Mescalero- Imprint Peregrine

[Tacatanach]

Here's a picture of my new anatum Peregrine Falcon. Just picked him up a few hours ago. Weighed in at 556g off the plane (18 days).

His name is Mescalero, I'm no good at thinking up names so decided a while back to have themes I follow. Falcons are named for places I have collected insects at for my research. This particular name comes from the pasture on a ranch in west Texas where I spent 2.5 months working on Aplomado Falcons and collecting insects. As an added bonus it's also an Indian tribe which fits well with Laurens falcons name, Kiowa.

[Hobby]

What is he to be hunted at?
Good luck with him!

[Tacatanach]

I am planning for ducks, pigeon, really pretty much anything he'll fly.

[Berkut]

Excellent.

[Elly]

Aww, hes a sweetheart, any more pics?
Good luck with him! :supz:

[GyrXPeales]

Woooo hoooo! Way to go Therese!!! He's soooo cute, ' just love baby falcons. You made a good choice getting one of Brad's birds, he breeds them so he can hunt them, "falconer first, breeder second", it doesn't get better than that.
The diving ducks around College Station better wake up, The Falcon not so Gentle has arrived.
While you're hunting those Texas stock tanks for ducks, don't forget the doves, probably one of the most exciting flights you can have with a tiercel.
Congratulations on getting him, and to Brad Mitchell for making him.
Talk to ya later,
Jeff

[Berkutchi]

I heartily second that, Jeff.

Great going Therese - you're going to have a ball!

Looking forward to a few hawking trips this coming season... :D

--Lauren

[MitchellBrad]

Woooo hoooo! Way to go Therese!!! He's soooo cute, ' just love baby falcons. You made a good choice getting one of Brad's birds, he breeds them so he can hunt them, "falconer first, breeder second", it doesn't get better than that.
The diving ducks around College Station better wake up, The Falcon not so Gentle has arrived.
While you're hunting those Texas stock tanks for ducks, don't forget the doves, probably one of the most exciting flights you can have with a tiercel.
Congratulations on getting him, and to Brad Mitchell for making him.
Talk to ya later,
Jeff

I sure hope she has a good time with him. A brother of his a fellow from MO flew knocked down chickens. Tom Schultz I think his name is. I don't think he killed any but none the less the bird was capable of pushing them out of the air. Divers should be right up that bird's alley.

Another brother on his first free flight went up and chased a chimney swift back into a chimney:yawinkle:

Brad

[Tacatanach]

Aww, hes a sweetheart, any more pics?
Good luck with him! :supz:

Here are a picture taken this morning at work of him in his box.

[Tacatanach]

Heres a new picture of Mescalero taken tonight playing around in the living room. He weighted in at 610g this morning.

Things seem to be coming along nicely, hes prety much quiet, eating a ton, and is getting use to having a hood put on and taken off. Hes also met my dogs which dont seem to bother him in the slightest.

[AhmedQ8]

Looking greet

[GyrXPeales]

He looks great Therese, just getting to the fun stage. He'll soon be poucing everything in sight. Imprints, you gotta love 'em.
ATB,
Jeff

[Tacatanach]

Heres a few pictures- the top two are 26 days, still eating a lot. His weight gain has slowed down over the last couple days and he is was at 615 this morning before feeding. Its amazing how fast his feathers are growing in. Hooding is doing great, he doesnt react to it much most of the time and hes decided the dog is the most entertaining thing in the house. The first thing he does when we get home from work is run over to the dog crate and watch the dog until he falls asleep. The last picture was 23 days with the dog.

[MitchellBrad]

Heres a few pictures- the top two are 26 days, still eating a lot. His weight gain has slowed down over the last couple days and he is was at 615 this morning before feeding. Its amazing how fast his feathers are growing in. Hooding is doing great, he doesnt react to it much most of the time and hes decided the dog is the most entertaining thing in the house. The first thing he does when we get home from work is run over to the dog crate and watch the dog until he falls asleep. The last picture was 23 days with the dog.

