Tuesday, 7 September 2010
It is rare that I give up on a bird, but I have to say that I am going to give up on my Harris Hawk, either it really does not like me personally, or it is a bird that seriously needs to hunt and very soon, and either way I can’t help it!! She is a huge Harris Hawk, and started coming properly to the fist at 2lbs 5ozs, which is six ounces heavier than the other two, but she will be very much better off with someone who will get her hunting quickly. I have to admit I will not miss her, plus I really do want to concentrate on the new Goshawk, who is already just jumping to the fist.The weekend weather was a little disappointing on the Sunday, but whatever, we really have had a great year of weather all in all, and now there is a clear blue sky, the dew is covering the millions of tiny cobwebs on the lawns and field, the horses have just got out onto the lawn to enjoy it! Opppps! The birds are going well and autumn is here. I have a stunning bunch of flowers on my desk from Aster (my beautiful dog who lives away) its amazing how he manages to send me stuff!! Could it be the very nice people he now lives with I wonder!
We have just been given a hybrid Merlin Gyr, I don’t like the made up names for hybrids I am afraid. She is a very pretty bird, but whoever was looking after her should have been ashamed, her beak was a disgrace. If you look at various raptor websites, it’s interesting to note that the number of overgrown beaks is frightening, and people don’t seem to know, I am blowed if I would have most of the pictures on my front page. Which reminds me I need to cope the Ferruginous, which will no doubt upset him, but it has to be done. We have got Dusky Emperor out, the female Grey Buzzard Eagle, or Blue Chilean Eagle, or whichever of the numerous names it has that you prefer. People just love her and the photographers are going nuts about her because she is so stunning to look at. Holly is retraining her and her husband whom she has ignored for probably ten years is getting a new wife!The Eagle Barn is getting done, the enclosures that have been revamped are looking great and the birds show up much better. Next is the Falcon Barn as we have a pair of white Gyrs coming as a donation. They are past breeding age, but it will be lovely to have them and so I want to get that barn done so we don’t stress them too much. There is also a breeding pair of Prairie Falcons arriving on loan, and I have to say I hope that is that!
Mark Parker is going to be rejoining us as a full staff member, he wrote a while ago and asked if we would
consider him, and as he is very experienced at teaching on courses, and we are very stretched when the courses are on, we had a long talk and I said yes. I am hoping that will give me enough time to have the morning off and do more office work and starting writing again, which would be very nice.The moulting aviaries are now nearly finished and the next job for Tom is feed drawers which are urgent and will make a huge difference to feeding round and to our food hygiene for the birds. I hate the way of either dropping food onto the ground through the wire, or dropping it down a grubby pipe. Food drawers if done the way I designed them in the US work brilliantly, cut down on waste, and make a huge difference to feeding round. They add a small bit of time at the end of the day as they are all wiped over and sprayed with F10, but that means that we have clean drawers every day – marvelous!
Range Rover is still not fixed, the new engine (secondhand) that I bought apparently does not fit bugger it. I hate cars.
End of the day, just had a lovely ride on Henry, the sun was out, chatted to a friend, Henry behaved – mostly, and a good end to the day. Oh and just saw India's Silent Killer on channel five - good film, however if we are going to have to breed 1200 vultures in the next five years, we need extra funding!
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