PROPOSAL FOR AVIAN OPERATIONAL SUPPORT

• Document Type: SPECIALCOLLECTION
• Collection: Animal Partners
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 06527538
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: U
• Document Page Count: 14
• Document Creation Date: September 6, 2019
• Document Release Date: September 12, 2019
• Publication Date: August 12, 1974

.11 Lids'Cc
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3.3(h)(2)
3.5(c)
(Noq- 379/3
PROPOSAL FOR AVIAN
OPERATIONAL SUPPORT
Submitted by
,12 August 1974
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INTRODUCTION.
Dear Sirs:
Enclosed is a proposal for the Avian Operational
Support project based on a-12 month period and start-
ing September 13, 1974 through September 12, 1975. Al-
though not indicated in the body of this proposal, a
paramount consideration is the expansion, or acceleration,
level of effort.
At the present time the personnel at the San Diego
location are working a-_7:_day week so it is not .a question
of increasing the work load but rather a question of
adding more people. As more subjects are available,
and _they will_be a considerable number,inthecoming.
weeks,we hope to add 2 more trainers.
This will_give.us 4 people., or.two teams, at
the Point Loma location and at least 1 person in the
area at all times.
We were fortunate in acquiring .the services of
a young man training to be a veterinarian.. Coincidently,
he is an experienced falconer and probably has more
medical knowledge concerning falcons than. anyone in
this part of the country. It is the opinion of this
contractor this,young man will be a welcome, asset
to the project.:
It is not expected that these additional trainers
will increase the level of funding to_any extent. In
certain areas the costs will be cut but in others
it will slightly increase. A case in point would be
maintenance of the living quarters in San Diego and
the new facility.
Since this proposal was completed there have
:been small changes in the bird procurement. department.
There is now a definite commitment.for_3.,:faltans
from the B.C. source. A gyr falcon has been contracted
and paid for and will be delivered in November. Another
prairie falcon, paid for previously, is now in our
possession but Presently at the veterinarian's for
treatment on feet. This is the picture:
Falcons on hand contracted for
4 4
The total of 8 should be ample for our needs since
3 of the ones we now have are proven birds as is one
of the B.C. birds already mature and of good disposition.
Please advise us of any additional information you may
need to round out this proposal. Funding requirements
will follow in a day or zo'but it will in are already
discussed.
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12 August 1974
Chief/ Life Sciences Research Division
SUBJECT' Avian Operational Support
GOAL: The essential purpose of this project will, be to
provide reliable trained avian vehicles for emplacement,
transport and/or recovery of reconnaissance-surveillance
sensors to meet operational requirements as defined by .
the Sponsor. Additionally, Package orientation and sample
matching will be initiated to amplify ancLaugment the
scope of possibilities. The accomplishment of.this goal
requires: bird procurement, (reduced basis).. domestication,
health maintenance; transport and. housing. facilities
approved by government regulatory agencies, minimal 7' x
10' facility for each trained bird,..taSk training, package
and harness. and release mechanisms,.integration_of vehicle
and system test and evaluation. Besides these requirements
the Contractor will be responsible for the support and
housing of personnel at the San Diego location'. It will
be vital to maintain other trained birds At the
facility when they are not actively wor ing on
the top priority task. The details and effort necessary
for meeting each of the sub-requirements vary with the
nature of the operational scenario defined by the Sponsor.
PRESENT STATUS: The lines of specialization appear to
have formed more clearly during the past months as work
and training continue with a varied stable of birds.
Included among these raptors are GOLDEN EAGLES, PEALE'S
FALCONS, HARRIS HAWKS, PRAIRIE FALCONS, RED TAIL HAWKS,
HORNED OWL and RAVENS. The latter is not a raptor but
is considered to be in the bird of prey category.
While personnel on this project have worked with .
birds of this kind for many years it has only been during
the last months when they have come to realize what
great potential they offer.
It is a considered opinion that many of them are
capable of performing certain tasks and behaviors, in
many instances with a high degree of reliability, not
considered possible only a wear or so ago. Certainly,
advocates of the ancient sport of falconry would not
have entertained such a notion. The present research
indicates these birds do have special attributes which
might be utilized to perform a wide variety of tasks.
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To support these beliefs a number of reasonably good samples
of documentation are available.
One might well ask why this information is just
coming to light. Why has no one discovered such great
potential before this? We can only speculate. Before the
current effort no one has ever really tried to combine
sophisticated behaviors with the birds in question. The
falconer has always been interested in the use of his birds
in pursuit of his sport which allows the birds to excercise
its natural instincts with man as his partner. On the
other hand, the animal behaviorist's work, for the most
part, has been confined to the laboratory where experimental
work is usually conducted with rabbits, rats, chickens
and pigeons, perhaps because they are more available.
