A Day In The Life Of A FALCONER | falconry training | flying a bird of prey | flying an owl
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 10 ก.ค. 2021
- Follow our Instagram accounts to be in the chance to win a free Peregrine Print!
/ mercerfalconry
/ charmainerachelart
Comment bellow to let us know!
In this video i show you a day in the life of a falconer. We look at life in falconry and some of the falconry training I do with my birds of prey. We get to see what flying a bird of prey looks like through the eyes of a display falconer. See the differences between flying an owl, and flying a hawk!
If you enjoy this video then make sure to subscribe for more!
Music by Breathing Piano - The Quiet Creek - thmatc.co/?l=FC80C0B0
Music by Naomi - Sunset Love - thmatc.co/?l=DA8F3C21
Music by SkeetOnTheBeat - 24/7 - thmatc.co/?l=1C04DE7E
Music by Nico Anuch - Shiba Inu - thmatc.co/?l=BE42AE49
Music by MYSM - Aloft - thmatc.co/?l=1069D1C0
Music by Nico Anuch - Autumn Sky - thmatc.co/?l=63FAB3D4
That’s meeee! Very excited to see who our winner will be! X
Me too!
Hopefully lots of people will go over and have a look at your work
Hi I've just found your channel this morning and have to say I'm hooked your awesome and your birds and dogs are gorgeous keep up the awesome work :)
Thank you I really appreciate that! Lots more stuff is planned!
@@MercerFalconry I cannot wait to see what you have in store
Just a tip, when you put music in when you’re talking it’s very hard to hear you.
Totally. Music not needed.
The first owl is so well trained (eagle owl?) 😍 I've never seen a bird come out of her mews and hop up on a scale like that! Beautiful. Is she imprinted?
I love the system you have too. Your facilities are so clean. Thanks for the videos!
Thank you very much I really appreciate your comment, he is an Eurasian eagle owl and yes he is an imprint, we got him at a week old!
Every bird isn’t a girl
Dan , absolute great video and totally worth the wait , great insight into your day and nice to show that falconry isn't all glamour and birds flying, there is alot of work involved and some of it like the yolking of the birds is a messy affair lol. I have followed you both as well and the the art work looks amazing . Can't wait for more.
Great, I’m very happy you like the video, hopefully a new video will go up later this week!
These videos give potentially new falconers a good idea of what kind of time-commitment and land use is involved in owning a single falcon. Thanks for uploading!
Thank you, I agree it all important stuff people need to consider before getting into it!
Fantastic to see you and all your birds are safe.
Thank you, I hope you are doing well too!
I love how your owl basically wayed himself. That was the coolest thing I have ever seen.
He’s very helpful! 😁
Thank you Mercer, I'm busy now but I shall watch it later today
It’s not going anywhere! I hope you enjoy it when you get round to it
Hi I like the idea of you showing the mistake s as well as when things go to plan I have been a falconer for at least 30 years now in Scotland
Thank you, I thought about taking those bits out but then thought it would be better to show people that these animals can be very unpredictable some times
Beautiful birds and dogs you are blessed my friend!!
Thanks a lot! I am very lucky!! 😁
Fantastic video. I just came from Hohenwerfen Castle in Austria where they give a great falconry exhibition. I really peaked my interest and I am glad that I found your channel. Good luck with your new Peregrine. I am following both your Instagram accounts. Beautiful art also.
Thank you very much, both me and Charmaine appreciate it, I would like to visit lots of falconry places around the world so I will have to add Austria to the list!
Happy you enjoyed the video 😁
Brilliant video, lovely to see all the flying, my Harris Hawk is almost moulted , I can’t wait to go out daily walking with my hawk following on hunting his meals, the freezer is almost empty soon he will refill it I’m sure.
Good luck with your falconry great channel.
Great, thank you very much. Half of my birds are moulting too but I need some of them for displays so my Harris hawk doesn’t get the luxury of a moulting holiday!
@@MercerFalconry interesting topic falconry so many different needs, I would love to work more with birds, love those Owls by the way . Stay safe, and I hope your season is a good one.
Great video Dan, and thanks for the mention, keep up the good work
Thank you, I will put a link to your business in one of the videos if you like!
That Eagle Owl is so incredible!!!!!
I go for walk at that same place you fly your birds every now and again, it’s such a wonderful landscape and your very lucky to be able to do falconry on it, maybe I’ll see one of your birds flying around one day!😂
Its a charming life you live and your videos are really informative for us beginners.
Can I ask: how do you exercise your birds when it's raining or very windy?
