… are what the the old falconers called the Gyr- Saker crosses of the high deserts and lost mountains of Central Asia. Another common name, probably Turkic, is “Shunkar”. From her (enormous) size and color this female in the breeding center outside of Almaty has Gyr genes, but her head shape and long tail, like …
Tag: Raptors
New Bird
Another male Gyr X Saker, but this one rather than a stout Gyr resembles a long, lean, long- tailed Saker. He weighs virtually the same. He is looking a bit nervous and indeed is wild for an imprint, but I suspect he’ll come around shortly. Update: Our friend Patrick “Terrierman” Burns asked some good questions …
Bird Update
They grow a lot in four weeks, don’t they?
Preview Pix
Baby Gyr- Saker tiercel just in from New York, having his first meal at Casa Querencia. Stephen Grant of London Best quality hammer side- lever 12- bore, circa 1880, virtually new and unrestored. It weighs a bit over 7 lbs and is probably a pigeon gun. To quote expert Robert Braden: “After all, it is …
Spring Duck Hunting
Cat Urbigkit provides a splendid sequence of a young Bald eagle taking a shot at a Merganser.
Two Poems with Hawks in Them
I mean to post more poetry. Two short whole ones here. First, from Colin Simms’ Gyrfalcon Poems, “Hesitates at the Apex” : Hesitates at the apex, hovers wind his acceptanceuntil he topples over the edge of his calculus;stoops as an arrow will fall, the archer lifted to cross,clear, and drop vertical behind their defencesperhaps no …
Goshawks DO Play!
Gos and his toy.
Altai Falcon
In his monograph on the Gyrfalcon Eugene Potapov confirms that, in the high mountains of Central Asia, there are areas of hybridization between those recently and imperfectly separated species, the Gyrfalcon and the Saker. These are doubtless the semi – legendary “Altai falcon” or Shunkar of classical falconry. I made a probable sighting on my …
Photoblogging: Ruru
A saluki friend in New Zealand, Graham Bond, often sends us bird of prey photos. Most recently, he captured these images of “Rurus” (Ninox novaeseelandiae, also known as “Morepork”), agile little insect- eating owls, catching moths in his porch lights. He writes: “These are a couple of poor quality photos that I managed to get …
Photoblogging: Eagle Nest
Readers who know Edge of the Wild may recall the eagle essay, where I visit the nearest golden eagle eyrie, on “Mount Titty” north of town. Ataika and I went out looking for quail there the other day. No luck, but I got a couple of photos of the old nest, still active. (It is …