Rookery Rooks Homepages : merlintherook.webs.com

A tizzy over Dizzy   (22.5.11)

A near disaster, as we set off round the garden with the dogs this morning Dizzy took off and flew over the wall onto a branch just by the ditch, not that high but too high to reach. Then hew flew onto the electricity wires, we spent ages calling and waving a dead mouse at him. Eventually he took off and flew into the back field, we rushed round there  thinking he would have landed on the grass, but there was nothing to be seen. We searched all round the field, searched all round nomansland, squashed nettles here there and everywhere and got stung to no avail. Josh played his laugh back to him on the mobile phone, but with the wind being so strong, we were doubtful if he would hear it. Josh went and got a band amplifier and rigged it up out the back, and played it at full volume, he answered!  He was in an elderberry back near the wall again, but when we tried to cross the ditch to reach him he flew back into the garden and landed in the yew trees by the pond. Josh climbed the tree he was in and attempted to catch him in the rook net, he flew across the garden to a sycamore near the stone arch. Josh went up a ladder and managed to get him in the rook net, but he got away and flew round towards the nuttery. I was worried he could fly over the road if we weren't careful, so we took the dogs for a walk in the wood and considered further plans of action, I concluded that getting him to do what he was used to would work, ie getting him to perch on something which could be lowered down so he could come onto my hand.  We set forth with a garden hoe, and found he had moved to one of the plum trees by the nuttery, and to a much lower branch.  I raised the hoe, and was able to coax him onto it, lower it, and transfer him to my hand, which I think he was just as relieved about as we were! And all of this only took us about 3 hours!  1 more rook, so now there are 7