http://www.dogwork.com/owfo8

A european Eagle Own comes in for a landing. Love the way you can see the airstream break up (ruffles the covert feathers) as the bird stalls on landing.

Hawk brains seem to work very much automatically with . . . → Read More: Why I like hawks]]> I’ve asked myself this question before, and I find it difficult to put an answer into words. Hawks are really amazing. Check out the BBC short below for some footage of the physical abilities. They are also really dinosaur-like in a very highly evolved way.

Hawk brains seem to work very much automatically with comments from the peanut gallery of their cognitive thoughts in quiet moments afterwards. Many people prefer to work with falcons: humans can relate to a bird that is relatively sedate and thinks before it switches into action mode. Not so with a hawk. Events trigger a blindingly fast response that leaves you both wondering what just happened. The hawk, of course, can access its short term memory to find out why it did what it just did. If it feels the need. I think that’s one of the things that I like about them.

Another thing that goes along with that is the sheer, pure determination. I see that spirit in other birds, but hawks have a focus and single-mindedness that make any other bird look like a pansy. I knew a female Brown Goshawk who tackled and killed a Galah on someone’s roof. She did it with a broken wing. The householders put bits of meat out for her once that was gone, but none could catch her. I had to use a trap. She finished healing in my hospital, but the wing wasn’t aligned as well as I would like. My experience of how strong and adept and capable she was convinced me that she had at least as good a chance of survival as a perfectly able juvenile of any other species.

I admire that confident, never give up attitude.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=2CFckjfP-1E

Thursday, I was served the scariest injury I have had (in 15 years of doing rehab). It was just plain carelessness. The bird was being held, I had trimmed the beak and was examining the feet. I . . . → Read More: Complacency: DON’T GO THERE!]]>

The back talon landed next to my eye. My fingers are on the other two 'holes'.

Thursday, I was served the scariest injury I have had (in 15 years of doing rehab). It was just plain carelessness. The bird was being held, I had trimmed the beak and was examining the feet. I did two things wrong: I stuck my face in the strike zone and I didn’t communicate with my helper on which foot I ‘had’. The bird was an Australian Little Eagle. And as we all know, them things have big feet. Complacency came very close to costing me an eye.

I had to clear the aviaries out and keep all the birds in boxes on Thursday. The tree loppers came and severely pruned our Chinese Pepper trees. This was good, as they were severely overgrown. I was telling one of the guys about how I’d been injured, and, given that his job includes lots of time around chain saws, he was able to relate. He knew the importance of keeping on guard, being aware and communicating with your team.

Close calls are a gift: it could have been so much worse. Now I have a week of grotty tum on antibiotics and a little scratch next to my eye that’ll be a faint (I hope it’ll be faint!) scar. Hopefully these will make me remember the danger of complacency for quite some time! Certainly “getting back on the horse” has been interesting. Ellee is the most inoffensive person I know- yet I kept having flashbacks of her foot striking my face as I was handling her the day after.

Developing their trust in me is a BIG component of what I do when I train animals. But we animal trainers can forget that it works both ways: we need to develop trust of our animals.  So Ellee and I have overdrawn trust accounts at the moment, and we will need to have many little positive experiences together to build those balances back up. And I will need to reinforce myself (be aware and give myself kudos) for trusting my self too: my judgement and ability to keep myself safe. That’s called (re)building self confidence.

A nifty mini cherry picker helps with the trim

Marra with Ellee

You’ll be able to tour the Wild Watcher Project Space I have been mentioning. You will get a “sign-up code” that allows you to create a free, short term account. Pop in regularly during the Opening, and you will discover new projects being added, some sightings going . . . → Read More: Teachers: come tour Wild Watcher web space!]]> Wednesday April 4^th to Friday April 13^th

You’ll be able to tour the Wild Watcher Project Space I have been mentioning. You will get a “sign-up code” that allows you to create a free, short term account. Pop in regularly during the Opening, and you will discover new projects being added, some sightings going up on the map and discussions on our forums.

As the site is getting loaded up with interesting stuff, YOU can contribute, make suggestions and join the forums. I have built this site myself (with a lot of help) and it is a work in progress. That means your input can really get built in as Wild Watcher Project Space grows. This site is for YOU. Actually, that’s a bit of a fib. It is mainly for your students! They will become the Wild Watcher Community.

The purpose of this site is to motivate young people to take an active interest in the nature around them, develop their initiative and enquiry skills, and make a positive impact on their lives.

