Week One Update

Between 82 and 85 grams he'll make a few jumps to the fist. About 3 feet has been his longest. I occasionally have to "prime" him by giving him a tidbit on the perch and he'll still think about it for a few second before coming but we're on the right track. This evening he should be around 80 grams and be a little more motivated to make longer leaps. I have this hang up with not wanting to let birds loose weight, I think if I had dropped him lower a little earlier we would be farther along by now but for being just a week in to it I think we're doing fine.

He's still got quite a bit of "taming" to do. He still gapes (opens his mouth) at me when I approach him on his perch and will try and bate away but he calms down fairly quickly once on my glove. He rarely bates from there and when he does, he's quick to regain the fist. I spent a whole lot of time this weekend with him on my fist and even caught him napping there at one point. Any movement still freaks him out but that will pass with more exposure. Dulcinea was so rock solid that she wouldn't bat an eyelid when I wandered around the NAFA meet (falconer's convention of sorts...) with her on the fist and people everywhere. I remember one time when she had missed a sparrow and landed on a parked car, a lady walked right up to her expecting her to fly off and she just sat there. Man, she was a good bird!

We'll get there with Hayduke, I'll let him dictate the pace but I think we're moving along well. If things go according to plan hopefully he'll be hunting by the end of the month. There are starlings that need killing:

The Most Hated Bird in the U.S.

Starling flocks take toll on economy, environment