As @Tom mentioned in my intro thread- I am also a falconer. I have been in falconry for about 8 or 9 seasons. I started with red tailed hawks, which are great here in the Southeast. We hunt mostly squirrels, and red tails are the perfect tool. More recently my wife, who is also a falconer, and I have gotten a cast (team) of harris hawks to fly. A few years after I started falconry I also got state and federal education permits. The birds held on education permits are non-releasable and have some sort of debilitating injury. I take the birds and assorted reptiles to schools, boy scouts, summer camps, birthday parties, earth day events, etc. and teach about these awesome animals, where they live, what they eat, how I train them, etc.
Photos of everyone below. All together we have 6 birds of prey at the house. Feel free to ask questions- I could go on and on about it all.
Grey phase Eastern Screech Owl "Grumpy"- education bird. This guy was actually bred in captivity in a research project, but he was also born with his right eye malformed- you can see the funky pupil in the photo.
Mississippi Kite "Pippy"- education bird- he is currently molting his juvenile feathers, you can see a few of the brown feathers that remain- the grey color is adult plumage. You can see a wing droop with his right wing. These guys do something cool called "eating on the wing" which means that they eat while they are flying. While this guy can sort of fly- it is severely handicapped and he would surely not make it in the wild.
Male Great Horned Owl- education bird. You wouldn't know it from the photo, but he has some level of vision loss in his right eye.
Female Red tailed hawk "Astrid"- falconry bird- she will be going into her 4th season.
Male Harris Hawk "Hiccup"- falconry bird- Tom and Jennifer Coulson bred harris hawk
Female Harris Hawk "Toothless"- falconry bird- clutch mate to Hiccup. The two harris hawks fly together in what we call a cast. Which means they hunt together- usually birds of prey are solitary animals and do not hunt in groups- harris hawks are one of the exceptions.
Photos of everyone below. All together we have 6 birds of prey at the house. Feel free to ask questions- I could go on and on about it all.
Grey phase Eastern Screech Owl "Grumpy"- education bird. This guy was actually bred in captivity in a research project, but he was also born with his right eye malformed- you can see the funky pupil in the photo.
Mississippi Kite "Pippy"- education bird- he is currently molting his juvenile feathers, you can see a few of the brown feathers that remain- the grey color is adult plumage. You can see a wing droop with his right wing. These guys do something cool called "eating on the wing" which means that they eat while they are flying. While this guy can sort of fly- it is severely handicapped and he would surely not make it in the wild.
Male Great Horned Owl- education bird. You wouldn't know it from the photo, but he has some level of vision loss in his right eye.
Female Red tailed hawk "Astrid"- falconry bird- she will be going into her 4th season.
Male Harris Hawk "Hiccup"- falconry bird- Tom and Jennifer Coulson bred harris hawk
Female Harris Hawk "Toothless"- falconry bird- clutch mate to Hiccup. The two harris hawks fly together in what we call a cast. Which means they hunt together- usually birds of prey are solitary animals and do not hunt in groups- harris hawks are one of the exceptions.