Meet Grinnell, my Red-tailed Hawk

[wytex]

Sorry to hear. Hope you have good luck finding a prairie falcon.
Bittersweet I'm sure, now she is free but you will miss her.

 

[CycleFishHunt]

I’m just catching up on this, as I’m relatively new to HT.

Thanks for sharing. This was fascinating to read.

Please continue to post, if you feel so inclined, once you have the a prairie falcon.

I was a volunteer raptor monitor in Boulder, CO, and was assigned to a prairie falcon nest for a few years. I loved my mornings watching the birds. Unfortunately, the years I was watched that nest were unsuccessful, and I never saw any little ones fledge.

They are amazing birds, and occupy a big place in my heart.

Good luck in your future falconry endeavors!

 

[Islander]

I released Grinnell today. Our journey has closed. I will find a praire falcon this summer and behind trainging her for this fall. It is bittersweet for sure. Everytime I see a redtail, I'll wonder if it's her.

View attachment 181649

Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of Earth
And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings;
Sunward I’ve climbed, and joined the tumbling mirth
Of sun-split clouds, – and done a hundred things
You have not dreamed of – wheeled and soared and swung
High in the sunlit silence. Hov’ring there,
I’ve chased the shouting wind along, and flung
My eager craft through footless halls of air…

Sad but sweet. Magical to share your life with a wild creature.

I too am also a fan of Gillespie. Only poem I've ever memorized.

...Up, up the long, delirious, burning blue
I’ve topped the wind-swept heights with easy grace.
Where never lark, or even eagle flew —
And, while with silent, lifting mind I've trod
The high untrespassed sanctity of space,
– Put out my hand, and touched the face of God."

 

[Nameless Range]

I released Grinnell today. Our journey has closed. I will find a praire falcon this summer and behind trainging her for this fall. It is bittersweet for sure. Everytime I see a redtail, I'll wonder if it's her.

View attachment 181649

Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of Earth
And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings;
Sunward I’ve climbed, and joined the tumbling mirth
Of sun-split clouds, – and done a hundred things
You have not dreamed of – wheeled and soared and swung
High in the sunlit silence. Hov’ring there,
I’ve chased the shouting wind along, and flung
My eager craft through footless halls of air…

I can imagine that is a unique feeling to turn something like that loose.

I'm pretty ignorant, and am curious about what led to this or if it was the plan all along? Is this what folks often do?

 

[Islander]

I can imagine that is a unique feeling to turn something like that loose.

I'm pretty ignorant, and am curious about what led to this or if it was the plan all along? Is this what folks often do?

It is very common. You capture an passager (first year) hawk in Fall, train and hunt it for a season, then let it go. Since the bird was a successful hunter when trapped, it will have no problem returning to and thriving in the wild.

 

[tdoubled]

This was a great read. Very interesting. Please do another one when you have your falcon. The story on capturing one and training it would be fun to read.

 

[406LIFE]

I'm pretty ignorant, and am curious about what led to this or if it was the plan all along? Is this what folks often do?

It's definitely bittersweet, but falconry birds are not pets. The affection levels compared to dogs/cats is pretty much nonexistent. Especially on wild caught birds. Releasing of birds that are wild caught is common and done for a variety of reasons. For me, it was the lack of huntable game in the area (RHV is a big part of that) for that particular species. For some falconers, they will keep them for life. I've heard of RT living past 25 years.

 

[406LIFE]

This was a great read. Very interesting. Please do another one when you have your falcon. The story on capturing one and training it would be fun to read.

The capture of raptors is not talked about much. There is the obvious reason of optics from non-falconers not understanding it. But there is also the protection of specialized skills being misused. The training part is much more freely taught. Its all operative conditioning, using food to shape behavior.

 

[Islander]

The capture of raptors is not talked about much. There is the obvious reason of optics from non-falconers not understanding it. But there is also the protection of specialized skills being misused. The training part is much more freely taught. Its all operative conditioning, using food to shape behavior.

FACT: No single group of people have done more to save raptors (hawks, falcons, etc.) than falconers. That is, outside of laws banning the killing of these species.

 

[BirdManMike]

The affection levels compared to dogs/cats is pretty much nonexistent. Especially on wild caught birds.

You’ll find this assertion untrue once you start flying falcons. There is a different relationship with a falcon than with hawks (falcons are more closely related to a parrot than they are to a hawk). Even wild-caught falcons already out on their own may pair bond with and imprint on the falconer, especially prairie falcons (something to watch out for if you want a quiet bird), and it’s possible to get to the point where one can artificially inseminate a wild (female) falcon or have a tiercel donate semen.

Good luck with your next bird. Hope you enjoy it!

 

[406LIFE]

You’ll find this assertion untrue once you start flying falcons. There is a different relationship with a falcon than with hawks (falcons are more closely related to a parrot than they are to a hawk). Even wild-caught falcons already out on their own may pair bond with and imprint on the falconer, especially prairie falcons (something to watch out for if you want a quiet bird), and it’s possible to get to the point where one can artificially inseminate a wild (female) falcon or have a tiercel donate semen.

Good luck with your next bird. Hope you enjoy it!

You are right about falcons. And to an extent, my RT had affection for me, or certainly preference. I was speaking in a generality for the benefit of the group.

 

[406LIFE]

FACT: No single group of people have done more to save raptors (hawks, falcons, etc.) than falconers. That is, outside of laws banning the killing of these species.

This is very true. The Peregrine Fund is Exhibit A for this. I also read a study that showed how wild take actually has a net gain on the raptor population due to the hardship of raptor survival. Half of RT made it to their first birthday (hatch day, haha), and only 5% made it to 5 years.