The Fat Bird, Ugly Dog Podcast

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The Fat Bird, Ugly Dog Podcast

Al Franke

79 episodes

3 days ago

In this episode I welcome Anton Muller back to the show. After briefly reminding listeners of Anton's background and learning a little about his lanneret's name, we discuss how a captive bred lanner could be developed to bring about the traits that Anton so appreciates in the passage birds he flies. We then turn our attention to what has transpired in Anton's falconry since we last spoke. We briefly talk about the propensity for passage lanners to come with a set of preferences related to pre...

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In this episode I welcome Anton Muller back to the show. After briefly reminding listeners of Anton's background and learning a little about his lanneret's name, we discuss how a captive bred lanner could be developed to bring about the traits that Anton so appreciates in the passage birds he flies. We then turn our attention to what has transpired in Anton's falconry since we last spoke. We briefly talk about the propensity for passage lanners to come with a set of preferences related to pre...

Show more...

Episodes (20/79)

The Fat Bird, Ugly Dog Podcast

79. South African Game Hawker with Anton Muller (Part II)

In this episode I welcome Anton Muller back to the show. After briefly reminding listeners of Anton's background and learning a little about his lanneret's name, we discuss how a captive bred lanner could be developed to bring about the traits that Anton so appreciates in the passage birds he flies. We then turn our attention to what has transpired in Anton's falconry since we last spoke. We briefly talk about the propensity for passage lanners to come with a set of preferences related to pre...

2 days ago

35 minutes

The Fat Bird, Ugly Dog Podcast

78. South African Game Hawker with Francois Breedt (Part II)

In this episode I am joined by Francois Breedt. After briefly reminding listeners of Francois' background, he describes how the "Falconry Gods" intervened and brought was he anticipated would be a very good season with his four-times inter-mewed female Peale's Scottish peregrine cross to an end. Francois explains what he anticipates he will do in response to the setback, and he talks about his dog work plus his most memorable day in the field.

1 week ago

29 minutes

The Fat Bird, Ugly Dog Podcast

77. South African Game Hawker with Cam Coley (Part II)

Cam Coley returns to the show for his first update. After briefly reminding listeners of Cam's falconry situation, he and I talk about the progress that he has made with his new English setter pup. Cam then tells us which one of the two options he was considering when we last spoke - going strait to flying wild quarry or opting to transition to Phase II of the Perfect Pigeon approach. We then discuss the use of bagged quarry in South African falconry. Cam had indicated that it was his i...

3 weeks ago

31 minutes

The Fat Bird, Ugly Dog Podcast

76. South African Game Hawker with Andre Cilliers (Part II)

Andre Cilliers returns to the show with another update of his season. After giving the listeners a brief reminder of Andre's situation. We then talk about what changes the rainy season have brought about and how more water on the landscape has affected his falconry. Andre then clarifies what South Africans mean when they talk about a "vlei system". We then turn our attention to Andre's update beginning with his passage lanner that he had acquired when we last spoke. We...

1 month ago

27 minutes

The Fat Bird, Ugly Dog Podcast

75. South African Game Hawker with Kyle Perrin (Part I)

Kyle Perrin flies an imprint black sparrowhawk. He joins me this week to talk about his bird, his dogs, and his desire to pursue helmeted guinea fowl, catching them on the rise after a long, open slip. Kyle explains why he chose to fly a black spar, including how he manages his hawk to ensure she remains feather perfect. He also gives us some insight into the main differences between the African goshawk and the black spar. Guinea fowl can be flown all year round and Kyle talks abo...

1 month ago

24 minutes

The Fat Bird, Ugly Dog Podcast

74. Audio Recording of "The Flying of Falcons" - a prelude to the reading, with Ed Pitcher

Ed Pitcher joins me to announce that he and Ricardo Velarde have given me permission to read and publish "The Flying of Falcons" as part of the Fat Bird, Ugly Dog Podcast. We begin the episode discussing Ed's use of mantras to guide the way he develops and flies his birds. We then focus of two mantras that Ed used in the book, and now regrets to some degree - the first is “being touched by the Angel of Death”, a metaphor he used in the chapter about a female prairie falcon called “Amos"...

1 month ago

59 minutes

The Fat Bird, Ugly Dog Podcast

73. South African Game Hawker with Anton Muller (Part I)

Anton Muller, known for his expertise in hawking with lanner falcons, joins me to talk falconry in the Free State Province. After introducing himself, Anton talks about his farming practices, and how an experience with a spotted eagle owl influenced his decision to fly lanners. We then talk about his hawking grounds, his preferred quarry. Lanners naturally make use of thermals to gain pitch, and Anton talks about the way that they do so. Anton describes how the loss a particularly good peregr...

1 month ago

38 minutes

The Fat Bird, Ugly Dog Podcast

72. South African Game Hawker Cape Falconry Club Field Meet Day 2

In this bonus episode of South African Game Hawker, I am again joined by Andre Cilliers, Thean Prinsloo, and Scott Mc Farlane Chase. I talk to each of them about their flights of the day, and their plans once the meet is done. Andre's birds connect, his dog earns a good rest day, and he ducks out a day early as work interrupts his falconry. Thean continues his strategy of putting game up under his falcon opting to provide as many opportunities as he can. Scott has a clear se...

