Good Boy!

Day two hopping for the tidbits. I stretched the leash to the max limit inside the weathering, and he comes with little hesitation. He got a pretty full crop of deer heart and squirrel leg...so he has some casting material, too. But now I have to wait for that hairball before we train tomorrow!!

the over night temp was 14 degrees, so he dropped to 28 oz, which I was aiming for 29. He is happy and healthy at this weight so we will see how much he is up tomorrow.

I will be trying him at a short distance out side the weathering tomorrow and on the creance after a good manning walk around the yard and once he has passed his casting up.....I am proud of him, and he seems to enjoy our new game and the praise he receives for a good job.

"CL" MPRTH Hops to the Fist! =)

This morning I tried the hop to the fist. we did the dance for at least 45 minutes. Eventually I gave up. He didn't bate as much in the "new to him" side of the weathering. But it was still hard to get him off the scales. It sure looks easy when you see someone do it, but new bird, new falconer= nothing's as easy as it looks! =) that was 9:15 this morning, he weighed between 28.5 and 29.0 OZ. (808-822 grams)

I decided to continue my routine and try around 1pm. I ended up a bit early at 12:30 or so and figured he could use some some manning, and it has been cold, so a little bating and sunshine to get the ol' juices flowing ought to warm him up after a cold morning.

And bate he did! If I lifted my arm to high, if he faced in the wind. If I walked and stopped to turn. If he looked left, if he looked right...he just wants to fly after all. I mean, he's a hawk. so after that tiresome affair of fifteen to twenty minutes of walking around listening to the neighbors dog bark, watching the tree line that I won't let him fly to, I figured that was enough over-stimulation for the time being, let's get down to the nitty gritty. I perched him fairly well, although I worry about bating in the weathering while tied to the fist, I haven't let him bonk himself yet and he decided it was futile once I closed the gate. So I stood in front of him and showed him the meat up close and lowered it to his footy level, but about 10 inches away from the A-frame (perch). He reached and reached and waved his wings in circles so as not to fall off and balance himself, and he managed to yoink the piece outta my hand! (geesh, which one of us is the bird brain here?). So he smacks his beak, that was tasty, thanks for the freebie.....So I try again....Mr.sneaky, no more freebies! I tease him with it, I put it where he thinks he can get it, and I pull it ever so slowly down and away, and he wiggles and wiggles and lunges one leg out, wings cocked out, he is about to crash and burn, with his beak and one foot on my glove, wings still close enough to hit the A frame....ugh. Second hop, I try to make further, but it is a repeat of the first. I whistle and perch him again. This time I am a good 18 inches at least. I say "come on" "good boy" and he's on it. Firm, steady, and feet nailing the glove and meat all at once....NOW THAT IS HOW IT IS DONE!! (don't worry I won't tell everyone you looked like a pansy the first time...tee hee)...You did it!

Hop, Hop, Hop.....he did great! He jumped as far as I could reach out in the weathering, about 3 ft or more...I was too excited that he was paying attention to our new game to keep very good track. I hope he is this responsive tomorrow, the weather is about the same, but the wind has calmed down and there is sun.....this was a great day!

Help with logs

I have been keeping a log since starting out with MR. CL.

I found it helpful to have a computer log, which I found after joining NAFEX.net

I also have a log that I photocopied from the back of the CHC Apprentice Manual.

But I found that it is lacking a place for weather conditions, and I feel like that is a really important thing to keep track of. So I have been checking online where to find almanac info for the weather in my area. I currently check Weather Underground and The National Weather Service. Both of these have Google Bookmarks, so I can find them from any computer, any time. I really love the internet! These links are set to my area code, so if you visit them, change that. On Weather underground, beneath the radar information is a link that says WEATHER HISTORY FOR THIS LOCATION. Which is what I have been using, but I think I prefer the hourly report from The National Weather Service.

Anyways, I just found these links useful and wanted to post them for future reference! ;)

UPDATES

It has been a long while since my last post, for several reasons. First, my computer had to be sent away and I was without it for nearly a month, I didn't get it back until the closing weekend of deer season, and at the time was too busy to worry with it.

Now I have some down time to update.....

My paperwork came in Early November....YAY!!!

But the holidays and hunting and conflicting schedules got in the way of any further actions....until now!

I now have my first bird! YAY!!!

Male passage red tail....(I assume he is male by his tiny feet and his weight)....

And I am not too proud to admit that I have already made some mistakes and I am learning a lot, really fast. I don't feel like my inadequate knowledge will do him harm, (thankfully) but I see why this is such a technical and scientific process, and the learning curve is so steep!

