Just spent a merry two hours cleaning the various aviaries with a pressure washer. How I managed before getting one, God knows. Getting an aviary clean and keeping it so are the most tedious chores in falconry, but essential.
Most of the diseases that affect hawks in captivity can be avoided by always ensuring the aviary is clean of old food and droppings, which harbour the germs that can infect the birds. A floor of small gravel stones about three inches deep is very good, provided it is raked regularly and the bones, castings etc picked out. It can then be sprayed with a viricidal disinfectant. Perches and ledges also need to be sprayed.
Birds being birds, their droppings, or " mutes " in falconry-speak, can be all over the place, although obviously concentrated near the perches. That's where the power washer comes in handy.
Cassius, Lady Macbeth and Orlando, the Harris Hawks have just begun their annual moult. Artemis the sparrowhawk has not yet started. For the first three, the moult will be a long-drawn out affair. They have to fly throughout the summer, which of course is the most popular time for customers at North Devon Hawk Walks. This mean their diet has to be controlled to keep them at flying weight. This slows down the moulting process. Falconers who don't fly during the summer just put the birds away and keep them fat so as to get the process over as soon as possible. Some feed supplements so as to speed it up.
Artemis won't be flying in the summer. Her forte is scaring away starlings in the winter. So she's getting lots of food. In order to keep her tame, I'm making time to feed her on the fist and keep her aware of who I am.
The whole avian gang will be with me at the North Devon Show, the mid-Devon Show and the Filleigh Show this year. Come along and meet them !
Showing posts with label Devon show. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Devon show. Show all posts
Sunday, 5 May 2013
Friday, 5 August 2011
Out and about with the hawks.
This is a busy time of year at North Devon Hawk Walks. Since I last posted, we've been to the North Devon show as well as the Mid Devon show. My friend Tom, his wife Sam and baby Daniel ( also known as The Youngest Falconer in Britain) helped me run the stall and display the birds.
This year, as well as having Lady Macbeth and Cassius the Harris Hawks on hand, we also had the Sparrowhawk and Tom's latest addition, an African Eagle Owl. ( Pictures to follow). The birds were, as always, extremely popular and we spent the entire day on our feet showing them to the crowd around the stall, answering questions and posing them for photographs. There is something about being close to a bird of prey that appeals to an awful lot of people!
The Sparrowhawk is growing at an alarming rate and has gone from being a ball of fluff to a proper bird in about three weeks. People at the show were amazed that the cute lump of fluff in the photo was the same as the bird standing on my fist. She doesn't have a name yet, so we invited people to think of a name for her, with a prize of a free hawk walk voucher to the best name. I haven't yet had time to look through the seven pages of suggestions.
The Harris Hawks have been busy over the past weeks introducing people to falconry on Exmoor. It's school holiday time now so lots of children have been getting up close to Cassius, who most agree is a friendly little fellow, and Lady Macbeth who most agree is a lot more aloof, and aware of her own power and dignity. That's the trouble with giving animals historic or literary names, they tend to live up to them.
The whole gang can be seen at the tearooms in Withypool on Exmoor, most weekend mornings or lunch times as we wait there to meet customers. I have the Sparrowhawk in her portable nest sitting on one of the outside tables, where she spends her time absorbing new sights and sounds, and giving the local blackbirds and sparrows the evil eye. It's important for a young falconry bird to be exposed to as much as possible, in a controlled and safe way, as soon as possible. That's so that in a couple of months time when we're out hunting she's not going to be scared witless just because she sees a man on a horse, or someone wearing sunglasses or whatever. It's part of the manning process, and as I said in one of the earlier posts, it never stops.
This year, as well as having Lady Macbeth and Cassius the Harris Hawks on hand, we also had the Sparrowhawk and Tom's latest addition, an African Eagle Owl. ( Pictures to follow). The birds were, as always, extremely popular and we spent the entire day on our feet showing them to the crowd around the stall, answering questions and posing them for photographs. There is something about being close to a bird of prey that appeals to an awful lot of people!
The Sparrowhawk is growing at an alarming rate and has gone from being a ball of fluff to a proper bird in about three weeks. People at the show were amazed that the cute lump of fluff in the photo was the same as the bird standing on my fist. She doesn't have a name yet, so we invited people to think of a name for her, with a prize of a free hawk walk voucher to the best name. I haven't yet had time to look through the seven pages of suggestions.
The Harris Hawks have been busy over the past weeks introducing people to falconry on Exmoor. It's school holiday time now so lots of children have been getting up close to Cassius, who most agree is a friendly little fellow, and Lady Macbeth who most agree is a lot more aloof, and aware of her own power and dignity. That's the trouble with giving animals historic or literary names, they tend to live up to them.
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