18 ATTACHMENT 11 - Laserfiche WebLink

Once the hawk does snap at the meat and swallow, allow her to eat the thumbnail sized piece. Offer her another one, and see if she refocuses her eyes from your face to the meat when she does. At this moment you will see her desire for the food begin to override her fear of man. If she becomes full or begins refusing the food, put her away and begin later. If she is still hungry and eager to participate, allow her to eat a few more pieces, and watch for her head to start reaching forward in anticipation of the food. Now you can begin to move the tidbits down a bit lower down her body, ever coming closer to your glove. Repeat this process of offering a tidbit, her eating it, and you lowering the height of the tidbit until she is eagerly snapping them up from the level of her own feet on the glove. Begin putting tidbits on the glove only and cease finger or tongs feeding at this point. The hawk should at this point (please be sure she is still tethered to either the glove or her perch!) allow you to 'wipe' her off onto the back of a chair, her perch, or any other similar stationary object. Do this, and place a piece of meat onto your glove. Offer this to her at the level of her beak. She will most likely hesitate for a moment, pause, and then eat the meat like you have conditioned her to do. Repeat the process of offering a tidbit and lowering the glove until she is standing on the perch and feeding from the glove at the height of her feet. Now once she is eagerly eating from the foot-height garnished (with a tidbit) glove, back off a bit. She will reach to get the food. Repeat this process after she eats the food, and move back a bit farther. She will contort herself into odd positions as she tries to get at the food without jumping or flying... but eventually she will give into her greedy nature and hop to the glove for the meat. Repeat this same action, every time moving a bit farther back in response to each successful feeding. At this point, two things should be done -one, begin getting your new hawk accustomed to the world and its oddities; barking dogs, cars, the househould, and bring her outside. Also, she should not be perched outside until she has begun flying to you on the creance. If she is, she may bate repeatedly and injure herself as she has not fully come to understand the life of a captive hawk. Once she has begun hopping the length of the leash, now comes the time for the use of the creance -along, thin line (suggested creances are 30 to 100 feet of braided nylon twine or very thin parachute cord in a similar length - do not use twisted twine or fishing-line monofilament for this). Take her to a short length lawn (football fields, large backyards, pastureland with short grass) and bring a perch. Place heron the perch and holding onto the creance in one hand, offer her a tidbit on the glove with the other. She should hop to it as eagerly as she had done indoors. Repeat the process, and back up a few feet. She should fly immediately to you without delay. If she 8