Thursday, February 19, 2009

What now?

So here I am, my squirrel season over, the Harris' gorging themselves on squirrel and rabbit all day, and my blog is called Harris' Hawk blog. What do I write about?

I have built a nest for Tess, and have provided sticks and twigs so that the birds can supplement the structure that is already there.


Well, soon, I transfer the birds onto my propagation permit, open the door that connects the cages and hope for the "magic" to begin.

In the meantime, I'm going to start focusing more on Ulrich. I had him flying free outside today. He was a little hesitant, but I think that his weight is a tad high. I won't drop it until I check my scale, as I don't think that it is accurate.

5 comments:

Albert A Rasch said...

You are going to attempt to breed them?

That will be a fascinating series of posts I'm sure. I'm assuming that this is done regularly, or are you a pioneer in the field?

I have a little experience in aviaculture, though not in raptors.

What are the odds of a successful mating? What happens to the chicks that hatch?

Don't answer, I'm getting ahead of you telling the story!

The suspense is already killing me!!!!

Regards,
Albert A Rasch
The Rasch Outdoor Chronicles
Proud Member of Outdoor Bloggers Summit
Southeast Regional OBS Coordinator

Doug said...

Albert,

I am in no way a pioneer here. Harris' hawks are bred regularly, and successfully. My birds are both on the young side, but they should be up to the challenge. We'll see what happens.

Doug

Isaac said...

I, for one, won't be offended if you post kestrel stories on a Harris Hawk blog... :-)

Has Ulrich been successfully hunted before?

-Isaac

Doug said...

Thanks Isaac, I didn't think you'd mind.
I trapped Ulrich the last day of trapping. I admit he has been on the back burner, as knew my squirrel season would be a bit shorter. Now it's time for me to get Ulrich hunting.

Doug

Albert A Rasch said...

I hope they mate, are fertile, and raise some chicks. You can show us pictures of them as they grow, feather, and fledge.

I'm besides my self in anticipation!


Regards,
Albert A Rasch
The Rasch Outdoor Chronicles
Proud Member of Outdoor Bloggers Summit
Southeast Regional OBS Coordinator