He's cute. Dogs make great play toys for eyeases

Brad

[Tacatanach]

Well apparently his weight decided to unstabilize and hes up to 655 as of this morning.

[Ned]

good stuff:supz:

[MitchellBrad]

Well apparently his weight decided to unstabilize and hes up to 655 as of this morning.

Good. The chamber ones often come out at 24 + or - ounces and end up flying at 20 or 21. I rarely ever weigh a bird for myself when it's pulled from the chambers so these weights were for others who wanted to know what the bird weighed.

Brad

[BestBeagler]

Brad,
Is this bird a brother to mine by any chance? Isaac

[MitchellBrad]

Brad,
Is this bird a brother to mine by any chance? Isaac

Uncle. Your bird is his nephew.

Brad

[Tacatanach]

Here are 2 more pictures of him, hes doing quite nicely. Yesterday he figured out that balls of paper are for shredding, so hes been happily playing with them ever sence. Other than that, eating well, taking the hood nicely, and in general all seems to be progressing accordig to plan. On picture is at 32 days and the other at 33.

[RedNoseK9]

Lovely pics and great progress keep us posted

wez

[MitchellBrad]

Here are 2 more pictures of him, hes doing quite nicely. Yesterday he figured out that balls of paper are for shredding, so hes been happily playing with them ever sence. Other than that, eating well, taking the hood nicely, and in general all seems to be progressing accordig to plan. On picture is at 32 days and the other at 33.

Looking good.

Brad

[BestBeagler]

Fantastic! I hope mine turns out to be that dark. Whatever color he is I will be happy with him though :D . I can't wait. I am counting down the days. Isaac

[MitchellBrad]

Fantastic! I hope mine turns out to be that dark. Whatever color he is I will be happy with him though :D . I can't wait. I am counting down the days. Isaac

Here's yours. He fledged yesterday

[BestBeagler]

Brad thanks for the picture! He looks beautiful! This has made my Friday. Isaac

[MitchellBrad]

Brad thanks for the picture! He looks beautiful! This has made my Friday. Isaac

He's got The Crip stamped all over him too. She was his grandmother

Brad

[Morientes]

What a stunner Brad, beautiful dark too!!

Congrats Isaac, i´m so jealous:lol:

Patrick

[BestBeagler]

Thanks, but I am going to start my own thread as I think I have stolen this one :) , sorry! Isaac

[Tacatanach]

Heres somemore pictures at 35 and 36 days. Weights holding steady around 645. He just discovered he can jump on top of things and now anything within 3ft of the ground is fair game. He also got a bit confused about what species he is and has decided my shoulder is a great perching spot. He's got anklets on now, theyre a bit wide, but for now they seem to work fine.

[Eagle Owl]

Great looking bird, Therese!!!! Next time I am in B/CS I will give you a call - I wanna go watch him kill things:)

[MitchellBrad]

Heres somemore pictures at 35 and 36 days. Weights holding steady around 645. He just discovered he can jump on top of things and now anything within 3ft of the ground is fair game. He also got a bit confused about what species he is and has decided my shoulder is a great perching spot. He's got anklets on now, theyre a bit wide, but for now they seem to work fine.

With that tiercel sitting on your shoulder the only logical thing he could be saying is, "Anatum want a Quacker" Nice pictures

Brad

[Gyr]

Great looking bird, good luck with him.:supz:

[Dean]

I just love the way you ranch hawkers mention hawking duck and pigeon in the same breath? Its a different planet over the pond!:supz:

[MitchellBrad]

I just love the way you ranch hawkers mention hawking duck and pigeon in the same breath? Its a different planet over the pond!:supz:

I think your right Dean. I looked at the wood pigeons you guys got flying around and was certain an old falcon I used to have would have been ideal at them. She wouldn't have tailchased them. Rather she'd wait until one got underneath her then stooped. Feral pigeons are an ideal quarry for some falconers. I knew a guy who flew a prairie falcon at bridges. He had a long string tied to a can full of rocks. He'd swing the can underneath the bridge and shake it. Out would come pigeons. I'd seen her kill several pheasants from modest pitches but the moment she was released around a bridge she'd take a very respectable pitch.

