Excitement and Changes

It's been exciting around here the past couple of weeks.  First, though, the changes.  I heard thru the grapevine that a certain biologist and a certain group of organized birders were upset at some of the photos I posted of the peregrine falcon take.  They felt that I had "compromised" the nest site.  In spite of the fact that this is a legal, defensible activity, I understand their concerns.  I thought I made a good attempt at not giving away exact locations and, yes, if you were standing under the exact cliff you could probably find the nest ledge, but really, at that point, all you'd have to do is lift your binoculars up- just like we did.

It's easy to get nest locations and I sure didn't think I was giving away anything that you couldn't find in a dozen other places. For instance, if you pick up a copy of "Raptors of New Mexico" you will find not only nice pictures of nest cliffs for all the raptors, but the county given, landmarks shown, and in some cases, the nest site circled on the photo!  Another "for instance" is that you can sign up for birding tours and get taken to some of these sites.  But, whatever...there was some concern and so I locked my blog down until I had an opportunity to go thru and cut out some references and pictures.  I also made some phone calls and talked to some people, reminding them that I did spend 11 years as a raptor biologist, am published in peer-reviewed journals and symposium proceedings, and so forth.  Instead of spreading dissent thru the grapevine, all these folks really had to do was shoot me an e-mail and say "Hey, Bryan, have you considered....?"  All I was trying to express with the photos and descriptions is the work, preparation, skills required to take a wild peregrine falcon, along with the sheer excitement of the thing. It's kind of A Big Deal and is probably a once-in-a-lifetime thing for me.   In any case, though, some sections have been modified, photos removed, and we're back up.   It should go w/out saying that if I missed something and you're concerned about it, you should let me know.  And, hey, if you organized bird-watchers want a presentation on falconry from a life-long raptor enthusiast and fellow birder, let me know.  You know, I originally got into falconry because I didn't know anything about it and I thought it would be good to have actual first-hand experience if I wasn't gonna like it.

Speaking of the falcons, they're doing great!  I started flying the prairie falcon and her training is coming along well.  Yesterday, she circled overhead and climbed a bit before getting her reward.  She's getting steadier in the field and on the whole, I'm looking forward to catching a duck or two with her this winter.  The peregrine's fully feathered now and is just starting to get trained.  He's a playful bird, for sure.  His personality and the prairie's are 180 deg opposites.  She bates away but takes the hood very well- never even scratches at it. He bates to me, lands on the glove and chups but hates the hood.  I carry him from the mews to house and he rows the whole way. She never rows. He picks at his food. She rips it apart with a vengeance. She sits on the edge of the perch calmly, he stands in the middle of it, looking over the edge. And so on.

Wendy- the prairie falcon

The biggest news is that it is raining and the grass is growing.  Just look at the difference in the grass in the above photo versus some of my earlier shots!  We've rec'd 2-4" of rain in the past 3 weeks and it's just great.  I absolutely appreciate the rain more after the drought we went thru.  The thought of it not raining at all is a fearful one!  Let's see some rain pictures!!!

Rain comin' down!

A rain gauge doing its job

Water!

A rainbow at the end of the storm

And now that it's raining, we're stocking up on cattle.  It's possible that we'll have a long summer and be able to graze until Nov.  If so, then we can salvage this season and make a living.  I have 3 trucks coming in today and another 3 tomorrow.  My neighbors are also getting cattle and that caused some excitement the other night.  It had just rained 0.8" and their truck couldn't make it to their pens to unload.  So, they asked if they could store their cows in our pens for the night.  We ended up unloading the truck in the dark, in the rain, in the mud.  And no one complained.

Ships in the night

I originally tried to cut down on my guitar business this summer, but I learned a lesson.  Never turn down work if you can do it.  I've now picked it up again and am stocking up on work.  I'm also in the process of getting a real, actual, stand-alone shop so that I can move out of the house (where I've been working for 11 years).  In addition to giving me a dedicated shop, I can use my existing "power tool building" as a badly needed pigeon loft and I can free up the room I've been using, turning it into a ranch office.  Stay tuned!

Youngest son, Derek, wanted to try rock climbing and so, several weeks ago, we stopped off at REI during a blood transfusion run to ABQ so he could try on kids harnesses.  We ended up buying a Black Diamond Whiz Kid and it arrived this week.  So, of course, it was off to find a suitable rock.  Derek took to it like a monkey to a tree.  We all had fun.  Pictures by David:

Whiz Kid in action

Up the rock!

Welcome back!