Hi Paul and Jeff:

You guys are my friends and you know I respect your opinions. Always have.

I don't think it takes any more huevos to fly my bird without GPS than it did 10 years ago, before any of us even heard of it! I didn't want to elaborate on me thermaling my eagles.

When I did begin to thermal an eagle, it had pair bonded with me first. After intermewing a time or two. This is one of the best kept secrets with passage eagles. If you cultivate the relationship, they will switch on you. Not imprint, but real pair bonding. Many falconers under estimate just how smart Golden Eagles are! This is what, in my opinion, makes passage eagles, kept and flown for falconry priceless! Once that pair bonding happens, it's almost impossible to lose them. And I don't mean being careless with them. They love you and will always stay with you. Even if it's 5,000 ft above you and a mile away. They will come look for you. I just couldn't see them. GPS would have given me valuable information on how high and how far away they played in the sky!

Does having GPS make your falconry better? That has to be a matter of personal opinion. Extra security? Well...probably ly! I don't have it and probably won't in the near future. Should I become so insecure that I stop flying birds and get out of falconry? I don't think so. I'm just learning how to hawk ducks with a passage falcon! Prior to GPS, people were very successful doing it. Why can't I.

All my best guys.