The Fat Bird, Ugly Dog Podcast

In this episode Jeremy Bradshaw author of the "The Passage Merlin" returns to me to talk about his love affair with the passage merlin. We begin this episode with Jeremy recollecting the events surrounding the first Merlin he trapped with, and for, fellow falconer and friend, Jeremy Roselle . He then tells us about trapping merlins in urban versus agricultural settings, including the various trap types, and his go-to favorite. He tells us about some hard-earned tips that have improved his trapping success, and some way to distinguish a passage bird from a haggard. We conclude the episode discussing Jeremy's preferred approach to the first attempt at un-hooding, feeding, and then, more importantly, that first attempt to re-hood a newly trapped passage merlin. Thanks for tuning into the Fat Bird, Ugly Dog Podcast. I hope you enjoy this episode.

In this episode Jeremy Bradshaw author of the "The Passage Merlin" joins me to talk about his love affair with small raptors, in particular, the passage merlin. Jeremy begins the episode giving us some insight into the three sub-species of merlins in North America, and tells us how Jack merlins differ from female merlins. I then ask Jeremy about his views on weight management, and how it can make one a better falconer. We then talk about the benefits of keeping a merlin in the house rather than outdoors. Before discussing technical aspects of lure flying and how much fun it can be, Jeremy provides us with his views on merlin equipment,or furniture as some call it. We then talk about the importance of telemetry, and get Jeremy's views on which of the various mounting methods is his preferred choice. Jeremy built a solid reputation as a maker of merlin hoods - he tells us what makes a good merlin hood, and references several other falconers that took the time to become proficient in making merlin hoods. We close out the episode talking about the importance of water and feeding whole-bodied avian prey. Thanks for tuning into the Fat Bird, Ugly Dog Podcast. I hope you enjoy this episode.

Vickie and I begin our conversation discussing her "Wellness Program" in recently-trapped birds, which for obvious reasons, the falconer has no medical history and there is the potential that a recently captured raptor is carrying a sub-clinical parasite load, or has a bacterial or viral infection. Vickie starts by classifying types of pathogens that a falconer should be aware of, and describes typical symptoms that may be present and which organ systems are most commonly implicated. We then turn our attention to physical injuries, nutrition deficiencies, and how the stress of capture can exacerbate injury and disease. We then discuss Vickie's three main concerns when it comes to wellness of eyasses, and issues related to nutrition and tethering. We conclude the episode with Vickie's recommendations for annual work-ups for intermewed hawks. Thanks again for tuning into the "Fat Bird, Ugly Dog Podcast, and I hope that you find this episode both interesting and useful.

In Part 2 of my two-episode series with Matt Mullenix, author of "Four Falconry Fundamentals", we continue where we left off in episode 1 with Matt’s answer to a question regarding slip management and re-flushing of quarry. After getting Matt’s ideas on hunting and the future of falconry, I asked him to tell us about a very recent addition to the Four Fundamentals Project, one-on-one tutoring sessions he calls "Fundamentals Coaching". Thanks for tuning in to the Fat Bird, Ugly Dog podcast. I hope you enjoy listening to this episode with Matt Mullenix. Get Matt's previous two books plus (signed) copies of Four Falconry Fundamentals and the Concept Cards from Western Sporting here. To those who purchase the Fundamentals materials, get one-on-one "Fundamentals Coaching" via Zoom, sign up here: https://www.missionmedia.biz/fundamentals

Matt Mullenix, falconer and author of three books joins me to talk about his most recent book, "Four Falconry Fundamentals". We begin our discussion with Matt acknowledging the people whom have be instrumental to his falconry and writing. Matt tells us what his goal was for the book, and then provides a brief outline of each of the fundamentals (prey base, husbandry, recall, and slip management). Matt then describes various hi-lights of each, and we spend time discussing an important link between the concepts of 'husbandry' and 'recall', that being 'weight management'. Matt outlines the school of thought he learned from Harry McElroy, and contrasts that weight management system with one that's a little less precise. We conclude this episode with discussion regarding a Matt's rule of thumb when it comes to hunting weight. Thanks for tuning in to the Fat Bird, Ugly Dog Podcast; I hope you find this episode useful and enjoyable.

