Tail of a Saker

[Coedhirion]

He isn't mine, but really I think I have the best of every thing. I don't have the responsibility, or have to find the extra accommodation. What I do have is all the fun, experience and joy he brings>>
He arrived on Sunday, tight feathered & boggle eyed after a hectic morning and 6 hour car journey. He had been kept in an aviary and therefore had just about no tail left (hence title :lol: ) So before he left he was imped a very nice new saker tail, with love & care & a lot of carbon fiber rod!!!
He had hardly been manned, so the tail & fitting jess & a hood must have been quite a shock. He didn't reach his new home until about 6pm
I was over there early on Monday morning to see our new arrival, we had been desperate to find something from the moment the last bird went down to molt. He was gorgeous!!!
He came with a hood on loan, but by the time I got there he had removed it. It had taken about an hour to replace it as his owner was alone. It was eventually done in a safe but unconventional manor, but by the time I arrived the hood was off again!! So we rifled through a large selection of hoods to select any that may fit. Each time you approached with a hood he baited and hung upside down. He was replaced with a gloved hand, but even so managed to leave some good bruise marks as he bit hard.
We eventually came to a compromise, my friend held him on the gloved fist with a gloved hand gently round the chest to stop him hurling himself forward, while I gently fitted the hood. His head went down, in & back, so I had to reach through and clasp his beak to draw his head into the hood properly. This left just 2 pairs of teeth between us to strike the braces!!!
We tried about 4 hoods in the same manner before we found one that was the correct fit.
Tuesday morning.... The phone rang, an excited voice said that the bird had been un hooded, sat quietly, had a small amount of food, then stood like a rock while the hood was replaced. This was repeated for the rest of his ration & again he didn't bait at all !!!

[Coedhirion]

Wednesday…. what a different bird, so much calmer and more relaxed!
He had plenty of manning, met the dogs from a safe distance, spent time hooded and unhooded. In the afternoon, part of his meal was fed on a small lure held in the glove.
Thursday….more manning in the morning, with and without the hood. In the afternoon we took him into the field on a creance. His hood was removed and in copy book style he head bobbed, produced a mute and roused!! Taking the bull by the horns I dropped the lure about a foot in front of the fist and he hopped straight down on to it. After finishing his reward he walked from the lure and hopped back up on to the fist. His hood was replaced and the lure tied with an other piece of chick. After undoing the braces, counting to five the hood was removed, he head bobbed again and roused so the lure was thrown out to about 4ft. He jumped down in fine style and when he had eaten we called him back to the fist and called it quits for the day.
Friday…The weather was horrid, it was wet and windy. We confined our activities to the garden but managed three good flights to the lure finishing at about 15ft away. Each time he had fed from the lure he walked off and was looking to be called to the glove. He really is an exceptional bird.
Saturday…We traveled him to a different place, the sun was out and he sat unhooded on his block while we put the small kite up to about 100ft, leaving a dog in charge of it. We repeated the day before’s exercise, but quite close to the kite. As he roused the lure was thrown out with a shout of ‘HO’ the final distance was half the length of the creance and he had four good flights.

[Shaun Byrne]

Good read C. I take it from the fast progress that he has had some training beforehand? What weight is he?

[Coedhirion]

I take it from the fast progress that he has had some training beforehand?
The bird had had little or no handling before he arrived due to the breeder being rather busy. He had been in an aviary, hence the loss of all his tail feathers. His weight had been reduced prior to collection so he could have a new tail imped and equiped.

[Coedhirion]

Sunday....Strong winds, rain and freezing temperatures. Plus we wanted to go and watch a friend in an All Wheel Drive competition.
The best answer seemed to be to start teaching him high jumps. He had spent an hour or so in the house with his hood off and had been very calm, sitting on the glove with 'one foot tucked up his jumper' His weight was down to 1lb 7.3/4 oz.
He was taken into the garage, which is just a large barn type building and popped on to the high jump rubber bar. He was called to the fist, but sat for ages as if to say 'why should I jump up there'...Patience is a virtue and eventualy he made the great leap to all of 3 ft. Had his reward, then popped back down. By the time he had made 4 jumps, the last at about 3ft 9ins, he had got the idea. So it was time to quit while we were ahead.

