Training a female Peregrine (c)

[shane shacaluga]

Was invited to go watch a friend train his juvenile female Peregrine falcon. This is a Falco peregrinus brookei which is the most common subspecies in our region

It was late in the evening and had the chance to practice tracking the bird as it flew around chasing the lure

Amazing to see what such a young bird is capable of

Nikon D7000
300f4 + 1.7x TCII
1/1600
f7.1
ISO 640

Handheld using continous AF. Usual PP levels, curves and USM

forgot to add: I clipped the wing on the right so added some canvas and cloned the wingtip on the left.

All comments and critiques welcome

[Richard Stern]

Hi,

Well done on correcting the clipping and the cloning. I like the evening light. I find the head a bit soft. I like the flight pose and the bird's expression, but personally I hate to see jesses and bells on what ought to e a wild bird. But I suppose that borders on the question of the ethics of falconry, and I doubt if this forum is the right place to discuss that.

Richard

Richard

Richard

[Satish Ranadive]

Beautiful flight pose with nice wing spread and HA.Nice composition too. What is there in his talons?

Regards,
Satish.

[shane shacaluga]

Thanks for the comments guys

Satish, there is only the leather jesses and bells used for keeping audio tracking and securing the bird on the glove and perch in falconry.

Richard, this Peregrine has been locally bred from captive bred parents too, and will be used to cull yellow legged gulls on the rock of Gibraltar. The raptor unit which does this, is mainly responsible for the rehabilitation and release of many raptors that are hurt or simply exhausted during the migration to and from Africa. This year we have picked up many eagles and vultures from the sea due to the high winds and mobs of gulls which attack them when they arrive at the coast.

As you mention, its not the right place to discuss the ethics of falconry but these guys do a pretty good job to ensure that many raptors survive the crossing and can continue breeding

[Richard Stern]

Hi Shane,

thanks for the info. Makes me feel better about the bird. Richard

[Daniel Cadieux]

I like the aerodynamic gliding pose, and the exposure looks good. I would have gone for more SS though because as posted the head seems a bit sof tdue to subject motion. Perhaps a bit more sharpening would work for web posting. Not thrilled about the extra fashion items, but I appreciate the additional info about them and the rescue efforts going on for these beautiful birds.