Ladyhawker - On Sabbatical

I am a Woman Falconer! Falconry is a part of my life and personality. In no way however should anyone construe my life and writings to be the example of all falconers. This blog is about my experiences, and it includes my personal life as well. For now, I am in school and cannot practice this sport, so there is not much falconry related stuff to write about. I will fly a bird again . . . Some Day!

Sunday, August 14, 2005

2005 Wisconsin Falconers Picnic

Today I attended the 2005 Wisconsin Falconers Picnic. It was a wonderful day of enjoying time with friends, and many beautiful birds. It was held at the Memorial Park Arboretum and Gardens in Appleton. The facilities are very nice, even including full artistic wildlife murals in both bathrooms. Yes, I and another woman falconer just had to go into the men's bathroom to see what was painted on their walls! And Yes, we made sure there were no guys in there before we barged in! The surrounding area is filled with many landscaped gardens. A nice place to weather many exquisite examples of birds used in falconry.

I attended today with Dave Noble, my former sponsor, and his wife Linda. We had a very nice drive to the picnic and back. We stopped on the way by the home of Phil Yurtis to see his facilities. Phil is Dave's new apprentice. He has all his equipment ready, and is now just waiting for his license to come in the mail, and for trapping season to start. We'll be hawk stalking together soon! His wife Laurie and their two children also came. It was a nice day for family activities.

The day was spent looking at the gardens, at the birds, and talking with other falconers. We had a special presentation by Dianne Moller, another woman falconer, who also does many educational presentations, in an effort to teach people, especially children, about the raptors in our environment, and to inspire a desire to preserve and protect them. She brought three special birds with her:

Glider, an immature turkey vulture, who was an unfortunate victim of forest land being cleared. His nest tree was cut down. Dianne was called in to assist, and for awhile the parents continued to take care of their chick. But unfortunately the people clearing the land began to interfere by blocking access to the chick with their equipment. And at some point somebody came in and harassed and harmed the baby. He was later found injurred, with a broken leg. Dianne then took him in and rehabed him. Unfortunately though, he has imprinted on her, and can now no longer be released. So, he will be with her for a very long time. But he is a nice ambassador for his kind, who play a very important role in the wild cleaning up the environment.

Einstein, a barn owl, is a noisy ambassador. He demonstrated many typical barn owl behaviors as Dianne spoke about him.

But the most impressive raptor today was Thunder, a golden eagle. He is an unfortunate victim of human stupidity. He was found injurred, broken wing, by some people, who decided they would take care of him, and never gave him to the proper people so he might get medical attention. Only licensed rehabbers or veterinarians should address these needs. If they had done what was right, he might have had a chance to heal proper, and return to the wild. But his wing is permanently damaged, having not healed correctly. He also had been kept in improper facilities and handled badly. He found his way to Dianne, who has been working very hard to rehabilitate his damaged spirit. He will no longer fly, so cannot be released, but he is an excellent ambassador for his kind. She has been training him with operant conditioning, and he has made great strides with her. She tells us that now he even sings to her, as he is now bonding and trusts her, as though she were his mate.

The day was filled with other exceptional birds. Many of them immature birds, having been pulled from nests this summer. They are being trained for falconry. Dave brought his adult redtail hawk, Giddy. And there was an incredibly beautiful peregrine / gyrfalcon hybrid, named "Zoom". I've included many pictures below. There were several accipiters, a coopers hawk, and a couple of goshawks. And there was even a female kestrel.

A very nice day spent with falconry friends . . . and an opportunity to see many wonderful birds!
Giddy . . . a mature red-tailed hawk
His name is Zoom!
What an exquisitely beautiful creature!
A closeup of Zoom, a tiercel peregrine x gyrfalcon hybrid
An immature Coopers Hawk
Closeup of an Accipiter (Otis the Coopers Hawk)
Otis, an immature Coopers Hawk

Keeva, an immature female Goshawk

Trinity, an immature female Goshawk. She still has downy feathers!
An as yet un-named immature female kestrel
Thunder, a Golden Eagle. An education bird. Such a proud and beautiful creature!
Look at those Feet!!
Glider, the immature turkey vulture. An education bird.
Einstein the Barn Owl. An education bird.
Dianne Moller and her education eagle, Thunder. Thank You Dianne for bringing him today!
I won this little stuffed redtail in the doorprize
drawings. He has jesses, a bell on his tail, and
is even tied to his block!

Tuesday, August 02, 2005

Ode to a Coffee Cup! ;-)

Simple Pleasures

Sometimes in life we come across simple pleasures. They should be recognized for what they are and appreciated. I've added one such pleasure to my morning routine.

On this past Sunday I visited La Crosse with my husband and my girlfriend. One of the stores we visited was Pier 1 Imports. Lots of beautiful things in this store, that I wish I could afford to outfit my home with. But, most of these items would be out of place, in my very old and very lived in home. It's a humble place! But it is HOME.

Well, as my girlfriend was shopping, I came around a corner and saw a display of absolutely beautiful, heavy dinnerwear. But what caught my eye the most was the mugs. So large . . . and so brilliantly painted. I was intrigued as I picked up one of them, and held it in my hands. It fit so comfortably. The lacquered surface so smooth. But as I turned it over, the pricetag caught my attention, and I put it back. My practical side informed me that $12 for a mug was just too much! So, I continued through the store, looking at items. After all, I wasn't the one shopping, but my girlfriend. However, I wandered over to the display a time or two. Finally, as we were about to leave, I decided that some pleasures simply must be indulged! I selected a mug, and purchased it!

My husband teases me for making a blog entry about a coffee mug. But look at it! Is it not an object of beauty! And somehow, my coffee tastes so much better from it. A dollop of cream, a square of chocolate. And I am happy, with this simple pleasure!
 
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