First Youngster Disaster/Fallout

For the first few days following the "first flight disaster" I could see at least one Delbar in the vicinity. I hoped it would make it back to the loft.

Unfortunately, last night I came home to find one of the feral cats had found, attacked and killed 703, Cairo. It was a special bird to me. It had been severely scalped by an older bird as a juvie and spent some time in the house while I tended to the head wounds. The cat removed its head and was in the process of removing the wing when I showed up.

The feral cats in my neighborhood are particularly aggressive. One came into my house through a doggie door, snatched my male toucan off his perch and tried to escape through the door. Luckily, I was home and caught the cat. They often kill and dismember mourning doves in my backyard, but don't eat them - they appear to kill for sport.

A disappointing first flight is turning out to have a very sad outcome.

Trials and Tribulations of a First Flight

Long time, no post.

The loft has been very busy for the last few months. There have been a total of 10 babies born this season - 7 pure Delbars and 3 Delbar crosses. I devoted an extra amount of time allowing them to get used to their aviary and surroundings, building their homing instincts, building flight muscles, etc. Finally, last Saturday morning, I released them along with the older birds (as guides) for their first flight.

Everything went well...for about 60 seconds. Then, from the west, a flock - yes, a FLOCK - of about 10-15 brown pelicans flew overhead and scattered all the pigeons (including the seasoned birds). I live close to the Sepulveda Basin and it's common to see a few pelicans but I've never seen a flock.

For the first two days, a few full Delbars were seen circling the house. They completely ignored the feed can. After three days, only one Delbar was seen on a nearby telephone pole. That day, a Delbar cross returned to the loft. Since then, no birds have returned.

The pelicans are a fluke, I know. But it's crushing after all that extra work. It's also odd that the birds with the least amount of homing instinct, my crosses, are the best survivors (last season I had 2 Delbars and 2 crosses - only 1 cross remains).

Back to the drawing board. Time to learn from the mistakes and move on. The price to pay stings sometimes...but watching healthy birds fly is worth the work.