Thank you, it depends how heavy the rain is or how strong the wind is, some birds fly in a small amount of rain and some just take the day off and the same goes for the wind
Such a great work 👌 deserve a lot followers
Thank you I really appreciate that 😁
I just discovered your channel and I must say it's the most interesting falconry channel I found on TH-cam. I really want to learn more about falconry because the last 3 years I think it became legal again in my country and I always admired it. Thank you for making this channel
Wow thank you very much, I really appreciate that!!!
What country are you in?
@@MercerFalconry I'm from Greece
Excellent, how very exciting that it is legal again for you to take part!
It feels amazing and I want to learn how to properly take care of those beautiful animals, train them correctly and do falconry with them. That's why I was so excited to found your channel. So again thank you for making these videos they are very helpful and interesting.
I’m very happy to have helped, I’ll keep the videos coming! 😁
Pro tip: mute the music when you are talking. Was pretty hard to hear what you are saying. Great video otherwise. Lots of useful info thanks 👍
Alright Dan I’m learning loads from you thanks for all the vlogs. What do falconers do with their birds when they go on holiday you mentioned a friend looked after yours for a couple of days but what if you went away for a couple of weeks to soak up some sun?
Well the simple answer is that I just don’t go on holiday 😂
Great channel, I have followed both of your Instagram pages. Loving both your work. Keep it up 🤙
Excellent, thank you very much, I’m happy you like the channel!
Hi. Im curious about all the on the glove tidbiting and feeding. How do you thwart aggression in 1st to 2nd year birds?
That great horned owl is awesome
He’s a Eurasian Eagle Owl, the Great horned owl is very similar but found in America and a little more of grey colour than brown
Great video except the dog food, dogs really need more meat (especially organs and bones) and less veggies, ideally more than 90% of their energy should come from meat. They aren't obligate carnivores like raptors or cats, but they are still hypercarnivores. No hate, you obviously love your dogs very much (otherwise you wouldnt be taking the effort to feed whole foods), their diet just needs some tweaking ;)
Great vid 👍🏻 really shows how much effort we falconers put into our day
And I made this on a quiet day too!!!!!
Thank you anyway 😁
@@MercerFalconry 🤣 yeah some days are better than others!
Annoyingly half my birds are moulting so I could only film the 4 flying
@@MercerFalconry yeah a good 70% of our burds are moulting 🙃
Do you fly any through the moult?
Just curious, can Harris Hawks be trained alongside gun dogs to work in kill and retrieval when not shooting?
Just starting to discover this great hobby! Question: is that acre of land yours? Thx
Big thumbs up with new subscription now I gotta go thumbs up more of your vids. Goood show.
Thank you 😁
Aren't some of these birds projecting their excrement several times per day ? I wonder how you deal with this. I saw the little stables made of OSB panels. They can be soaked by bad smelling liquids. Still you must have a solution. Just at least in this video it is not shown what are the cleaning duties each day. I will check more videos to understand better this important matter. Which is the hygiene of the birds in such confined dwellings. Thank you for a reply.
That owl is so cool👍🏜
Did you ever get around to doing the video on your new peregrine you announced at the end of this video ?
I’m in the process of filming it, it’s a very exciting video that I can’t wait to show everyone, going to take a couple more weeks of filming so keep an eye out!
This is so cool
Thank you 😁
Why do you feed some by hand, and others the food is in the glove?
Why do you weigh the birds everyday ? Great videos . I’d love to try this when I retire but I don’t think I have the patience . God bless .
I weigh them so i can keep track of their health and fitness. also birds of prey will only fly for food so i have to keep them around a certain weight or they will just sit in a grumpy mood
Can I ask for a link or some information on the bag you are wearing when handfeeding wilber?
Unfortunately the bag is no longer available to buy, I got it from westweald falconry online
Can you Please announce the type of bird, the exact species name before you fly them?…thanks for the videos
I was wondering if this was something you do full time? When I was very young I read a kestrel for a knave, and since then Iv always wanted to get into falconry, Iv always been interested in a Harris Hawk but what with working full time Iv always been concerned with how possible this actually is?
For me it’s is my full time job, it can be very difficult to own a bird of prey with a standard 9 to 5 job you have to go to but it is possible!
Nice vid but I’m assuming you have a lot of issues with your drain after pushing the guts and yolks down it
No not at all
Amazing. Subbed 👍
Thanks 😁
Love the video's, can you do something about the music?.
I can turn my volume down,but then I miss what you are saying!
Love the owl!!!!
