Vickie and I begin our conversation discussing her "Wellness Program" in recently-trapped birds, which for obvious reasons, the falconer has no medical history and there is the potential that a recently captured raptor is carrying a sub-clinical parasite load, or has a bacterial or viral infection. Vickie starts by classifying types of pathogens that a falconer should be aware of, and describes  typical symptoms that may be present and which organ systems are most commonly implicated. We then...

In Part 2 of my two-episode series with Matt Mullenix, author of "Four Falconry Fundamentals",  we continue where we left off in episode 1 with Matt’s answer to a question regarding slip management and re-flushing of quarry. After getting Matt’s ideas on hunting and the future of falconry, I asked him to tell us about a very recent addition to the Four Fundamentals Project,  one-on-one tutoring sessions he calls "Fundamentals Coaching". Thanks for tuning in to the Fat Bird, Ugly Dog podcast....

 Matt Mullenix, falconer and author of three books joins me to talk about his most recent book, "Four Falconry Fundamentals". We begin our discussion with Matt acknowledging the people whom have be instrumental to his falconry and writing. Matt tells us what his goal was for the book, and then provides a brief outline of each of the fundamentals (prey base, husbandry, recall, and slip management). Matt then describes various hi-lights of each, and we spend time discussing an important link...

In Part 2 of my conversation with Ethan Pippitt of Standing Stone Kennels we continue talking about training of my 2-year old female German wirehaired pointer. After discussing the Positive Pigeon  Drill as an introduction to whoa from Part 1, Ethan and I pick up the conversation on my use of the steady lead and the place board to develop steadiness.  We then turn our attention to the use of pigeon launchers in combination with the “whoa” cue. Ethan describes use of the belly collar to...

Ethan Pippitt of Standing Stone Kennels joins me to talk about training of bird dogs. Using my 2-year old female German wirehaired pointer, Ethan and I step through the various stages of training that I completed from the time I received her at 10 weeks of age starting with the basics, including something Ethan refers to as "charging the clicker". Ethan explains why he uses "tug-of-war" play with his pups, and tells us why it shouldn't lead to a "hard-mouthed dog", if done correctly. We talk...

Heath Garner (North American Falconers Association Vice President) joins me to tell us about trapping of passage peregrines in the Mississippi Alluvial Valley (MAV) of Arkansas. He tells us about the MAV, and the challenges associated with trying to find and trap passage birds in the region. Heath briefly reminds us of the timeline from listing of the species to the events that led to re-instituting of a legal harvest, and describes the role that NAFA played in advocating for legal harvest....

Kevin Harcourt of Marshall Radio Telemetry and I continue our discussion on the Marshall GPS system. We turn our attention from what Kevin refers as the user-selectable modes (HD, ECO, EXT, and SLEEP) to the two automatic modes that users do not have direct control over, those being Turbo mode and Reserve mode.  We talk in detail about the factory settings associated with Reserve mode, including the implications associated with battery longevity in the event that the factory settings are...

Welcome to the first episode of Season 2 of the Fat Bird, Ugly Dog Podcast.  In this episode I talk to Kevin Harcourt of Marshall Radio Telemetry.  Kevin tells us a little about the company, its philosophy, and how he came to be part of the Marshall Radio team. We then distinguish between Radio Detection Finding (RDF)  technology and Global Positioning System (GPS) technology, including components of each system and the way in which each system combines component-specific functions that allow...

In Part 3 of my series with Ronnie Moore, we discuss Ron's  recollection of  implementation of the 1981 Wildlife and Countryside Act, how it came about, and its pitfalls for practicing falconers.  Ron talks about his second shot at immortalization after he received an invitation to fly Ailsa on  Bleasdale Towers estate. He recounts how the largest scotch and lemonade turned into two, and the unfortunate events that followed.  He tells us about an outing where he and Diana Durman-Walters were...

In this episode, I am again join by Ronnie Moore, author of "Memoirs of a Hunting Falconer".  At the end of Part 1, Ron described how he came to acquire “Ailsa”, We start this conversation today with Ron's first interactions with her as he began the process of training her for falconry.  Once he had gained Ailsa’s trust, and she was ready to fly free, he encouraged her to hunt from the soar as he had done with “Mort” many years prior, and he recounts how he got her entered on quarry.  Ron...

In this Episode Ronnie Moore joins me to tell us about his early childhood experiences and how they led to his love of the outdoors and hunting pursuits.  Ron describes how he came to acquire one of his first falconry birds, a European buzzard he named "Mort" - Ron released "Mort", but that was not the end of their time hunting together.  Although  Ron is likely best known for his golden eagle “Ailsa”, he also flew goshawks and falcons achieving much the same standard of falconry with them...

In this episode Vickie Joseph joins me to talk about Clinical Avian Pathology Services and she tells us which items falconers should carry in a Med Kit.  We also talk about "supportive care" and what it entails. We talk about the importance of hydration, the various types of fluids that can be administered, and how to administer them.  We talk about diet and discuss the quality of wild food compared to quail. We talk about impact injuries and bite wounds including those associated with...