Pigeons are fun. Just as fun as a lot of the quarry we fly. Plus they are challenging.

Brad

[Tacatanach]

Today Mescalero showed interest in a duck for the first time- true was one of those retreiver soft dog toys you can buy (but it looks fairly duck like although minituare). He spotted it, ran over put a foot on the head and one on the body then bit the neck it was amazing how much it looked like he was trying to kill the duck. By the time I got my camera out hed moved over to the body and was trying to pluck it. Pictures to come later this morning

[MitchellBrad]

Today Mescalero showed interest in a duck for the first time- true was one of those retreiver soft dog toys you can buy (but it looks fairly duck like although minituare). He spotted it, ran over put a foot on the head and one on the body then bit the neck it was amazing how much it looked like he was trying to kill the duck. By the time I got my camera out hed moved over to the body and was trying to pluck it. Pictures to come later this morning

ALRIGHT!!! Ya gonna count it? His brother fledged yesterday. His sister fledged today. She's a lovely looking, dark falcon with huge feet. The brother is sort of an average looking tiercel but looks don't bring home the bacon. One of the best gamehawks I ever saw was a little tough to look at:wink:

Got the DNA done on the anatum tiercel. He's a he! Great gamehawk with a lot of fire. He'll go in with Mescalero's older sister Purdey.

Brad

[Tacatanach]

Here are some pictures from today. The first one was the "duck" kill, and the other two were taken in my office. Hes doing great, I can have the hood on him for 10/15 min without having the braces closed and he doesn't try to take it off. Still eating great and doing a ton of rowing.

[BestBeagler]

Thanks for the pictures. I am a bit jealous of you and having so much fun and me just waiting for mine to arrive. Keep us updated. Isaac

[Tacatanach]

How much longer til you get yours? What age will he be?

Your right, this has been so much fun, nothing like bringing a bird to work everyday and watching him change before your eyes. I'm really gald I went for the imprint.

Thanks for the pictures. I am a bit jealous of you and having so much fun and me just waiting for mine to arrive. Keep us updated. Isaac

[MitchellBrad]

How much longer til you get yours? What age will he be?

Your right, this has been so much fun, nothing like bringing a bird to work everyday and watching him change before your eyes. I'm really gald I went for the imprint.

Next week. He's fledged and feeding himself.

Let me let you into a little secret about hooding an imprinted peregrine. I wasn't going to mention it because what your doing I think certainly doesn't hurt. The first time I used to hood my imprints was the first day they got flown loose. With peregrines they seem to say, "Cool" or "Oh goody, oh goody!" probably because they see a reason behind the hooding. For the most part gyrfalcons seem to resent that but a friend has good success with his by doing it that way. I certainly didn't with Arnold.

Just a little food for thought

Brad

[BestBeagler]

How much longer til you get yours? What age will he be?

Your right, this has been so much fun, nothing like bringing a bird to work everyday and watching him change before your eyes. I'm really gald I went for the imprint.

He should be around 60 days. Isaac

[MitchellBrad]

I thought you'd like to see a picture of his sister and a brother in the background.

Brad

[BestBeagler]

I like mine better :) Isaac

[Tacatanach]

Time for an update. Everything seems to be going as planned. His weight has dropped to about 610 empty. Hes coming to the lure, although he thinks about it before coming down from the top of the frige or whereever he is at the time. So far he doesnt mantle or try and carry on the lure. I can pick feathers off the quail, run up to him, mess with his feet, etc and he just keeps eating. Hes also mostly quiet, although he does whine a bit, typically in responce to me preventing him going someplace, like checking out the contents of pots on the stove. He's still coming into work daily, my major professor must think im crazy, but he puts up with alot. Hooding is going great, with the braces open i can do about 45 min now before the hood comes off. Braces closed is going great too although hes not a big fan of that yet and it takes him a few min to stop fighting the hood. Here are some pictures taken at 43 and 45 days. Lauren, that picture hes perched on might look familiar...

