I'm not a falconer (I'd like to become one, but at the moment I lack the time and funds), however I can see this knot tying method being extremely useful in other non-falconry related instances where one hand is tied up. Excellent demonstration video (camera work, proper focus, clear speech, simple instructions, short and to the point, etc.) Well done, and thank you. 👍👍
Thank you so much. I had been struggling with this knot - the photo step by step just was too hard to follow. This made learning the knot a snap. Now I get to try it with a real bird attached to the other end!
I had been having trouble with this for ages and I have watched a few different people showing me but because of this video I have finally got it sorted. Thanks
FYI this seems to be a "locked" version of a knot commonly known as the Siberian hitch. The only difference is that the working end here is fed through the loop to prevent the knot from coming apart should it be tugged, whereas in the typical Siberian that isn't the case. It's wonderful how falconers and the Nenet people of northern Russia came up with the same idea.
we use D ring swivels and this is then attached to the mews jesses that the bird is wearing. I shall make a video one day, thanks for giving me an idea!
Feathers and Fur Falconry Centre to be honest I think it would be a better video with a bird attached, it might make the video rather exciting if the bird was disagreeable :-) A friend of mine said he learnt to do it holding a pint glass in his left hand, had to tie it without spilling the drink.
Hiya, After I have locked the tail end off through the loop, if I pull on the tail end, the knot kind of unties itself and comes away from the chair leg I'm practicing on. Am I doing something wrong?
If you have locked the tail end though the loop it shouldn't undo it self just get tighter. without seeing its hard to know where you might be going wrong. sorry x
I have a bird that unexpectedly came into my life. I have had it for almost 4 months now. how can I train it to fly to me and what is a proper inexpensive diet he should be having?
They aren't called hawkers. Falconer is a wide-spread term covering people who fly raptors in general. If you are looking for a word that covers people who fly specifically accipiters, you would call them an austringer.
I find small steel spring clips (very cheap on ebay) an excellent way around this complicated knot, they are removed before flying so therefore pose no catching or snagging hazard to barney my beautiful barn owl. Is there any reason you do not use these??? Because if you type in falconry into ebay, they are a good seller. Thanks.
John Slack hi john, do you keep your barn teathered all the time or is he free lofted? I don't like using clips as there is a higher chance of equipment failure. Nothing worse than a bird free with jesses tied together.
Feathers and Fur Falconry Centre Hi there. No, only nighttime and a four hours during the day, this is temperory though. He is going to be in an aviery ill be building it shortly. Basically the whole of the rear of my garden. 6 meters x 2 meters and about 8 foot high. Im toying with the idea of a pitched roof with rafters with him being a barn owl (im a builder by the way) i have raised him from a 6 week old chick (ball of fluff too) to now a beautiful barn owl but at the minute he free flies all around the house for about an hour a day then the rest of the time he sleeps on top of the kitchen door. I tether him to a perch at more or less ground level from about midnight til 6 am. To be honest he doesnt do much. I constantly moniter his weight sitting at around 285 grammes and flying very well at around 240. I dont constantly work/train him, for his age (3 months) he has come on fantastic but i dont like to keep him hungry. Once i build his aviery and move outside with him i will transfer training into the garden when the weather gets a bit better. He is one of the family and very well loved, he sometimes cuddles behind my girlfriends legs on an evening when she watches tv and goes to sleep. He is my first bird and i done extensive research before i bought him (im aware of the unwanted problem with barn owls) and made sure he was what i wanted. I look forward very much to spending the next 20 - 25 years with him. They are a beautiful bird and fly amazingly, i video him and slow it down sometimes, amazing. Sorry for this lengthy reply but i see your from a falconry club and i wanted you to know that i didnt buy him just window shopping? Im 42 now and wanted a hobby thats more peaceful than my previous ones, motorcycles and downhill mountain biking. Once he is fully trained and free flying (with telemetry) i may get a harris not too sure yet. Anyway thanks for listening/reading, hope i havnt bored you lol. 😆
John Slack never board of reading someone's stories, sounds like he has a perfect life. As long as he is steady on the perch they I don't see any problems they just have such delicate little legs and bones. If I may just put in a 2pence worth with your designing of an aviary, don't make the perches so high that you can't get to him in an emergency, give him a box to go away from wind, cover the roof completely so that you avoid contamination from other birds flying over and pooing and for god sake and this is my biggest MUST do.....make sure you have a double door system. More birds than I care to imagine are lost because people don't have a double door system its is so nessessary even in the steadiest of birds. Shout if you need any help at all in getting equipment (I'm assuming you know how to change anklets, I came across one woman once that had left her anklets on her barn for 11 years and they had grown into the skin!☹️) or just want to check behaviour especially in spring time, imprints get fun then!!!! Lots of luv x
Feathers and Fur Falconry Centre Hi again. Wow thank you for your reply. I will now definitely go with the double door system, i had thought of it but wasnt going to but i shall now. Barneys anklets are a loose fit, not too loose but they are not tight. I check regularly for any baldness that would indicate rubbing but he has none. My aviery will have a fully covered roof, i am going with a pitched style roof with a few beams as to try and recreate a sort of natural habitat for him. I shall keep all the beams and perches within reach for emergencies, i hadnt thought of that, thanks. I will keep in touch and keep you informed of him as i dont claim to know everything, ive just done plenty of research but i am still a newbie. I work on house building sites so all of my materiels for my aviery will come for free, (they don't miss the odd 10 sheets of ply and lengths of wood here and there lol they can afford it and i do enough for them) i shall keep in touch definitely and i shall not hesitats to ask if i have any doubts or questions. You say it can get interesting in the spring???? Im intregued to know why but i shall be keeping a close eye on him. Once i get to grips with my video editing app i have downloaded (check me out all tech savvy lol, not) i shall upload a video of barney flying and pictures of him with us and our miniture poodle elsa, they are so funny together. Thanks for your help, its great to know that im not alone in this daunting new world ive got myself into. I shall definitely stay in touch. 😆
Feathers and Fur Falconry Centre just to add also, he sits on a T style home made perch covered with astro turf which because of the thickness is quite flat on the top, not a hawk bow perch and he sleeps very well on it. On one leg in fact (why do they do that)?? When he snoozes on the top of the kitchen door also he chooses to stand on one leg, is he part stork maybe? Lol.
