Today was a very good day.
Aug. 20th, 2008 07:43 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
memento1Good day! Very good day. Squee!
At work, we share the stage with a bird show, and the trainers are all very nice people I've gotten to know. When they learned I was applying for the Minnesota Zoo bird show, they invited me to come in on my day off and shadow them for a day. So today, I did. And it was wonderful. Most of them went to Moorpark years ago, so they know I've had experience and thus threw me right in. I got to handle Harris Hawks and an Eagle Owl, help them weigh birds, and prepare for shows. In shows, I got to feed an African Crowned Crane and the same Eagle Owl as they flew across stage. I helped train Rooty, their red river hog. The highlight, however, was in the last show when they had me help with Califia, an Andean Condor. She flies across stage from mark to mark several times, and I was on one mark. I'd leave a chunk of meat on the mark, wave her over, and step away as she flew up. I stepped away too early on the first pass and she went back to the first mark, so I didn't do it perfectly, but it was a thrill and all worked out okay.
Lately they've been training for a brand new behavior - they float a giant blimp balloon over a hundred feet up and remotely release hawks from a crate hanging under it. They released three hawks this morning so I got to help attach telemetry (in case the hawks fly off), send the balloon up, and watch as they were released and flew down to stage like a bullet. It's cute because when the crate door drops open, you see this little hawk head peek over the edge and then the bird drops like a stone straight down. The harris hawks put on the brakes and glide in to the trainer, but the ferruginous hawk doesn't let up and seems to hit the glove at top speed. It's quite a sight. Anyways, I got to ask all my burning questions, like how they trained their macaws to fly round and round the stadium, and generally get a feel for how they run things. It was especially nice to see how they worked the raptors and other birds, as most of my bird experience is with parrots. It certainly reminded me that I need to work on my falconer's knot. *G* It was a wonderful experience, and now I'm more eager than ever to hear back from the Minnesota Zoo. The application deadline was today so hopefully within the week I'll hear something. Eeee!
Can I do it again?
At work, we share the stage with a bird show, and the trainers are all very nice people I've gotten to know. When they learned I was applying for the Minnesota Zoo bird show, they invited me to come in on my day off and shadow them for a day. So today, I did. And it was wonderful. Most of them went to Moorpark years ago, so they know I've had experience and thus threw me right in. I got to handle Harris Hawks and an Eagle Owl, help them weigh birds, and prepare for shows. In shows, I got to feed an African Crowned Crane and the same Eagle Owl as they flew across stage. I helped train Rooty, their red river hog. The highlight, however, was in the last show when they had me help with Califia, an Andean Condor. She flies across stage from mark to mark several times, and I was on one mark. I'd leave a chunk of meat on the mark, wave her over, and step away as she flew up. I stepped away too early on the first pass and she went back to the first mark, so I didn't do it perfectly, but it was a thrill and all worked out okay.
Lately they've been training for a brand new behavior - they float a giant blimp balloon over a hundred feet up and remotely release hawks from a crate hanging under it. They released three hawks this morning so I got to help attach telemetry (in case the hawks fly off), send the balloon up, and watch as they were released and flew down to stage like a bullet. It's cute because when the crate door drops open, you see this little hawk head peek over the edge and then the bird drops like a stone straight down. The harris hawks put on the brakes and glide in to the trainer, but the ferruginous hawk doesn't let up and seems to hit the glove at top speed. It's quite a sight. Anyways, I got to ask all my burning questions, like how they trained their macaws to fly round and round the stadium, and generally get a feel for how they run things. It was especially nice to see how they worked the raptors and other birds, as most of my bird experience is with parrots. It certainly reminded me that I need to work on my falconer's knot. *G* It was a wonderful experience, and now I'm more eager than ever to hear back from the Minnesota Zoo. The application deadline was today so hopefully within the week I'll hear something. Eeee!
Can I do it again?
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