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The Complete Guide to Flying Birds of Prey
Birds

The Complete Guide to Flying Birds of Prey

Free flight helps birds of prey stay fit, practise natural skills and build trust with their handler. Start with health checks, safe equipment, daily weight records and a tested tracker. Build recall slowly with glove feeding, a creance and short flights before letting the bird fly free. Choose a safe site away from traffic, power lines, bad weather and predators. After each flight, reward the bird, check it for damage and record its condition. Never fly too early, ignore weight control or leave out telemetry.

More in Birds

  • How to Recognise Fatigue in Birds of Prey
    Birds

    How to Recognise Fatigue in Birds of Prey

    Birds of prey can tire quickly during falconry, displays or rehabilitation. Watch for heavy wingbeats, drooping wings, panting, poor balance, slow recalls, loss of focus or refusal to fly. Stop the session, give the bird a quiet rest, water and food, then check its recovery. Build fitness slowly, use suitable weather and keep flights short. If tiredness comes on quickly or does not improve, contact a qualified avian vet.

  • The Complete Guide to Transporting Birds of Prey
    Birds

    The Complete Guide to Transporting Birds of Prey

    Transporting birds of prey safely keeps them calm and healthy and is vital in falconry. Use a purpose-built transport box or a giant hood and train the bird to enter calmly. In a vehicle place the box on a flat surface and strap it in with a seatbelt. Never leave a bird in a hot or poorly ventilated car because heat stress can be fatal. Feed lightly before travel, offer water on long trips and stop for regular checks to spot stress, injury or feather damage. Keep spare jesses, a leash and a glove in the car and clean the box after use. Do not use improvised carriers, do not crowd birds, and never leave a bird unattended. These simple steps make safe transport to the vet, flying site or display much easier.

  • The Complete Guide to Free Flight in Falconry
    Birds

    The Complete Guide to Free Flight in Falconry

    Free flight in falconry is when a bird of prey flies untethered and comes back to the falconer on command. It needs patient groundwork: good manning, reliable recall, the right flying weight and solid lure training plus fitted telemetry. You will need a gauntlet, anklets and jesses, swivel and leash for practice, GPS or radio telemetry, a lure or whistle, scales and a safe transport box. Pick open, safe sites with no overhead wires, few people or dogs, and no nearby roads. Start with short releases, call the bird back with the glove or lure and give food as a reward. Build distance and stamina, practise lure stoops for falcons, and only try hunting with legal quarry when recall is rock solid. Weigh before and after flights, check equipment, watch the weather and stop if the bird is tired. Avoid flying too early, skipping telemetry, overfeeding before flight and unsafe locations.

  • The Complete Guide to Lure Training in Falconry
    Birds

    The Complete Guide to Lure Training in Falconry

    Lure training in falconry teaches falcons and hawks to recognise, strike and return to a lure. A lure is leather or synthetic, shaped with wings or fur and fitted with a line and a food reward. Swinging lures copy flying prey and dragging lures copy running prey, helping fitness, hunting skill and recall training. Before you start, make the bird calm on the glove, set the right flying weight, pick open safe ground and check jesses, swivel and telemetry. Keep sessions short, reward every strike, train at the same time each day and avoid too many misses. For safety avoid roads, power lines and wild birds, do not use spoiled food and never free-fly without telemetry. With patience and regular practice, lure training builds fitness, sharpens hunting skills and strengthens recall.

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