Micro Equipment
So I made some equipment for a kestrel the other day. It was a new challenge to my falconry craft skills to see if I could make something on a smaller scale that works for a small raptor. I don’t own one of these little guys, but I like to make different equipment for all types of raptors in order to keep my craft skills sharp.
I had the privilege / experience of changing out some equipment on ‘Tulip‘, a 2-yr old female kestrel earlier this summer at the falconry apprentice workshop. I learned very quickly that casting and changing equipment on a Kestrel is VERY different than changing out equipment on a Red-Tailed Hawk (and a little more painful too).
So, I thought I’d give a shot at creating some smaller-scale equipment and see how it turned out. Listed below is breakdown of how I put these together.
Kestrel Equipment:
Leash: I took a four-foot length of paracord and inverted it through itself, looping the coast-lock swivel through the eyelet. I melted the end so that one could easily tie the falconers knot onto a glove. After conferring with another falconer who does fly kestrels regularly, he highly recommends keeping the swivel small and light. They don’t have to be terribly large or rugged for the light raptors.
Hunting Jess: I used 150# dacron kite string with a button knot on the top. These are small, light, and will not get in the way for the kestrel while hunting. There is no loop or hook on these, so the kestrel can hunt and won’t get hung up on anything. The button knot on the top is large enough that it won’t go through the anklet strap.
Perching / Mews Jess: I took two lengths of 150# dacron string, twisted a loop at the end, and then started a 4-strand braid pattern until the desired length. I tied a crowd sinnet knot at the top and then melted the strands flat. Again, these knots are too large to pull through the anklet strap and will make a secure hold. This is a very strong type of jess that would hopefully withstand any abuse that the kestrel could exact on it’s equipment. These are designed for long-term wear, especially when the kestrel is not free-lofted in a mews. These work great on a flat block perch with a little astroturf on the top.
Anklets: I made two styles here, guessing on the size of the kestrel leg (didn’t have an example to measure against) and how hard the kestrel is on their equipment. The black leather is slightly thicker (medium weight roo) and the brown leather is thin weight. Each has a pass-through hole for the opposite side of the anklet and an ‘x’ for the jess strap. I cut the fringe as finely as I could and greased them up with jess grease so that you could slip the left side through the securing hole on the right side.
Hopefully the new owner of the equipment, when I find someone willing to try them out, can provide me some feedback as to the durability of the equipment and design so that I improve on the manufacturing process in the future.