Third day free

The weather here has been actually pretty good for this time of the year. Mostly in the 40's, but we have been having fog for the last 3 days. Its not bad, but it does keep it a bit cooler and moist.

 Not to mention making lousy light for pictures. I had to use the flash to get a shot of Tami feeding Orrin on the fist, so every thing else was out of the question.

As you can see the fog doesn't extend that far. From appearances, only about 5 miles to the NW it is clear. The hills that you can see in the back ground to the left is the Steen's.  Three miles away at the house we are pretty well socked in. The wind was blowing pretty fair and it was 32 degrees with the sun blocked. We have decided to fly as late in the evening as we can. Partly because Tami is helping Dave with the horses that he is training and because Orrin will not feel that he can screw around. All raptors get more serious with the coming of night. Its just one of the tools that you can use to insure that your new bird will be serious about hunting.

If you recall I asked Tami to take him down another 2 grams for today's flight. He was right on the money today. I looked him over for myself to see how he was handling the weight loss, and he looked fine to me. Tami concurred that he was still feeling strong, but a bit more anxious to start flying. We are being very careful with his weight and any loss that we inflict on him. It has been 46 years since I fed and cared for a Kestrel, and I have forgotten more than I remember correctly. Better to take more time than to make mistakes that could have serious consequences. As long as any corrections that we make are small ones, we can correct a too low condition. However at 100 grams he still looked alert and strong. He was cold though. Tami keeps him in the house and the wind was cold.

We walked over to the fence row that he seemed to want to land on yesterday. I wanted him to watch Tami more and to begin to follow us, rather than going off on his own. He behaved very well, and both of us were happy with his reaction. I want to keep him at the same weight, as I believe that with more time he will understand what we are doing. He is a really sharp little guy. Not much escapes him and he is quick to adapt.

He did fly to Tami quite well and a fair number of times, before he took a perch on a diverging fence line. We were blocked with a wide ditch, so we turned around. He was now off about 80 yards or so, and was slow in his reaction to the fist.  (I helped Tami make a lure for him that has a sliding weight on the line. The weight when slid forward up against the lure body can be thrown both high and a long ways off. )  The plan for today was to throw the lure high enough to get his attention, and far enough that he would have trouble finding it. That way he would try to find the lure, and come to where we were. Then the idea was to walk a bit further and repeat the toss, but to where he could find it. Thus teach him that something is always happening where Tami is, and that it is best to stay close. Well I tossed it into a Grease wood bush. He could see it and landed in the bush, finally crawling down into the bush to get it. Tami had to go get him and the lure out of the bush. The lesson was then over, but it didn't matter. He still learned. Before this the lure had been tossed into the open, and very close. This is the first time he has seen it sailing up into the sky. He will know the next time.

After he finished the food on the lure Tami picked him up with a chunk of meat on a bone. It gives him a bit more work to get his meal and it extends the feeding time a bit more. He is a bit like me on a diet. One wants to actually eat something, and 16 grams of food doesn't make that big of a lump.

Orrin will only be with us until about the end of March. At that time Tami will release him to get back to his own life, and to raise a family if he is strong enough. I think he is one of the survivors. There is generally a Kestrel nest in the trees at the ranch. Maybe he will take the female this year, and Tami can fly one of his young ones. Since we don't have that much time with him, his purpose is to show Tami the steps needed to take a wild bird to the point that they can be hunted. To teach her what weight control does and how to achieve a proper weight. Doesn't sound like much does it? However I know falconers that have been doing it for years that still haven't learned these lessons. It is doubly hard since it is "micro" management. The only way that Orrin knows that there is food on her fist is when she puts it on her bare finger and that on top of the glove. ( rewards for him are a sliver only ) Soon he will learn that a whistle will mean that there is food. He still hasn't figured that out yet, but a too high weight slows some lessons.
As soon as he learns to follow, we will introduce him to birds. Whether he manages to catch wild birds or not is immaterial to me, but he will have a chance.

If you are wondering at us releasing him after all this work. A raptor taken from the wild is a gift. As such they are only a loan.  Mine are all captive bred. The Harris Hawks and Jessie cannot be released since they are not native.