TheHawk Posted September 14, 2011 Report Share Posted September 14, 2011 I hope iv posted this in the correct place, and although its not directly connected to falconry, i hope you find it of interest. Resently i was contacted by Clint Boal. The Assistant Leader and Associate Professor of USGS Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, in Texas, US. He had seen one of the projects i had been working on, called 'The Animatronic Hawk Project' link: - Animatronic Hawk Production Reel As i understand the study and management of wildlife species often requires the capture of animals to mark or radio tag individuals, to obtain morphological, physiological and genetics data, train graduate students or field workers, or to manipulate populations. The hawks will swoop at the owl lure to try to chase it from the nest area and get captured in the net. It is a very effective trapping method, but there are several problems that a good animatronic owl would overcome. First, there are permits to use a live owl for this purpose. I understand the owls are usually non-releasable rehabilitated birds with some injury (e.g., broken wing). Getting these permits is a very onerous task due to legal requirements. Second, because the owl is alive, we have to provide food and care for it, and protect it from environmental conditions such as cold, heat, direct sunlight, etc. Third, Animal Welfare Legislation has led to many institutions not allowing the use of a live owl for this purpose without substantial justification and oversight. This has led many researchers to use plastic scarecrow owls or stuffed owls. However, these do not work well for trapping. Life-like movements are critical for getting an aggressive response from hawks. The use of scarecrows or stuffed owls also may induce greater disturbance to the nesting hawks due to low aggression response but repeated disturbance due to the researcher trying to capture them repeatedly. This could be problematic when trapping in remote locations; you want the trap to work the first time after hauling all the equipment in to the site. Some researcher have made stuffed owls with heads that can be rotated with radio control. They do not work well, but I believe with a fully animatronic owl, would be a substantial leap in terms of trapping lures. The cocking of the head, opening of the beak, flutter of its wings, would make it, I suspect, incredibly efficient in trapping raptors. I am certain that, numerous researchers would be interested in forgoing the headaches of live owls and stuffed decoys by getting an animatronic owl. Clint Boal, who is now (i hope) a client that i will be working with to field test an Animatronic Owl for luring raptors so his research can be carried out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deny essex Posted September 14, 2011 Report Share Posted September 14, 2011 Nice bird , good to see something more elaborate on here Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheHawk Posted September 17, 2011 Author Report Share Posted September 17, 2011 Nice bird , good to see something more elaborate on here Thanks, Well im in the process of sculpting the body for the Owl, so once my supplier has contacted me about a discontinued product 'Of which i need to make the mould' ill post pictures. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheHawk Posted September 20, 2011 Author Report Share Posted September 20, 2011 The Process has started. here is the Sculpture: a rough form: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheHawk Posted October 23, 2011 Author Report Share Posted October 23, 2011 Design: Cast: Control Mech: Movement Test 1. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deny essex Posted October 23, 2011 Report Share Posted October 23, 2011 Nice movement look forward to seeing more as it progresses Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fenboy Posted October 25, 2011 Report Share Posted October 25, 2011 Very nice could you knock us up a couple of dozen pigeon decoys Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheHawk Posted April 3, 2012 Author Report Share Posted April 3, 2012 PLEASE VOTE MY VIDEO TO WIN 10K!!!! Each month people can vote for their chosen video. Voting ends at the end of each month. No votes will be rolled over into the following month voting period. Every project will begin a new voting period with 0 votes. so i need you to vote as much as you can each month.. at the end of the month a winner is selected and wins an Ipad... BUT, Out of all monthly winners they will be selecting a grant prize winner who will receive $10000 in cash. The two follow up winners will receive their own 3D printer. Please Vote By scrolling down the page to see video and hit vote: http://www.bocabearings.com/innovation-contest/ContestantDetails.aspx?ProjectID=41 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deny essex Posted April 3, 2012 Report Share Posted April 3, 2012 Done Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheHawk Posted April 16, 2012 Author Report Share Posted April 16, 2012 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheHawk Posted April 17, 2012 Author Report Share Posted April 17, 2012 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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