Hey all, I think you guys saw Lilly a bit during her first year:



Well, we ended up flying her for 3 years in total before she asked to go her own way:

There came a point in that third season when she just wasn't into it anymore and wanted to head out on her own (sexual maturity = other things on her mind). As a wild-caught bird she was releasable and this is done at an appropriate time of year by establishing what is known as a "hack station" where the bird is referred to as being "at hack". Essentially this is a likely meeting place at the release site where you can meet up and offer food for a time until the bird establishes itself. Most birds will stay at hack for a couple days to a couple weeks before venturing out on their own.

Lily never was super into rabbits, but she was hell on pheasants! These last few photos are stills from go-pro videos and not super great quality but "upsidedown hawk" is still one of my favs:










We also had a Great Horned Owl for a couple years - a smallish male named Cedric. GHOs can be quite mean, especially the bigger females, but he was a sweetheart - so much so that I was comfortable letting children handle him. That said and contrary to general opinion, owls are dumber than rocks. They're pretty good evidence of the birds-came-from-reptiles evolutionary theory and are mentally much closer to reptiles than to birds. Most diurnal raptors never forget anything they see and can apply prior concepts in new situations. Not so owls! As nice as he was, flying him was an complete failure. In fact, when we went to release him at hack, he bee-lined it right over the horizon with little more than a "See ya b!tches!!"

Good stuff Lefty!

I've always admired the supreme patience and dedication you falconry guys have.

Great photos!

Great pics. Thanks for sharing. I always had an interest in falconry but ended up with hounds instead. No way I could ever do both and stay married

Still my favourite part of the campfire. I'm glad you're back and doing it again.

Great pics as usual.

This spring we had a GHO nesting in the park. It was fun to watch it grow and be off.

Ye HAAW !

Good Stuff.

Glad to see Falconry Friday back!! Great pics!

PS- I dig the naming theme used for the birds.

Thank you for the pictures!

Good to see this again here!

Great information and picture, as always. Please keep Falconry Fridays going!

Always great to see your birds and your photography is outstanding.

My folks said the royalty in Europe did falcons. Falconry was in the fables and myths of my childhood.

you might have some interest in this blog post I wrote a few years ago about the origins and history of falconry: https://www.klarphotography.com/blog/2016/8/falconry-friday-how-did-we-get-from-there-to-here


there was a strict list of who could fly what birds in medieval times:


Emperor: Eagle, Merlin
King: Gyr Falcon (male & female)
Prince: Peregrine Falcon
Duke: Rock Falcon (subspecies of Peregrine)
Earl: Tiercel Peregrine (male)
Baron: Bastarde Hawk or common buzzard (a red-tail sized hawk)
Knight: Saker falcon
Squire: Lanner falcon
Lady: Female Merlin
Yeoman: Goshawk or Hobby (a Merlin-sized falcon)
Priest: Female Sparrowhawk (a small Accipiter)
Holy water Clerk: Male Sparrowhawk (a small Accipiter)
Knaves: Kestrel
Servants: Kestrel
Children: Kestrel




also of note: the Roman emperor King Frederick II wrote a book on falconry in 1450 a.d that's been continually in print ever since. It's still to this day 98% accurate and is considered the origin of the modern scientific method. I have several translations of it and that dude was smart

Always enjoy these both the discussion and photos.
Keep it up,

Keep them coming, very much enjoy your pics & Posts!

Sure enjoy your pictures and comments. Thanks for posting them.

What a treat to have you back with another spectacular post. Thanks!

Best, RS

Always happy to see Falconry Friday, and much enjoy its recent return.

I see Cedric's plumage, and wonder how a GHO soft hackled fly would fish. Not in the US, of course, but in some civilized country that is able to distinguish between feathers taken from an illegal source vs those molted naturally...

I'd bet they'd be super floaty - the feathering of the leading edge of their wings is what keeps their flight so silent:

I missed ever seeing Cedric.

Amazing to me that anyone could work with an owl.

I suppose it depends on what you mean by "work with" !


I flew him for 2 years and he didn't have a mean bone in his body. We never killed squat though and if we ever skipped a day flying it was like he had no memory of anything we'd previously done....

...

I work with some guys like that

tell 'em they're sharp as an owl -- they'll never even feel the burn!