I hope to somewhat accurately portray what it is like to delve into Falconry, blind, so to speak. With almost no first hand experience ( I have only flown, or attempted to fly) My sponsor's bird, and very few times at that...so I am putting all this book knowledge into practice, and as with everything else, it is EASIER SAID THAN DONE!!! LOL!

But I love it, it is exhilarating.

I won't exhaust you with the details of every moment we have had so far, but instead start from this point. I am keeping a log on my PC and a paper version as well. So I suppose a shortened version here won't be much to add to all my lists and logs!

Wednesday, December 2, 2009

"CL" MPRTH

9:15 AM

Weight 29.95-30.25 OZ. (848.6 - 857.1 grams)

(the reason for a range is that he moves around too much, I am still learning how to get him steady on the scale, as he is not compliant exactly)

Temperature: 38 F Windy

I started into the covered weathering and CL did bate, which he doesn't normally. I got him on the glove, and untied his leash and reattached to my glove leash. I walked him to the other weathering, which I set up the scale and A frame. I weighed him, then perched him on the A frame. I took my friend's advise and tried facing him toward the perch and he hopped to it. I told him "perch" as he went...( I am trying to establish good routines and habits for both of us).

I showed him a tidbit and held it out a ways in front of him. He craned his neck and snatched it up. DARN IT!!! I was too close. OK, I figured, now he has the taste in his mouth and it should start to water and he'll want more. Again, I put the tidbit infront of him about 6-8" from him, somewhere about his middle....he fidgeted and reached and nearly went face first into the glove, just about to topple, but darn it if he didn't rip half the piece of tidbit off and swallow it down. He smacks and looks hungrily at the other half that I scooted up to be visible, and fidgets more. But he won't hop. He gets distracted by anything that moves, is watching and listening to the birds squacking above us in a walnut tree. He is just not hopping. I keep trying to get his attention on the meat, I wiggle it a little and he cranes his neck, it is just out of reach {....well at least I finally figured THAT part out! ;)} But still no hop. We stared each other down, tried ignoring one another, and he just won't hop. so I put the meat away.

I decided to get him on the fist again and work on manning more, since I feel a bit inadequate in my methods there as well. He steps away from me a bit on the a frame, but I put my glove behind his feet and he steps up and I lift him away from the A-frame. He settles his feet and I settle his jesses and wrap the leash around my fingers. As soon as I am settled, he bates. He is really close to the A frame and I hold tight so he can't hit it...(note to self...move that thing to the other side of weathering to keep him out of harms way!!! What were you thinking?)

I get him up again, but I notice that he isn't regaining the way he was on his covered side of the weathering. All this openness and windy conditions has given him the impression that he can just fly on outta here. I try him again on the fist and he is ok for a minute or two. I stroke his breast, and his feet, I try to feel his keel {he seems skinny to me! ;)} He looks at me like "what the???" when I stroke his wings. Ok back to his breast and his feet, other wing....and BATEY MC-BATERSON goes for it again....Geesh...I am thinking, did someone come switch birds while I was sleeping? After a another bate, I figure, it's time for a rest, he is already burning the midnight oil here, with this new thing I am doing to him, he worked up some hunger, I hope. So I allow him the chance to regain, which he doesn't and I quickly carry him to HIS side, and re-leash him to his perch. I laid him on his back gently and left him there looking like a complete idiot. Which is exactly how I felt....How many mistakes did I make in that short 30 min session? Probably a hundred! I worry so much that he is learning as much as I am. And I am crossing my fingers that when I go out for my next visit, and repeat my "routine" that he will see some consistency. I hope that he takes the plunge. And I hope that he realizes that he is still in a weathering and still attached to a leash, and my glove is STILL there for him.....Geesh.....

I will be scooting the A frame out of the direct line of sight of where he thinks he wants to bate away to. At least that way he is less likely to get knocked on the noggin when he tries to pull a fast one on me. And I can keep him further away when on the fist, too.

The things that are going well is that he definitely knows that I have food. He is not too footy, I touched his talons with my bare hands, and stroked his breast and wings barehanded, and he didn't even look like he was thinking about footing me. He is still kinda spooky, noise bothers him. Any swift movements bother him....he is still a bit scared. But he settles relatively easily, and I catch him perching with one foot up, feathers fluffed out to trap his body warmth and that is a good sign that he is healthy and content. Yesterday I even heard him chirp. It was pretty cool, and quite honestly, I was looking around for a random songbird or something, and I had to watch him make the noise again to verify it was him. I thought maybe he was ready to train a little and chose to go in there shortly after.....

I plan to work him again around lunch time. There is a cold front steadily dropping the temp, so I am praying that motivates him to hop. Both for progress' sake and his health. I would prefer that he go ahead and get those tidbits, but I was told no....not unless he hops....so wish him the best! I think he will go for it today, sometime....let's hope I am right!

more later......