Vultures and cameras :)

On Sunday I took a small group up to the vulture restaurant because there was a dead cow. On the way we saw a breeding pair of Egyptians, which was amazing! I'm so happy to have seen them in the wild, and grateful for the brief chane at a photograph.

We saw a lot of vultures, hymalayan griffons, and redheads mainly. Unfortunately, for a few different reasons, we didn't actually observe them eating the carcass...but I still thought the experience was well worth it.

Monday we had two awesome flights and a falconry lesson in the afternoon. We went to thai for dinner, which was great. Richard and Toby from the RSPB came and we had a nice sit-down about vultures in Nepal and India.

Yesterday I painted my bathroom, so it looks really nice. We had a full day of flights, keeping with the routine of our busy days. In the afternoon we had a visit from an American director looking to make a film about a Nepali girl. I won't give away too much of the plot, but there are some scenes that he wants some vultures for....we'll see, maybe Kevin or Bob will be on the big screen ;)

Today I did a falconry lesson this morning, which was really nice. Tango decided to drop us a present, a rat with the trap still attached. Nice.
Then Scott and Elli flew a Japanese film crew for a TV show. Now we're all having lunch and a midday break before the next round of flights.

Happy Birthday to Noa

It's hard to find things to update in these blog posts. Everyday is so similar and yet unique at the same time.
We pretty much stick to the same schedule lately...
Weigh the birds, put them out, clean, falconry lessons, first flights, lunch group, and then second flights.
Sounds like a pretty set day, but things change all the time. Dependng on the weather, birds,or paragliders. Even though we try to stick to this plan, something different always ends pops up, and I wouldn't have it any other way.

Today we are celebrating Noas birthday. He turned 3 this week, so we will all have some cake this afternoon to celebrate. Happy Birthday Noa!!!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Things have been going great as normal. We have flights every day, and lately a lot of falconry lessons.

Wednesday we spent a lot of time preparing for thanksgiving, cutting and peeling.

Yesteday was pretty busy, between flights and cooking, we were all running around. Anita spent most of the day cooking, and at night we had lots of people come over to celebrate. We had an amazing dinner, and the best part was the leftovers for today ;)

Last night we found a baby spotted dove that tried to fledge too early. I kept it in my room for the night, but we tried to reintroduce it to the parents this morning and it took off. We haven't been able to find it, so natures going to take it's course.

And just now we got a phone call that "cow dead" which means that if I can get a group together, we will be going back to the restaurant to watch the vultures move I. Pretty exciting, so I'll keep my fingers crossed!

First Flight with Bob!

Today we had a videographer come to film some of our daily actives for a piece he's making for French tv. He spent some time with me during the falconry lesson, then went up to takeoff wit Scott.

After the lesson I did my usual activities, cleaning the aviaries, getting food ready for the birds, playing with Talo, and laundry.
The first flight with Kevin went well, the passengers were happy and so was he. The weather is finally how it's supposed to be, nice blue skies and sun.
We only had one flight booked for the afternoon, leaving one open. Unexpectedly, Ellie asked if I wanted to fly. I asked "what kind of a question is that?" OF COURSE I'd love to.

So we all jumped in a taxi and up to the takeoff. The videographer joined us as well, had some interviews and filmed take off.

We got a nice lift in the thermal and the experience is almost indescribable. I thought I enjoyed a regular paragliding flight, but being able to watch Bob soaring, maneuvering, and landing on my glove was unlike any experience I've ever had with a bird.

From a bird lover's point of view, watching him in a natural environment, watching how easy he can make decisions, turns, stops...the whole thing left me speechless, which is pretty hard to do. From a trainer's perspective, it's always rewarding when your birds do the behaviors you ask of them. It's the greatest satisfaction when the activity you ask is so enriching for them. Being with Bob in flight truly allowed me to appreciate what we are doing with these birds, and know that they enjoy and expect these flights perhaps even more than we do.

And here's a photo from our amazing flight...

In summary, a life changing experience as both a bird enthusiast and trainer

Blue Skies!

