Free State Falconry Club 2012 Meet

I am finding it hard pressed to come up with a post as great as the latest Crowned Eagle research update. I have been thoroughly encouraged by the wide audience that viewed the blog, so thank you all.  Recently we have failed to capture another juvenile with such ease as the first, but will continue to try.  And in the meantime two more youngsters from last summer’s nests have been located and incorporated into the study dataset.

Now though, having just returned from three days at the Free State Falconry field meet, something to write home about.  Unfortunately, with my project commitments I was unable to spare more time and will sadly be missing the spit-braai this weekend.  But in any case it was superb being amongst a group of falconers who share that insatiable passion for birds of prey; each of whom have their life revolve around the timing of their hawks, their quarry, and their hunting.  It was also an opportunity to participate and contribute to the meet by being an impromptu photo-journalist.  So I wont bore you with words, its photos you need.

weathering at field meet base, somewhere northwest of Dewetsdorp.

falcon shadowpuppets

Bandit,  Bayley and Jessie

from left to right : <photo bombing pointer>, Ross Kramm, klein Francois, Bruce Padbury, Alan Harvey, Francois Breedt

Bandit on point

*image from video* :  nice stoop for the first flight of the season Bertus!

*image from video*  :  very close to orange-river francolin, but it dumped and escaped

sunset on monday night

Lizette having bragging rights on bagging the first orange-river of the meet

Bertus and Tjup tjup

A caste of peregrines and a gyr-peregrine on the screen perches for the night

sub-zero dawn at the duck ponds

  *image from video*  the gyr-peregrine closing in on a yellow-bill in style

well deserved

*image from video*  the peregrine bringing its quarry to ground amongst white-faced ducks and red-billed teal

Lemon, ..., and Alan Harvey

Alans shaheen.

When its too windy for hawking its time to test our height estimates with this B2 windrider

all smiles on tuesday evening

tuesdays dusk at the big water

a pygmy falcon recovering from a serious eye infection
on its way to Raptor Rescue in KZN.