Calling Cisco

Friday - I had to table all thoughts to work at the zoo. The Lions gig is tonight, the VamoLa show is tomorrow and I still don't have any kind of costume for the parade; but the raptor program needs me today and I already committed to them; so I have to go.

They're short one keeper today, so Jean proposes that I participate in the free-flight program today. My job would be to call Cisco, the Harris' Hawk, to fly over to me at two points in the show.

The problem is that Cisco doesn't like me. On my first day there, four weeks ago, I was standing in the barn, peeking out into the outside yard through a half-open door. Outside were a dozen hawks each tethered to their own personal perch, and one of them started screaming. That was Cisco. He was 50 feet away away from me, surrounded by a few hundred zoo visitors, and I was just peeking around a door in the dark barn far away, but he spotted me, knew right away from my maroon sweatshirt that I was a new volunteer, and started screaming. "He's seen you," said the raptor keeper. "He's yelling at you because you're new. He does this with every new volunteer."



For that first two weeks, every time I walked through the thick zoo crowd outside, he'd scream at me. Every time I visited the zoo on other business and happened to walk past the Raptor yard, Cisco would scream at me. I didn't matter what I was wearing any more - he knew my face now, and immediately picked me out from the thousands of zoo visitors that he sees every day.

For that first two weeks there, the lead keeper had me hide in the barn during Cisco's free-flight routine. "Cisco is obviously not down with you and I think it's better if you stay out of sight," he'd said. The birds fly completely free in the raptor shows, and if they're startled or upset about something, they can forget the routine and fly away.

Cisco is a Harris' Hawk, which is the only social hawk in the world. Harris' hawks live in tight-knit family groups, and it makes them extraordinarily sensitive to the social bonds they have with individual people, and rather stubborn about new people who try to join their "family" of human handlers. On the plus side - once you get on their good side, they become sweet and cooperative.

Well, the first two Fridays I was there, Cisco screamed at me nonstop. The third Friday, though, he just gave me a few peeps, and I carried his box (with him in it) to the start of both programs. I know he could see me through the holes of the box, but he didn't scream, and he flew well in both programs. Was he starting to get used to me?

Today is the fourth week. So, in the 12:30 program, I waited for my cue (hide by the tree till Cisco flies to the back perch three times). Then I stepped out into view, and climbed up a little stepladder to the platform that he was supposed to fly to. Cisco had arrived at the front perch. Jean pointed toward me, and he looked at me. I had a little mouse leg, which I put on his platform, and then I blew my whistle and waved my hand - which meant "I've got a yummy mouse leg for you if you fly to my platform."

He looked at me, I blew the whistle, waved my hand, blew the whistle, waved my hand. He just kept staring at me.

To my surprise, he started to crouch as if to take off - then changed his mind.

Crouched again to fly... and changed his mind and stood up.
Tweet, wave my hand.
Crouched... took off! Flew partway but lost his nerve halfway toward me, and landed instead on a fence.

Jean called him back to the perch. We started over.

Tweet, wave my hand. Tweet, wave my hand.
Crouch, change his mind. Crouch, change his mind.
Crouch, fly!
... but again lose courage halfway there, and land on the grass this time.

The crowd was watching all this in rapt silence. Jean had explained to them that I was new and that Cisco was still getting to know me, and they were interested to see that a hawk could be undecided about working with a new person.

There he was, a nervous Harris' hawk sitting in the grass, looking at me uncertainly.

... and then, due to a miscue, a third raptor handler walked out unexpectedly with Cisco's box. He spotted it and flew gratefully right to it - at last, his nice safe box, instead of the scary new person!

Jean said afterwards "I'm sure he would have flown to you if we hadn't had that miscue with the box coming out. I'm certain of it. Let's try again in the 3:30 program."

So, 3:30 program rolls around.... I hide by the tree, wait my cue, go to the platform.

Tweet, wave my hand.
He stares at me.
Tweet, wave my hand.

Cisco takes off straight at me. He soars RIGHT AT ME. Huger and huger and huger, a beautiful, enormous, hawk coming straight at me, wings wide. Larger and larger and larger. He swoops up and lands on my platform softly and gracefully, folds his wings, eats my little mouse leg. He gives me one more of those contemplative, intent Cisco stares. Jean calls him back and he flies right back to her, hops along the fence for her.

Then I call him back one more time and this time, with no hesitation, he takes off immediately for me, flies right to me.

I almost melted. I'm amazed that the sight of a bird flying toward me could move me that much.