New to the Zoo

[Tavyn]

Hello,

I recently got a job at a wildlife park that has several birds of prey. Some of the birds are wild birds that were injured and cannot be released. The others are raised in captivity and imprinted on humans. None of them are falconry trained. I want to learn about falconry so that these birds can be given the gift of flight.

I've been at the park for a week now and have had my first notable experience with the birds of prey. First a little more information then a brief story.

We have at the zoo 2 Red Tailed Hawks (Buteo jamaicensis), 2 Red Shouldered Hawks (Buteo lineatus), a Black Vulture (Coragyps atratus), 2 Screech Owls (Megascops asio), 2 Barn Owls (Tyto alba), a Great Horned Owl (Bubo virginianus), and a Barred Owl (Strix varia).

I ordered a Gauntlet that arrived in the mail on Friday and today was my first day back at work with the glove (The zoo only had one glove before I ordered mine!). Myself and one of the other keepers took two of the birds for a walk. She knew the proper way to glove them as described on several falconry sites on the internet. She took one of the Red Tails and I got the Great Horned on the glove and we took them for a walk. It was very obvious they had spent a fair bit of time around people. The Great Horned especially. She sat calmly on the glove. Only time she clicked or hissed was when I first went into her mew. Once on the glove she sat quietly the whole time. Never once tried to bate. She does have damn strong feet though. My hand was sore from her holding on as I walked for about 15 mins around the zoo grounds.

I can't get over her eyes! Absolutely amazing! Unfortunately she is a rehab bird who had been shot and the damage to her left wing is irreparable. The red tail was hit by a car but we believe is at least capable of limited flight.

I believe the next step in training the red tail, now that I know she will calmly sit on a glove, is to train her to go from glove to glove for food rewards?

[Saluqi]

Hello,

Welcome to NAFEX, we're on a first name basis here, so please tell us your name and sign your posts with it, better yet fill in the signature field on the user CP.

Everyone here on NAFEX can relate to the awe that is inspired by these birds, but don't be surprised if you are met with some resistance in your endeavors. Falconers are not rehabers and rehabers very often don't approve of falconry techniques. That said, you probably ought to make sure with the administration of the facility where you're working that you are allowed to get these birds flying. Good Luck!

[sevristh]

Any number of falconry texts will give you instruction on how to get a bird to start flying to you. My personal favorite is 'The Falconer's Apprentice' by Bill Oakes. It's very straight forward and easy to obtain.

As Paul pointed out, I think the two obstacles you may encounter are the zoo might not WANT then flying free and they very possibly might disagree with the necessity of lowering their weight in order to GET them to fly...

And usually the first step is just that, a step. Get the bird to hop to you a very small distance from it's perch. Best not to use the one in it's enclosure however as this will teach it to bate toward people when they enter.

[everetkhorton]

Dave and Paul gave you some real good advice. Look around and read some of the other post. You will be surprised on what you will find.

[RyanVZ]

I would suggest that you join the International Association of Avian Trainers and Educators: www.iaate.org

They have a forum for members and focus on bird training for education and entertainment in zoos and theme parks.

There will be good information on here but you'll probably find a more supportive group for what you're looking to do there.

Best of Luck

[Tavyn]

Thank you for all the information and links. I'll be checking all this out and letting you know what happens.

[patrick.miller20]

Hi, I was wondering how things were going with your training of the birds you had at the facilities. It sounds like you have quite a selection of birds to fly, hopefully they all cooperate. I also work at a zoo and would love to get some of ours in the air but unfortunately most have injured wings or eyes and would not be able to fly. Hope all is going well!

[andy hall]

I would suggest that you join the International Association of Avian Trainers and Educators: www.iaate.org

They have a forum for members and focus on bird training for education and entertainment in zoos and theme parks.

There will be good information on here but you'll probably find a more supportive group for what you're looking to do there.

Best of Luck

Very good advice from Ryan. IAATE has many members from Florida and I know a few who I would trust to give you great advice.

Andy Hall

[tampamatt]

Where in FL are you located?