Marra with Ellee

The site is a free resource, not a commercially developed ‘buy it now’ service. This means that the community of teachers and students on the site will drive its development. I’m too busy earning my living by running Raptor Presentations, and I won’t be paying any employees to add content for me. So come take the tour, see what content I can throw together during the Grand Opening, and decide if you want to run with it too!

Get your sign-up code: I’m not going to publish the sign up code on the web for just anybody. So subscribe to my newsletter, and I’ll spot that and send you an e-mail. Or if your inbox just can’t handle my (wishfully) monthly news, e-mail me privately and ask for the code. In either case, I won’t send you any spam.

I’ve mentioned it before, but thought I’d fill you in on some more details. For me, 2012 is going to be the year of starting to do webinars and adult training courses. What this means for remote school kids is that they’ll be able to get me “in” to show them my birds . . . → Read More: Raptors for remote areas]]>

I’ve mentioned it before, but thought I’d fill you in on some more details. For me, 2012 is going to be the year of starting to do webinars and adult training courses. What this means for remote school kids is that they’ll be able to get me “in” to show them my birds and share cool stuff about raptors.

looking at a webinar

Lots of people don’t know what a webinar is yet, but if you have used the internet it is pretty easy to explain. A webinar is a web page you go to at a particular time, like going to a seminar or phone conference. The page you look at can be changed during this virtual meeting by the person running the webinar. This means they can show you stuff in a structured way, just like seeing a slide show or Powerpoint presentation in person.

The webinar ‘show’ can include sound, live voice from microphones, pictures, slides, video and webcam. The cool thing about a webinar is that it can be set to work both ways. The presenter can turn on your mic so you can ask a question all the viewers can hear, you can ask questions privately by typing them or everyone can doodle ideas on a virtual whiteboard with their mouses. Pretty cool stuff, really.

Many remote (as well as not-an-easy-drive-from-Perth) schools have a fast internet connected computer hooked up to a projector in their classroom. That’s all you’ll need for me and the birds to “visit”! I’m enjoying the learning curve in getting familiar with the software I’ll be using. I’m also running around gathering video and pictures to share during presentations. If you have any questions, click the button to raise your hand. No wait – this isn’t a webinar – you can phone or e-mail.

Pointy machine

Sometimes I forget to observe the warnings. Like at midnight at the end of a busy Christmas day. Fortunately, I have tegaderm and melolin handy, and know how to treat wounds.

ouch

. . . → Read More: Ouch]]> Do not operate pointy machinery while under the influence of drowsiness.

Pointy machine

Sometimes I forget to observe the warnings. Like at midnight at the end of a busy Christmas day. Fortunately, I have tegaderm and melolin handy, and know how to treat wounds.

ouch

A chick arrived 29th November and has grown at an astonishing rate. That’s normal for chicks. She has been dubbed “Talla” and fledged in the aviary yesterday. Her education has included lots . . . → Read More: Running, running, running…]]> This time of year is often hectic. I’ve had my hands full this week, and lots has been going on this month.

A chick arrived 29^th November and has grown at an astonishing rate. That’s normal for chicks. She has been dubbed “Talla” and fledged in the aviary yesterday. Her education has included lots of planning to ensure she grows up to be a wild, hunting bird. More training to come.

Talla chick

I finished off the gift shopping and have, amazingly, distributed all gifts to people I won’t see this weekend. One hint here is that I have only shopped for close loved ones. I’m sorry if you are overseas or didn’t make the grade, but I know you will get heaps of junk anyway.

Half of my office is in another room, as the ceiling added an alarming crack to the existing bulge right above the desks last month. That got repaired on Tuesday, but the office chaos continues to be chipped away at. I can highly recommend “Getting Things Done” by David Allen.

On Tuesday, I wasn’t home, so my partner handled the ceiling guy, the frozen quail delivery, a surprise load of mulch and fed Talla lunch. I’m sure I’m forgetting a few other Tuesday things. I have a great guy to put up with all that cheerfully while not getting any of his stuff done.

Today I managed to take one bird to the vet and came back with two. Both are thin and in need of hospital time. Lots of dead mouse chopping for me. The trick is to remember to use the nail brush vigorously before going off to Christmas lunch and wanting to lick the turkey juice off the fingers.

Signing off for 2011: best wishes for your favourite endeavours for 2012.