Yesterday was completely rainy and a waste in relation to anything paragliding or bird related, however Anita, Ellie, Talo, and I went to Mehendrapool to go shopping. Surprisingly, I was able to find everything I was looking for. My room feels homey and mine, and the bathroom is neatly organized. 

Today we finally saw blue skies for the first time seemingly in a month. Heres Kevin, enjoying some sun

It was great to just be outside! I had a falconry lesson in the morning, then finally got to do some laundry.

While waiting for the first flights to come down, Anita and I were presently surprised when Talo started crawling for the first time. Looks like the good weather has him feeling adventurous too. He's going to be unstoppable now!

We had two lunch  groups, both of which went well and they were interested in our project and conservation, always a good sign.

Our second two flights are due down any minute, which will effectively wind down a  really busy day, but all went smoothly.

Clearer skies ahead...

Slowly the weather is clearing, allowing us to do a few flights.

I've had some falconry lessons, which are going nicely. The guests seem to enjoy them And it allows the birds some much needed exercise.

Weve been very lucky and able to squeeze in some parahawking flights, making everyone happy.

Tango has been even more of a pain lately, going after me, Scott, our birds, and now Scoobys food. I tried so hard today to grab her, but no luck. Eventually we will get her and be able to transport her safely some place else.

We finally got around to coping Bob, so he's got a nice looking beak and set of nails :)

In other news, Ive moved closer to Maya Devi, which is lovely. I'm enjoying my new space.

Vulture Restaurant

The weather continues to disappoint us, so Scott and I took a trip down to the vulture conservation site, also known as a vulture restaurant. Basically it's a place for old or abandoned cows. They are free to roam and graze, and when the cows die the vultures can safely eat the carcasses without the possibility of ingesting the harmful drug Diclofenac.

This sign explains the vulture safe zone and is located at the village just before the cow pastures.

The trip took us about an hour on motorbike, with a few scary moments in between. The paved roads in Nepal are not well maintained, but they're better than being on rocks and mud. Unfortunately part of our journey included crossing a river, and going both up and down steep terrain. Luckily we arrived in one piece. Because of all the rain, the river was really high and we had to leave the bike behind. From here we walked the small path down to the gate.

Once in the cow area, we were lucky to see a few vultures circling, and then this beautiful site of a bunch of Hymilayian Griffons and a Red-headed vulture feeding:

Amazing. After they saw us, they flew off and waited on the ridge:

Here's a few cow carcasses..appealing? Our visit also involved some constructive criticism, such as removing old carcasses, otherwise bones will just about pile up everywhere.

This vulture safe zone relies on donations to continue maintenance. By raising money through parahawking we can help preserve this space. Some of the money we raise goes towards projects such as this. The people who maintain the site know this, and they were eager to talk to Scott and I about their hopes for the future of the project. We are hoping to build a wall around the cow area so that they can be better kept and looked after. Also, we are hoping to use a room in the school to do talks and presentations to the students and community about vulture conservation. Here's a photo of Ravi and Scott, clearly excited to be discussing the future!

Goggles in the bath

Bad weather...

Yesterday was a nice day, I did a falconry lesson for two really nice women. They enjoyed it, and then left me to go parahawking with Scott, which they definitely liked.

I had a group for lunch. Basically the tour groups come, I talk to them about vulture conservation and try to spread the word about what's happening in Asia. (still don't know? Google "vultures diclofenac").

The day ended pretty early and we all loaded up to watch the Gurkhas vs. Pilots soccer match at the British camp. It was a nice afternoon, all of the babies were out and I felt like I was in a JCrew or Ralf Lauren ad. Loafers and chinos anyone? Afterwards we hung around a bit and then went for pizza. Good way to end the night.

Today the cloud cover was awful so we couldn't do any flying. I worked the kites in the morning, did a talk to a less than enthusiastic group, and we flew Bob at Maya Devi. He's still not 100%, so we are working on building his muscle before he goes on another long flight. Kevin had the day off :)

Poor Bobkins :(

Though itnwas a relief to have successful first flights with both birds, we weren't out of the woods yet. Tuesday was our round two.
Kevins second flight went well, possibly because he's more fit, or more experienced to know his own limits.
Bob's was not as successful, and was actually a scary experience for all of us. Seemingly out of no where, he just fell out of the sky. Luckily he landed in a rice paddy with no serious injuries. We still aren't sure if he was starting a decent, if he had a muscle cramp, or other problem...but it was a definately reminder of our motives. Our best interests are for our birds, and so although it wasn't something we wanted to do, we needed to cancel a few flights to get Bob back to health.

