Lauren’s first fox

Lauren reports from Mongolia: I’m amazed at how fast training progresses here! I’m about 150 km south of Olgii, outside a town called Daluun near the Chinese border. The falconers in this area only fly passage eagles, and luckily, its been a great year for fox. You won’t believe, but I’ve already seen eleven fox …

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Animal update

Irbis is HUGE and still growing. Last year’s problem bird BB (Bad Bird, Bird Brain) is this year’s delight (Big Bird). Now I need a pic of the Barb- Taita “Chicken” (nicknamed for her ferocious rushes at our feet– her real name is Fidget , after Vadim Gorbatov’s Peregrine protagonist).

Raptors and Pigeons

Tim Gallagher points to this BBC video of Golden Eagles hunting reindeer, and reminds me that a link to my piece on Darwin’s pigeons is up at Living Bird. Meanwhile MaryBeth Rogers sends this link to paragliding with eagles (well, mostly vultures, but it still looks like fun!) An unfortunate Golden eagle was taken from …

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Science Links

A BBC news article seems to point to the “Overkill Hypothesis” as the major cause of the extinction of the American megafauna. Studies of dung preserved in a Wisconsin lake suggest “… a slow decline in megafauna that began about 15,000 years ago and appeared to last for about 1,000 years. “This discovery rules out …

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“Eagle Warrior”

And while we are on weird images, Sari Mantila sends this from Finland, with that title. Actually it is an un- retouched photo of a Cinereous vulture (Aegypius monachus). But doesn’t it look like some weird ape- raptor conflation?

Why I have Been Busy

(In addition to paying (I hope) work:) Growing a bird from a fuzzball to an almost real bird: Growing a pup: Teaching the pup about birds: The bird (female3/4 Barb 1/4 Taita) is a natural chatterbox; not a food screamer– just vocal. Names have been selected by friends from all along the Barbary’s vast range; …

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Raptor News, Good and Bad

Spain is worried about its vultures and wants to help them by allowing carcasses to be left out for them. Good for them. I’ll buy it all but “killing cows”– Golden eagles will kill calves, but Griffon vultures on cows?? HT Reid. Meanwhile, a few American Indians continue to slaughter Eagles for feathers and profit, …

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“Pigeons” 2: New Gorbatov

At Al’s Eagle Hunter site is among other delights the biggest gallery of Vadim Gorbatov prints available on line. He has just added two new ones: Kublai Khan’s Hunting Trip and Frederic II’s Hunting Trip: I have a huge artist’s proof of the Kublai, but you can get a smaller version for pretty cheap, and …

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