The hallway between the two mews not only provides security against an escaped bird but also provides storage for falconry equipment. Thinks are getting organized in that department.

Day 45:

Chapal has all but lost all his down. There only remains the few feathers left on his head. He is regularly perched on the lawn now to benifit from the sun and rain. He has been misted to help him cool off in the heat.


Perching the birds outside their mews so they are exposed to the elements, particularly the sun and rain is called weathering and is a valuable management strategy for a healthy falconry bird. There are actual enclosures called weathering pens which are designed for this purpose and allow for the secure and safe weathering of a bird(s). Leaving a bird unattended outside a mew or weathering pen is a dangerous practice. Stray cats, dogs or other wildlife present life threatening risks to a tethered bird(s).

Scirocco is now 65 days old and has been responding well to flight conditioning and manning. He is strongly imprinted on me. Entering on prey is the next step in his training.

Day 39:

Just thought I would post an update on Chapal's daily weighing. To have a far better understanding of the condition of a falconry bird daily weight is taken and a record kept for future reference.

Today Chapal weighs 659 grams, including bells and jesses.

A triple-beam scale is used which is accurate to 1/2 gram. Because of a tiercel's size accurate and small incremented measurement units are more valuable than ounces and pounds.

Day 38:

So the jesses are on and Chapal is learning to use a portable block perch.


The only areas with much down is the crown and the uppertail coverts.


The primaries and rectrices still have a few inches to grow which should be complete near the end of this week.


Chapal still can't dismember food yet so lure training will start in a few days.

Day 35:

Chapal has continued to grow in his contour and flight feathers. But there is a ways to go yet. Particularly the primaries, secondaries and rectries.

He has become increasingly active as his co-ordination and agility have been developing to make use of those new feathers.

He is very brave or reckless in his aproach to his "ledge" which is about 4' above the floor. He bails out regularly and as a result often is found in secluded areas of the house.

Bells have been "installed" in an attempt to aid in locating the wanderer.

Jesses will follow in the next few days to a

void his short flights to possible trouble.

The second mew has been framed in and will soon be complete. It will be modified to house Chapal the tiercel Peregrine.



By placing a secure external door on this end of the hallway a secure second enclosure will have been created to "catch" any escapees while the mew is being entered.


The meeting of the two roof lines will secure the upper portion of the hallway making a suitable place for much of the falconry equipment and

management tools.


This design also allows for possible future mews to be placed beside these thus saving materials and cost while providing a safe and secure structure for housing most species of falconry bird as each chamber can be modified for the various species.