In Part 2 of my conversation with Ethan Pippitt of Standing Stone Kennels we continue talking about training of my 2-year old female German wirehaired pointer. After discussing the Positive Pigeon Drill as an introduction to whoa from Part 1, Ethan and I pick up the conversation on my use of the steady lead and the place board to develop steadiness. We then turn our attention to the use of pigeon launchers in combination with the “whoa” cue. Ethan describes use of the belly collar to condition whoa, and we talk about introducing a dog to gunfire. We talk about the off season, the tradeoffs associated with spaying and neutering, and then turn our attention to "taking away the chase" in an effort to teach steadiness to wing. Before asking Ethan my regular rapid fire questions, he and I finish up part 2 discuss how to avoid collar dependence. Thanks for tuning in the show. I hope you enjoy the remainder our conversation.

Ethan Pippitt of Standing Stone Kennels joins me to talk about training of bird dogs. Using my 2-year old female German wirehaired pointer, Ethan and I step through the various stages of training that I completed from the time I received her at 10 weeks of age starting with the basics, including something Ethan refers to as "charging the clicker". Ethan explains why he uses "tug-of-war" play with his pups, and tells us why it shouldn't lead to a "hard-mouthed dog", if done correctly. We talk about impulse control and how it's a precursor to steadiness. We briefly talk about heeling and loose-leash walking before moving on to the concept of "teach, condition, generalize", and what collar conditioning is. We conclude episode one discussing the use of the "positive pigeon" drill as an introduction to "whoa" and it's use to bring out both pointing behavior and prey drive. Thanks for listening. https://www.standingstonekennels.com

Heath Garner (North American Falconers Association Vice President) joins me to tell us about trapping of passage peregrines in the Mississippi Alluvial Valley (MAV) of Arkansas. He tells us about the MAV, and the challenges associated with trying to find and trap passage birds in the region. Heath briefly reminds us of the timeline from listing of the species to the events that led to re-instituting of a legal harvest, and describes the role that NAFA played in advocating for legal harvest. It took a few trapping seasons to build sufficient local knowledge that now makes Arkansas trappers regularly successful each trapping season; Heath leads us through that learning curve. He talks about the influence of weather on migration timing, and offers up what he has learned about trap sets and best locations. Heath has trapped, trained, and flown his fair share of passage birds since 2009 (when they first became available to our generation of falconers), and he tells us about the birds that he has hunted with, and the ups and downs that he has been through.

Kevin Harcourt of Marshall Radio Telemetry and I continue our discussion on the Marshall GPS system. We turn our attention from what Kevin refers as the user-selectable modes (HD, ECO, EXT, and SLEEP) to the two automatic modes that users do not have direct control over, those being Turbo mode and Reserve mode. We talk in detail about the factory settings associated with Reserve mode, including the implications associated with battery longevity in the event that the factory settings are modified. We conclude our discussion on the system with a brief reminder that the GPS transmitter also houses an RDF beeping module, and we discuss the temptation to forgo use of a backup transmitter. Before turning our attention to various field scenarios,we go over the system start-up sequence (start AV, then power-up the PL, followed by the transmitter, then allowing a 5 minute soak time, starting record, and then releasing the bird); I ask whether the start-up sequence critical, and if not, why should falconers still follow the recommendation? We close out the episode discussing several field scenarios that encompass varying degrees of uncertainty ranging from a typical straightforward flight with low uncertainty to an extended chase where uncertainty is high.