[Coedhirion]

His food this week has been a mixture of chick,quail,rat & rabbit, at the start, it was all de-fluffed as he had to spend so much time in his hood that he couldn't be fed any real casting. We didn't want the poor little soul to choke to death.
He sat indoors most of the morning, part hooded part time without. The weather was pretty wet and windy. He got to watch TV and the dogs running around, plus me trying to kick the computer into submission :lol: :lol:
He was 1lb 7.5/8 in the morning so we took him over the field with 3 of us and a couple of dogs. He was flown about 40m on the creance the first time he was un hooded. His reactions were quite quick. un hood, head bob, rouse, we shouted 'ho' & threw out the lure, he left the fist immediately and took it well, walking off and flying to the fist when he had finished & was called.
We simply repeated this 3 more times, the last was almost full creance length, so again it was a case of quitting while we were ahead & not asking for any more.
There was one set back today, he lost one of his carefully imped deck feathers. The carbon fibre rod came free from the remains of his own deck. It could be partly due to getting wet yesterday, it was done with super glue, which doesn't like water. He hasn't had a tail mount fitted yet, so it will be imped back in when he is cast for that.

[Coedhirion]

I didn't get to see him today as I went to visit friends who had come down from Surrey.
However, the telephone rang with an update of his activities today.
Lots more manning in the morning. In the afternoon he was taken into one of the fields on the creance.
We had wanted to try to get a lure catch in the air. He roused quickly after his hood was removed & called, he hit the lure well, but failed to bind to it. He jumped straight on to it on the ground tho for his reward. The other 3 flights were simply to the lure thrown out onto the ground. The lure length was about 40ft and he behaved very well.
He is coming on in great strides and settling very well. He has been taken for walkes along the lane to see the animals, vehicles and the odd tractor. He has started to take most things in his stride.
At last a chance to add a picture taken on his first day!!

[Coedhirion]

We put the small kite up again, with him sitting watching our antics.
His weight has been brought down to 1lb 6.1/2, but by feeding rat & quail to give the energy etc.
We wanted a catch above the ground, so we gave it a try first flight from the glove, this time he actualy took hold tho I think if it had been quarry it would have escaped :lol: But as it is only a week and a half we were well pleased. The second flight we put the lure on the kite string, but only just clearing the ground. He started off very positively, but when he got about 2 ft from it he stopped dead & landed. Then he got the message & jumped up for it and brought it to the ground with a little help from a foot on the kite string!! He followed this with 2 good flights to the swung lure before we finished.
There was only one slight hickup. He has a beautiful new hood made to fit him. After having watched us playing with the kite I hooded him and walked away, as I went to strike the braces he anticipated and pulled back, bringing the hood off. He sat still enough when I put the hood back on after the flight, but he was again trying to anticipate when I wanted to remove it for the second flight. He kept turning his head and putting his wings out and I got a bit worried. It is all too easy to wreck a bird if you muck up the hooding. I stopped thinking about the lure and and the position and concentrated purely on undoing the braces as if I was manning. I suddenly realised I had actualy been holding him in a different position. The moment I held him as I did while teaching him to accept the hood he sat totally still. I undid the braces and counted the customary five before removing it. He was as good as gold from then on and I learnt a valuable lesson.

[Coedhirion]

It was a lovely warm sunny day with a super view from the top of the hill. We had 5 lure length flights today. 1 good catch above ground to the swung lure, then as the kite was up we put the lure about 4ft up off the ground. At first he didnt notice it and was looking at my friend to swing the lure, when a gloved fist was raised towards it, he saw it and caught it well, the result is shown below. The other flights were not so good to the swung lure as he still hasnt completely mastered binding to it as he wont hit it hard enough. However it is still early days and you cant expect miracles in less than 2 weeks. I dont think we should have introduced the kite yet, but we wanted to get him used to the site and sound of it. He didnt mind it at all so it was tempting to pop a lure a few feet up to try. It hasnt done any harm, he always gets his reward.

[Coedhirion]

Week 2 more settled and the views were great

[Coedhirion]

I think he has finally worked it out!! Went for a catch above the ground and he nailed it properly. Using the full length of the creance, went for a second...he caught it again!! some of the problem was poor timing by the lure swinger, we both admit it :oops: but it is hard to judge when the bird is there with perhaps just one flick of its wings. May be thats not an excuse, but lack of practice doesn't help either :oops: With a slight feeling of panick as we wanted to finish on a good note, we went for a third attempt and he again caught it well. As there was a stiff wind and not wanting to finish with a miss, we called it quits.

