Falconry Displays

Well I have to blog today as it is March 1st and theoretically the end of winter. It is relief that it will soon be behind us and we can look forward to warmer weather and longer days.  Had a lovely walk this morning with the dog – she also felt the joys of Spring and for an old dog she was remarkably active. I took a picture of the daffodils along the brook – the snow drops having largely come to an end – so quickly it seems. This was the brook that ran dry last summer – sadly there are no trout in it.

My new transmitter arrived – pictured below with the receiver. As I said in my book ‘Falconry – aspects of care of the trained falcon and hawk’ to keep the costs down – which is important – you can buy a new transmitter for an old receiver and this is what I have done. I lost a transmitter on Jarvis and it needed replacing if I want to fly Sprite our peregrine. He has been known to range away and so the right transmitter with sufficient power is important. Use of telemetry these days for welfare reasons is essential. I grew up in a time when it was not available and as I say in the book we knew nothing different. We would not have that feeling while looking for a lost bird that perhaps we should have bought a telemetry set after all!

Sprite is looking great see below. I do fly him all year round but while on holiday in November he was rested with more food and he started moulting very heavily as if making up for lost time. So I left him to it and with bad weather after Christmas I have only just got him out of the loft to weigh him. Apart from the outer 1st primary – which we will have to wait till next moult to be replaced – he has moulted completely through. I look forward to flying him starting tomorrow. The tip of his beak will need to be shortened – it is too long – but otherwise it has largely kept its shape after coping it sometime ago.

By the way my book is still available and hopefully those folk who have bought it have found it useful. It can be found almost everywhere on the internet including Amazon, Waterstones, Barnes and Noble in America and other outlets too.  In the UK ‘Coch – Y – Bonddu Books’ actually stock it – if anybody is out that way and wants to drop in.  My book was mentioned in the comments section in ‘The Spectator’ in reference to the film ‘H is for Hawk’. That was pleasing.