[MitchellBrad]

Time for an update. Everything seems to be going as planned. His weight has dropped to about 610 empty. Hes coming to the lure, although he thinks about it before coming down from the top of the frige or whereever he is at the time. So far he doesnt mantle or try and carry on the lure. I can pick feathers off the quail, run up to him, mess with his feet, etc and he just keeps eating. Hes also mostly quiet, although he does whine a bit, typically in responce to me preventing him going someplace, like checking out the contents of pots on the stove. He's still coming into work daily, my major professor must think im crazy, but he puts up with alot. Hooding is going great, with the braces open i can do about 45 min now before the hood comes off. Braces closed is going great too although hes not a big fan of that yet and it takes him a few min to stop fighting the hood. Here are some pictures taken at 43 and 45 days. Lauren, that picture hes perched on might look familiar...

Nice pictures. His brother is a little lighter and gone:lol: I can't see anything wrong with the bird in the picture. Feathers look great.

Brad

[Jack]

Brad, I went to the Airport last night with Ron and picked him up. He really looks good too. Made the trip like a champ. This one is going to be kited as soon as he can fly. None of this tame hack stuff. After looking at females for so long he really looks small. Got to get used to that. Anyway, Ron really loves him.

Jack

[MitchellBrad]

Brad, I went to the Airport last night with Ron and picked him up. He really looks good too. Made the trip like a champ. This one is going to be kited as soon as he can fly. None of this tame hack stuff. After looking at females for so long he really looks small. Got to get used to that. Anyway, Ron really loves him.

Jack

I was seriously worried about shipping him at that age. Last night, when I spoke to Ron he told me he came through like a champ so I guess my worry was for nothing. He does look small but he'll be able to handle those divers, that's all that matters. And, I'm very pleased Ron likes him. Had a very pleasant chat with Ron yesterday and today, seems like a genuine sort of fellow.

Brad

[Jack]

I met Ron way back in the 80's. We have been constant hawking buds ever since. Ron is a dedicated falconer. He has permission on a 6,000 acre ranch where we fly our falcons on ducks. There must be 75 or 100 ponds on that ranch as we find more every year. I don't see any problem for the little tiercel. He will get every chance to excell with Ron. He only looks small as compared to his female, and he should be plenty big enough to take what we have. We have Gadwal, Mallard, ringneck, scaup, pintail and a few others, in that order of abundance. Not to mention the jacks and cottontails.
Ron is really excited about him. He will not be working with him until late in the summer toward fall. He is just going to make him as tame and friendly as he can for now. He is absolutely feather perfect. He was standing in the center of the carrier when we opened it and looked in. He is eating well and is absolutely silent at this point.

Jack

[MitchellBrad]

He should be silent Jack. He's never been in the house and only touched by human hands once, when he was banded.

Brad

[MitchellBrad]

One other thing Jack. I think you'll find or at least I have, those birds are pretty indestructable when it comes to pitch. They just seem to want to go up no matter what you do. I wish him all the luck in the world.

Brad

[BestBeagler]

He looks great! Thanks for the updated pictures. By the way that is one serious no nonsense glove :-D . Isaac

[Tacatanach]

He looks great! Thanks for the updated pictures. By the way that is one serious no nonsense glove :-D . Isaac

Yeah I'm a big fan of my glove. My hands are tiny so i was already going to have to get one special ordered. Then after using gloves made by the various makers I realized that while nice I really didn't like the feel of them, they were to stiff, to thick in places, or in general just didnt suit me. So I got some elk (the inner layers) and some doe(the black) and with some work make a glove that fit, that one was just a single layer of elk, and while it works great I sitll had some issues with it. I then figured out what i liked from my design and changed the things i didnt like and made my actual glove. After using just the single thickenss I also knew exactly what parts i needed thicker and which parts could be made out of just a layer of doe. Its 2 layers of elk and a layer of doe. All very soft, flexible (i can roll the entire glove into a cylinder about 2inches in diameter), and thin in places that dont really matter. All in all its a perfect glove for me and I've handled everything from tiercel american kestrals to 2000+g red tails with it and it has the thickness i need for the rt and the ultra delicate touch for fine movements. Never held an eagle, but i expect if I was to handle one this is the glove i would use.

