Eddie B. Horvath, Director of CCWC/CCHA traggic story about Princess, my sub-adult Goshawk This absolutely sucks!!! I hate writing stories like this. Since FM, the prairie falcon that got killed by what I suspect was a golden eagle, about six months have passed. I had returned home from an uncessful days hunting and retired Princess in her mew and turned out the lights for my- self. The next morning was beautiful and sunny and I began my usual ritual of taking the raptors from their mews for weathering in the back yard. I first arrived at the new passage prairie falcons mew and noticed she had pulled her block from the ground and was huddled and shivering in the corner of her mew. I knew something really had to be wrong if she could pull the block over and drag it. I entered the mew and then it struck me realy hard that my dear Princess wasn't chirping upon my approach of the mews and I also could not hear her bells. I quickly gather up the prairie and got her on the lawn perch and ran to Princess's mew. Instant heartache and tears struck my heart once again. There she lie on the ground benieth her ring perch all tangled up. Once inside her mew I found she wasn't really tangled at all, the leash was just laid across her still body. I picked her up with gentle ease and noticed her legs immediately. The epithelial cells, the skin on the legs, was compltely removed revealing fresh blood, flesh and bone. Something had scared her so badly that she must have bated so hard that the jesses ripped the skin off her legs, most likely causing severe stress and shock which I suspect killed her. There were no signs of a cat or dog or skunk at all in the dirt sur- rounding the mews so my next guess which is very common amoung falconers is an attempted attack of a great-horned owl. Since the great-horned owl is nocturnal and hunts at night, one could have easily tried to get into the mews to get each of the birds. The prairie was simply lucky to pull her perch over but the fright simply caused too much stress for Princess to take. She will be dearly missed as she was a wonderful bird.
Copyright 1996 Eddie B. Horvath, Director, CCWC/CCH
Last Update: 19 October 2001