Last we talked, we were trapping Kestrels -- had trapped 7 but no keepers. We did trap a few more but still no keepers (juveniles).
One of our friends had a juvie kestrel and needed to find it a home on account of a difficult pregnancy. We picked her up last Saturday at Winterfest. The kids named her Azula, but everyone is just calling her "ZuZu".
What I'll try to do here is stage a composite capture sequence (for 4-5 birds we trapped this season).
you'll remember the trap (called a Bal-Chatri) that's dropped from a moving car near a sighted Kestrel:
Once caught in the nooses, you run up with a towel and contain the birdie
the towel is not a good way to transport your new friend home though, as it's too easy to wiggle free and damage feathers.
much better is a tubular structure >> synthetic socks work well for small birds, kid's tights for mediums, up to pantyhose for the bigger birds. (If possible, try to get your wife to purchase the kid's tights for you. There are fewer questions that way...)
Note: transport chest down, not up -- it's way easier to breathe that way.
once home, weigh with the sock (subtract later) this weight will be a starting point for finding your hunting weight .
hooding the bird really helps to reduce the stress levels
hoods are about $50 a pop, but they accumulate like holsters - everyone's got a box of various sizes
[img]http://i183.photobucket.com/albums/x134/utahlefty/20140202_160713-1_zpsfa3a86ab.jpg[/img]the sock also makes it easy to pull a leg out and get the anklets fitted:
[img]http://i183.photobucket.com/albums/x134/utahlefty/20140202_160708_zpsa87a8234.jpg[/img][img]http://i183.photobucket.com/albums/x134/utahlefty/20140202_162138_zps14946917.jpg[/img][img]http://i183.photobucket.com/albums/x134/utahlefty/20140202_162138-1_zps6add0d2c.jpg[/img]now you're ready to start the "manning" process, which is pretty much a full-immersion bonding time. try to get as many hours a day as you can with the bird on your fist. sitting,standing,walking around,etc.
most kestrels will be standing on the fist in a couple hours (3-5 days for a RT) and will be done bating in the first day or two.
all of the kestrels I've caught have eaten off the fist in under 24 hours and will start jumping to the fist from 5-6 feet inside of 10 days.
the goal is to have them free-flying in 2-3 weeks and hunting again by 4 weeks