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Outdoor Hawk Perch Box

Outdoor Hawk Perch Box

 

Outdoor Hawk Perch Box

Outdoor Hawk Perch Box

 

Outdoor Hawk Perch Box

The Fall hunting season is coming up sooner than it seems that it should be, but it will be upon us before we know it. I wanted a more solid, sturdier housing option for the hawks up at the cabin, so I needed to find something bigger than a Giant Hood, but not quite as elaborate and big as a whole new mews. Space is at a premium up at the cabin, so building a new mews there really isn’t an option.

When I helped a falconry friend with her outdoor pens, there were housing boxes in there designed for the larger birds for shelter from the elements. The one designed here is a smaller version of those, with a few improvements and some small design tweaks. The basic concept for the box is an outdoor shelter that provides cover from the rain and a high perch that cannot be easily fouled by a leashed bird. If you enclosed the box in a 8ft. high fenced in enclosure, you could meet all the requirements for housing a raptor as required by the DNR.  After perching Cedar on it for a couple of hours, she took to the box well and enjoyed the higher, commanding perched view while outside.

The special features and design of the box make it a great box for an unattended leash situation for raptors. The perch ring is situated around a short pole that cannot bind or wind up. The metal flashing on the 2×4 wood piece above and below the leash pole mount prevents the ring from “eating away” at the wood. The large protected / covered perch will not catch on the leash, and the hawk cannot go under the perching substrate. There is a rounded top perch that also will not catch the leash as the hawk bates and returns to the top perch. I also liked the small extra gap in the floorboard that allows the mutes to slide down to the ground instead of collecting inside the box. The only part the leash may be able to catch on is the rear roof edge if the hawk should decide to walk 3/4 of the way around the box and then try to alight up onto the top perch.

 

* UPDATE: As a recent suggestion by a fellow colleague, you could install doors and hinges on the perch box.  During the evening, you could latch the bird in the box for additional protection and safety if the box was not in an enclosed area. Again, also great for a semi-mobile temporary mews situation.

 

Click the link below for the PDF of the Perch Box Plans.

Outdoor Perch Box Plans

MHC Summer Family Picnic

MHC Summer Family Picnic

The Annual Michigan Hawking Club Summer Family Picnic was this weekend and it was a great time, right up until the rain hit.  The photo above was taken just in time before the down pour started getting everyone wet, including the birds.  There were many folks who came to share in the wonderful joy of our sport.  We also had some new birds on display this weekend, with many falconers proving background stories, history, and hunting adventures with the folks that came. It was a great day for raptor lovers with the Michigan Hawking Club.

 

Cedar was my ambassador for the day, as she did a great job perching for  photos and sat graciously perched on the glove for a few impromptu hawk talks.  Falconers from all over the state brought their birds as well.  Pictured below are a few of the other Raptors that came and were perched for photo-ops and admiration.  The bonus experience for me for the day was holding the Goshawk after coping.

Summer Rainbow Trout

15 Inches of Beautiful Rainbow Trout from the Ocqueoc River

 

The Summer can be somewhat slow for the falconry activities, so the summer is  a great time for trout fishing.  I caught this beauty 15″ Rainbow Trout while fishing the other afternoon.  It was a perfect summer day in Northern Michigan, not too hot, and the sky was clear and the breezes were light and gently cooling. I wasn’t expecting this fish to be in the eddy pool, but he bit hard and took me for a great ride.  This fish made my weekend!

Introducing “Cedar”

 

Introducing “Cedar”

I’d like to introduce “Cedar,” my third Red-Tailed hawk

 

 TRAPPING DETAILS

Date: September 21st, 2012
Weight: 42 oz. / 1152g
Keel: Moderately even
Crop: full, ate meal recently
Trap: Hit the trap quickly, but after 5 nights of trying and bumping.
Feet: Large, Dark, dirty;
After Dusting: No noticeable parasites or flat flies

Cedar was relatively close to home, and with the light coloration of the head, I stalked her each night for a week in the hopes of catching her.  Success for Cedar (and me) came on the 5th night when she finally didn’t bump when I tossed the trap.  She is a beauty!

 

 

Hosting ‘Maude’

Hosting Maude

 

This weekend, our mews is playing host to a ‘hawk-in-training’ just to make sure that she continues learning her falconry skills while her ‘master’ is away.  She is learning quickly and each encounter and training excercise is showing her strength and ability to hunt!