[Jack]

I usually make my own gloves, and I have one that an apprentice made for me. Several of my longwing buddies like to use the Elk skin bull riders gloves. They come in singles, depending on whether your are left or right handed. Just oil them up a little to turn the fluids given off from raw meats and such. They just toss them and buy a new one each year. They feel good, and they are single thickness but the leather is thick and very soft and plyable. It is perfect for a longwing. And it will wad up and fit into a pocket easily.

Jack

[Tim Laycock]

I use one of these "Rodeo" gloves.
The Gos has yet to try and pierce it :lol:

[Tacatanach]

Heres an update on my bird. Hes flying pretty well now- he turned his first circle in the livingroom yesterday night. His new jess system arrived yesterday and so far its working out great. He's definatly entered the shreading phase now, be it papers or the flower bouqet its fair game. He went on his first long car ride hooded this weekend to a friends wedding, no problems with him on the 2 hr car ride. Had to smuggle him into the whataburger we stopped at for lunch, when asked what was in the box, my sister answered conference supplies. Guess since we were all wearing wildlife deptarment t-shirts noone thought twice about it. Good think they didnt ask why the supplies were jingling. Here are a few pictures from the last few days (48 and 49 days). The first 2 are him and my little sister and the last his him shreading the flowers. Those flowers have had a hard life. I had to tackle a girl and then them, not because I wanted them but one of my buddys made me promise to make sure she (his girlfirend) didnt get them. Afterwards the groom asked me where I learned to play football:supz:

[Isaac]

Looking good Therese, when will he be headed outside for some longer flights?

(And I just noticed the quote in your sig, "subspecies" drive me nuts so I'm glad you've set the record straight!;) :lol:)

[MitchellBrad]

Hopefully you'll get him on the wing soon. CC/A/ST's fly pretty nice.

Brad

[Tacatanach]

Looking good Therese, when will he be headed outside for some longer flights?

(And I just noticed the quote in your sig, "subspecies" drive me nuts so I'm glad you've set the record straight!;) :lol:)

Yup, if it ever stops raining well be heading outside. Currently I take him with me to work at both my jobs, so when I'm at the prairie chicken one we go play in the flight pens some, hes gotten where he can fly a good 40 ft or so before loosing control. I'm also waiting on the new model of the reciever I want to come out. The discontinued it a few months ago and they are now impossible to find until the next model is released in about 2 weeks.

[Tacatanach]

Well its been a while since I've put anymore pictures up. Hes practically lost all his down, i think hes got one on top of his head and one on his back still. Hes flying great, as yall can see from the pictures he can fly to the ceiling fan (that and the freezer door when its open are now his favorite perches) and is getting along great with the dog and my little sister. His weight has been staying around 630 (with the hood on), and hes still eating about a quail a day. Hes coming to the lure great now and I can jump over him while he eats off of it without him even looking up. And hes still silent! Hooding is still going well. I am continuing to bring him into work with me so hes with me pretty much 24/7 still. The picutres are from 53-56 days old. The one of him on the fist was taken this morning hence the 1/2 asleep look...

[GyrXPeales]

He looks great Therese, nice fit on the hood too, Jeremy did a nice job. I can't wait to see this guy fly, really looking forward to it. To all those who say you can't produce a quiet imprint all I have to say is rubbish, all they have to do is look at this thread.
You've really done a great job Therese, and from one imprinter to another I'm very proud of you.
Your jesses are in the mail BTW.:lol:
My best as always,
Jeff

[Berkutchi]

I second that, Jeff! You can't deny results. Great pictures, Therese. I love the look of that hood on Cal. It really suits him. This season promises to be a blast - see you soon!