The final report covers the activities more fully
over the last months but a few highlights may be wotth
presenting at this time. Since not all the species are
committed to the same scenario they will be listed sep-
erately.
HAWKS: 6 of these birds have been carefully selected
from a total of approximately 30 which have been tediously
hand fed and trained over the last 2 years. They represent
a tremendous investment in man-hours, training, patience
and just plain hard work. Are they worth it? It would
certainly seem so. They are capable of performing tasks
which are uniquely different in concept and in some cases
could not, perhaps, be done in any other way. Each of them
will fly up to several miles, in a strange area, and locate
to objects or specific features to which they have been
previously trained. They can perform certain behaviors
such as emplacement of packages or objects and of removing
them from harness' they might be wearing. Wearing a small
camera on their legs, they can fly over a sensitive area
and photograph it without causing undue suscicion. In fact,
they have the capability of almost any behavior, requiring
beak or talon combined with a fairly high level of intelligence.
Reliability and determination are their strong points. They
become so heavily reenforced that, once committed to a
course, they are not easily diverted. Even though not strong
flyers some of them are able to carry a 13 ounce package
for more thantmile when weather conditions are favorable.
GOLDEN EAGLES: Eagles respond in much the same manner as
hawks, although not as adaptable because of their greater
size. In training they have been able to carry a 3 lb
weight for a distance of 1 mile. They could be used for
such a special purpose when weather conditions are right.
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RAVENS: Unfortunately, only one raven was available for
work this past season. He was a member of the troop for
a number of years and an actor, both in front of the camera
and on stage, for most of that time. Among his other talents,
he was an excellent flyer so it was decided to try him on
the project. From the very beginning he was a great success.
In a mere matter of weeks he was flying 6 miles over water
to a boat not visible.to the human eye. It was 'a sad event
when.he was lost as the result of an attack by wild ravens.
In an earlier report an account of this misfortune is cover-
ed in detail.
Hopefully, this will never happen again. We now have
a telemetry system made particularly, for this kind of work.
Reliable sources infOrm us that reception.. is good from 10
to 20 miles when the bird is airborne and from 1/2 to 1 mile
on ground or in water. This should afford enough protection
to prevent another .disaster, The. system consists of a small
beacon weighing approximately 30 gms which is attached to
the bird's leg. The receiver is'a 3 lb unit with a direct-
ional antenna capable of tracking a.bird in flight. It has
been uSed_successfully by the National Fish and Wildlife
Service,
The arrival of this kind of help is timely. It is
a reminder that the indicated flight for. the TACANA Operation
is very substantial..A round trip of 12 nautical miles
translates into a flight of about 30 land Miles. If ravens
are capable of this task this project will be prepared.
8 excellent specimens were taken in the spring, hand fed and
imprinted to humans. Experience has.shown that juvenile
ravens must not be subjected, to deprivation Until they
are at least 5 months old. They are ready to Start. There
are high. hopes they will be as good as the former bird.
HORNED'OWL: This interesting bird, like the others,
is imprinted'. He has displayed. unusual possibilities
but priorities have prevented a_great deal of. time
being _devoted to him. His training includes recall in
free flight as well as responding to recall in almost
total. darkness.
FALCONS: The big reward with these birds is in their
capacity for strong flight. It is an established fact
tht they are one of the fastest creatures on earth
whiM, of course, gives them a decided advantage.
For some, not well defined,reason any bird entering
strange territory is subject to attack by all residents.
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For the falcon this does not present a problem. Hecan
outfly anything he might meet except another falcon and
they display' very little aggression toward each other.
Acquiringa sufficientrof them has been ..a frustrat-
ing matter. Governmental controls have made it most
difficult. to import:_them_even_when they have been bred
in-captivity. We have_a_commitMentfor an additional 3
Peale's falcons as_soon as. permit requests have been
granted.. We are satisfied the total number will. give.
us enough depth for the operation. Of the 4 birds we
presently have 2 of them are working 1 mile.round trips
from boat_to_shore�A_3rd_one is ready to start. and
.the 4th_has...a...p1-iysical..handicap. and is. the process
of being traded for one more suitable. It is our expect-
ation falcons will, be the,choice vehicle for. this.project.
CHANGE_OF_TRAINING_LOCALE�As a.result.of a. number. of
considerations, it. was decided by. both .our Director and
ourselves. to move the base of operations from San Clemente
Island,California to Point. Loma., California-Both. these
locations are Naval. Undersea Center Installations..
There were a number of disadvantages at_the.San.
