Capture of Sugar, my Prairie Falcon

Some strong language!!! This is a short video taken by my friend Bryan of me and the capture of Sugar, my passage hen prairie falcon captured using a pigeon and a dho-gazza. We didn't get the actual capture but you'll see her before and after while stuck in the net! This was a LEGAL capture with a Raptor Capture Permit purchased at the DWR for falconry. Her capture weight was 2 lbs. 1/4 oz. (913.80 grams or 32.25 ounces). She is the largest Prairie falcon any of us have seen. She is nearly 20 inches long and has almost a 3 foot wingspan. Unfortunately she was not trained after capture in 2006 due to a huge tumor in her crop and then a genetic disorder hindered her training until the Winter of 2009. So far she is healthy and doing great!

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[mvinci145]

nice falcon! hey just took your exam #2 online. Should help me out a lot come april. the other 2 exams does not seem to carry anything my guide has and I'm a bit lost

[birdguy888]

@mvinci145 Glad it helped. Utah is known for the most difficult exams in the entire US. Two of the exams are Utah's and are very difficult. many master falconers cannot pass them! I say give them both a try and send me the answers and I'll grade them and let you know. You can either snail mail them or email the answers.

[Aspenbeast]

If I was that bird I would literally want to kill myself after being captured.

[birdguy888]

@Aspenbeast That is why you are not a falconer. And just for the record, when falconers get a chamber raised bird that was bred in captivity, they are just as wild and have to go thru the same training process!

[syedzulqarnain2011]

hahah very nice yar

[birdguy888]

@raulishnikov Her trapping weight was 913.80 grams which is 32.25 ounces or a whopping 2 pounds 1/4 ounce!

[raulishnikov]

@birdguy888 I see.. i noticed hob big she is. I guess you have read "Pirate of the plains" About the Prairie falcon... Interesting work.

Best regards and good prey with Sugar

[birdguy888]

@raulishnikov I usually do that but out of the vast array of hoods I took, NONE of them would fit her. I had to buy a jerkin hood for her because even the largest prairie hood was too small for her! She's the longest bird I've ever trapped. Every other prairie I ever trapped was snared within 20-30 seconds after leaving the dho-gazza!

[raulishnikov]

@birdguy888 Yeah normally takes from few minuts (or seconds) to a couple of hours, but i've heard of cases in wich trying to capture a particular bird takes several days. That's why asked.

I know you are an expert falconer, but what i'd do after catching a bird is to take secure hold of it, and immediatly hood it, so to reduce stress and easying the subsequient manning process.. Just a tip from a very lousy falconer ;-)

[birdguy888]

@raulishnikov It probably took about 2 hours to catch her! We stayed in the same place and she constantly came down to the trap but was extremely smart not to get caught. The only reason I got her was upon our final approach to leave since it was nearly dark was she just happened to jump up and 1 single square of the net went over her head!