Must have materials to imprint a Goshawk

[kitana]

Wow, thanks for the participation, I guess I'm not the only one to wonder about the subject!

Geoff, the idea of placing the nest box high upon a stool is genius. How did you come up with that? I mean, it's a baby bird, and birds nest up high and... oh... I see... LOL

That would be lots easier to manage at my workplace since floor space is very limited, and could be replaced with a high perch when the bird starts branching. Painter's cloth on the walls behind it, and being ready to wash the floor in front of it often, is much easier for me and my coworkers than dealing with a baby playpen or a huge rubbermaid box.

I'm very interested by what Harry McElroy does to imprint a bird while keeping it outside. I'm ready to have this bird inside for a few months, maybe until the end of its first hunting season, but no more than that, and even that will be a hassle. I got two old old old cats in the house, with no teeth left and one is declawed, but I don't want to risk anything, and I'd prefer not to have my home smell like my aviary...

If some have pictures of their setups to share, that would be great! I saw a few here and there on different threads, but having a collection of them on the same thread would be nice I think.

Thanks again!

[goshawkr]

Audrey,

Thats exactly why I like the nest/basket on the stool. Its versatile, simple, dosnt take up much room. Its also very easy to improvise if you take your baby hawk to a BBQ or some such. I learned the trick from my local friends who flew goshawks, and I keep scratching my head when I see these more complicated ideas catching on.

It would be very easy for you to tranisition from the stool to a rundrick (now a days often commonly called a pole perch for some reason). Although I think you might have a short period of time when your baby hawk is too old for the stool and too young for the rundrick. I dunno though, because I have never actually used a rundrick.

In terms of the method McElroy uses to move them outside, its very simple. Just leave them in the mew/weathering yard for gradually increasing periods. Make sure you keep your social time, especially in the september time frame. But you dont need to be around them 24x7. Goshawks are very social animals. They will crave your company and want to hang out with you. But much like domesticated cats, they also will crave some alone time. I think it might actually drive goshawks a bit mad to not give them any alone time.