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Monday, July 20, 2015

weathered the hawks.

Warm, mid 80's humid with clouds and sun.  Glad to get the hawks out weathering today.  The landscaping company quickly cleared the brush from the weekend cuttings and the hawks were set out first and weathered until lunch, then the falcons and red-tail were set out.  I misted the hawks the early shift, by the roadway where the shade is.  When the shade shifts to the east, I then moved them by the walkway shade for the rest of the day.  I walked with the birds and the pigeons were fewer, but they were across at the 24 hour restaurant.  Around 3:00 they started coming back in small flocks.  I made sure I had the hawks out and walked with a noisy one to keep the pigeons on alert.  I then flew the oldest hawk behind the restaurant to see how the pigeons would react.  She is an old, experienced hunter.  I let her take in the structures, and let her loose for a while.  She flew back and forth for tidbits and the pigeons on the lower restaurant area moved away, and about ¾ of the pigeons on the hotel moved across the street.  Getting up high will be the best, the roof access is a manhole, not a stairway and will be a challenge.  Earlier, I made calls to the power company and got nowhere.  I then called www.aplic.org. The organization that manages power line and wildlife encounters.  I got a call back from the FPL biologist on this issue and explained that falconry abatement is a new and growing method for pest birds.  Raptors seek the highest and often the most prominent perch to scan their surroundings.  Often a power pole, which can be deadly.  I also told him that abatement falconers train their hawks to work in human dense situations.  This takes a lot of time and conditioning.  I told him that I am seeking a way for abatement falconers to minimize man related risks to raptors in abatement situations, the most dangerous is power poles that are not avian safe.  He was interested in the concept and it looks like they will come out and assess the pole situation for the safety of the hawks.  Sounds like I am making progress on this issue and am glad to get this started.  

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