. AS her hunger increases, she becomes more animated. Luckily she has a great metabolism, and is pretty hard to overfeed.
This video is of her forth time having to fly to get her food. She is still building muscle, but she doesn't hesitate to work for her food.
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