Falconry World

Above:- Marshall digital receivers getting “Burned in” over night

Well I’ve just returned from Utah, I’ve had no sleep for nearly 24hrs, and was in training with Dave Marshall until 12 at night before getting up at 5.30, talk about burning the midnight oil. Oh, and I’ve got to film darts in a tinder box at Bolton, England tomorrow for five days in a row…..and I still can’t stop smiling.

I didn’t really know what to expect on my visit to the Marshall Head Quarters in Salt Lake City, but what I covered in five days was fantastic for a falconry “addict” like myself. I’m going to post over several days as it would be too much, to cover my trip to Utah and Marshall radio telemetry in one go.

Marshall radio HQ surpassed any expectation for quality and demonstrated meticulous attention to detail, and testing like heating every falcon transmitter to 120c then freezing to -40c before starting to test. I’ve also seen and read a hand written copy of Jack Mavrogordato, A Hawk for the Bush, written in one, by the very man.

I’m working solid for five days after today so I’ll post when I can and give you a details of:-

• Marshall radio telemetry HQ.
• Robert Bagley’s paradise for longwingers,
• meeting Steve Chindgren and Ed Pitcher
• having a personal tour of the Peregrine Fund world center for birds of prey,
• being trained how to understand telemetry better by Dave Marshall.

Plus whatever comes back to me after some sleep….

‘To sleep perchance to dream, back in those open spaces

of Bagley’s longwing paradise thy would be….’

Shakespeare I’m not, but I bet even Willy didn’t have hawking ground like this.

Mike from Greece stroking a female gyr after insemination.

My life as a cameraman takes me to some weird places. For instance yesterday I was on a photo shoot with my canon camera and witness to a male being stripped for his semen. Not only that. I was then a part of another scene and stroked this beautiful birds back whilst a man stuck a plastic tube inside her…..I was of course watching for the first time the process that is A.I. or Artificial Insemination, not as some of you may have thought!!!

It was an odd day. From the moment Derek Stotton appeared wearing a semen collecting hat (I couldn’t take a picture for laughing) I knew this was no ordinary day. Derek Stotton, whom for those of you that don’t know him, is a larger than life character that has been involved in falconry since we were flying pterodactyls. In fact I think he was the first person to bring them into this country. Anyway, Derek has visitors from all around the world and yesterday was no exception.

Whilst I was ready with canon camera to get some pictures, a young falconer named Mike, from Greece arrived. I don’t think Mike had any idea what was in store for him. The look on his face when Derek appeared donning his semen collecting hat was one of part terror and one part amusement. He possibly thought he was in the dark scene from Pulp Fiction, in the basement. However he had a different look on his face later when Derek was getting him to massage a female gyr falcons back!!!

I wanted to do photography of a gyr donating semen to a hat. The process works by an imprint male flying on to the hat and pounding away. I thought it was an April fool when I was first told about men wearing hats and getting a falcon to mount their head and deposit semen in the hat. However when you consider the price of a gyr, well you gotta way these things up. The semen is then collected from the hat and used to inseminate a female by the use of a fancy turkey baster.

But alas by the time I got into the pen with canon digital camera this young stud had already spilt his milk in the hat and was having a cigarette in the corner of the room, reading the days papers. So it was on to the males with a foot fetish. These male imprints don’t dig on hats they like shoes. I don’t know if Derek had to wear special shoes for this guy but he couldn’t get enough of Derek’s Hush Puppies. After some small time chit-chat with Derek, the male got down on the floor on to some new plastic semen cards and “admired” Derek’s shoes. He sure did like those shoes. He was another no nonsense male in the bedroom and didn’t mess around after he had indulged in his foot fettish. The gyr male was back on his ledge, and settling down for a sleep like every other male on the planet after sex, only his was with a Hush Puppy, still whatever floats your boat.

Male imprint gyr falcon loving Derek’s foot wear…

Derek has an incubation room, along with a microscope and refrigerators the room was buzzing with electric activity. He took a previous sample of semen and told us he was ready for her. No special shoes, no hat was needed for this girl, she loved Derek for who he was. At any other time she would have gladly attached herself to mine or Mikes face. However at this time of the year she became like a gyr with a fever, and the only prescription was Derek.

Derek inseminating a female gyr.

It was amazing to take photographs of this powerful falcon, cute as a playful kitten as Derek gave her the magic. She will inseminated like this for a good few days, the best time however is after she lays an egg. The sperm will then swim down to the other eggs in waiting and hopefully fertilise them. It was a fascinating insight and makes you appreciate what breeders have to go through to get our birds. Derek has many other naturally breeding gyr falcons, but the next time I take photographs of them they’ll be with this years birds for sale. I’ll need to film a lot more football stars to buy a gyrkin to fly, but I never say never.

I was in the middle of a dream (Scarlett johanasson was in a starring role) when I was awoken by the phone at 6am this morning. My wife (Scarlett Johansson) learned over and said its early it’ll be for you. I was taking a while to come around.

She was right, it was for me. Apparently a bird of prey was sitting on a mast at the local sailing club and it had jesses hanging down. It was described as a hawk, brown in colour with yellow feet. It was a Harris Hawk, I told him following his description. After thawing out some frozen chicks I jumped in my new falconry van, and arrived. Now the sailing club is on a nature reserve, full of ducks, so I wanted to catch this thing up quick, so as the ranger didn’t have another escaped bird of prey upsetting the artic terns or other rare nesting birds. The gentleman that called was still watching and that was when I could see this was no easy(ish) to catch Harris hawk. The red nape shaheen was sitting watching the ducks…..

Now change the scene to yesterday evening and a local breeder is feeding his nice big white gyr falcons and enters the corridor to feed his red nape shaheens. It’s dark and windy and as he enters the corridor where the birds are temporarily tethered after recently arriving he see his female take off and exit through the wind struck door. He can’t believe it. For the wind to blow at the exact moment that she baits away, and for her to have chewed through a leash. He calls his wife (I blame mine for anything that goes wrong) and must have felt that horrible feeling many of us have encountered on such an occasion. He drive’s round for the rest of the night hopelessly looking for an unmanned, unbelled falcon that is more than capable or becoming self sufficient in a very short space of time.

Now cut back to me. I’m expecting a Harris hawk. I look at my miserable looking defrosted chicks and think to myself, I’ve got more chance of luring in scarrlott johansson with these than this falcon. She eyes me, as I cautiously walk around her swinging two chicks tied together and let drop to the ground and pull to make twitch. She bobs her head, and then watches the tufted duck on the water. I get my binoculars. As I’m watching her, the wind picks up and a wind tube inflates and begins to flap, she tightens her feathers and……

She’s bait but her jesses have by a miracle, caught on a knot attached to the mast. I run and scale the mast like the little chimpanzee that lives in us all, take hold of her feet and lower myself down with one hand. After some flapping, biting, name calling and general abuse, my wife lets me back in the house with the newly caught falcon that is being surprising well mannered.

And here she is, before she goes back home. She’s still not interested in that chick. Anyway back to bed to see if I can get back to where I was….

Yesterday I went grouse counting on Wemmergill moor here in England. I took a few shots for you to have a look at. I’ve put them as thumbnails but if you click on the image you can see it alot larger. My Article and photographs are going in the July edition of BASC Shooting and Conservation magazine. I’m hoping to make the front page with a pic, but we’ll see. Anyway hope you like the pics.

Video clips of falconry to inspire whilst most of use hang our gloves up and let the birds moult. Long list of videos that have been put together for you, so you don’t have to look through all the rubbish to find the gems. Thanks to Javier for his long list of video’s hope you enjoy.

[Read more]