#falconry

Would you believe i drew horses all the time when i was younger :/

I need more practice but owls are easier

All my friends are posting engagement photos and I’m out here taking romantic pics with my red-tailed hawk

I just wanted to share about my very good friend Vahe. He is a master falconer and owner of @falconforce_falconry. In 2019 that means part of his job is providing sustainable pest management service to growers of cherries, blueberries and wine grapes.

He utilized different types of falcons/hawks for different types of jobs as well. Sometimes that means chasing off invasive Starlings from berries and other times that means clearing public spaces of pest birds.

“To watch the berries from green to the most vivid ripe blue and untouched by nuisance invasive birds in a period of 45 days is a gratifying spectacle.”

Check out his page to see beautiful photos from his work at @falconforce_falconry or head to www.FalconForce.com for falconry based bird abatement services.

Barn Owl

Took a few weeks off due to holidays, family, mental health, weather, and a cold (thankfully not covid). Finally got back out with the bird today, didn’t expect much since it was her first day flying since the last hunt, but she got it done despite being out of shape.

Sorry for the terrible video. I almost got the whole thing but I was focused on her and the squirrel, not so much what my hand was doing. Still I got part of the hunt and the catch (it bailed and tried to run).

Decided to take Buffy out first thing this morning for another hunt. Had some great flights, but many of the squirrels this late in the game seem to be smart enough to make it into holes or hide in the branches of downed trees, where it’s too thick for the hawk to reach them. Buffy was determined to keep trying though, and I did my best to keep flushing. She was almost 100 feet up in a tree while I was knocking around below. Managed to get this one moving, and I’m honestly still amazed she managed to grab it. That was one heck of a dive! Glad I was able to reach her and help out because she barely had it, but was determined not to let go.

Hunting this bird has really restored a lot of what I lost in my earlier falconry seasons. I’m still not where I should be mentally, but I’m really enjoying myself, even if we don’t catch anything. She puts on a good show and tries her best and I always get to see some cool flights, even if we don’t put game in the bag. Obviously I enjoy her success even more, but I’m slowly finding my way back to myself and who I want to be as a falconer.

Took out another fox squirrel yesterday. I guess after her bite, Buffy decided to drown this one. Found her in a small creek after crossing a ~30’ creek haha. I was very pleased to have a large downed tree to walk across, instead of swimming.

We had a hell of a hunt today. Flew Buffy for just over 2 hours. We chased one squirrel in the same tree (video) for probably an hour. Another squirrel chase resulted in her crashing brush so hard she broke her bell off. Finally my phone was dying and it was getting late so I started working my way back to the house. Was about to call her to the glove when I saw movement in the tree she was in. Another squirrel! I ran back and between the two of us, she managed to grab this one.

However, she got it in the tree. 2nd to last pic. It was a struggle. I begged her to come down so I could help her dispatch. Eventually she did come down. By the time I got to her, Buffy was completely covered in her own blood. It was all over her tail, pouring down her leg, on her beak and on the squirrel. She was a bit woozy on the kill so I made in with tidbits, and traded her off. She was so good even on the walk back. Got her cleaned up at the house. Thankfully the bite clotted quickly. She’ll get a day or two or rest before we’re back at it. The bite should heal up just fine. I was super worried at first, but with how easy it patched up I think it looked worse than it was.

My first bird Tyr set a personal record of a 5 minute hunt. Today this girl broke that record, taking the first squirrel we flushed to the ground in 3.5 minutes. #falcrony

Another squirrel down.

I was debating sharing this because honestly after a while all these squirrel pictures feel the same.

Still, I’m proud of this bird and the way our season is going. After a few bad seasons, and one ‘meh’ season where I was only able to get 5 squirrels before it was over, I’m finally starting to feel like a falconer again. I don’t believe falconry is ‘all about the numbers’, but at the same time, I do like the numbers. I like to see my birds learn, and grow, and improve. I enjoy watching the flights as they grow more skilled and so does the quarry. I enjoy feeling successful with my birds, and I take enjoyment in their success. That’s a lot of what makes falconry fun for me.

It’s nice to finally find my groove again! This bird is fun and I’m having a blast. I’m even looking forward to trying a new species next season, without the doom and gloom I’ve been feeling the past couple years. I think I’m finally getting some of my confidence back.

Another fox squirrel down. This girl is shaping up quite nicely.

Celebrating World Falconry Day today with my/our first fox squirrel!!! I am THRILLED.