Today is his second day of resting and feasting, and he's looking much more lively. Here's photos of him chowing down on a delicious mix of egg, buffalo meat, and chicken. Yum.

Kevin will be flying this afternoon, and hopefully Bob will be back to himself tomorrow.

In other news, Tango has been very aggressive (as usual), but took it a bit too far for my patience today. While I was working Goggles she came down and whacked me in the face. We've got to figure out a solution for this one, and quick.

Xxx

First (unofficial) Flight!

This morning we finally saw a break in the rain. I was able to give falconry lessons to a nice couple, who really enjoyed working with the birds and learning about the birds.

Then after a little worrying about the weather, we decided to try out first trial flights with the vultures today. We went into town to get the paperwork sorted and unfortunately ran into a bit of trouble. A gentleman didn't understand our cause, or care to listen, and decided to cause a scene. He claimed we were illegal (which we aren't) tha the birds belong to the government of Nepal (which they don't) and that he works for congress (which he didn't) after a lot of arguing,some police involvement, and translation work he fled the scene without so much as an apology.

Moving onwards, we were finally able to get the show on the road. Kevin and Ellie flew first, looking beautiful, followed by Scott and Bob. I was a little nervous when Bib got stuck on my glove before take off, but he happliy ran to the side of the takeoff point and flew from there. Awesome. I was so happy to see them flying, and so happy to get a start on our season.

Here's a nice shot of Bob pondering his flight....

Xo

Better

Haven't posted the last few days for two reasons, I had a horrific hold/flu illness, and it's been raining nonstop.

The kites are all doing well, all at good weights and working daily (in between storms).

Bob has now completed multiple flights from the hilltop down to the landing. Kevin started the same flight yesterday and also did well. It might be silly, but I'm feeling proud of them.

Today, if the weather cooperates, we will be doing a full on practice flight with Bob. I'm nevous, excited, and ready to start our season :)

Rain, Rain, Go Away!

Although the monsoon season is technically over, it's still raining. Almost every night. The water table is still high, so the ground is always a little smushy. The rain isn helping much for the thatched roof we have on the aviary either. Today Scott decided to bring it down. Because of the rot, dust, mold and whatever else, we moved the birds a little farther away from the demolishing site. We set them up in a circle, which was nice for all of us...

Got to work 4/5 birds today, not bad. Kevin had a day off because disinfecting the aviaries was a top priorty after roof removal. I'll post pictures of our project tomorrow.

The kites all were flown out in front of Maya Devi. Poor Brad, Tango snuck up behind him and scared him off the perch. Although, she also snuck up behind me and gave me a good whack on the head.

Bob is getting better, he was chased down by the kites once this morning, but actually did make it down to the landing zone, so I'm gonna call it a success.

We've had pretty long power cuts the last two days, about 6 hours a day...luckily we don't need much power for working birds outside, so business can continue as usual. At tis rate, the boys should be up and running by next week :)

Ah, and I figured out how to add photos to my blogs, hopefully making them more appealing.

Happy Halloween!

We attempted to fly Bob again closer to home, but the kites are still an issue. They continued to mob him in flight and went after Scott once Bob was on the glove. This shouldn't be an issue when he's a little more fit and confident

Tango also went to hit me and Raju back at Maya Devi. Shes becoming more than just a little pain.

Flew all three kites, who are still on the heavy side but coming down.

Here's a nice photo of Goggles

Claudio, Ellie, and Noah arived yesterday, but it was also Steve's last night before heading home, so we all ordered Thai and had a small party. We played some beer pong and I even won against Scott (doesnt matter that it came down to the last cup, does it? A win is a win).

Today we were able to do some flights with Bob without full on attacks! Success. The kites are doing okay amd Goggles is getting a beak trim.

Finally Kevin is making an appearance, we are flying him at Pame this afternoon