I need to find a new hunting partner for this falconry season!
Just before the beginning of this month it has been unseasonably warm, and the migration seems to be stalled. Then I left home for a vacation in Costa Rica in the middle of October for almost 2 weeks, so probably just best I didn't find anyone. It is almost the end of the month and the quest continues. Here is the journey:
No Relive Video for this one. I was following up on a lead given to me by a fellow hawk-friendly person. A juvie has been spotted/hanging out around the local community agriculture headquarters. I'll go check it out.
I found a bird . . . BUT . . .
Right SIZE!! BIG!! Wrong Age!! Adult - let it go!
I called the person who had given me the lead and she assured me there was a juvie there. I kept looking, and sure enough, there was another bird. Once I got the angle on it, it came to the trap pretty quick too.
Right Age, but still not the size I would like. Let it go too!
October 1
I'll include this video for complete disclosure of all attempts, but I didn't edit it immediately, and now I don't remember anything about the journey. So, could really just skip this one. No bird trapped. The journey continues.
Found early in the day, and chased a bit, but still not a female-sized bird.
Sidney is a most excellent bird trainer (has worked for several large raptor centers) that is currently working for Fox for awhile. She has decided to get into falconry. I'm not sponsoring her, but I welcome her coming along and helping me, and learning how to trap a bird for falconry. She took both birds off the trap today.
Let the "dinky" boy go!
Another small boy found a little later. This guy had a single red tail feather, and also did not have his full 12. He must have had some yanked out early. The first set from their nest days are always brown striped. The next set will be red, usually at the first molt, in their following summer. But if it gets pulled before its time, it will come in red.
This trip was having the help of Alyia and her little girl. It's a good example of a lot of driving, but nothing to report. No juvenile birds were seen, let alone dropping the trap even once. It was a drive out towards Owatonna, but was just a bust of a day. For completion of this season's trapping journey I include it here, but it is not a very interesting video.
November 7
SUCCESS - FINALLY!! This deserves it's own blog entry.
I will begin this . . . it will take quite a while to complete. I am home this previous evening, but so very much to do to re-integrate into my daily life. Back to work tonight.
For now, our journey was divided into several sections. I created a Relive video for much of the road trips. Several are completed. Several still need to be finished, or constructed.
Layover in Florida
We flew out on Wednesday, October 8. Because of the schedule of the planes it was just easier to fly to Florida first, and have a layover in a comfortable hotel. The following morning, beginning a sleep/wake pattern that would follow me throughout the trip, I was awake earlier than my travel companions. I left the room and walked outside into the Florida sunshine. I listened for unfamiliar birds. I did hear the familiar song of a Northern Mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos). I have heard these throughout my life in Texas, but they sadly do not come up into Minnesota. At least, not often. A search of eBird show they are seen as accidentals from time to time. Maybe they will begin to extend their range up here. An unfamiliar crow turned out to be a Fish Crow (Corvus ossifragus). It had a different dialect than I am used to. Only using the Merlin App allowed me to ID this crow. They are hard to differentiate by visual observation.
Mangrove Swallow (Tachycineta albilinea) ~ I think!
Both pictures are of the same bird. One below has more details of its back.
As far as I can tell from Web searching, these are called Emballonuridae or Sac Winged Bats . There are about 109 species of bats in Costa Rica, so I can't know for sure the exact identification of these. We saw several colonies that like to roost during the daytime on branches sticking up out of the river, safe from most predators.
Green Iguana (Iguana iguana)
Jesus Christ Lizard, or Common Basilisk (Basiliscus basiliscus)
This is the famous lizard that runs on water if startled enough to try to escape.
Lastly, a "UFO" picture. These are macaws. They noisily flew over as we made our way down the river. I'm not sure which species of macaw. There are only two in Costa Rica: the Scarlet Macaw and the Great Green Macaw.
Falconry! Or more appropriately for me, Hawking! It is a passion, and a way of life. I happily pursue this sport, with the loving assistance of my husband. Come along with me for our adventures with the birds. Primarily we actively pursue it in the colder months . . . the rest of the time I try to make this blog as interesting as possible. Come let me share my stories, and feel free to contact me. I always enjoy talking about my obsession with this sport.