[Coedhirion]

Saturday...day off
Sunday.....4 catches above ground to the lure. Can't believe how smoothly every thing is going, I shouldnt say that as it will probably put a jinx on things. The creance is realy getting on our nerves, we just want to let him fly free. It is worth resisting temptation at least until we establish a turn. With the creance length we are using it realy takes a third person in the middle holding the creance. As it is so long it gets hooked real easy and you can almost see it weighing the poor little bird down. We dont want to make life too hard for him and put him off, but he needs to build up muscle. Hopefully if we can establish a turn, we can get him off soon.
After checking the deck feather that had been imped in, then lost the other day, we dont think we can re-attach it. it is possible that the bird may be about to moult that feather any way. Imping in the missing one could damage the new feather. That means that we cannot fit the tail mount. So the transmitter, like the bell will have to go on his leg!!
Hate putting things on the legs, but there is no option at the moment.

[BrianM]

Saturday...day off
Sunday.....4 catches above ground to the lure. Can't believe how smoothly every thing is going, I shouldnt say that as it will probably put a jinx on things. The creance is realy getting on our nerves, we just want to let him fly free. It is worth resisting temptation at least until we establish a turn. With the creance length we are using it realy takes a third person in the middle holding the creance. As it is so long it gets hooked real easy and you can almost see it weighing the poor little bird down. We dont want to make life too hard for him and put him off, but he needs to build up muscle. Hopefully if we can establish a turn, we can get him off soon.



i really DETEST creance work ****ing string all over the place,, an me done up like a kipper i hate it

[Coedhirion]

A creance, a lure and when we were getting him used to a kite flapping around over head, all the strings for that...eeek. but we thought we should introduce the kite and lure while he was on the creance incase it frightened him & he straight lined it for pastures new :roll: :rolleyes:

[Coedhirion]

monday.... we had some cord left off the small kite. It was a lot longer and thinner than any of our creances. Working on the fact that an unfit male saker at 1lb 6.3/4 couldnt pull as hard as an 8ft delta kite, we wrapped a long length on to a handle and went into the field. The grass has grown a lot in the last few days and we thought there would be problems with the line catching. The idea worked a treat. He headed off to the lure as normal, but gained a lot more height and behaved more as if he was enjoying it, rather than strugling to drag a heavier line. He did 5 super flights with catches above the ground and although it was easier to get things in a tangle, it was a great success.

[Coedhirion]

We had a bit more height when he flew on the 'kite line' creance, but it was past time to pluck up courage and fly him free. The weather hadn't been helpful, blustery showers, the farmer was moving stock nearby and the tractors were out muck spreading!!! Despite all, we were fed up with untangling bits of cord and took the plunge.
Unfortunately it was obvious that a tail mount on an imped tail was out of the question. he had a small bell fitted on one anklet last week, so the transmitter had to go on the other. Not an ideal situation, I hate extras on the legs, but as it is not planned to enter him as yet, that is what we did.
The first flight from the fist was amazing, he took off as normal, then realising he wasnt being dragged into the ground climbed to about 30ft and zapped the lure. He was so different. The last three days we had felt as if we were making little progress, but now he is realy enjoying himself. He had 5 realy long flights and had to work a bit, each time making a little more height and hitting the lure with more enthusiasm.

[Coedhirion]

Oh!! what a difference. It was jolly windy, but he had some realy good flights. Now he is free of that horrid creance he leaves the fist with even more enthusiasm, he is going toward the lure with extra purpose and determination. We had one spectacular display, both he and the lure swinger got their timing wrong! the lure was up at about 10ft, the bird threw up well above it at the last minute and then stooped for the catch. He missed, but undeterred went up again and took it well. A very clever bit of flying from an unfit bird with so little experience in a strong blustery wind. He is a great little character and such a pleasure to work with.

[Coedhirion]

wow!!! ...It was time to go for a turn, I had heard that Sakers can be hard to get to turn. My friend and I stood opposite ends of the field, about 100 mtrs apart. He was un hooded and I swung the lure, as he came toward me I whipped it behind my back, his head turned to look and round came the rest of him. By this time the lure was safely hidden up the back of my coat, he barely gave a second look as my friend was already whistling him up from the other side of the field. He headed back over and took the lure at about 12ft above the ground!!
We repeated the exercise with just as spectacular result.
We then went for one more step, I called him as he left my friends glove, hid the lure, he flew back to my friend who also hid the lure and as he turned I called again. As he came in I called Ho and put the lure out for him to catch. I got my timing wrong and he was tired and missed, but the game little fellow turned again, by this time almost mowing the grass with his wings. I dangled the lure at about 2ft from the ground to make it as easy as possible, he realy deserved that reward. We walked back to the car completely elated. He is turning into such a super, gutsy little fellow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :lol: :lol: :lol:

