Mosaic Monday #177: Revelry with Raptors

Spousal Unit is generally our tour guide operator when we travel to the UK.  My in-laws and I have the opportunity for input, but my dear husband conducts all the research, scouring TripAdvisor and other reliable sources for activities/sights we will enjoy.  This trip, he found a rare experience that was an ideal fit with my interest in birds.  Walks with Hawks allows for personal interaction with several species of raptors!

As someone who puts animal welfare high on my list of priorities, I was mildly concerned about the source of the birds and their care.  Having spent 2.5 hours with Clare, the owner of the operation, I learned she hand raises each raptor and they become part of her family.  The young raptors are hatched from eggs that are commercially produced - not from the wild.

Before she even started, she checked our "gross-out" tolerance.  After all, raptors are carnivores, and she uses chicken pieces and whole dead chicks during the experience.  No worries for us!  (There are only one or two pictures in this series that someone might find unpleasant - I apologize if that's the case.)  

I regret that I don't remember the name of the Great Horned Owl, the first bird we saw.  Most of the raptors started on a perch, and Clare would put chicken on my glove, leading the bird to fly to me.  Spousal Unit had practiced with the slo-mo feature on my phone, which is ideal for this type of videography.  The only down side? The sound is odd!  Below is a clip of the Great Horned Owl in flight.

She gave the chicks to the raptors at the end of their segment, partly as reward and partly because offering it to them at the beginning might result in no more flight that day (see explanation below).

I couldn't possibly remember everything that Clare taught us that day (I interacted with the raptors while Spousal Unit served as photographer and videographer); she is extremely knowledgeable about each species.  I was impressed that she could also recite the weight of each bird not only for that day but for the day before.  As I learned, this was not just some gimmick.  Raptors will only fly if they are hungry, and the way to know they are hungry is by weight; when their food is sufficiently digested, their weight goes down and they will want to hunt.  (And this is not to imply that she is starving them so they will "perform."  She has enough birds that she can monitor the weight and know which ones to bring to a particular session.)  Fascinating!

It prompted me to ask if a raptor (such as a Bald Eagle) flies for "fun".  This has often occurred to me when I see one circling ever higher on a thermal air current.  The answer is no.  Most flying is for hunting.  And by the way, Clare told us, this is the origin of the phrase "fed up".  A raptor that is "fed up" will not fly or hunt.

Below is a video of Eboo flying.  (I may have mis-spelled its name.)  Eboo was distracted by the planes flying to and from the small airfield near the farm, and needed a little more coaxing.

 

"Oreo", a Barn Owl, was the third and final owl we would meet.  Oreo is quite rare due to melanism, a development of dark-colored pigment that is the opposite of albinism.  With Oreo, we also learned how small an owl's head is, camouflaged under all those feathers.  Gently, we put a finger into the feathers at the back of the owl's head; our hand practically disappeared before we felt anything firm!

By now, you will also have noticed some common equipment with each of the raptors.  Gloves - those talons are sharp and the birds have quite a grip!  Jesses, strips of strong leather that allow for extra control of the raptor if needed (which never happened at our session).  Reward tags - includes a serial number and contact information.  Clare noted that is very uncommon for her birds to "fly off", particularly the owls.  Unlike the other raptors, the owls bond with her, and won't stray.  But as a precaution, she put a transmitter on each bird as it came out of its case.

Below are two videos of Oreo in flight.

 

The next raptor we met was "Ronnie," a Harris's Hawk.  With Ronnie, we walked a short distance around the farm (hence "Walks with Hawks").  The hawk would fly from my glove to a tree.  Tree to glove.  Glove to fence post.  And so on.  These hawks feed mostly on medium-sized mammals such as hares, ground squirrels and other rodents.  Thus, it was not surprising that Ronnie swept close to the ground in flight.  Check out the video.

Throughout our time together, Clare shared many phrases that have come from falconry.  "Eyes like a hawk": if we had the vision of a hawk, we could read a newspaper being held at the other end of a football field.  Here is Ronnie looking intently at something!

In that picture, you can also clearly see the jesses.  Several common terms relate to these leather straps:  "end of my tether" , "wrapped around my little finger" and "under my thumb".  

At the end of our time with Ronnie, Clare had us stand close together.  And not move.  And then Ronnie flew right past our ears!  You could easily imagine how the raptor might use this skill to fly through a hedge for prey.

"Kibbles", an American Kestrel, was our next raptor.  Can you see the bell on one of the jesses?  Falconry bells are commonly used to locate the bird, let the falconer know if the bird is active and signal if the bird is near a predator.  Another piece of equipment that is commonly associated with falconry is the hood.  We did not see one that day, but Clare informed us that falconry hoods are the source of the term "hoodwinked".  A bird was kept calm by using a small hood - being tricked into calming themselves.  Hoodwinked means to be fooled into doing something!

Here is Kibbles in flight.

You may be wondering about the location for Walks with Hawks - Clare is not associated with the farm; she has permission to use it for her operation.   She shared with us that her time with families often brings a silver lining: she has an opportunity to educate them, especially children, about the role of farms.  Can you imagine that many people do not understand the source of beef, or tomatoes, (just to name two examples she mentioned)? 

The final raptor of the day was "Hope", the Chilean Blue Eagle you saw at the beginning of the post.  Is this a majestic bird, or what?  

Clare explained that in the wild, birds will lose two feathers in a symmetrical manner, particularly on the wings, so that it does not affect flight.  For some reason, Hope had gone through a complete molt, and therefore she could not fly.  But it was OK; she was stunning just being stationary!  Just look at the blue of the feathers on her back - doesn't even look real!

Suffice it to say that Spousal Unit hit it out of the park, arranging this spectacular experience.  I am grateful beyond words! 

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