I was out of town all last week at a conference for work and returned The Project to her owner while I was away. On Friday morning I recieved a text message saying that the kestrel wouldn't eat on her own Thursday night, that he'd force fed her in the morning but it didn't look good. A few hours later I got the text that she'd died.
He's not sure what happened so I don't have details but it's an unfortunate turn of events. I feel like I'd been doing well with her and she'd improved many times over from what I'd initially seen of her. I'd like to think she would've started taking game in the near future but that is, of course, pure speculation.
She was a good learning experience and we had some good flights. Since she wasn't "my" bird, I don't feel the same sense of loss that I did with Dulci, but losing any bird is tough. My eyes are set on the fall now though. I'll get a fresh passage bird and start with a clean slate. I'm starting to feel more comfortable with kestrels in general and look forward to getting the next one going as quickly as possible. The starling population could use a good kestrel to keep them in check and I will be doing my best to oblige! Blogging may be a bit slow for the next while but I'll check in if anything pops up.
I wonder what my next kestrel is doing right now...?
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3 comments:
It stinks no matter what. Sorry Isaac. I'm considering a merlin in the fall. I think they may be a bit more hardy - alternatively, I may just fly the harris hawks.
Keep us posted, trapping season is just around the corner.
Doug
Yeah, it was a major bummer Doug. I'd love to fly a merlin, it's one of my "dream birds" but it'll have to wait until Colorado finally feels I'm competent enough to get a general license (after 15 years of experience!!!). *Sigh* Such is the red-tape of falconry.
Looking forward to trapping season for sure. I think we're going to have a whole squad going out on opening day. Should be fun.
Hi son--just read this. That's rotten. Does seem to be a part of working with living beings, though. The satisfaction is huge, and then so is the disappointment. But you were doing good work with The Project and good work is never lost. Whatever your next kestrel is doing now, you're getting ready for him/her & it'll be a great alliance, more so because of The Project and others before.
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