[KevGem1]

great read that mate keep it coming finding it very inte resting cheers KEV. :wink:

[Coedhirion]

Thanks Kev.....
Flew him on the Saturday before the Fair, he was so good!!! may be we pushed our luck, but he had been turning and doing every thing asked of him, so we wanted a small step forward...
We had flown from one person one side of the field toward the second person on the other side, who hid the lure, he flew back and forth 3 times before his reward & all was great!! So I released him toward my friend who swung the lure and went for a propper pass. he turned at first back toward me, then started to circle and gain height. We then called him back to the lure, but he appeared to have trouble turning. It wasn't too scarey as he is still very unfit and was circling as opposed to a straight line job. Trouble was he came down on the wrong side of a fence and sat looking puzzled, he couldn't get through and the blackthorne hedge was thick above him. We rescued him and flew him simply from one to the other to finish.
It wasn't till the next morning we noticed him holding one wing slightly lower!!! We cast him and spread each wing, he had broken the skin and removed a few feathers on the web close to where wing meets body!!! We were off to the fair so after treating it he was put away any how.
It is now thursday and it looks a lot better, but you can still see he is holding it a bit wrong, especialy by evening, he sits out on his block and flexes his wings and in all other ways seams just fine. It has been treated daily with savlon spray, but we shant risk flying him again until after the weekend at least!! A whole week off just as it was going so well...darn these fences, we picked as large an area as possible too!!!!

[Coedhirion]

The computer got sick, teach me to keep adding bits to it!!
As for the Sakeret...Well.. a week later and he looked back to normal, so at last back flying again. Resisted the temptation to take him out over the weekend, it wasn't worth the risk, wanted to give plenty of time for the injury to heal fully. We just did 3 straight nice easy flights from glove to lure on Monday, then spent the rest of the day watching him for ill effects!!!
The wing still looked normal on Tuesday so we did a bit more, but nothing fancy, just straight easy flights into the wind to a nice easy lure. Nothing exciting, makes boring reading, but when you start training a young bird thats realy what you want. You get your kicks from just watching them fly and getting fitter, stronger and learning every day :lol: :lol:

[Coedhirion]

We took him up the hill with the 12ft Delta kite today!!
He had seen it on the creance and was used to the flapping and had kinda flown to the lure at the great height of about 3ft when still on the creance. We had put the smaller kite up when we flew him quite often too, so there was nothing new to spook him. It was well worth it too!!!
We put the kite up ready, then we did a couple of passes to the swung lure. I hooded him and we loaded the kite lure, I walked off away from the string while the lure was put up to about 30ft...OK thats low, but this his 1st propper flight! :lol: At a sensible distance I unhooded, he spotted it almost instantly, without much hesitation he was off and smacked the lure like a goodun, he and the lure came neatly down...all textbook stuff!!! It just couldnt have gone better :lol:
It was so tempting to have another go, but after nearly 10 days off after he bashed his wing on the fence, he can't be fit enough and it would have been stupid to risk straining the wing too soon!! But we still went home chuffed to bits!!!

[Coedhirion]

Every thing is going real well, I hope that comment doesnt put the mockers on it!! Its great watching him fly and getting stronger every day, but it isn't very exciting to read or write about.
It was the kite that provided that today. Its not my kite and sure wasn't my idea to put a 12ft delta up in a gale .... we strugled, rolled on the floor to keep it anchored flat till we could get the cross spar in, I let it up real slow to about 10ft to fit the lure...there was a loud crack and the whole thing took on a whole new life, it shot down, wrapped round my friend and she sat on her b..m with a wack, it then hurtled off across the field. Never did think dowling was a good idea!! the 8ft has carbon fibre and that nearly folds in half some days.
The bird flew real well, managing 2 catches off the kite, ..good job we took both kites up to the field...but only about 20 ft up as it was dancing like a mad thing and I wanted to steady it and make sure the lure came down easy for him. He realy had to battle hard in the wind, but we think his weight is a bit too high He flew at 1lb 7.3/4 oz today, and could have been a bit keener.

[Hawkmaster]

When we getting some pictures, it all sounds exciting now!

