Lures

Today I started working Isabeau on the lure. I get asked a lot "How do you get them to come back?" Well, the lure is one of our tools for this. With a red tail, pretty much anything will do, including an old shoe. I made mine out of leather with a long cord attached to swing it.

My lure.

The lure is a guaranteed meal and plays to their lazy, opportunistic nature. It is their favorite thing in the entire world. If the bird is in a dangerous situation, the lure is a go-to virtual guarantee of bringing the bird in.
Today, I made our lures and put her entire daily ration of food on it. I kept the introduction simple and  just tossed it on the ground below her perch while blowing hard on the whistle. She had a moment of confusion when she didn't see the glove raised until she noticed the meat. She figured it out quickly after that. The best thing about it was that she didn't mantle--spreading the wings to guard the meal--showing that she's comfortable with me being near her food. I let her take her time eating and reached in with the glove to touch her and touch the lure to show that I wouldn't take it from her, which will be helpful if she's got a squirrel trying to bite her toes off (it can happen!) and I need to help with the dispatch. When she was finished, I let her play with it until she got bored before covering it with my skirt while she got back up on the perch. Tomorrow I'll have her come to it from a greater distance and we'll keep this up until she's willing to stop whatever she's doing to get it.