Cable, electrical ties for falconry equipment

The photo of the red-tailed hawk 'Buster' shows the system I use for cable ties for falconry equipment attachment. Note the clear tubing to keep the cable tie from getting smaller on the bird. With birds that pick equipment, I use 'NO BITE' nail polish by Orly. It tastes TERRIBLE and works to reduce or even eliminate equipment picking. Also, note the 'ring' on the cable tie, very convienient for attaching telemetry for flying.

Scales for Travelling

The three attached photos are of the three types of scales I use for the different birds.

The Detecto converted baby scale is only in lbs and oz. It is used for the eagle. It weighs up to 26 lbs and is in one ounce increments. The pan was removed and replaced with the small astroturf covered block of wood. The counter 'tare' screw on the lower left was replaced with a longer one.

The Ohaus is used for the majority of the birds. It weighs in grams, up to 5 lbs. Note the Ohaus the 4 tare bar, very important to make sure your raptor scale has that feature. I do not use a 'T' perch on the scales, because it makes them high centered and prone to tipping. I just pad the pan with astroturf. They are transported in the tool boxes that they are sitting on. For weighing scales are secured to the top of the boxes with bungee cords. A very secure system and travels very well.

The Pelouz electronic scale is used for the kestrels. Just a simple astroturf pad on that scale. The nice thing about this scale, is it can weight in either ounces or grams.

I strongly reccomend using grams for weighing your birds and keeping records. If medications are ever needed, they are always measured in metric so there is no risk of error on conversions from ounces to grams.

Soft, pliable lures for raptors

The reason I chose the 'Tuna Tail' fishing skirts was the durability and clean-ability of the material, plus it is visible under most lighting conditions. The white portion even glows in the dark. The late Jack Postlewaite did an experiment with lures. He found the most effective response was from the colors red and white. So, my lures are made from red/white tuna skirts and an inner-tube for size and weight. The softness of a lure for flying falcons I've found very important. Lure flying falcons get 'turned off' by hitting a hard lure. The Flexi lead take up make handling in the field almost effortless, not winding up the lure, just push a button. These lures are clipped to my hawking bag with the lure itself inside a pouch.

www.boonebait.com is a supplier of fishing lure skirts.