[Coedhirion]

Its hard to take action shots, you tend to be too busy watching the bird and the kite !!!
He has been telling us fibs in typical Saker fashion, his weight crept up to 1lb 8.7/8 oz , after all he was hungry and not a lot of energy. Why do we fall for it with Sakers?? Any way we were on the verge of loosing him the day before yesterday. He landed a couple of fields over, he came back but sat in a tree watching. We managed to get him on to the lure and grabbed him quick!!
So he was down to 1lb 8.1/2 today, and not so good at first, then we had some realy good flying from him and good catches in the air.
I think his weight is going to be best at about 1lb 8.1/4 to get him that little bit keener!
Some one reconed he was a transvestite...poor little bloke. He was fitted with a female Saker's tail :lol: :roll: :lol:

[Coedhirion]

You can just see his tail is a different colour to the rest. it came off an older bird.

[UKJay74]

Great read Coedhirion keep it up and stunning lil fella you have there :D

[Coedhirion]

took these today, the wind was very blustery and he couldnt get much height. We had quite a few showers too. Tried for an action shot, but always miss half the bird :lol: cant cope with a lure and a camara !!!

[Coedhirion]

windy day

[Coedhirion]

At last it was a bit warmer, still with a bit of gusty wind and showers tho. It did at least mean we got a bit of height. He is flying at 1lb 8.1/8 oz and that appears to be about the best weight. He made about 600ft today over the forestry before being called back. He normally has about 4 good flights and is getting quite fit now, he has a couple of passes to the lure. With a bit of luck if it warms up we should get some good flights to the kite next week, he has only taken the kite lure quite low to the ground so far, we dont want him to miss it and get demoralized.

[BFC 007]

you going to be hunting him or just display coed?

[Coedhirion]

you going to be hunting him or just display
We go stir crazy when we stop hunting in spring, this bird came up via a friend, we were just looking for something to fly to the lure and kite. However he has turned out to be a great character. At the moment we can only attach things to his legs as the whole tail was imped in, curtesy of a female Saker!! With a bell and a small transmitter on his legs, hunting is not on the cards at the moment. The transmitter does have a reasonable range even with a short aerial.
I expect later on we will probably end up entering him, but probably not untill after his moult.
The weather hasn't been very helpful, they do like the warm. When the sun is out he gets so much more lift and is now going up to about 600ft and learning where he has to go to find good lift.
More flights to the kite should help with this, but the showery weather has meant we just rush out quick when we get the chance. He is flown every day even if just for a short time and spends the rest of his day on the block un-hooded. He is rarely hooded now, just while we are changing the lure etc.

[Coedhirion]

At last the sun has come out and the wind is just a nice warm breeze...We flew Davey to the 12ft kite this afternoon, he hardly hesitated, went straight up and took the lure at about 100ft. This may be jolly low, but you have to start some where!!!! Trouble is he has a habit of trying to make off with lures, he has never been allowed to and is always expected to step off before he comes up to the fist. As stopping is also a problem for a young bird, he tried to keep on flying when he took the lure, instead of following it down the kite string. This meant that to his disgust he had to let go!!! The second attempt was a lot better, he wasn't loosing it a second time and managed to bring it down quite well. We flew him from the fist to the lure after this and he had 4 realy good flights.He made good height over trees and did some spectacular passes to the lure befor getting his reward.
My friend is off on holiday and he is left in my care. How much flying I shall dare to do on my own I'm not sure, but if the weather is good ....

[Coedhirion]

Well we all make mistakes, nothing written as there was nothing very good to say!!
The bird had been going so well, then just stopped progressing. :? He had flown quite well up to 1lb 9 oz, but was obviously too heavy at that weight. At 1lb 8.1/2 he was ok, but not very sharp so we dropped his weight to 1lb 8.1/8. He got worse, he flew a little then went and sat when flown again he went and sat!! It was as if he had no energy, so we pushed his weight back up again.....big mistake, well they are feathered fibbers aren't they!!!! he was cast off, he flew for about 1 minute and went and sat on a log 2 fields way chatting away. when we got near he chirruped happily expecting to be collected!!! :shock:
That was it...we had tried one idea, it hadn't worked, so plan B... DROP HIS WEIGHT. :!: :!:
Yesterday and today we had our super little Saker back!!
he flew today at 1lb 7.5/8, he went up and up revelling in the warm air and sunshine. He flew for ages and we just sat on the grass watching before calling him back to the lure. He had a short rest then gave us a second super flying display!!!
We do have a problem tho....his tail is not standing up to all this flying. He only has about 8 of his imped tail feathers left and 2 of those are broken.
We got a collection of feathers together today and we will have to do a careful imp job again or the poor little bird wont be able to stop!!!
It looks as tho he is going to have to put up with a mixture of Saker and (dare I say it) Harris feathers mmm poor little man may look a bit odd, but doubt he will know :roll:

[BFC 007]

Them sakers are a ****** for lying about there weight arent they???? mine was the same-need to keep them sharp set to progress :wink:

[Gozzhawk]

Small note on impimg . We put all feathers back 'cos it helps the growth of new ones, also superglue is very brittle when dry so we use Araldite, stronger snd flexes. p.s. never quite understood why all train ruined if he was free lofted. On the up .... sounds like you are doing a cracking job think he'll take a cock??

