Simon Thomsett

Category: Raptors, Rehabilitation | Date: Aug 21 2008 | By: simonthomsett

On the 8th August, I returned with Rosy from his eye exam at Kikuyu. It was late afternoon and Rosy was still dopey from being anesthetised. I went, as usual, to release Tim and Lucy, the pair of Lanner Falcons, for their afternoon flight. They had a set routine, rushing off together and sometimes fighting, until they reach the windmill about 1km from the house. There, Lucy likes to jump into the muddy runoff and have a bathe and drink. Then, she and Tim perch (shamefully) in the only exotic tree in the entire region……an ugly Pepper Tree.

Lucy

They either wait here until I catch up, or go off causing havoc among the Crowned Plovers. The plovers go through the same routine each afternoon, and will even rise up in mock panic when I appear without the falcons. Nothing ever happens to them for they are much to clued-up.

On this evening, however, I had to sit with Rosy holding his head up so that he could breathe easily. I often leave the falcons to their own devises and as darkness approaches, stand outside and yell for them to return. There was one thing slightly different from usual. Tim took off after a Black Shouldered Kite and bullied him to drop a mouse he had just caught. I saw this happening down wind of the house. I had Rosy in my arms and was unable to walk around the back of the house quick enough to see what happened next. Tim had the mouse in his talons and was being pursued by Lucy, who had piracy on her mind. The next thing I knew, Tim was coming back empty handed. Lucy had gone, no doubt carrying the mouse off to eat it in peace.

A few years ago I had two passage female Lanners that would consistently chase Black Shouldered Kites and pirate prey from them. They got to be so complacent that they would fly off and sit in a bush waiting. From as far as a few kilometers they would start the chase. It is termed klepto–parasitism, in fancy English. Anyway it ruined every day outing, and ended up with the two of them zooming off on their own to a life of thievery.

Lucy never came back. I wrote to Laila to tell her that Tim was sad, and she responded by asking how I knew that, claiming I might be anthropomorphizing (again!). The way I can tell is that Tim now doesn’t sit on his night perch as before…….closer to Lucy’s side. During his flights out, he never goes up wind to the windmill, but goes straight like an arrow far downwind and out of sight, in the direction we last saw Lucy. Sometimes he is out for hours and I suspect a secret affair, or at least I hope so. He did this yesterday too, now a week later.

Lucy

I had hoped Tim and Lucy would be a pair, and managing them this way would, I am sure, oblige them at some point to become a territory holding breeding pair. It is still far too early for this to happen, although Tim and Lucy were beginning to moult into their adult plumage. I am happy that Lucy did the predictable. She is very fit. A few days before she and Tim snagged a full grown Yellow-neck. Tim overhauled and hit it hard, and Lucy came in behind and tackled it to the ground. I ran up to see the francolin already dead, and Lucy being rather badly behaved towards Tim who ran around trying to get his share.

Lucy has the best chance now. She would have died in her cage had she not been given this chance, which she was always (like Tim) free to take. I have no misgivings about loosing her and wish her well. She may return.

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