As many of you know, Ive been gallivanting around the countryside flying birds the past few years. In the winter, I have flown falcons at Maguire AFB in New Jersey. In the past year, it has been my mission to see how far these falcons can be pushed and also maintain good response to game and to the lure. Here is the equation: Increased exercise = Increased metabolism and food amount. It also increased muscle mass with direct correlation to increased weight.
I know many falconers that increase their birds weight considerably from start of the season to the end as well as from year to year. My own red-tail raised about 120 grams. This bird would even leave bone, fur, and foot on her bunny legs and fly up to the glove for a tidbit (as Bob Payne is my witness J). Normas red-tail Rouge was up to her trap weight in her second season. I wanted to see how fast this process could take place with a variety of different birds. I am writing about three of them.
Case study 1: Sirocco (male peregrine)
This bird was the first long-wing I had ever flown. He had quite a history! Two seasons before I flew him, he had broken both his wings by flying into a fence. He weighed about 572 grams, and averaged roughly 30 grams of quail a day, normal for the start of the season. Sirocco was a very consistent bird. He would ring up to 100-150 ft and fly tight circles. His endurance was only about 5-7 min. He had not fully recovered from the injury and had fast shallow wing beats. When there was an opportunity to chase things at the base, he didnt stand a chance! I could only get about 6 passes out of him, but Sirocco did his job and scared birds away.
Over the next two months, I started to work his tail off. I started by increasing his flight time and number of passes. Consequently, his food was substantially increased. By the time he was flying 15-20 minutes with 30-40 passes, he was cranking through 85 grams of food. I allowed his weight to increase to 600 grams.
Siroccos performance excelled dramatically. His wing beats were much stronger and he was ringing up to 300-350 ft. By the end, he was at 616 grams and was a Bird-chasing Machine! Flown to chase starlings, he was able to out climb and stoop on flocks while attaining heights of 700-800 ft. Flying Sirocco was a real learning experience.
Case study 2: Geneva (male European Kestrel)
Purchased as one of three supposed female Kestrels, I raised Geneva from a downy. I got away with murder flying him his first year at 180 grams. Much to our surprise, once he was intermewed he dropped down to a males base weight of 147 grams. He was always a fat little bird! After giving him a half ration one day and dropping him 3 grams, he was flying the full length of creance. I went on to fly him at 165 grams. Geneva was a joy to fly! He would hover on command after ringing up to 150 ft. Geneva was a show bird and not flown on game. Even so, he was an extremely strong flyer. I would fly him 5-6 times per day, with 50 passes total! When the occasional sparrow would venture into his territory, Geneva would really put the heat on.
Case study 3: Hyabusa (female Peales Peregrine)
Hyabusa was my biggest challenge. I had one month to fly this bird. She was an imprint, and like many imprints, she had some vises to address. She had a habit of either sticking to you like glue or flying off. She was also very possessive of the lure! The first behavior I had to address was her clinginess. When flying she would buzz by your head and hound you for the lure. I immediately started putting the weight on. After putting on 35 grams, she found her independence. In addition, I would only call her to the lure when she was climbing and flying away from me. Then I would work her to the lure until she was worn out. It only took a few days for her to get the picture! While she was on the lure, I would clip my weighted bag to the lure. I then made her give up the lure to come 15ft to the glove for food. Daily, I decreased the distance between lure and glove. By the first week, she was flying up to the glove for food without delay. Her performance was incredible! She would ring up to over 400 ft, more when she saw game. She really was an impressive bird.
In conclusion, with the right fitness, higher weights can be achieved. Im thankful my job has provided me with the daily time needed to improve my skills as a trainer. I look forward to using these techniques on falconry birds. Perhaps this information could be useful to other falconers. I would appreciate any feedback that other falconers could give me.
Megan Lehn
