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The beginning of the new year has seen a much anticipated new addition to the raptor team, 'Rocket' the Nankeen (or Australian) Kestrel. These little birds are the smallest Australian Falcon, and at usually no more than 180 grams in weight, this puts Rocket as the smallest member of our team.
The addition of Rocket means that we will be able to showcase the different kind of hunting techniques that falcons typically display in the wild. Falcons are known for their speed and agility, and are able to take fast moving prey straight from the air (a technique we refer to as 'on the wing'). Training a kestrel means we can employ the use of a lure, which is traditionally a pair of bird wings attached to an object which is swung around on a cord for the falcon to chase. Often these days, we use a piece of leather shaped like a small bird, with a food reward attached. After the falcon has chased the lure around, she is allowed to catch it and collects her reward. The use of the lure as a training tool goes back to medieval times, when hawking (or falconry) was considered a noble pursuit. In fact, the sport of falconry was so much appreciated that a nobleman or his lady never appeared in public without a falcon or hawk on the wrist as a mark of dignity. It was also a mark of the rank, not everyone could afford the high cost of falcons! In Australia, the lure is used mainly for rehabilitation work. It is a effective tool for building up fitness after a wild raptor has been in captivity recovering from illness or injury. These birds rely on their hunting skills and are required to be in peak fitness and health to function efficiently on a daily basis.
Another natural behavior that we will be able to demonstrate with Rocket is her ability to hover. In fact, kestrels are most easily distinguished by a typical hunting pattern, which is to hover at a height of around 10–20 meters over open country and swoop down on prey, usually small mammals, lizards or large insects. Due to their small size, kestrels lack the speed of the larger falcons and therefore tend to be more adaptable in their hunting techniques, often employing a number of different ways to catch their prey. At the moment, Rocket is still in quarantine, but we are hoping to begin her training soon. Being hand-raised, we anticipate that she will respond readily to training. She is already comfortable with receiving her food from people, and our next step will be teaching her to come to the glove for a food reward. The process of training a raptor involves building up alot of trust between the handlers and our birds, which means alot of time invested before she will be ready to free fly for us. During training in the early stages, we use a creance, or training line, which we can attach to the bird to ensure that she can not be lost. When we are sure that the trust is there and that she knows her routine and performs it confidently, the training line can be removed.
If you're planning to come to Lone Pine in the coming months, you might just be lucky enough to catch us on one of our morning training sessions with Rocket in the Nature Kingdom. Be sure to come back to keep track of her progress!
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