Falconry Displays

I had noticed on Sprite our peregrine that his ID tag was a little tight on his leg. As I have said in my book ‘Falconry – aspects of care of the trained falcon and hawk’ it is important that bells and ID tags can fully rotate on the birds leg –  on their leather bewits.

Birds legs can thicken  during their first year – notably in Harris hawks – so regular checks of equipment including anklets should be made. Leather can harden and shrink overtime particularly if the birds are taking regular baths. Peregrines love bathing!

Anyway I felt the ID tag should be taken off and a fresh leather bewit be made for reattachment – which is what we did before flying him. Patricia my wife held him on the fist while the job was done.

I am a great believer in the use of ID tags because it will ensure the speedy return of a lost bird should they be picked up by a third party. One phone call and the bird is back. Birds can be traced through their ring numbers and can also be registered with the IBR (Independent Bird Registration) but outside falconry circles this information is not widely known. So the tag is straightforward. I put the word reward on the one side as an added incentive to make that call. As I say in my book a small donation – often to a wildlife sanctuary where they often end up – is a small price to pay for the return of your bird.

Anyway it was done and I took the birds out to fly them. Jarvis the lanneret who I trained for the diary in my book has made a quantum leap forward in his flying – which is wonderful. I will continue to fly him through the summer which means flying him through he moult. He is in an excellent feather condition and so there is no need to rest him. He will moult but like a wild falcon which will be slower than a rest in a moulting aviary with plenty of food. This is recommended for the first year bird as the first moult will allow damaged first year feathers  to be replaced. It is also a major transition from juvenile to adult plumage. This rest period will allow the young raptor to bulk and mature.

Sprite flew very well. He is typical peregrine fast and persistent and I really enjoy flying him. There are lot more swallows down the flying field and it is so nice to them back this year. The third week of April is a big week for arrivals.

Here is Sprite.

Showing the ID tag that I had just fitted.

Another a picture of him peering down at the hawking bag.

My book ‘Falconry – aspects of care of the trained falcon and hawk’ by me Michael Davie can be found not only on Amazon but also Waterstones, Blackwells, Ebay and Coch-y-Bonddu Books. The later of which is a specialist supplier of countryside books. We had another nice review  of the book on Amazon which is gratifying. Hopefully it will encourage others to have a look at it.