Data on its way & H for hawk

No startling news on the peregrine front.  Arjen is always way ahead of me on the video front, so I have nothing to add.  Suffice it to say that both adults are around regularly, Xavier during the day and Diamond (usually) at night, but no sign of the juveniles.  Nor has any prey been brought to the box.

But I’m pleased to see that, in half an hour, two parcels, containing copies of about 3 months of data each,  will be winging their way through the maze of Australia Post to Christine (Western Australia) and Sue (Victoria).    We had about an hour’s Skype session each to go through some examples of data entry for the non-breeding season (2015-16).   Stage 2 will be to tackle a breeding season (with a more codes to interpret, I’m afraid).

So good luck, girls;  my gratitude is bottomless! and Xavier, who is chirping away on the ledge as I speak, sends his greetings, too.

Incidentally, I was given a copy of H is for Hawk by my daughter.  I’m really enjoying it.   It’s about a woman falconer and, whilst I have my doubts about the merits of falconry for peregrine conservation, the skill and dedication needed to pursue this hobby is awe-inspiring.  After training several falcons, she takes on a female goshawk, which is a much greater challenge than some raptors.  I love the way she describes a book she is reading at the same time about the training of a goshawk some fifty years earlier by a beginner, with all its attendant pitfalls (which she consequently tries to avoid).  The eccentric and rather sad character in the book is almost as much of interest as the training itself.

Enough!  To the post office before it closes….

Happy New Year to everyone.  See you on the other side.