Sorry there is not much I can do for it now, I was still learning how to edit when I made this, the editing is better now! 😁
@@MercerFalconry
Just trying to be constructive!, the filming is excellent and the content!
Keep uptrend good work!
sorry keep up the good work!
No need to apologise, I appreciate the feedback!!!
I’m following both accounts!!!!!
I should hope so!
Talk louder or music lower volume .... Wow cool hobby nice exercise program at feeding time
Thank you for your time big job
nice nice vid: Questions on minute 4.33 what kind of meat is that? 2. how many grams of food per day for a harris hawk? thanks
It’s a piece of shin beef from the butcher, also I have never weighed the food I feed any of my birds, every bird is different so I couldn’t say how many grams to feed a Harris hawk as they will all require a different ammount
@@MercerFalconry i understand, as i saw un tour vid for tour Harris Is 1 Babe chiken AND a couple of Shin beef right? Always in the.morning AND 1 Time pero day? Thanks
Sorry for muy english un from Argentina
Could you tell me what the spiral screening is called. And the source or manufacturer? Thanks so much.
I’m not sure I understand what you mean about spiral screen? Are you talking about the mesh on the front of the aviaries?
@@MercerFalconry Yes, the mesh on the front of the aviaries. You sure have a nice setup. I saw this screening and the way it is attached by metal rods at the zoo. It is such a clean installation. Probably expensive, but I only have about 24'x12' to deal with. Thanks so much.
I got mine from a couple friends who have a falconry equipment shop so I’m not sure where they got it but it’s called Zoo Mesh, a few companies make it, have a look at a company called ClearMesh, hope that helps!
Do you actually practice falconry or do you just fly your birds for fun and at shows
Dan dude that de-yolking seems like a big waste(( for me the yolk is the tastiest and most nutritious part of the egg, the cholesterol bit a myth too. I've been eating 4-5 eggs daily for breakfast for the last 30+ years and trust me I'm fine), plus as you pointed out, it's the chick's first meal as prepared by nature. And you don't wanna be flushing it down the sink either, will render it cloggy and smelly lol. Just feed it to them, immerse in hot water for a couple of minutes so they solidify a bit, this will also help kill off any bacteria on the dead chick ) and one less chore for you ;) or why not collect in a bag and freeze.when you have enough, give to a local farmer as wildstock feed)) keep up the good work. Look forward to attending an event day! Best
The yolk is very nutrient dense but a lot of it is cholesterol. I understand what you are saying but I don’t really think you can compare what a person eats to what a bird of prey eats, some of my birds have less than 100g of food per day so if I left the yolk in it could be making up to 20% of their diet and I just don’t think that’s healthy long term. Yes it provides the chick with its first day of food but again, what a day old chicken requires is very different to what a hawk requires, especially my birds who are worked hard and do not need to be carrying around a load of fat.
It’s also just incredibly messy with the birds, it ends up all over their feathers and then if they don’t bath in time it goes hard and sticky on them, and makes a right mess of my glove!
There are many health benefits to a person eating egg yolk, but I don’t think that outweighs the downsides when it comes to birds of prey.
Thanks for the comment though, it’s always very interesting to hear other opinions! 😁
@@MercerFalconry I understand it's messy in liquid form, hence why I suggested soaking in boiling water for couple of minutes. The cholesterol bit is a total myth perpetuated by the cereal industry to take eggs off our table and replace them with their products If in doubt, follow the money trail ;) you know what's best for your birds pal but they won't get fat from it. I still think flushing it down the drain is a bit of a waste. Collect in a big jar, keep it refrigerated, then mix with some milk and down it rocky style to build muscle lol
Again, humans and birds are very different and can’t really be compared but just to visualise it better let’s compare. Humans should have no more than 300mg of cholesterol per day, I’m gona just say an average human is like 70kg, so 300mg to a 70kg human is about 4.2mg/k. Nutritionally, egg yolk contains about 350mg of cholesterol per 100g, say an egg yolk is roughly 15g, that becomes 52mg of cholesterol per yolk. My hawk flies at 1kg so if she was a human she shouldn’t be having any more than 4.2mg, but the yolk from one chick can contain 52mg, it gets even more extreme if you look at Igor my kestrel, he only weighs 170g so he should only have about 0.7mg (if he was a human), that means one chick would have up to 74x his daily cholesterol.
As a human you would have to eat a heck of a lot of yolk before the cholesterol becomes a problem but can you see how quickly it can get out of control when feeding to a small bird.
