A few months back I posted quite a bit about being part of the team that were trapping the first passage peregrines in NC. The two birds that we trapped are doing well. The one that went to Pennsylvania with Elizabeth was flying down bagged quarry, last I heard. Andrew's bird, after dealing with some foot issues that set training back over a month, is back on the wing and working on his lure training. He should be on game later on this week.
There is another falconer of whom many of you are probably familiar that trapped a passage bird this fall who has been kind enough to keep a log of his progress. That man is Eric Edwards. He is a good guy who has helped me out with merlin and falcon questions in the past.
His falcon seems to be making great progress catching snipe in Florida. Eric knows what he is doing and I can hope that the birds here in NC end up doing as well.
If you haven't checked out his blog - please do, and here is a video that I stole from him.
Thanks Eric!
3 comments:
Hi Doug,
Please excuse my ignorance but what is a ‘passage peregrine’? On this side of the pond the peregrine falcon is a protected bird so trapping, shooting one (heaven forbid) or taking eggs is certainly a rather large no no. I admit of a complete lack of knowledge when it comes to falconry although I am and always have been fascinated and drawn to raptors. Really enjoying following your blog, keep up the good work.
Regards, John
John,
Good question. Years ago peregrine falcons were in the same condition here. But they have recovered well and in 1998 were taken off the endangered list - though they were still protected and monitored. Then this year falconers were able to trap a limited number of them for the first time in about 35 years - so we were all very excited (it was a big deal to the falconers)
It is still illegal to hunt them, shoot them, hurt them, or mess with them in any way and only falconers are allowed to trap them (with a special permit).
Thanks for stopping by - I hope I've answered your question. I checked out your blogs the other day - I'm going to start keeping an eye on them as well.
Doug
Doug,
You're welcome. And thank you for the kind words. Doc has been a real pleasure to fly and amazes me every hunt.
Eric
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