Time for a change

It is time for a change. We have been trying to shape Orrin's hunting to what would actually give him the best chance to catch something. That is direct pursuit from the fist. He does not see it that way. After quite a few successful slips while on the fist, he still wants to fly to the open fields to hunt. Since he is most likely an older bird, I can understand that he would default to what has always worked for him. I have noticed several times that he goes into these fields and hovers, looking for game. He will stay in one spot for a while and then move to another, again hovering for as long as he can stand it. I have stubbornly insisted that he conform to my ideas, and he has steadfastly resisted. I hereby give up.

Falconry is actually using the birds strong points and natural inclinations to your advantages. For instance Peregrines naturally do the things that make them the best suited for falconry, such as waiting on. Kestrels also wait on, however it is generally at 50 feet. What ever! I guess we will see what he can do.

Tami and I are both trapping birds. She is trapping Sparrows, ( also unprotected) while I am catching Starlings. We have not used many of the Sparrows since Orrin would be guaranteed to carry them, and I just don't need the hassle as yet. If Tami has him long enough we will teach him to cache, but that can be done later. ( It is merely tempting him to leave what he has for more food. He has proven that he will come to the lure with a full crop already.)

Today I had a cage full of Starlings, and I put two in my pocket as bags. I then picked up three Sparrows as incentives and put them in another pocket. We kept Orrin on the fist and started walking up the line of big trees heading towards the Barn. There were a bunch of Sparrows just in front of us, and Orrin was watching them. I released one of the Sparrows right in front of him, and as it flew off, he flinched, but did not give chase. I asked Tami to turn him loose to see what he would do. He took off, ignoring the birds and flew to the open field and started hovering. He would hold over a spot for a while and then move to another and so on until he tired. He then went to a tree to rest for a bit. Well it was time to take the hint, so we went to the field that he had been hunting Mice in. We stopped and just waited. He again came out of the tree and began his hovering hunt of the field. When he tired, he sat down on one of the fence posts that divided the field. We again waited. After a bit he started towards us and when he got close, he started flying a bit higher because Tami had not presented her fist. I flipped out a Sparrow and he chased it into the Tule patch by us. He started up again and this time got up to about 75 feet. I tossed out a Starling, and it chose to fly away from his location. He used his height and forced it into a bunch of Willows lining a irrigation ditch. He went in right after it and caught it about 50 feet into the tangle. No hesitation, he was going to catch the Starling, no matter where it went.

The interesting part is that they went into the willows about 50 feet to Tami's right, you can just barely see the open end. He would have impressed a Coopers hawk with that chase. He could not have flown, it had to be a foot race. It was just too thick for him to fly. I know he sure impressed me.

It would be easier to use a Kite or Balloon to teach him to go high, but I guess we will just toss Sparrows and reward him with a Starling when he improves his technique. We may have to establish some feeding stations for the Sparrows to give us some chances at game.