Today we have a group of six, and we take three birds out. I am delighted that we are taking Runway, a male American Kestrel that was found near the airport (to my eyes, one of the most handsome birds among the birds of prey in this area, with its black malar stripes [sort of "sideburns"], slate-blue wings and cap, and rufous breast with black spots).

The six of us break up into pairs and are assigned birds to jess up and bring out. This time the instructor stays out of the mews, advising us as needed from outside. My partner and I are assigned to Cocomo (our patient dark-morph red-tail from last time). My partner does the jesses, swivel, and leash fairly quickly and easily. Cocomo bates a couple of times near the end, but otherwise is calm and patient.

It's sprinkling a bit, so after bringing the birds out and transferring them out back, we move to the carport (the birds don't mind the rain, but we do).

I really want to hold Runway, but I wait my turn, and that means I get to hold my old pal Knuckles in the meantime. As to calling Knuckles a "little bastard" in RH 101, I feel I should retract that statement. Of course when you deal with animals, you tend to assign to them the same motives a human would have in a similar situation - anthropomorphism - when generally their experience is entirely different.

And I am determined that I will welcome challenges, and Knuckles represents a challenge. I hold him this time for a good fifteen minutes, and he actually calms down enough that he is not panting (exhibiting "Gular Fluttering"), and I realize that it really IS about providing a reliable steady perch. I can tell that he feels and attempt to adjust to the tiniest movements of my fist. When I keep steady, Knuckles is comfortable and actually almost seems to enjoy my company (if I am allowed to indulge again in a bit of anthropomorphism). The instructors have been saying this, but to learn it "in your bones" is a different thing. Knuckles wlll occasionally help you "learn it in your bones" by brute-force application of beak and talon.

For Runway, we use smaller, thinner gloves. He's maybe 8-10 inches long from head to tip of tail, and his talons, while formidable, don't require welding gloves like with the bigger birds. He is a sweet bird, presenting almost no problems in transferring or holding on the fist. He weighs almost nothing, compared to the 3- to 4-pound owls and hawks.

As it happens, I am holding Knuckles again when we are told to take the birds back into the mews and practice un- and re-jessing them. I welcome the challenge. With dread. This is a step further from what I did last time - I haveto actually remove the jesses - pull them out from the grommets in Knuckles bracelets - and then put them back on, along with the rest of his bondage accessories. This means having my bare hand in beak and talon range for a significantly longer time.

Though it takes me a while, I am happy and proud to succeed with this - and Knuckles seems pleased also.

s (Off to Hawk Watch!)