Welcome to the first episode of Season 2 of the Fat Bird, Ugly Dog Podcast. In this episode I talk to Kevin Harcourt of Marshall Radio Telemetry. Kevin tells us a little about the company, its philosophy, and how he came to be part of the Marshall Radio team. We then distinguish between Radio Detection Finding (RDF) technology and Global Positioning System (GPS) technology, including components of each system and the way in which each system combines component-specific functions that allow users to keep tabs on a hawk's location. On the GPS side of things, we talk about the LED displays, how to interpret the various LED colors on the transmitter and the pocket link, and how to get additional information from the LED display on the pocket link when trouble shooting or tracking a lost hawk. Kevin also describes raw data and derived data. We finish out Part 1 of this 2-part episode discussing the trade off between battery longevity and data acquisition associated with each of the four user-selectable modes (HD, ECO, EXT, and SLEEP).

In Part 3 of my series with Ronnie Moore, we discuss Ron's recollection of implementation of the 1981 Wildlife and Countryside Act, how it came about, and its pitfalls for practicing falconers. Ron talks about his second shot at immortalization after he received an invitation to fly Ailsa on Bleasdale Towers estate. He recounts how the largest scotch and lemonade turned into two, and the unfortunate events that followed. He tells us about an outing where he and Diana Durman-Walters were caught out in less than ideal weather while hunting "Ailsa". Ron describes one particular flight where he believes that after flying into the next dale to find better wind, Ailsa followed two hikers and their dog. "Ailsa" typically took fur, but on least one occasion she obliged her taste for feathered quarry…Ron tells us that story. When transporting "Ailsa", Ron initially had her on a perch in his vehicle…he tells us why he had a change of mind, and switched to using a transport box. Ron acquired "Ailsa" in his early thirties, and was still hunting her into his sixties; he tells us how decades of hunting began to take its toll. Ailsa’s death marked the beginning of the end of Ron's falconry career – he tells us about the period of time after Ailsa’s death. In closing, Ron recounts the “three big ups” of his life, and he answers my rapid fire questions.

In this episode, I am again join by Ronnie Moore, author of "Memoirs of a Hunting Falconer". At the end of Part 1, Ron described how he came to acquire “Ailsa”, We start this conversation today with Ron's first interactions with her as he began the process of training her for falconry. Once he had gained Ailsa’s trust, and she was ready to fly free, he encouraged her to hunt from the soar as he had done with “Mort” many years prior, and he recounts how he got her entered on quarry. Ron tells us the story where he feels that all his Christmas’s came at once. Initially Ron had typically allowed her to take a full feed off of her first kill, but he eventually got to the point that he needed to remove kills from her if he was to be able to hunt for long periods over which multiple kills had been made...he tells us how you went about that process. As with all training of all hawks, setbacks and mistakes are inevitable, Ron recounts once such experience, and explains why he opted to stop using his dog "Linnet" while hunting with "Ailsa". Ron recounts how lucky he was to be allowed into Ailsa's world. and follows that with a tale about why hunting alone is not without its risks. We learn about Ailsa’s first encounter with a blue hare, and conclude the episode hearing about Himalayan monkey skin, burning arm pits, the downside of wearing a damp tweed jacket.

In this Episode Ronnie Moore joins me to tell us about his early childhood experiences and how they led to his love of the outdoors and hunting pursuits. Ron describes how he came to acquire one of his first falconry birds, a European buzzard he named "Mort" - Ron released "Mort", but that was not the end of their time hunting together. Although Ron is likely best known for his golden eagle “Ailsa”, he also flew goshawks and falcons achieving much the same standard of falconry with them that he achieved with "Ailsa". We talk about his goshawks, "Ratty" and "Kojak", his falcons "Alice" (a prairie falcon) and "Nasty Louis" (a tiercel peregrine) - Ron is natural story-teller, and his adventures with his birds are most entertaining to say the least.

