“This gray rock, standing tall On the headland, where the seawind Lets no tree grow, Earthquake-proved, and signatured By ages of storms: on its peak A falcon has perched. I think, here is your emblem To hang in the future sky; Not the cross, not the hive, But this; bright power, dark peace; Fierce consciousness …
Tag: Gyrfalcons
Charles Schwartz RIP
Bruce Haak emailed me last night that my old friend Charles Schwartz had died, from a fast-acting brain tumor. I hadn’t even known he was sick. Charlie was a great falconer, and a perfectionist. He ended up flying passage Gyrfalcons and Sage grouse, in the high deserts of Idaho; this high-end grouse hawking is still …
Image, sent
The late Rio chases a pigeon… (click to enlarge)
“A Hundred Sorrows”
Old Year news, which I didn’t want to make anyone sad about during the Holidays. In the kind of coincidence weirdly common in falconry– see the quote referenced above and quoted in full below– good friends (and good falconers) lost both my birds in one December week. Rio/ Guero had been brought to the point …
Progress
Rio, or “Guero” (Whitey or Blondie as opposed to Tavo’s little black Gyr MERLIN Negrito) is making progress. Photos by Shiri Hoshen, training by Octavio Cruz… UPDATE: The little guy has brains too! Tavo writes: “Last night Güero flew off after chasing two rabbits. I got him back right after dark. “He flew back to …
Birdage
Rio with his ball. He still has down. I am not used to hulking 38 ounce tiercels and their prolonged infancy- biggest male falcon I have ever flown, and slowest to mature. Though it may take him into the rains… cool, in several senses…
The Bird Today
With Taik. Think these two will work together?
Pre- flight
Pre- flight training at Lee Henderson’s La Jencia Ranch. In the last three I am alternating an oversized Kazakh hood he has been training with and a proper Gyr hood– the rest are self explanatory. Double or right click for BIG images. Lib reminds me to say that the ranch has good grass over most …
Update on the new kid
He is just at the age that he can trash the house, and soon we must take him up, but he is a lot of fun. What in the world do people talk about who don’t have animals? And what are these THINGS on my legs? Oversized Kazakh jesses designed for a Siberian Gos, too …
A Baby arrives
From Dan Konkel in Sheridan– a male, 3/4 Gyr, 1/4 Saker. At this age his schedule is pretty simple…