--Lauren

[MitchellBrad]

He looks great Therese, nice fit on the hood too, Jeremy did a nice job. I can't wait to see this guy fly, really looking forward to it. To all those who say you can't produce a quiet imprint all I have to say is rubbish, all they have to do is look at this thread.
You've really done a great job Therese, and from one imprinter to another I'm very proud of you.
Your jesses are in the mail BTW.:lol:
My best as always,
Jeff

He does look nice Jeff and Therese. How's the weather out there? Soon I hope to hear how he's doing out in the big open.

brad

[Tacatanach]

Its sunny here for the first time in weeks, true, we still have a flood warning and it looks like the thunderheads are building again...

I think theyre saying a day or two more of storms then the fun can begin for real


He does look nice Jeff and Therese. How's the weather out there? Soon I hope to hear how he's doing out in the big open.

brad

[MitchellBrad]

Its sunny here for the first time in weeks, true, we still have a flood warning and it looks like the thunderheads are building again...

I think theyre saying a day or two more of storms then the fun can begin for real

This is only the 3rd imprint from this pair. Ken Riddle looked up at the first one and asked, "Does she need oxygen up there?" She completely outclassed a prairie that came in on her that day. She'd been tame hacked around the house and had gotten into the habit of knocking pigeons out of his flock. She was gamehawked and did real well. I sort of asked him not to fly her again if he wanted to keep that stock. So far all she's produced was hybrids. The other one I heard great things about initially then I never heard much more about him. He supposidly put a chimney swift back into a chimney where it belonged on his first free flight. He had the fire at first then I suspect something happened. Don't know for sure. Of course it's been so long since I've had an imprinted peregrine I'm rather useless when it comes to training them:wink:

Brad

[BestBeagler]

This is only the 3rd imprint from this pair. Ken Riddle looked up at the first one and asked, "Does she need oxygen up there?" She completely outclassed a prairie that came in on her that day. She'd been tame hacked around the house and had gotten into the habit of knocking pigeons out of his flock. She was gamehawked and did real well. I sort of asked him not to fly her again if he wanted to keep that stock. So far all she's produced was hybrids. The other one I heard great things about initially then I never heard much more about him. He supposidly put a chimney swift back into a chimney where it belonged on his first free flight. He had the fire at first then I suspect something happened. Don't know for sure. Of course it's been so long since I've had an imprinted peregrine I'm rather useless when it comes to training them:wink:

Brad

Well if all the CB raised birds that you raise are as tame as mine I can see why you don't bother with an imprint. I would like to try an imprint someday though. Doing what Mark Collins is doing with his tame hacked peregrines would be come true for me. Isaac

[MitchellBrad]

Well if all the CB raised birds that you raise are as tame as mine I can see why you don't bother with an imprint. I would like to try an imprint someday though. Doing what Mark Collins is doing with his tame hacked peregrines would be come true for me. Isaac

The high killer for huns in this state was an uncle of your bird. 45 or so huns is quite a number in one season considering the guy didn't have a dog. Just drove around and found coveys in the snow. I heard he even killed a crow. Striker is up real high, innocent crow flys underneath him and when it's right under him it died. Some pheasants too. The few times I saw the tiercel fly it wasn't anything spectacular but that bird was a killer, no doubt about it. Anyway he was pulled real late and from what I saw never really did settle down. The guy eventually did get rid of him for that reason but somehow during the deal made the guy promise he'd let him buy him back if he needed him for breeding. Of course the whole thing turned to mush because the tiercel was eventually lost or met with an accident. No one would give me the whole story but I would have bought him back too. Several around here agree that was a wasted bird and should have ended up in a breeding chambers. Some years ago I had some brits visiting. Striker supplied the huns we ate.

[Tacatanach]

Here are a couple pictures of him I took a few min ago (I think hes trying to tell me its bed time). Hes doing great, came to the lure instantly last night. Life seems to be against me on the tame hack, rain finally stopped, but then the the telemetery quit too. So thats on its way back to marshell. Looks like its more time in the flight pen, although I think he does more flying in the livingroom than in the pen... He managed to turn 3 circles in my living room today and can do about an 8 ft vertical flight to the ceiling fan with ease. Hes holding steady at about 640gs.

