Moulting in Full Swing

Moulting in Full Swing

If it’s not hunting season for falconry, then it must be moulting season.  Such the way it is with flying Red-Tailed hawks for rabbits and squirrels only during the small-game season in Michigan. For the past several weeks, the occasional body feather has been shed by Tahoe, but this could easily be simply because of preening.  During the first week I found some larger feathers in the mews.  A matched pair of secondaries and two primary feathers off the right wing.  During the second week, she’s lost a few deck (tail) feathers as well.  I’m very excited to see these feathers, as it starts to show that Tahoe is starting her moult in earnest.  The loss of primary, secondary, and deck feathers are the best signal yet that Tahoe is officially moulting. We’ll collect the feathers during the moult to chart progress, as well as having spares around for imping should the need arise.

Good Moulting!

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