Lost tiercel Anatum adult

[wayf]

I lost my 7 year old tiercel Anatum in Farson Wyoming band number RV087926, transmitter quit working. He will land on a truck as he is an imprint. Wyoming fish and game along with the county sheriff has been notified. Any help is appreciated

303-918-6954
Wayne Pennington

[gyrhybrid]

Wayne,

Go back to the launch field where the bird was flown,....take two or three pigeons in a cage and place on your vehicle roof for five hours,...also take along some reading material or a six pack of beer. Best strategy over decades.

[460shooter]

Me and two other falconers are watching down here in Colorado, almost straight south of you. We are all gonna be out with harnessed pigeons today trapping some prairies, and will post back with any news.

[wayf]

thanks guys I have spent the last 6 days camped in the area he was lost. I have tossed dozens of pigeon from hill tops. tried every thing but no luck.
Going to keep looking for another 3 days then I have to go home for a couple days then I will come back for another week.

Wayne

[Aaron]

If your tiercel is kite trained, you might put up a kite and lure in an area he was flown frequently in.

[gyrhybrid]

Wayne,

The return to field approach only works for about the first four days, at most. In my personal opinion, the bird is gone permanently, from my years of experience. They usually drift off, after a few short days, from the normal flying field. I don't want to be negative, but the reality of the situation, seems remote for retrieval. But good luck anyway, for whatever approach that continues on.

[wayf]

this was not his normal flying fields. We are 450 miles from home. I maybe chasing a dream but I have to try and locate him even after 10 days. I will search another 5 days. Hopefully some one will find him..

Like I said I have to try or always feel like I gave up to soon.

Wayne

[gyrhybrid]

Wayne,

I admire your courage. Keep looking as long as you have the patience. So this wasn't his normal flying field, but a distance of 450 miles, which would indicate to me that he would drift away in a short period of time, maybe two or three days as most.

Actually, I think the bird is also looking for you at the same time. Once I lost a female anatum which I never recovered, however, later on a month later, a wildlife specialist located a peregrine that flew down from a power pole, and actually walked up to the stranger within about three feet, then flew away. That most likely was my bird.

So instead of 450 miles away, did you have a local flying field that the bird would recognize and call home territory? That's where I would go with a pigeon cage on the vehicle roof for several hours and just wait. I have two example reasons to justify this approach. Reason One, at a navel air station there is a person trapping redtails to keep away from the airport. He then would drive the birds several hundred miles away and release them to the wild. Often times, within a few days, the same bird would return to the air field, where the bird called home territory. Reason Two, two years ago in the California bay area, an anatum was feeding on endangered shore birds. The govt. trapped the peregrine from central calif and transported the bird to Oregon. About a week later the same peregrine returned to home territory and was re-captured,....then sent to a zoo in the state of Maine, per their statements.

So you choose the location to search for your bird, and good luck

[Steve Jones]

Wayne,
I will be down in that area (25 miles north of Farson) for a couple weeks starting on the 14th along with several other falconers. We will keep an eye out for him.

[wayf]

Steve

Thanks, any help will be much appreciated. I am going to head for home tomorrow. I tossed my last seeled pigeon today with nothing but red tails coming in. Just in case I am going to check the ponds he call "his" when I get home. Hopefully he shows up there.

Wayne


Wayne

[gyrhybrid]

Wayne,

The ponds where your bird calls "home", is the best, final, and most productive procedure for locating your lost falcon. Just remember, he is looking for you too. Secondly, when you throw a sealed pigeon at a location, then move on,....that is a 5 minute event.

I suggest a five hour event, with a couple pigeons in a small cage on the roof of your vehicle,....thus an attractant for five hours, and secondly the redtails won't be a problem.

Thirdly, your bird of 7 years, will recognize your car as a home base too. Next, don't sit in the car, but pull out a lawn chair and sit next to your vehicle. (bring plenty of beer and books to read)

Since the bird has been lost for several days, this gives him plenty of time to return.

This is the best and final approach in total, based on my decades of experience.

[460shooter]

Thirdly, your bird of 7 years, will recognize your car as a home base too. Next, don't sit in the car, but pull out a lawn chair and sit next to your vehicle. (bring plenty of beer and books to read)

Make that ROOT beer, if you're driving. I lost my best friend to a drunk driver. No need to be driving under the influence. Anyone that says otherwise is a complete, sub-human, idiot.

[cvarcher]

I know its late to add to the post but I wanted to indicate 2 things from my experience. They generally follow the prevailing weather/ winds. And after a short time they truly go back to a wild state.

[rri32701]

Did you ever find your bird?

[wayf]

Robert

I never did find my tiercel lost in Wyoming. Not from the lack of trying, I spent a total of 21 days and 4300 miles looking for him. It was a hard trip home without him and I did not even fly a falcon this last season. But I will be flying his brother this fall, hopefully he gets a good as the first one.

Wayne

[rri32701]

Sorry to hear that Wayne.Good luck this year