In this episode Vickie Joseph joins me to talk about Clinical Avian Pathology Services and she tells us which items falconers should carry in a Med Kit. We also talk about "supportive care" and what it entails. We talk about the importance of hydration, the various types of fluids that can be administered, and how to administer them. We talk about diet and discuss the quality of wild food compared to quail. We talk about impact injuries and bite wounds including those associated with venomous snakes. Vickie walks me through a basic triage protocol, and talks about use of antibiotics and anti-inflammatory medications. We conclude our discussion with two cases involving falconry birds that were injured whilst hunting, and my rapid fire questions. CAPS contact page Email Vickie - vickie@goscreek.com

This week I am joined by Doug Manzer of the Alberta Conservation Association (ACA). Doug is well-known for his Sharp-tailed Grouse expertise, but he has also spent about two decades working on other wildlife species and, of course, habitat conservation and management in the province of Alberta, Canada. We talk a little philosophy and ask the question, "Why Hunters Hunt", we also talk about upland game birds that primarily inhabit open areas including Doug’s own work on sharp tailed grouse. Tune is to hear just how successful the ACA has been in regard to managing farmed landscapes...the densities of grey partridge that are achieved will amaze you.

This episode brings my discussion with Steve Chindgren to an end. We began the episode talking about a club that Steve and his childhood friend, Jim Hutchins, established as very young boys. Steve tells us about hist 25-year relationship with his gyr peregrine tiercel, Jomo, and tells us about a few close calls. including one where Jomo was lost in the sage without telemetry. We then hear story of "Rocky", who was killed by a golden eagle after along tail chase and killing a sage grouse. "Tava", was an absolutely gorgeous falcon, also killed by a golden eagle, seconds before Steve could reach him. Steve recounts a hawking story of how "Somach" flew prairie chickens at the 2012 NAFA Meet in Kearney, Nebraska. We hear how Steve introduce "Zander" to the drone in his eleventh season, and get an update on his progress to date. Steve tells us about "Comet", a white Jerkin, his physical condition, and how it contributed to his death. At the time the book was published Steve was flying "DC"; we hear about "DC's" love of chasing pigeons, and his struggles with late-season grouse. Steve introduces us to "Badger", who he acquired since publishing the book. The episode concludes with Steve's outlining his thoughts expressed in the final chapter of the book (a dedication to the art of falconry", and his answers to my rapid fire questions. Buy the book here.

In this episode Steve compares and contrasts the various species of falcon that he has flown on sage grouse, and why he believes that the tiercel gyr/peregrine hybrid is the ultimate sage grouse hawk. He also explains how he trains and conditions his birds to hunt sage grouse, how he uses his dogs when hunting, and he also tells us about two his favorite falcons, BBG (a wild-taken gyrfalcon harvested in Alaska), and Kallikak, his spectacular prairie/peregrine hybrid.

Author and falconer, Steve Chindgren joins me to talk about his career producing and conducting bird shows, his camp on the Big Sandy, and how he began hawking sage grouse. Steve talks about basic sage grouse biology, the sage habitat they rely on, and the threats to the species. He compares hunting sage grouse to hunting red grouse and sharp tailed grouse. No conversation about hawking winter sage grouse could exclude the topic of golden eagles - Steve shares his experiences with golden eagles, and how he goes about trying to minimize lethal encounters with them.

This week British falconer, Simon Tyers, author of "The Specialist Falcon – A Personal Approach to Lowland Hawking”, joins me for another wide ranging discussion. In Part 3, Simon details two hawking stories, offers his views on the future of UK falconry, and talks about those to whom the book is dedicated. Links to the book The Specialist Falcon Website Marshal Radio

This week British falconer, Simon Tyers, author of "The Specialist Falcon – A Personal Approach to Lowland Hawking”, joins me for another wide ranging discussion. In Part 2, Simon discusses his philosophy of matching the falcon to quarry, lure and drone training, dogs, field craft and quarry. Links to the book The Specialist Falcon Website Marshal Radio