Pics for Greg Birds Of Prey

[Peter Remling]

Today we went to the NY Renfair and like the past 8 years they have a Birds of Prey Show with rescued birds. I've taken some pics and thought I'd post them here. Costume pics will be posted elsewhere.

The first set of pics is of a Harris Hawk

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The next pic is a Great Horned Owl

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Third up is a Black Vulture

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Lastly an Andean Condor

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That is not an illusion the Condor is still sitting on the trainers hand. Big Birdie, nice Birdie!

[Greg]

I feel so special!

Awesome pics, Pete! Condors are HUGE...I'm surprised that Falconer was only wearing a wrist-length glove. With birds that size, a glove that goes up to the shoulder, commonly used with eagles, would be worn. He's a brave soul.

One day, perhaps a few years down the road, when we all get together and have a Ranger gathering, I'll have a Peregrine on my shoulder that'll help stuff us with rabbit one night.

[Willrett]

Cool pics it makes me want an owl. But i don't know if I will ever get into hawking or the like. I don't think I have the time.

[Greg]

Willrett, it's a HUGe time commitment, but one of the hardest parts is knowing that, unlike a dog or even a cat, your bird will do little more than tolerate your existence. Even after years of knowing you, the bird won't treat you as a friend. You'll always just be a food source, and you'll never be thanked for it.

[Eric C]

Willrett, it's a HUGe time commitment, but one of the hardest parts is knowing that, unlike a dog or even a cat, your bird will do little more than tolerate your existence. Even after years of knowing you, the bird won't treat you as a friend. You'll always just be a food source, and you'll never be thanked for it.

But. . . That sounds like every cat I've ever known!

[Greg]

This is VERY true of most cats. The question and key detail here is...could any of your cats kill you?

[Eric C]

Um, no. But many of them looked at me like they would like to do me in. No pets now though. And for that I am thankful.

[Peter Remling]

Our three cats all are very affectionate. They will come when called by name, and when they are doing something wrong, you simply have to call their name and tell them to stop whatever it is their doing and they do.

These cats are not at all like the ones we had for the first 20 years of marriage, my wife liked Siamese and they are "everything on their terms". The first one Samantha, if you yelled at her in the morning, you should expect the place to me trashed when you got home. She'd tear all the paper off the toilet paper roll, leaving shreds all over the floor, then she'd go into the kitchen and do the same thing with the paper towel holder. She'd spend a lengthy amount of time digging all the soil out of any plants we had and spreading it all over the floor or counter.

We currently only have the one small dog a Shiba Ibu in the pictures of the duster I made. We had to have the larger shephard/pit bull mix put to sleep last year . We had her for 14 years and the shapard/husky mix, Kane for 13 years before. I'll be getting another large dog sometime soon. I feel better leaving my wife or the girls alone when there is a large dog around.

[David]

That Harris hawk is gorgeous! I wonder how heavy the Condor would be even though it's bones are hollow...

[Greg]

Condors are massive, but the Andeans are the biggest. They can peak at about 33 lbs, but tend to settle in around 28-30. They've got the biggest wing area of any bird in the world...and the ugliest faces, in my opinion.

I agree completely about the beauty of Harris Hawks, but their beauty doesn't end at looks. They're incredily effective hunters off the hand, especially with critters like Jackrabbits. After I've finished my two years as an apprentice with a Red-Tail and have my General Falconer's license, enabling me to have more than one bird, I'm planning on setting the hawk free and upgrading to a Harris, with a Peregrine in my sights. Peregrine means "wanderer" so I suppose it's only appropriate, anyway.

I need to stay with the bigger Hawks and Accipters so they can handle the game commonly found in any area, especially for Rangering. As long as the bird can handle a large Jackrabbit, I'm in good shape.