This week I am joined by Doug Manzer of the Alberta Conservation Association (ACA). Doug  is well-known for his Sharp-tailed Grouse expertise, but he has also spent about two decades working on other wildlife species and, of course, habitat conservation and management in the province of Alberta, Canada. We talk a little philosophy and ask the question, "Why Hunters Hunt", we also talk about upland game birds that primarily inhabit open areas including Doug’s own work on sharp tailed grouse....

This episode brings my discussion with Steve Chindgren to an end. We began the episode talking about a club that Steve and his childhood friend, Jim Hutchins, established as very young boys. Steve tells us about hist 25-year relationship with his gyr peregrine tiercel, Jomo, and tells us about a few close calls. including one where Jomo was lost in the sage without telemetry.   We then hear story of "Rocky",  who was killed by a golden eagle after along tail chase and killing a sage grouse....

In this episode Steve compares and contrasts the various species of falcon that he has flown on sage grouse, and why he believes that the tiercel gyr/peregrine hybrid is the ultimate sage grouse hawk.  He also explains how he trains and conditions his birds to hunt sage grouse, how he uses his dogs when hunting, and he also tells us about two  his favorite falcons, BBG (a wild-taken gyrfalcon harvested in Alaska), and Kallikak, his spectacular prairie/peregrine hybrid.

Author and falconer, Steve Chindgren joins me to talk about his career producing and conducting bird shows, his camp on the Big Sandy, and how he began hawking sage grouse. Steve talks about basic sage grouse biology, the sage habitat they rely on, and the threats to the species. He compares hunting sage grouse to hunting red grouse and sharp tailed grouse. No conversation about hawking winter sage grouse could exclude the topic of golden eagles - Steve shares his experiences with golden...

 This week British falconer, Simon Tyers, author of  "The Specialist Falcon – A Personal Approach to Lowland Hawking”, joins me for another wide ranging discussion. In Part 3, Simon details two hawking stories, offers his views on the future of UK falconry, and talks about those to whom the book is dedicated. Links to the book The Specialist Falcon Website Marshal Radio

 This week British falconer, Simon Tyers, author of  "The Specialist Falcon – A Personal Approach to Lowland Hawking”, joins me for another wide ranging discussion. In Part 2, Simon discusses his philosophy of matching the falcon to quarry, lure and drone training, dogs, field craft and quarry. Links to the book The Specialist Falcon Website Marshal Radio

 This week British falconer, Simon Tyers, author of  "The Specialist Falcon – A Personal Approach to Lowland Hawking”, joins me for a wide ranging discussion on his philosophical approach to falconry in general, and, more specifically,  how he prepares his hunting birds, including a description of his "Perfect Day". Simon explains some terms specific to UK falconry, constraints that falconers in the UK must face, and the uphill battle to re-initiate a peregrine falcon harvest despite total...

Matt Rinella joins me to tell us about the Hunt Quietly Movement and the Hunt Quietly Podcast.  Our discussion was precipitated by an opinion piece that Matt wrote for Free Range American entitled “Unfollowing Hunting Social Media Will Make Hunting Better” which was published in December 2021, Matt defines R3 for Canadian and international listeners, and outlines why he thinks R3 bears some responsibility for over-crowding of public land. He then walks us through his reasoning for his views...

Steve Layman joins me to have a conversation about application of Operant Conditioning to training of raptors (primarily goshawks) for falconry. We quickly go over some terms that are addressed in more detail in Episode 5. We discuss Steve's underlying philosophy to the practice of falconry, his first exposure to, and application of Operant Condition as a university student.  Steve then explains how to shape behavior using three examples (looking away, hooding a new bird, and hooding a hood...

In this episode, Al talks to Nick Adair of the "Gun Dog it Yourself" Podcast. Nick tells us about his dogs, and why he selected the breeds he did. We discuss his training philosophy, and a recurring theme of his podcast - "Trainer Fights"! We discuss the use of Positive Punishment (listen to Fat Bird, Ugly Dog,  Episode 5 "Operant Conditioning 101", if you are unfamiliar with the term) . Confusion often exists between "whoa" and "steadiness" - Nick gives his definition of "whoa", and...

 In this episode Brian Millsap (USFWS-retired) and Gordon Court (Province of Alberta Species at Risk Biologist) join me to discuss aspects of peregrine natural history, events surrounding listing and de-listing, and the events that led to a limited harvest of hatch year peregrine falcons in the United States.  

In this episode Brian Millsap (USFWS-retired) and Gordon Court (Province of Alberta Species at Risk Biologist) join me to discuss aspects of peregrine natural history, events surrounding listing and de-listing, and the events that led to a limited harvest of hatch year peregrine falcons in the United States.

In this episode, I run through fundamental terms associated with operant conditioning. This episode is presented in preparation for future guests that use the approach to train their falconry birds and/or bird dogs. For questions or comments, please visit Fat Bird, Ugly Dog on Facebook. Primary reinforcer - any motivating factor that is essential to survival.   Secondary reinforcer - also called a Conditioned Reinforcer, is any neutral factor that when paired with a primary reinforcer...