Falconry Displays

Its amazing the vulnerability we all feel when it now rains in terms of flooding.  The worry of huge amount of rain in a short period overloading the system. But today the rain is ‘all day’ as we are on the edge of storm Claudia. Sadly, the weather forecast has been right. It settled down around lunchtime but revved up again in the afternoon with torrential rain – and it is now getting dark. So, I will report back on any flooding issues in the lofts and weatherings – if not elsewhere.

The stream which was dry a few weeks ago from the summer drought is now flowing again with some vigour and no doubt tomorrow it will be in flood – how things change. Below is a photo from this morning when I was out with the dog.

The siting of the loft or weathering is critical for many factors – I speak in my book ‘Falconry – aspects of care of the trained falcon and hawk’ about the possible disturbance of the bird in a poorly positioned loft from neighbours. The importance of giving the bird a decent view form the loft window. Something I did not mention is the best place to avoid flooding which is becoming more of an issue every year. At least with the weathering loft you can release your bird, so it is not near the ground if the water comes in. There are other things that can be done in terms of the height of the foundations, so water must work harder to get in.

As I said in a previous blog ‘Sprite’ our peregrine started moulting very heavily – after been flown through the summer – when we were away on holiday. So, I decided to feed him up and rest him for a couple of months – giving him time with plenty of food to finish it off. I have been going in each morning and giving him in a chick on the fist – to keep him tame and check him over – and then the rest of the ration on the feeding platform in the loft and just leave him to get on with it. This is the example of the loft system working well for a parent reared bird. Of course, with the ‘weathering loft’ you have the weathering option available if needed. I include a photo from today – taken with one hand – of me feeding Sprite. You can see he still have the outer primary to moult on both wings. He is 11-year-old now and a real character.

When I walk the dog I am always on the look out for interesting things – so is she. I found another pigeon kill. Shown below. You can never be sure, but I think this is a Sparrowhawk kill as only one side of the breast has been eaten. They are relatively birds with a limited appetite but ambitious hunters. A peregrine or buzzard would have eaten the whole lot.