<SANITIZED>REPORT NO. 4 PROGRESS REPORT, AVIAN FLIGHT TRAINING

• Document Type: SPECIALCOLLECTION
• Collection: Animal Partners
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 06527554
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: U
• Document Page Count: 5
• Document Creation Date: September 6, 2019
• Document Release Date: September 12, 2019
• Publication Date: July 28, 1974

Approved for Release: 2019/07/30 C06527554
28 July 1974 6.2(d)
.Report No. 4 3.3(h)(2)
PROGRESS REPORT, AVIAN FLIGHT TRAINING
1. Present bird census
Adults
Trained
In train
Species
,
Juveniles
Red Tail Hawks
0
7
7
0
Ravens
8
3
0_
11
G.H. Owl
0
0
1
0
Harris Hawks
0
1
1
0
Peale's Falcons
0
2
2
2
Praii-ie Falcons
0
1
1
1
Pigeons (bandtails)0
7
1
6
2. Birds to be acquired
Juveniles Adults
Peale's Falcons 2 , 1
Prairie Falcons 0 1
Gyr Falcon 1
3. Remarks
a. The Red Tail Hawks listed above are all basically trained
to the extent that any one of them is capable of being
used in a scenario that lies within their scope. This is
the result of at least 1 year of training. At the present
time only 2 of them are being actively worked. This implies
that the ones not being so worked are being kept on fill-up
both for the sake of their well being and further inducement
'to the molt. The 2 which are kept at working weight have
a.molt rate significantly slower. We assume this is nature's
Provision for periods of deprivation.
b. The Harris Hawk is fully trained and,being unusually bright,
is capable of acquiring sophisticated behaviors in a short
period of time, although this does not include flying greater
distances of several miles.
C. The Horned Owl is well trained to'free flight as well as visual
and audio orientation. His full capabilities have not been
fully explored but it has been ascertained he will respond
and "home" to a high frequenc,ydog whistle in almost total
darkness. It is our present evaluation that the owl does
not have visual discriminatory potential of either the hawks
or ravens in the presence of daylight.
d. Bandtail pigeons, contrary to our first estimate, have been
quite easy to tame and train to recall. The ones we obtained
Were extremely wild but in a matter of 3 weeks one of them
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readily responds to a whistle in'free flight. It is
noted, however, it does nbt have the degree of discrimination
we are used to in our other birds at this stage of its '
training. We also observe it does not appear to have the
faculty of carrying the amount of weight we had hoped it '
might.
e. Regarding the birds to be acquired: arrangements have been
made with Canadian exporters for the PEALE'S Falcons. With
the blessings of the proper Fish and Game authorities it
will only be a short time until they are in transit. The
amount of time they will be in quarantine is still not
determined. The additional PRAIRIE Falcon mentioned above
should be in our possession in the coming week but, again,
we defer to the Fish and Game officials. Arrangements have
also been made for the GyR Falcon but because of certain *
restrictions we will not be able to take possession until
some time in October.
f. The 8'.-juvenile RAVENS are all exceptional prospects. As
the result of many years of experience, and of past mis-
takes,we are confident these birds have a very special
place. in our future plans. Fortunately, they.were acquired
at almost the exact time best suited to imprint them to
humans and not too young to impede their proper start- in
life. In this regardia matter of only one or two days
is critical. Experience has also taught us that these birds
must be entirely hand fed and must proceed to a condition
of full growth before subjected tO:.depriVation At this
stage they are in perfect condition and, in our judgement,
almost ready to start training.,
4. Training schedule
a. While daily reports are included herein, we feel some
further definition is needed to round out the picture
of the past several weeks. We are, of course, in short
supply of falcons, a situation to be resolved in the
near future. The male PEALE'S has shown both outstanding
potential and ability. He, like all falcons, require a
very delicate touch until behavior patterns have been
firmly established. We feel the daily reports do not
present an accurate picture of this bird. In part, we
must accept some of the responsibility in attempting'
to avoid live stimulus in training. We have recently
adopted another course and the differente wa's noticeable
almost instantly. The falcon has changed irom a reluctant
trainee to a charger who needslittle or no persuasion.
He is presently performing to what we feel is the limit
of our safety factor whiCh will be covered in more detail
later in this report. The same story applys to the PRAIRIE
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falcon except for the fact that this bird has always
shown strong motivation. His limitation was due to impaired
wing feathers which have now molted. In spite of his small
size it is our belief he will live up to all our expectations.
Both of these latter birds are flying one mile round trips
from boat to shore. We feel they can be extended immediately
when we are equipped with the proper telemetry.
