j.w.s. Posted July 20, 2014 Share Posted July 20, 2014 Friend of mine is a falconer and asked me to design some new perches for his coopers hawk, Harris and eagle owl.. heres the first in progress. -J Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the iron dwarf Posted July 21, 2014 Share Posted July 21, 2014 nice work Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted July 23, 2014 Share Posted July 23, 2014 Looks good J. Cable is okay for their talons? I guess, birds land on anything all the time so why not eh? Frosty The Lucky. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j.w.s. Posted July 23, 2014 Author Share Posted July 23, 2014 Actually, the cable will get wrapped with large diameter sisal rope. Most perches just use round stock or tube but the rope often unwraps depending on the activity of the bird. We're trying this just to see if it grips the rope a little better. J Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted July 23, 2014 Share Posted July 23, 2014 That makes sense. How about a leather wrap like a steering wheel? Heck, how about a steering wheel? Frosty The Lucky. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j.w.s. Posted July 23, 2014 Author Share Posted July 23, 2014 Nah, they'd try to eat it.. both the leather and probably the steering wheel lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the iron dwarf Posted July 23, 2014 Share Posted July 23, 2014 I used to make bow and Ring perches for hawks and blocks for falcons, for roping the tube on bows I would paint the metal and as the paint was still sticky wrap the rope on, each end of the rope would go inside the wrap underneath and straight for about 4 turns and then trimmed off, with many years of use few of them needed re doing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted July 24, 2014 Share Posted July 24, 2014 Nah, they'd try to eat it.. both the leather and probably the steering wheel lol Send them to school and they eat the apple, eh? Do they like rawhide chew toys as treats? I'm thinking no matter what you whip the perch with it's a sacrificial pad or grip. I've always thought falconing would be fun in the extreme. I've always been good with animals, birds included but recognize the level of dedication a bird of prey would demand. My work schedule pretty much made even owning a dog a deal killer for 20 years so falcons were WAY out of the question. There is an established mated pair of goshawks that nest on our back property line. We only get to see them occasionally but it's hard to describe how watching them cruising through a climax birch forest at around 30-40mph. feels. There's no question they're hunting when they fly through, it feels positively ominous. When we first moved here I discovered the nest one day in early July. I didn't get a look at the nest but got really clear looks at the goshawks when they started stooping on me. Fortunately they gave a shriek every time they dove so I was able to get on the far side of a tree trunk. I took final cover under a large spruce tree's canopy and they wouldn't come under the branches but kept shrieking past at probably 60-70mph. Awesome is just too much of an understatement. I already knew goshawks don't just try and scare a threat away, they go for blood. If they'd caught me in open enough space they'd hit me and hit me hard. I don't need talon scars, like my ears and eyes so I took cover till they decided to cut me a little slack. When they let off I headed away from the nest and they let me go but flew high cover and occasionally made a harrying stoop behind me. Just enough to make me take cover and keep me moving the right direction. That part of our property is off limits from mid June till August, just because. When we stop hearing the chicks screaching for dinner they're usually fledged and hunting, another week or two and it's probably safe in their nesting territory. It's just wicked cool having goshawks as neighbors. We have zero predators here, we have them for top gun watch birds. Even Bald Eagles and Great Northern Owls stay away, a good 1/2 mile away. Frosty The Lucky. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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