Clemente location, not the least: of which. was erratic.
and unreliable transportation to and from.the_Island-
In addition, we were completely without maintenance
support-for-either boats or vehicles. In consequence
days at a time were spent installing new brakes on cars
or repairing boat malfunctions without the proper tools
and equipment.
Most important, however, was the weather consideration.
During _winter months there were several weeks when wind
veloCities. averaged 30 to 40 miles per hour. For a. good
portion of.this.time_work 2..days
per. week. Another factor was prevailing_wind.directions..
The side of the Island from which we were allowed to
work was subject to wind directions opposed to what. it
would be relative, to our project. scenario,
POINT LOMA LOCATION The first order of business, here
was to provide.housing.for birds actively in training.
Since there. was_no...existing_facilities available ,we
purchased .10 metal. utility::,buildings for. this. purpose.
These_Were_asbeMbledand..placed in a. .location suitable
to the.NUC.Director��Wooden framing of a. special design
was constructed for the doors of. the buildings.. It. con-
sists of Vertical 1" x 3" lath spaced,1" apart so that
birds.can_avail_themselves.of_daylight_as well as
protect their feathers from breakage. From the stand-
point of appearance this arrangement satisfied the NUC
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It appears the Point Loma location is very
favorable in regards to this project. The prevailing
wind direction is suitable_and is much more moderate,
allowing a great deal more training time.
Travel time from boat slip to working area
is approximately the same as it was on San Clemente
Island.
Commuting personnei San Diego
seems to be too time consuming so an apartment has
been rented at a location only 5 minutes from the
Installation.
Initial costs for utility buildings were
a little over $1,000.00 with the apartment rental
at $250.00 per month.
**********
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TASK ASSIGNMENTS:
1 Bird Procurement
Requirements will be reduced
considerably since new falcons
have already been contracted
for and quotas for other birds
filled.
2 Care and Maintenance of,birds
a Dietary supervision is-a 7
day a week obligation. Training
procedures require that each
� bird be weighed daily on a sen-
sitive scale in order to con-
trol weight within narrow
limits. Charts must be main-
tained for each indivdual
indicating what volume of in-
� take is needed to hold con-
stant body weight. Roughage
(fur and feathers) must
supplement feedings at reg-
ular intervals to act as a
cleansing agent for the bird's
crop. Bird ailments are very
poorly understood even by
the best authorities. It is,
therefore a practice to have
x-rays made of each bird in
its normal state for later
comparison in the event of
serious illness. Since ex-
ercise is an important part
of conditioning each bird is
flown at least 5 times per
week while in training or on
deprivation.
b. Housing
Each subject once trained, or
having reached a keen working
edge, requires seperate housing
or flyway. 7� x 10' areas are min-
imal. The enclosures must be
made of smooth surfaces (no wire)
with vertical lath strips on all
doors and other openings to prevent
feather damage. Approximately 30
birds are involved in the Project.
Half this number will be located
at the Point Loma location and
the others housed at, facility
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SA-5 Training
a. Preliminary training, for new
birds on an indivdual basis
includes about 1 hour per bird
of handling-taming and. short _
flight-_training.on tether. Con-
sidering the addition of at
least 8 new birds this schedule'
is a full day's work for 1 man.
b. Condition all vehicles to
become accustomed to 50-80
gram package attached to
harness.
c. Training of all vehicles
for minimal flight of 24
nautical miles from boat to
shore and back.
d. Recognition relating to
overall target area and
specific target within
that area.
e. Condition vehiclet to assume
various positions on immediate
target for photographic pur-
poses before starting return
flight.
f. Last portion of schedule
necessitates converting
trainees to respond to sail
boat with distinguishing
features rather than power
boat used in earlier training.
TRAINING PROCEDURE_FOR_TASK 3
a. As described.
b. Heavy package training is
achieved by graduating
weights upward from 10 grams
to desired level. Additional
muscular development occurs
to compensate for increased
weight.' _
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c. The vehicle:must'ibecomeso
strongly reenforced to. the
_boat that it will start its
flight to sea without, we
may assume, having visual
contact. The distance of the
flights start at only a few
hundred yards in the beginning
and are_gradually_increased.
UhderTnotthal_cdndition�the_
Vehicle Will,:beheading into
ahead wind which will re-
quire the greatest output
of energy. When the length
of flights, become longer
the vehicle learns to reach
for higher altitudes to
conserve strength. As pro-
ficiency on both legs of
flight is reached the order
will be changed from shore
to boat to boat to shore
and return.
d. A broad semi-open area is
sufficient for the initial
recognition as bird approaches
shore. Specific portion of
target could easily be seen
for at least 2 miles. It is
taken into consideration
that target simulation on a
large scale may_ not be-prac-,
tical so training has been
predicated on training to
a specific portion which is
moved from one area to another
without regard to similarity.
e. Concealed_rewards are positioned
in various_positions_on_target
in unscheduled- pattern which ,
causes the bird.to.move_from.
point to point in a. searching
behavior. This concept is
proving. valid. �
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f. Stimulus transference from
power boat to sail boat
will require approximately
3 weeks. This estimate is
based on the difficulty
of removing, from the bird's
point of view, the frightening
appeaance of the sails.