[BestBeagler]

How about an update on Mescalero? Isaac

[Tacatanach]

Well I ended up having to cut his weight down some (he got as high as 670 and now I keep him somewhere between 610-620, still no screaming though so I'm happy. I'm working on lure responce right now, he comes great in the house and in the front yard, but not in other places, so I've got him on a creance working on that right now. He got attacked by 3 scisor tailed flycatchers last week, they divebombed him pretty good and it took a couple days before he could sit still outside and not constantly duck anytime something flew over head. Hes taken to carrying his duck around the house, i guess he thought it was dirty last time he took a bath and into the bathpan wok it went. Hooding going well to, although every once and a while hell fight it for a bit. These instances are getting rarer and rarer though so now its about once every 3 or 4 days. Brad, you'll be happy to know that hes drinking well out of a mug (I hate cups and glasses so all I own are mugs, well except for some pint glasses ive aqurired). The first time anyone sees it they think im crazy holding a mug up to the bird but he just dipps his head in and gets a drink or to. I have also found the perfect tradeoff piece- crupmled paper. Doesnt matter what he has, toss a paper ball anywhere he can see it land or fly by and he leaves whatever he has to go play with the it

I'll try and get some picutres up later today.

[MitchellBrad]

Brad, you'll be happy to know that hes drinking well out of a mug (I hate cups and glasses so all I own are mugs, well except for some pint glasses ive aqurired). The first time anyone sees it they think im crazy holding a mug up to the bird but he just dipps his head in and gets a drink or to. I have also found the perfect tradeoff piece- crupmled paper. Doesnt matter what he has, toss a paper ball anywhere he can see it land or fly by and he leaves whatever he has to go play with the it

I'll try and get some picutres up later today.

Drinking out of a cup does have it's advantages. Wait until he starts playing in it:x We have Eastern and Western kingbirds out here. I once had an old hybrid tiercel I'd turn loose around the house after the moult to muscle up. For the first few days they were unmerciful to him. Once they put him into a bush. After he got muscled up they weren't so bad. I suppose they had a truce. By the time he started catching the pigeons I'd be ready to go hawking. That old imprint didn't need any weight control to get back. My kids used to hug him unhooded on the block or in the house. He could have cared less. They did that once to a visiting falconer's bird in the house. We had to peel her off the ceiling.


Brad

[BestBeagler]

The funny thing is, my bird will only drink out of shot glasses. I wonder why :lol: ? Isaac

[MitchellBrad]

The funny thing is, my bird will only drink out of shot glasses. I wonder why :lol: ? Isaac

Just make sure there is water in his:yawinkle:

Brad

[BestBeagler]

Water, :confused: whats that? Isaac

[Tacatanach]

The birds the only thing in this household that drinks water out of mugs, I never touch the stuff, makes me sick to drink water.

[MitchellBrad]

The birds the only thing in this household that drinks water out of mugs, I never touch the stuff, makes me sick to drink water.

I can think of a few W C Fields quotes concerning water.

[Tacatanach]

Guess I should update this, been a week or so. I've slowed things down some as he was starting to predict the lure and screaming for it. So we did a few days out of the automatic feeder and greatly varrying feeding times then decided to start on the kite training. My kite got held up at the distrubter for a few days, gotta love having 3 different addresses apparntly all of which were integrated into a single address at the credit card company. So needless to say the kite people were a bit confused by a zip code not matching the city not matching the address, which the bank claimed was my billing address. Now at least I know why my card zipcode kept getting denyed at the gas station. So i instead hung the kite slider off some line hanging from the ceiling fan and then hung a work shirt around the fan blades to sort of look like a kite. Showed it to him the first time and low and behold he looked at it for 5 min, then jumped up and garbed the meat like a pro. The slider coming down didnt even make him blink. So i'm now doing that for the evening feeding(increasing the height each time, so hes at about 3 feet now, although it still takes him a min or two of looking at it before going) and then in the mornings feeding him food tied down. He got spooked while eating one day earlier this week and started doing some very low grade mantling (wings slightly out but tail stll tight and wings not fanned or anything) and also carried a few feed but I think we got it sorted out. Hes now eating the first couple bites on the ground with me there pulling piceces off and then I'm picking up the food and letting him eat the rest of his meal on the fist.