2013/08/03

In my line of work I repeat myself a lot, and that’s to be expected; the guests probably don’t think about the fact that I regurgitate the same info three hundred times a day. But one question that people ask has been getting to me a little bit: “Do you have any owls?”

The answer, most days, is yes. We do have owls. We just don’t have any owls here today. And to tell you the truth, at first the question sort of offended me. I mean, Jesus, is seeing hawks and falcons up close just not good enough for these people? Are they not beautiful? Do they not deserve the same awe and adoration?

I work with three owls:

Stomper, 6 y.o. female Barn Owl (Tyto alba)

Chico, 2 y.o. male Barred Owl (Strix varia)

Lucy, 11 y.o. female Great Horned Owl (Bubo virginianus)

I will not deny that they are some of my favourite birds to work with–my pottery signature is a doodle of a barn owl, fergodssake–because they are so private and so different from the others, but last week a sixteen-year-old girl pitched a fit complete with pouting and foot-stomping simply due to the fact that we didn’t bring in any owls that day. It really made me question, why does everyone sigh with adoration at the sight of a fussy nocturnal bird? Why is it that when we’re doing a hawk presentation, people are laughing and generally in a spirited mood while the minute we bring out an owl, voices drop to whispers, faces go solemn and parents shush their children?

Now, I’m no psychologist, but I have a few hypotheses.

When the Empress of Everything gives you a look, start groveling.

It’s common knowledge that most owls are active at night (though strictly speaking, their nocturnal nature is by no means compulsory; they can see ten times better than we can during the day), and thus are doing most of their errands when people are asleep. People tend to equate nighttime with mystery and furtiveness as well as with romance, especially where the moon and the stars are concerned. The image of a white barn owl cutting a streak through the night, looking itself like a sibling of the moon, definitely has some romance to it. Owls lead mysterious and very private lives, and I think the fact that they are seldom seen really gives them a sort of mythic air for a lot of people.

Another reason they might be so loved is that like us, their eyes face forward, their beaks fall away from their faces just like our noses, and some species even look to have eyebrows. It’s these similarities to our own features that makes the owl the most recognizable animal to children. Maybe it plays a part in why we find them so cute, because their expressions mirror our own, only…featherier.

Cheeky on his favourite perch; above everybody and perfect for narrowly missing me with poop.

One thing still sort of stumps me, though. Why have owls become so popular when in many cultures they are still feared as harbingers of bad luck and death? In a large part of Africa they are persecuted fiercely as “witch-birds”, many First Nations cultures in North America have severe taboos regarding owls–some even consider looking at an owl to be sure sign of death–and in the Arabian Peninsula owls are purported to carry off children and are haram (taboo) to eat under Muslim law. Even the western world has its superstitions: as late as the 1950’s dead owls were commonly nailed to barn doors in the UK and France to ward off lightning strikes and the evil eye. Interesting how in just 70 years, things have turned 180° and owl-mania has set in.

All this being said, I am fine with people loving owls. Actually, I love that people love owls. It makes me smile. It gives me hope that they’ll listen to the conservation advice that we give at the end of each presentation. But the one thing that drives me up the freaking wall, especially online, is people saying one of the following:

• “I want a pet owl.”
• “Having an owl would be so dope.”
• “How do you catch an owl? I want one sooooo baaaadddd.”

I realize what a losing battle responding to these people is, but I feel somehow responsible as a representative of the industry. You guys, owls can be pretty dreadful at times. Especially when they decide to sit on your head with these bad boys:

Stomper’s foot. It’s been on my head, and it sucked.

Owls are totally unlike any bird you will ever meet. Their behavior is different, their demands are different, they even fly differently. They tend to be a lot more difficult, especially once they are grown and established in their habits, and make really terrible pets.

Owl tantrums are a thing. And not just a sometimes thing. Some owls will flip a table every time you try to pick them up. Lucy is like that, and I have tremendous respect for that bird because she has 450 PSI of pressure in her feet and if she wanted to she could snap my ulna like a dry twig. Kim has been working with her for seven years and it took all of them to get her comfortable enough to sit for a few hours on his fist. Comparatively, he had Rusty, our rescued Red-Tailed Hawk, flying the length of the yard and back to him within 3 days of getting him from the rehab. Now that is a bit of an extreme comparison, but it can be commonplace for an owl to “shut down” on you seemingly at random and force you to start at square one again.

Owls generally don’t give a shit about anything but sleeping.