5. The Saga of Do da
We feel thatthose who have suffered through former reports
must be familiar with Do da.the.RAVEN:.-I 8uSpect, they are also
familiar with the fact that I had very small expectations
for one of his-species on this project even though I had
raised and trained him f*nm the time he was a small downy
fledaling, he was in a class by himself,
too numerous to mention,
In any case, he had .a very large
bag of tricks and was loved by all. In view of .these talents
I suppose I shouldn't have been too surprised when he so
quiCkly-became a star on this project. The accompanying
resume gives some notion of his brief but spectacular
career on San Clemente Island. In a little over 3 months
he was doing up to 6 miles fronrshore to boat and very
nearly that same distance on return. The resume, however,
does not tell the full story. Hoping for your indulgence,
I would like to recap some of the day-to=day experiences
that do. not become apparent in the rather.tere:daily-report.
When one is not personally involved in handling these
birds it would not be easy to visualize how'-they are not
only learning to do what is expected of them but, at the same
time, are learning what they must do in order to perform
such a feat. Here the trainer is helpless. With each train-
ing perioAwe were able to observe Do da as he discovered
lali&h altitudes he had to maintain under various wind
conditions. In addition, he was acquiring sufficient guile
to outwit the native ravens and gulls. These excercises,
on his part,had reached some stage of sophistication, although,
it is our belief that it was ultimately a pair of ravens
that finally did him in. In the early stages the native
birds did not pose such a threat but it is a fact that,
as they became more familiar with our schedule they would
time their attacks to coincide. Do da had found out how
to maintain enough altitude to out fly the errant gulls
but other ravens were a differentmatter,...Tbey_had.'.developpd.
the technique of hiding behind a nearby bluff, waiting for
the most opportune time to 'attack. Typically, Do da would
parry these tactics with small dog fights during the first
mile at which point the pair of ravens would turn back
toward shore. From that point our observer would usually
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lose Visual contact. There was always a tense few minutes
until Do da appeared from out of the blue and the trainer
on the bot breathed another sigh of relief. His condition
upon arrival was always good. Unless weather conditions
were extreme he was never breathing heavy and our impression
was that he could have done twice the distance without much
stress. What may have occured on June 19th'is only a matter
of conjecture. After leaving the release point Do da was -seen
being attacked by 'the usual pair of-ravens. The Shore operator
observed one of these birds pecking Do da in the back of
the head. The final sighting was .only seconds later when
all three birds disappeared behind a bluff. A full week's
search on land and sea failed to show a trace of Do da. It
is. our firm conviction that he was either killed-near the .
shore line by these same birds or, being wouncled, attempted
to make it to the boat and failed. In any case,it is a certainty
his relations with the native birds were not such that he
would have taken up with them buf instead would'have looked
to us for'security.'In spite of our deep sense of loss we
do understand such tragedys are inevitable and,-we may add,
this is not the first one. To.be siare:, it was some.kind .
of a thrill the first time-we saw him headout t9 spa,:on his
way to a boat the keenest eye on land could not see. If his
performance is any indication,�our new flock of 8'young birds
should give us ample back-up protection.,
The other .documents with this report are self explanatthry.
Others. will be included in report No. 5.
6. Telemetry
We have located what is purported to be the most _reliable
telemetry system available for use on birds and other
wildlife. The system includes a small beacon which is
attached to the bird and a receiver which picks up the
beacon signals up to distances greater than 10 miles
when the bird is in the air and approximately 1 mile
on the oround. The am
We hope to work out something with
the Contracting Officer in the shortest possible time
for the purchase of one of these units.
12PInPrffilllAr
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Do da
On San Clemente 2/25/74 780gr
Introduced to boat 2/25/74 780gi.
3/4 mile to boat 3/18/74 805 gr
1 mile to boat 3/19/74 805 gr
1 1/4 mile to boat 3/20/74 805 gr
1 1/2 mile to boat 3/25/74 775 gr
Break 3/26 to 4/8 At studio
1 mile to boat 4/8/74 750 gr
1 3/4 mile to boat 4/11/74 770 gr
2 1/4 mile to boat 1/2 mile to shore 4/17/74 750 gr
3 mile to boat', 2 mile to shore 5/3/74 770 gr
4 mile to boat, 2 mile to shore 5/4/74 770gr
Start flying from out of sight over top of Island. 5/9/74
4 3/4 mile to boat 5/16/74 755gr
5 mile to boat, 4 mile return 5/21/74 750gr
6 mile shore to boat, 4.mile to shore 5/22/74 750gr
3 mile to shore 5/28/74 760gr
New target introduced 5/30/74 760gr
Break texas trip 5/31 to 6/11 74
4 mile round trip ,to target 6/13/74 760gr
6 mile to boat 6/14/74 750gr.
6 mile to boat 6/18/74 750gr
Lost 6/19/74 750gr.
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