[Coedhirion]

We put the two saker feathers in and it made a big difference....AND I MISSED THE FUN
As Gozzhawk said, we had to add some more feathers to protect the new ones as they grow too. He lost all his own tail as he was free lofted in a wire mesh aviary, with no Netlon protection...That was at the breeders!!
I missed all the action today as I have been hay making and had lots of farm chores!! :( :(
My friend took him down to a woman she has known for ages, who flies a Gyr/saker. they put the kite up in a nice strong wind, without me to watch over it, some one didn't put the brake on properly, just as the bird left the fist, the kite suddenly started to hurtle upwards with the Saker in hot persuit!!! He caught the lure as some one caught the brake!! and returned to earth with it from about 600ft.... Then as I normally cope with the lure (they were probably nattering!!) some one unhooked the lure cord ...oh dear!! Luckily the hook caught in a hedge, so they only had to hike across 2 fields to retrieve it !!! :lol: :lol:
They had a more profesional second flight and the little Saker was mutch admired. Also the whole thing was caught on video, so I hope they let ME see it :lol: :lol: :lol:
The Gyr/Saker is normally reverse moulted, but things have changed a little this year as its owner has been busy with her mare and new foal. It is a 4 year old bird and an amazing kind of conker colour with almost pink edges to its feathers, an absolute stunning looking bird. I can't wait to see it fly, which should be quite soon now as she has finally got her priorities right!!! :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

[Coedhirion]

Put the kite up in a strong gusty wind, just as he was about to take it, the wind wipped him and the lure sideways!! we stood and watched him trying to catch it for what seemed like an age. He then turned sideways and flew away, I thought he had lost heart as he is so young and inexperienced, but he just turned, whipped in from a different direction, nailed it and came straight down the line, it was an amazing flight.
Then yesterday we just took him up the hill to fly, he just climbed and climbed. He was using the lift up over the hills behind the farm and eventually was hidden in cloud. I'm a coward and pulled out the receiver, the blip was hardly audible, and its an expensive set. I started to panick, my more experienced friend just stood there and waited!!
Suddenly the blip suddenly got louder and it was obvious that he was coming in fast from some where!! He just stooped straight out of the clouds above our heads, changing from just a dot to a bird with a mission, in seconds. He caught the lure hard and sat there looking almost smug!!!
COOOOO..... :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

[Coedhirion]

Saker with wonky tail, kite, lure and drogue

[Coedhirion]

Taking the lure

[Sparrow Hawker]

Fantastic Pics there Coedhirion,

All The Best,

HH

[Coedhirion]

Today was the best ever, the kite wents up to about 600ft, and he made height and took the lure with ease.
The wind suddenly dropped after reloading the lure, and the darn thing nose dived into the bracken!! that will teach us to leave the drogue off!!
I couldn't put it back up as we had broken yet another centre spar, I do wish we could find some carbon fibre rather than dowling for the 12 ft kite!
There was the little fellow circling higher and higher and the kite was on the floor. So he just kept going up. he got lift from a tree covered hill and must have made 1,000ft!! I was actualy starting to panick quietly, he was circling and could just be seen, but made no attempt to return when called. He circled for about 15 minutes just a tiny dot in the sky...then after swapping the chick leg on the lure for a whole body he came more over head, but still at a tremendous height..the next thing was he just stooped straight at us, he came down at a tremendous speed catching the lure above the ground.A spell binding display

[Coedhirion]

All this warm weather with just the correct breeze!!!Another brilliant day, he flew just the once, but stayed up for about 15 or 20 minutes! I am sure he made close on a 1,000ft. He just circled getting lift from the trees and the banks on either side of my valley. He was higher than the buzzards that were up and looked simply fantastic. We didn't get the amazing stoop we had yesterday, but I think the flying was almost better!!! Just hope he keeps it up as a Falconer friend of mine is coming to watch next week.