To say the least it has been a long, protracted winter. With a lot more inaction than anyone would want or need. While it did not get all that cold, only one or two days of below zero weather. Still it has been a constant misery.
I eventually had to take Hope out of the weathering area with Bud. He was teaching her bad habits that she didn't need. His habit of bating wildly at the end of his leash soon convinced her that I was someone to fly away from. The sweet girl that I had previously taken so much pride in, had changed to a bating pain in the ass every time I had to pick her up for a night in the shop. So I set about another plan to help her survive the winter winds of the High Desert. The current thinking is that Harris Hawks are not able to survive the northern winters. I did think so myself, but am revising that assumption. I have always felt that it was wind that was the primary problem. Its true that their feathers are more suited to high desert heat, but with enough food for fuel and a way to get out of the wind, they should be able to manage.
I am sure that there are few of you that actually understand fully the reality that Raptors are not pets. Their interactions with humans consists of need rather than affection. We keep them in peak physical condition to acheive their best results. To do that it is necessary to find their best hunting weight, and keep them on or near it when we are handling them. Each spring they need to molt their feathers, and to do that is dependant on the hours of sunlight and a heavier weight, as it takes energy to grow new feathers. More weight than what is required to be a "sharpset" hunter. They do not molt until they have the excess energy to grow these feathers and if they are deprived of food long enough to do that, the molt stops and the feathers get "ratty", leaving them unable to fly well enough to capture food. In essence if their weight is high enough to molt, that dependance is gone, and the last thing that they want, is have you messing with them. If the molt is interrupted by fright or border line starvation, it will take up to two or three weeks for them to start dropping feathers again. So it is my practice to not handle them any more than absolutely necessary during the winter.
I began with the mews by blocking and insulating the window in her chambers that faces the West, from which the wind always blows. I ran an electric cord to the mews and wrapped her inside perch with a 20 foot heat tape, then covered it with a felt cover, I also left a 12 inch space so that she could either sit on the covered tape or near it which ever she preferred. I also began feeding her all she would eat, as energy produces heat. I checked her each morning to see how she was faring. She seemed to be all right, even though she was spending the nights outside on her perch in the attached 6x6 weathering area.
Finally after finding her sitting outside when the temp was 4 degrees, I decided that I needed to do more. I clipped a 100 watt light reflector over the top of the perch. That seemed to do the trick. She would sit out till it got dark, then fly inside to the perch. She did very well all the rest of the winter, with the added bonus of being triggered to begin her molt earlier due to the 24 hour light cycle.
After getting my cataracts removed in December, the junk in my left eye did not change. It was like having several layers of plastic over my left eye. I began trying to get the VA to refer me to a specialist that could clear that stuff out. I use the VA for my health care, and it saves me a bunch of money, but they are convoluted and sometimes very trying to deal with. It took till April to get all the hoops jumped through, and on the 10th of May they finally completed the surgery. Basically they made three incisions in my eye, and vacuumed the crap out of it. When they closed they put an air bubble in the eye to keep everything in place and keep the pressure normal.( I am guessing at the reason) The bubble got smaller and smaller every day, finally disappearing completly yesterday evening. My vision is now great, only needing glasses to read. It was pretty scary for me, but the results are worth it.
After spending a mostly dry winter, April and so far May have been really nasty. Wind constantly, sleet and icy rain. We had two snow storms yesterday that eventually melted off. So much that I had to sweep off the satelite dish. I am still burning fire wood for the first time since moving here. Glad I had extra. The bonus is that the grass and flowers have begun to grow. The hills are as green as I have ever seen.
Bud is doing well. He has begun his molt as well. He will be quite pretty when he is done, a bit darker than I originally thought. He still bates when he thinks that I might be coming for him, but will sit and watch as the riding lawn mower roars by his enclosure without batting an eye.
I did add a new critter to the menagerie. A little (now) bob tailed female kitten. I call her Nickie, and she is both a pain and a blessing. She has an appointment with the vet for the 17th to be spayed.
Yes, she goes there too!
The weather is due to clear up a bit next week, so perhaps I will be able to roll the plane out to see if I still know how to fly. Then I will have to try to figure out how to pay for the gas to power it. "LETS GO BRANDON"!
