Kaya's Hatchday

Today is Kaya's Schlüpftag!!

Kaya hatched on April 22nd 2022 and so today she turns one year old! So much has happened in this bird’s life since that day. In the beginning she was just a ball of fluff that her parents fed and smothered to keep her warm, without any siblings to share with. She briefly had a foster brother, but that didn’t go as well as the breeder hoped, so he was taken out again.

She spent the next weeks without a care in the world in the mew with her parents, eventually outgrowing Dad and outliving Mom. In early August when she was 15 weeks old, we drove up to Hessen to get her, and that’s when she had her first real contact with humans. She was not particularly thrilled, but I’ll write about that day on our “Gotcha-day” anniversary.

This post will show one photo a month from the last year, the first two from the nestcam of the breeder.

Apr 2022
Mom Colly brooding her eggs.

May 2022
There she is! At this point we were calling her Cora.
Look at those big feet!

June 2022
M and I take one last mini-vacation in the Schwarzwald
for our wedding anniversary. 

July 2022
Despite the nightmare of dealing with the Bauamt and the Veterinäramt,
Kaya's mew was finished and ready a week before she arrived.

Aug 2022
Despite her initial fear of us, 
here we are 3 days after we got her.

Sept 2022
After much training and some failures, 
Kaya gets her first crow!

Oct 2022
Having a chat with "Dad" after training.

Nov 2022
When we're not out hawking, we go on walks.
This was at the Rauschbart Biergarten overlooking Horb.

Dec 2022
Family photo after a successful hunt

Jan 2023
Sitting on one of our favorite benches
during a cold winter walk.

Feb 2023
Another successful kill on the last day of the season.
Crow #22!

Mar 2023
"Singing" on her perch in the sun room.

Apr 2023
Hawk yoga (stretching ALL the way)

What will the next year bring?
Photo: Jon K.

We have enjoyed this first year of her life and hope she is content with us as well. She seems to be, in that each time we set her free, she comes back to us - so far even when we don't have a tidbit on our glove. We look forward to every day with her. She looks forward to every meal.

22 April, 2023
Today's your day, Girlfriend!
Hatchday menu: Wachtel (quail)

Until next time...

Falknersheil!!