Also it’s not human grade food so you really wouldn’t want to keep it and eat it yourself, it has intestines attached and usually comes in all sorts of shade of green and brown, very different to a nice golden egg yolk made for people to eat and has sat inside an incubated egg for almost a month.
The only other thing I could do is bag it all up and put it in the bin and I used to do that but especially in the summer it didn’t matter how sealed the bag was, rotten egg in your bin stinks!!!
At least I can follow the yolk with bleach and soap in the sink
@@MercerFalconry of course I was kidding about you eating it yourself rocky style lol but I'm sure some farmers pigs wouldn't mind. Microwave a few secs to harden. You're just wasting a whole lotta good stuff down the drain and I'm just very anti-waste. Keep up the good work and look forward to meeting the feathered ones some day soon)
The entire chick is kind of just a waste product of the egg industry so at least I’m preventing the entire carcass from being waste!
I’ll save some of the yolk for you, I’m sure the birds won’t mind 😂
Enjoying your channel as a new falconer in the Czech Republic. I’ll check you out on IG too!
Thank you, have fun on your exciting new journey! 😄
@@MercerFalconry Totally loving it 😍
I have a 3 month old female Harris hawk......what is the appropriate weight for her age in grams......tq
That’s not a question I can safely answer as every bird is individual and all weigh differently, what might be a normal weight for my female Harris hawk could be way too light or heavy for yours
What kind of owl is the second one you took out to fly
I havnt watched the video in a while so can’t remember the order but the smaller owl is a dark breasted barn owl and the bigger owl is a Eurasian eagle owl
@@MercerFalconry yeah it was the barn owl. I looked it up after I asked lol. Thanks for the reply
Wow, Charmaine's art is beautiful! I followed both of you on Instagram. I hope I'm lucky!
I am keeping my fingers crossed that I will "land" a Sponsor for my Apprenticeship in August. It's looking good. But, a Sponsor is not easy to come by for sure.
Thank you very much we both appreciate it, good luck with your journey!!! 😁
Do you hunt your birds or just display them?
I have hunted in the past but now all of my birds are just used for displays so while falconry techniques are used to train them what I do is not technically falconry
Done !!
Great, thank you 😁
Isn't a Shahine an arabian middle Eastern falcon?
Great video, but the music sound is very loud compared to the speech sound
I apologise, I am still learning how to edit properly
@@MercerFalconry You're doing great. Keep going. I love the content
Thank you, I really appreciate it!
Turn the music down, besides that this is amazing.
better using chest cam m8 i missed loads gd shots head mount
My arms cover a lot when I put the camera on my chest, it sees a lot more on my head
I’ve heard falconers say that you shouldn’t reward your bird every time it flies to your glove. You obviously don’t agree with this. I also saw that some of the hawks still mantle when feeding next to you.
I give them food when they show a behaviour I want and don’t when they do something I don’t want, if they land on the floor or take ages to fly to me then no food reward, but if they are doing what I ask then I give food each time. With the mantling, the hawks that do it are second hand hawks and came to me with the behaviour.
i'm interested in falconry but i can't hear you over the background music. sorry.
dan
i didn't get a selfie at falconry fair wen the man left the leach on the kite
You should have done some filming and I could have appeared in a video!
Love the videos. You mentioned in the video about determining sex of chick before it hatches. We keep chickens and would be interested in that. Ty for the entertainment.
its good dan but that music
Some music works better than others, I like to keep changing it so it doesn’t get samey!
Music is louder than your voice
Good thing you don't have cats, that homemade pet food you do for your dogs wouldn't work for cats and they'd die a sad death of nutrient and essential amino acid deficiency. Other than that tho, good on you, good content if I ever get into falconry
I have had cats my entire life growing up until I left home, my mum still has 4!
This is some of the worst advice regarding birds of prey husbandry I've seen yet. Do not feed beef, do not de-yolk chicks, don't bother cutting up the food you feed (the birds have beaks for that). I suspect his birds are screaming in the field because they're not catching prey. Feed your bird on the fist leads to imprinting and bad, even dangerous, behavior.
If any of my subscribers read this comment, please do not pay attention to all this misinformation
I do agree don't de yolk chick's but are you yourself a falconer? If not shut up. Beef rats chick's mice squirrels rabbit quail an chicken are all a good source of food for your birds.
This is too graphic
I live with a bunch of carnivorous birds of prey, what did you expect when you clicked on the video?
You fed the birds straight meat and the dogs carrots. This makes me sad they should be on same diet as birds
Wilbur is awesome...that was my nick name in high school.
👍👍👍🏜
Wilbur is an absolute star!!!
A great nickname 😂