Overfly Operation
a. Refine present methods of
handling procedure to correct
problems in bird transport-
ation. Recent excercises
were not satisfactory due to
putting bird on work call
shortly after a 400 mile
car trip. When operation was
attempted bird was listless
and without.appetite. After
1 day's rest it. .was back to
normal. Stange :territory was
not a factor. since former__
training had included many
short trips to strange areas
where performance was satis-
factory.
b. Further refinement suggests
training bird to fly inside
simulated luggage rack on
moving car or truck.
c. Using falcons for this�
scenario would increase
considerably its options
for usage. The falson's
flight is a direct one and
it has very little_depend-
ence on wind conditions�
The time element would be
much shorter thus reducing
the risk factor.
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5 Package Orientation
a. Experimental efforts have been
made in orientation using a
simulated compass to establish
feasibility so this task would,
in part, deal with acquiring
a compass with stable character-
istics needed for training. A
cockatoo was used in the experiment
and it was able to reliably
orient the simulated compass
by rotating .a .double layered
disc until a red indicator
,on the bottom disc was lined
up exactly with a hole in the
top disc. No other test bird
has been tried but it is al-
most certain that a raven, at
least, would be capable of.the
same behavior..
b. Package delivery on shorter,
flights of several hundred
feet would be achieved by
training the bird to hold
it between its upper and
lower mandible. On longer
distances involving more
physical stress it would
be necessary the package be
attached to a harness for
release at destination.
c. Combining the 2 parts of
the above task with the
additional schedule of
quick location identification
is our proposal. It would
mean training the bird to
deliver to a new location
after a minimal rehearsal_
time or in response to an
audio or visual signal
such as a beam of light.
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It is understood that certain modifications
may be required to complete this proposal. This
is, therefore,a rough draft so we look forward to
receiving your comments. There has been some film
shot with the_intention.of putting together a sequence
for presentation. TiMe_considerations,-however, have
ev AC
not allowed us to asbembleAnyhtin nood as what
you already have. A.picture of the is
enclosed but since it,. was taken all the construcion
has been coMpleted�We will 'also be Sending still
pictures of the bldgS. at the other site and anything
else we think might be of help
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PROPOSED BUDGET FOR AVIAN SUPPORT
13 Sept. 1974 - 12 Sept. 1975
CONTRACT
.DIRECT COST:
Labor.
$102,693.82
UNITS OF PAY RATE
$20,800.00
14,300.00
9,100.00
6,760.00
5,200.00
220 $94.55
220 65.00
220 , 41.36
220 - 30.72
150 34.67
Other (Part time)
56,150.00
MATERIALS & SUPPLIES
.Meat, Feed, Vitamins
$1.11 Lb 4,500#s
4,995.00
104 48
TRAINING EQUIPMENT
Fixtures, Release cages,
Project Props, Misc.
1,000.00
Film Project- Reports
and Camera Expense
1,000.00
TOTAL DIRECT COST
$63,155.00
INDIRECT COST:
Trucks, cars, Depreciation 3,000.00
2 trucks used in S.D.
Tires,�Repairs, Fuel 1,000.00
1 truck commuting
Veterinarians. - 2,900.00
Apartment 'Rental 'Sr Utilities
At San'DieCO- �
3,500.00
3 people S.D.., 1
Location For
Commuting
Additional Birds (Utilities,
Operating Expenses, Bldg.
2,500.00
Building constructed
to conform to wildlife
INSURANCES & TAXES
regulations .
' .WOrkmans Comp.
1,516.05
2.7%
.airroll Taxes
2,776.41
5.85%
FUCA'
105.o5
0.05%
SUI
462.00
2.2%
Truck & Auto Ins.
750.00
Liability
300.00
Phone
3,000.00
Accounting
1,500.00
Mail
& Postage
50.00
Travel,
San Diegc
Other
Training Locations 4,500.00
Rental. Boats, (Motor. Sailer,
Larger Boat For Final Phase 2,500.00
Jib (sail) Training 200.00
Use &. Expense Wind Machine:
Trainer . .
500.00
TOTAL INDIRECT COST
$31,059.51
TOTAL COST
$94,214.51
NET PROFIT
8,479.31 9*
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