I see so many videos on Youtube of people with “pet” owls and it makes me so sad because I know that a lot of them will end up surrendering their owl to a falconer because it’s just too much work. This I say expecting the resounding echoes of “How dare you! I’m a great owner!” I wish I could believe you, but we see it every year: Karen gets the call from someone who got a permit, bought a bird and just couldn’t keep up the slack. Mind you, this mostly happens with hawks as in this province there are only a handful of people who have permits for owls but the principle is the same. Once an owl, no, ANY animal imprints on you, you have a responsibility to that animal. When another life is involved, fall in love with your head before you do with your heart. 

The worst.

And if you really want to help owls, there are fortunately plenty of things that you can do! Barn Owl numbers are dropping at an alarming rate, so encourage nesting by building and installing a Barn Owl box (pattern here). Volunteer at your local rehab to promote breeding programs and re-release. That being said, the number one thing you can do is to stop using rat poison. Tell your friends, tell your neighbours; rodenticides are the leading cause of raptor death in the world today, and with fewer owls, the rodent population only continues to climb. And poisons don’t just affect wild animals: say your dog runs off into a bush while you’re walking with them and eats part of a dead owl. A week later, your dog dies of internal hemorrhage. Your kid picks up a stick, pokes the dead owl, touches the end of the stick, touches his mouth, he gets sick too.

The owls are doing their best, so it’s up to us to keep our lifestyles owl-positive. I have lost count of the people I see every day who are moved by the beauty of these enigmatic animals, and I hope that those people will spread the word.

Seriously though, grow a pair and switch to snap traps.

Sources:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-21279609

http://www.owlpages.com/articles.php?section=owl+mythology&title=World

2013/07/14

There’s something that not many people know about me. It’s a dark and difficult secret, but you are my loyal (I hope) followers, and for your sake, the truth must come out.

I am a falconer. Or, I’m working on becoming one. I make my living in the summer hanging out with and helping to care for birds of prey. I’m sorry to have to break it to you that my job is so awesome.

Lucy, one of my “co-workers”.

One of the most common questions I get asked is “how did someone like you / someone so young get into this sort of thing?” and I always begin by explaining that I am an absolute freak for animals. I can watch a rabbit eat grass and do boring rabbit crap for three hours and it will be the greatest event of my week.

The first thing you must have before you even think about approaching falconry is an unshakable love and respect for every animal’s boundaries and idiosyncrasies. My mother, who remains to be the only other person I have met who gets the same joy out of simply observing animals, taught me how to honor and connect with animals an early age. Don’t approach a strange dog too quickly. Never get between a mother bear and her cubs. When approaching any animal, keep your stance low and your voice soft. Wait for them to come to you. In this era of captive-bred everything, habitat loss and nature deficit disorder, I feel really fortunate to have had those teachings passed on to me.

Nobody may sit higher than the Queen.

As for how I got into falconry itself, I was given the opportunity by Kim and Karen Kamstra, experienced falconers, educators, and owners of Raptors Ridge Birds of Prey.

The summer before I entered Grade 12, they made a deal with the Capilano Suspension Bridge to come every day from Father’s Day to Labour Day and give people a chance to see raptors up close.

Karen and Sedona, a juvenile female Harris Hawk.

Naturally, I spent a lot of time finding ways to shirk my responsibilities as a nature guide and hang out with Kim and Karen and whichever birds they had with them that day. The next summer, as I leaned against the fence in my dorky uniform, Karen turned to me and said “Want a bird?”, indicating the tiny Kestrel perched atop her gloved hand. It’s impossible to forget how I felt right at that moment, feeling my heartbeat whooshing at the back of my mouth as I slipped the glove on and felt Little Dude’s willow-thin toes wrap around my index finger. I was afraid to move. Even though he was so tiny, the confidence in his grip and his beetle-black gaze held me in total rapture. Woman became perch.

Turns out I was good at it; In subsequent summers my duties went from simply sitting with the birds while Kim or Karen took a much-deserved coffee break to helping with difficult duties such as coping (trimming and shaping of beaks) or replacing equipment and eventually to assisting at events and holding down the fort when emergencies arose.

Conversing with Rusty, our wild rescue Red-Tailed Hawk.

In each installment of Sweaty Gauntlet, I will be covering the day-to-day joy and chaos of working in falconry, telling stories, and sharing info on how we can give these beautiful animals the help that they need so we can continue to be awed by them.

minamurraygf:

Fuck your dream job what’s your dream hobby that you don’t have the means to take up yet. Mine are falconry and aerial acrobatics