So thats where we are now, hes still hooding well, rides in the car nicely (although our upcoming great american road trip should be an adventure), and is quite about 95% of the time. The 5% louder time is usually pretty well corelated to either A: him telling me i should be playing with him rather than trying to set high scores on the arcade section here (hes also figured out how to land on my laptop causing my screen to close therefor me loose my game and causing me to throw him a paperball to shread, which is still his favorite pasttime) or B: him mad at me abandoning him to go someplace I cant take him to, although this one has improved greatly since I started leaving him unhooded while out.

All it all its going well although a bit slower than I had planned on. But hey if speed and an easy time was what I was after Id just have gone and bought a new shotgun instead of a peregrine.

[BestBeagler]

All it all its going well although a bit slower than I had planned on. But hey if speed and an easy time was what I was after Id just have gone and bought a new shotgun instead of a peregrine.

Or a chamber raised bird :yawinkle: . Thanks for the update. I was just about ask how it was going. Isaac

[Tacatanach]

Or a chamber raised bird :yawinkle: . Thanks for the update. I was just about ask how it was going. Isaac

Exactly (although you said it not me:lol:). Ask anyone who knows me, im crazy, possibly insane (its actually basicly a requirement to do systematics really so not unexpected). I love playing mind games way more than going the easy way any day, hence the imprint. Although I admit theres been a time or two when I wish i could get away with some things, like this morning when after getting home at 330 and the bird woke me up at 7am (if i'm not awake when he decideds I should be he comes and plays with my hair and runs around on me until I get up), just throwing him some quail and going back to sleep wasnt an option. O well, its fun enough those couple times are more than worth it.

[Tacatanach]

Forgot to add a weight. Hes doing great at 630-635g. This seems to be the ideal weight for keeping him ready to eat (hes hungrey enough to swallow quail feet), but have him be quiet and sociable.

[BestBeagler]

Ask anyone who knows me, im crazy, possibly insane (its actually basicly a requirement to do systematics really so not unexpected).

I think you have to crazy just to be a falconer, especially if you are going to imprint a raptor. I am always being called a "bird brain" by my family. Isaac

[Tacatanach]

Been a while since I've added anything to this so heres an update. Not much to talk about really, summer finally arrived in Texas so birds are pretty much religated to early morning or late at night since the rest of the day its about 100F outside with high humidity. Hes coming to the lure ok, although the responce still isnt perfect I know he knows what it is since a few days ago I unhooded him while the lure was sitting on the other side of the room and he flew over to it ungarnsihed. I hope to have him on the kite by the end of this week- really whats slowing that down at this point is issues with the wind and me just trying to figure out how to best work the kite. Hes still quiet and well mannered, although he freaks out a bit when around other raptors so I've been working on that so we wont have issues in the weathering yard at meets. He figures stuff out fast so I dont forsee any problem with that. Jeff imped 2 feathers on him two weeks ago but apparently Cal doesnt like having a nice tail and promptly broke one of the new feathers right at the imp point. I havnt figured out how he broke them to start with, but the rebreak was definatly my own stupidity. After fixing that problem we havnt had any more feather issues. So I'll be imping the deck in this week once my next set of feathers comes in the mail. Hopefully the 2nd times the charm on that feather. Here are a few pictures of him, some from our great road trip through 5 or so states, and one from this morning when he flew over and landed on the scales. Note the picture of him on a travel perch. Do you see anything that resembles a gopher in that picture? While passing through the Kansas toll collector booth they asked lauren whom was driving about the gopher she had in the back. Needless to say we were a bit confused. Apparently people in Kansas can't diferentiate between a bird of prey and a small rodent...