Whatbird.com

Yes, I have had similar happenings. The kids love it when the birds "Slice" as it is called in falconry and it happens almost every time I give a talk. But, the falconer can feel when the bird is leaning forward to take care of its buisness and can usually direct the slice away from people. I tell the teacher before the talk to make sure I have a very large piece of cardboard to put on the ground to catch the slice. I have done tons of these talks over the years.

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Southwestern New Mexico

Update; The goshawk is about 53 days old and has started lifting off as she pumps her wings. She hasn't figured out how to move forward while she is flying, but, that should come in a couple of days. She is doing great with my 2 hunting dogs, so, there shouldn't be a problem there. Here is a picture of her taking a bath, which she does every day. She absolutely loves the water. I'll get some more pictures up of her so you can see her markings.

 

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Southwestern New Mexico

Here is a shot I took yesterday. We had just finished putting a Track Pack on her. A Track Pack is a harness that goes under the feathers and has a plastic clip in the back that allows me to put a transmitter on her. The Track Pack stays on her and is not noticeable. They usually last for about 3 years and then you replace the teflon ribbon and re-install it on the bird. The birds get used to it real quick. You can see the feathers on her  side that she has pulled at to preen the Track Pack in. Today, the feathers are all back to their normal position and you can't even tell the Track Pack is on her. This picture shows the immature plumage of a North American Female Goshawk.

 

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Southwestern New Mexico

Wow.  What a beautiful shot!  It's almost as if she's posing for you deliberately

Thanks,lyceel. She was actually posing for the male goshawk that was about 10 feet away from her on another perch. He is a shade darker  and smaller than her, but, just about the same age. Here is a picture of him taken yesterday.

 

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Southwestern New Mexico

Beautiful bird -  this is the first time I saw this thread.  What do you feed these raptors while you are raising them?  Live animals?

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Life List: 139
Latest: Cedar Waxwing!!!!!!!

The birds eat frozen quail purchased from a quail breeder. They also eat jack rabbit or cottontail rabbits that were caught last season by my female Harris Hawk. They do not require live food. Even in the wild, they eat a lot of road kill and sometimes they get hit by cars or trucks because they are eating the roadkill. During the hunting season {Sept through March} they eat what they catch.

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Southwestern New Mexico

I guess if they're hungry enough, anything with meat will do!

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Life List: 139
Latest: Cedar Waxwing!!!!!!!

 

Remarkable thread you have going here raptrlvr.

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Sony DSLR A200 camera. Sigma 400mm APO prime lens, Sony 55-200mm lens, Sony 18-70mm lens, Kenko 1.5X teleconverter.

Thanks Cairnstone and everyone else who is following the thread. I should start flying her free next week sometime.

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Southwestern New Mexico

Holy COW (or HAWK), Raptr.......You are my idol!   The girl is beautiful (...oh, the "guy" is too) , as are your pics and thread of her development.  What an education!  (Need any students?)

Can't wait for the next installment.  Incredible!

Stunningly beautiful birds!!  Almost bring tears to my eyes!

Sandylee, just about every state has a falconry club. I know that Michigan does and there are several members in that club. You may be able to google "Michigan Falconry Club" and make contact with some falconers. In most cases, the falconers won't mind if you tag along on one of their outings with the birds. The more people out there, the easier it is to get the game up for the birds. We fly quite a few different types of birds such as falcons, redtails, coopers hawks, merlins, sharpshin,goshawks and eagles. Not too many ealges are being flown, but a few.  If you can't make contact with the club, let me know and I will get the info for you. 

Thanks Lollmann. Once she starts flying {this weekend} thats when the fun begins. 

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Southwestern New Mexico

I just started viewing this thread... and I can't believe that nobody flagged this as 5 star before now... People... there is a rating system,  This thread must, in my opinion, at least be a 5 star... they keep track... more people can rate this thread...

Great work Rapter Lover... you really are...

Fraser

Thanks Fraser. I really love working with these birds and sharing as many of my experiences as I can with anyone who is interested. There are probably about 5000 falconers across the US in every state except Hawaii. I have been doing this for about 20 years.

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Southwestern New Mexico