Falconry World

Yessssssssssss. Ivan got his first kill today. The dogs went on point and there was a break in the rain. He wasn’t high but high enough to fly down and make his first Kill a grey partridge. After kiting for a few weeks he seemed to be losing his focus on me so I thought I’d put him back on the lure to keep him looking in. However when the dogs went on point it was to good an opportunity to miss.

Well after a few days of flying Ivan under the kite to the lure and leaving the kite hanging in a tree in my back garden, Ivan has now come to love the kite.
Other than the merlin, I have never seen a bird fly so vertical. On the second day I hung the lure about fifty feet from the ground, thinking if he doesn’t go for it, I’ll pull down the line to make it easier. However, Ivan flew off the fist almost vertically to the kite as though he was high jumping to a fist.
Yesterday which was his fourth day at the kite in a row, he flew three to four hundred feet in less than two minutes.  He should be at 1000ft within the next week or so and then it’s on to the real thing.

Well I’ve been filming for three days solid. All hand held camera work as well.

However today Ivan flew free to the Lure. I’ve been getting up early and taking him to the field just flying to the lure. Today I could fly him later and thought today was the day. Here’s a picture. He really is coming on. I made sure I had mt Marshall Powermax transmitter on his backpack which I’ll show some pictures of soon.

So since initially jumping to fist from the block Ivan has come on leaps and bounds. Tonight I approched him on the block with a little piece of meat and he jumped immediately to fist. After having his bits with Sporanox in the feed I then took him to the back of the garden. He flew five meters and then 10 meters to fist as soon as called. I then held up the lure and threw it to the floor. He looked around and it took a couple of throws but he flew down and has now had his lot on the lure. Next step is doing the same in the field.

Well, at last. It’s always the same no matter how many birds and how many years you practice falconry, it’s always a happy day when a young bird jumps to fist. Over the last two days Ivan has really manned up and seems a lot calmer. Tonight after tip toeing on the edge of the block for five minuets he finally took the plunge and jumped  fist. He then posed for some pictures before returning back to the block. It’s a big turning point in the long run of things and the start of some more serious training and manning.