Would you mind sharing your method of attatching them with me? I'm getting lots of ideas but some of them seem a bit dangerous... afraid i'll lose a deck feather. My sponsor used a tail mount once several years ago and he says there are several ways to mount them. I'm looking for the best one. Just being extra cautious.
In an older thread on bells Aaron mentioned he also uses them. I asked for his input there and in a PM. I think I want to get those bells off the tarsus.
Here is two from Falconry Art and Practice by Emma Ford: 1)
and 2)
I have used the second method many times and I like it. It works really well.
Another method from the book Understanding the Bird of Prey by Nick Fox:
I have never used a bell mounted directly onto the deck feather, and was advised that the guitar pick/plectrum is the way to go.
This year I did something different.
It is a combination tail mount for a bell and a telemetry transmitter. I Love it! (I will have to get some pics up later) It solves the problem of having two different mounts...
The also have one for only a transmitter. I havent seen anything for just a Tail-bell though... maybe soon?
-they recomended gluing either side of strip of leather along feather shaft (leather simply goes through bell, then both holes of TM) or using 2 zipties on each shaft.
But I ended up doing something similar to the #2 method in Falconry Art and Practice by Emma Ford.
CATLIN You can use may different glues such as the 5 min epoxy, silicone glue, or super glue. (be careful with the super glue it can be messy...I used 100% Acetone to get rid of excess... )
Bob Dale There is a danger with the deck feather being pulled out, but by using a method where the weight is distributed over 2-4 feathers instead of just one you can lower the risk somewhat.
weasel I have noticed a better footing ability with my redtails without all of that junk on their feet. It is not a matter of not grabbing something or interfering once the prey is caught, but just them being more of a nusiance. The Tail mount and everything weighs like 5g, with the transmitter a total of about 11g... With the anklets and jesses maybe another 6 grams. But I fly a 800g male RT so It seems to me it makes a bigger difference on a smaller bird. You hunt squirrels though so you understandably need some armor to protect your birds. I hunt rabbits so this is not an issue (although today my hawk nailed a squirrel ) When I used bewits on the feet they would droop after awhile, no matter what I did, and did not stick straight out like I wanted.
The Tail-Mount is more of a pain to get on intially, but is really nice after that. Stays out of the way, and doesnt get beat-up as much, plus you can hear the bird when they are perched in a tree. Same thing as the tailmount transmitter, it goes along the tail feathers, and with the tailmount I used does not drop through at all (from Yarak website). Also I have heard the signal is better because it generally points vertical instead of horizontal.
Look at the new issue of the American Falconry Magazine for pros and cons of the options, they did a good job. Also you can check out Marshall telemetry.
I would use a smaller bell than you use for the feet.
Maybe I will try the backpack as more people get experience with it. You really dont know until you try it for yourself !
I have not used leather for this before, so I am not sure.
The guitar pic works great, in the past I put my birds name and a design (Aries) on it with a sharpy, although you couldn't really see it unless you look for it.
I have only heard of it happening rarely, like from flying under a fence and having the bell catch, which is why I think the guitar pick is better than to mount the bell directly onto the tail, since the bell lies flatter. Not straight up. Also why you can use a glue like silicone that may cause the mount to come off easier in a situation like this (depends on mounting methods). I imagine it happens about as much as a jess wrapping around barb wire and pulling the bird up short. I doubt anyone on here has had a feather pulled out... but it is a risk that you should think about, same as hawking prey that can injure the bird.
And no you don’t have to go to the vet to put on the BP; I don’t know why they even wrote that, you just need another pair of hands to cast the bird. That is like sedating the bird to put the jesses on I imagine it is not a one person job, but seriously...
Aaron I use kanga hide and a five minute epoxy. also separate the decks with a card or somethin else to separate it from the rest of the train. Glue can be nasty. as far as sedation, i would say no. I think its less stressful than coping. and yes you need a second pair of hands.
Sedating the bird seemed a bit extreme to me as well. I suppose that if you were doing it by yourself it might be necessary, but that can be avoided. The AFM article created more questions for me than it answered. I know they are trying to sell the backpack but in the process i became confused. It seems to me that there is a reason you see so many birds with bells and transmitters on their legs. It can't be all that bad. But we're always looking for improvements. I'm keeping an open mind.