Whatbird.com

Great stuff, Raptrlvr!  I'm really enjoying all of the nest monitoring and updates that you and others are providing.

Good luck with your new charge.  Be sure to keep us posted!

WOW!  Love the updates!

Latest Update. We had plans for taking the goshawk from the nest for Thursday afternoon around 5pm. A heavy storm front moved in around 1pm and dumped a lot of rain on this area. This area is known for storms passing through quickly and thats what happened. The nest site is located in the forrest on a dirt road so we weren't sure if the trucks could make it in. We headed out and really had no problem getting to the site. The climber put the tree gaffs on and was up the tree in about 5 minutes. The female goshawk made several passes at him and when he got to the nest, the female hit him in the shoulder with her talons. We expected this to happen. There were 3 chicks in the nest. The climber treated the ears of all of them with mineral oil to kill the maggot that sometimes are in their ears. Then he took the biggest chick from the nest and put it in a backpak and lowered it down with a small rope. He then came down and we were done and out of their in about 25 minutes. Here are a couple of pictures. The storm that came through made it very dark for taking pictures.

 

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Southwestern New Mexico

Great series of photos, raptrlvr! Thanks for sharing them with us. Please keep us updated on the progress of the chick.

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We did not inherit Mother Earth from our ancestors...... we have borrowed Her from our descendants.
Chief Seattle (paraphrased)

Amazing!  I'm not sure I could stay in a tree after getting hit by the talons of a ticked-off Goshawk!  That must really hurt!

And just think, that cute little guy (or girl) is going to be a trained hunter before long.  Hares and grouse beware!

I imagine by taking the largest chick you not only get the most healthy falconry candidate, but you improve the survival chances for the other two chicks as well, right? (more food to go around for the smaller ones)

I'm really digging this thread, I second the "keep us posted" request!

There was one small male in the nest. By taking this big female the smaller male will defiantly get more food. The other female in the nest was smaller than this one, so, we are pretty sure that this one was the dominate one when it came to food. I will take pictures every day of the feather growth and keep a log of her weight gain until she is ready to fly. Thanks for following this thread.

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Southwestern New Mexico

Didn't you have a peregrine last year or was that someone else?  If so, do you still have her?

Yes, I did have a peregrine last year. One day she was flying 800 feet above me when I had a heart attack. I was taken to the local hospital and had to stay there for 4 days. During this time, the peregrine was out in the wild flying around. Once I got out of the hospital, I tried to locate her {she was wearing a transmitter}, but, I never found her. They can cover a lot of ground in one day of flying. We even rented a Cessna and flew for a couple hundred miles and couldn't get a signal from the transmitter.

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Southwestern New Mexico

Taken today 6-18-09. The chick is 39 days old. Not flying yet. Still not positive if it is a female, but, going by its weight, I think it is. Spending a lot of time getting the bird used to people, vehicles and dogs so that when we start hunting with her, she won't be afraid of those things. Today I went to an elementary school {summer school} with the eagle and the goshawk and did a talk in front of about 60 kids. Lots of noise from the kids which is good for socialiizing the birds. 

 

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Southwestern New Mexico

That's some show and tell!  I never had a falconer come to my school when I was a kid! 

She's really a beauty, and she looks happy and healthy.  Thanks for the update!

I do these talks all the time. I really enjoy doing them. The kids and the teachers really like them too.

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Southwestern New Mexico

How old was the chick (approx) when you took it from the nest? The growth is unbelievable!  Can't wait for more updates, and keep up the good work with the kids (and thank you for it!)!

Wow!  She sure has changed in three weeks!  And, so wonderful for you to do the school presentations!

Love this thread and look forward to your updates!

We think the chick was 18 days old when we pulled her from the nest. She is 40 days old today.

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Southwestern New Mexico

raptrlvr:

I do these talks all the time. I really enjoy doing them. The kids and the teachers really like them too.

 

I had a falconer come to my middle school some 30 odd years ago with a golden eagle. It was an incredible experience for everyone but one of the teachers. As the falconer was walking through the auditorium with the bird, the eagle leaned forward, lifted it's tail, and fired a bullet like shot out it's back door. Well the whole room burst out laughing as the excrement hit the wall with such force that the teacher leaning against the back wall got splattered all over with the excess splash. The only thing that could have made it funnier is if the math teacher had of gotten sprayed instead of the gym teacher. Have you ever gotten similar laughs while doing any of your talks, raptrlvr?

BTW, great thread with interesting details and beautiful pictures.

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My unorganized pictures can be viewed at

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