Introducing Specter

This is Specter!

He is 3 years old

Specter is wearing his falcon hood because he is not used to being in a class setting. He is one of Sophie's many sons. He is actually a hybrid between a gyrfalcon and a Peregrine falcon. This type of hybrid cross makes for very good hunters. He was bred to become a falconry bird. Falconry is a form of hunting where a trained bird works with a human to catch game.

Two weeks ago in falcon class we learned all about peregrine falcon behavior. The thing I found most interesting were all the behaviors that go into reproduction. Peregrines pair up and generally keep the same mate from year to year. Each breeding season the male performs these spectacular aerial displays and brings the female food offerings and they each perform certain body movements and sounds for each other. Their actual copulation takes place during a free fall. They fly up really high together and mate on their way back down. So cool!!

We also heard an interesting story that day.

There was a lone peregrine male living living in Idaho. One year, a female showed up from Alaska. She was just visiting Idaho to escape the Alaska weather for a few weeks but the male was very excited to see her. He set out to court her in every possible way that he could think of. Problem was that she was just visiting and had no interest in breeding or taking up residency in Idaho. For weeks, he was putting on fantastic aerial shows and chirping and bowing in just the right way. That male piled up 132 dead birds for her in her nest area. 132 dead animals! And you know what that female did for all his efforts?
She went back to Alaska.