1 month ago

21 minutes

The Fat Bird, Ugly Dog Podcast

71. South African Game Hawker Cape Falconry Club Field Meet Day 1

In this bonus episode of South African Game Hawker, I am joined by Andre Cilliers, Thean Prinsloo, and Scott Mc Farlane Chase. I talk to each of them about their flights of the day, and their plans for Day 2 of the meet. We also get some insight into some South African cuisine and translation of a few Afrikaans words. I hope you enjoy this episode and the glimpse it provides into a South African falconry meet.

2 months ago

24 minutes

The Fat Bird, Ugly Dog Podcast

70. South African Game Hawker with Cam Coley (Part I)

In this, the third episode of South African Game Hawker, I am joined by Cam Coley. We begin the episode talking about Cam's new pup, and we find out just how much Cam spoils his dog. We then learn a little about Kwazulu- Natal, the province that Cam lives in. Cam follows this by describing the landscapes he hunts in, and the main species of quarry that he pursues with his hawks. Cam has both a winter falconry season and a summer falconry season, and he talks about his falconry cal...

2 months ago

41 minutes

The Fat Bird, Ugly Dog Podcast

69. South African Game Hawker with Andre Cilliers (Part I)

Andre Cilliers joins me again this week to talk about his personal game hawking circumstances. We begin the episode talking about the landscapes in which Andre hawks and the quarry available to him. We then talk about Andre's annual falconry calendar. I ask Andre about the preferred long-winging aesthetic in South Africa relative to that of North America. We then turn our attention to the circumstances surrounding the death of one of Andre's birds, and he tells us how the South Af...

2 months ago

40 minutes

The Fat Bird, Ugly Dog Podcast

68. South African Game Hawker with Andre Cilliers, Cam Coley, & Francois Breedt

This episode marks the start of a new series, South African (SA) Game Hawker. Thanks to Andre Cilliers for suggesting that we follow the northern hemisphere version of game hawker with a South African edition. Andre and I are joined Cam Coley and Francois Breedt in this introductory episode. Before asking the guys to introduce themselves, we begin with a geography lesson to give listeners a sense of country. We then turn our attention to the SA regulatory framework, an...

2 months ago

1 hour 7 minutes

The Fat Bird, Ugly Dog Podcast

67. Game Hawker Edition with Matt Mullenix (Part 2)

In this final episode of Game Hawker Edition, Matt Mullenix joins me to finish out the second season of the Fat Bird, Ugly Dog Podcast. Matt and I begin the episode talking about Matt's mindset as he continued to hawk his American Kestrel, "Coco", after having lost his merlin to a Cooper's Hawk. Matt then tells us about the benchmark he uses to evaluate the degree to which he is doing his hawk justice (Intended Quarry Per Hunt), and we discuss how far below and above that benchmark one ...

3 months ago

50 minutes

The Fat Bird, Ugly Dog Podcast

66. Game Hawker Edition with Heath Garner (Part 3)

Heath Garner returns to Game Hawker Edition to round out his 3-episode series. After a brief reminder describing Heath's hawking circumstances, he and I talk about the mystery book that Heath received just after he returned from the NAFA meet. Heath then gives us an update on his approach of removing his dog from the field to encourage better pitch from his falcon, "Finn". He also describes progress with regard to his bird's beak injury from a collision with hog wire fencing. I incorrec...

4 months ago

33 minutes

The Fat Bird, Ugly Dog Podcast

65. Game Hawker Edition with Corey Roelke (Part 3)

Corey Roelke is back to finish off his 3-part series. He begins the episode by telling us about "Hela" and her new litter of pups. Then we talk about how the season finished for each of his three peregrine falcons, his plans for each of them, and his plans for next season. Corey talks about why he chose to fly three birds and the relative risks of flying ducks despite the presence of avian influenza. We finish off, discussing the relative importance of consistent hunti...

4 months ago

27 minutes

The Fat Bird, Ugly Dog Podcast

64. Game Hawker Edition with Jeff Broadbent (Part 3)

Jeff Broadbent returns to wrap-up his Game Hawker series. I provide a synopsis of Jeff's accounts of his season told in Parts 1 and 2, and then we discuss progress of his recent addition to his team, "Captain Jack", his English setter. Jeff then describes the events of a particularly disastrous day for himself and his hawking partner, Arnaud Van Wetter. We then turn our attention to Jeff's plans for next season, including some change he intends to make. Jeff then offers his opinions on ...

4 months ago

33 minutes

The Fat Bird, Ugly Dog Podcast

63. Game Hawker Edition with Dale Guthormsen (Part 3)

In this episode Dale Guthormsen joins me to finish out his three episode contribution to Game Hawker Edition. After I briefly remind listeners of Dale's hawking season, he and I discuss this season relative to others he has experienced and what he intends to do differently next season. We then turn our attention to a common theme that I've been talking about with guests on Game Hawker Edition; the relative importance of keeping a hawk within a narrow range in body mass and the idea of m...

5 months ago

43 minutes

The Fat Bird, Ugly Dog Podcast

62. Game Hawker Edition with Steve Chindgren (Part 3)

Steve Chindgren joins me for the last episode of his 3-part series of Game Hawker Edition. We begin the episode with a brief discussion of what each passing season means to Steve who is now in his 70s and still hawking hard. We then talk about the attributes of a good falconer as passed down to Steve from his mentor. Steve tells us why he switched from flying in the mornings to flying in the evenings, and we talk about the tradeoffs between managing for hunting weight versus hunting tim...

5 months ago

32 minutes

The Fat Bird, Ugly Dog Podcast

61. Game Hawker Edition with Simon Tyers (Part 3)

Well, the UK falconry season wrapped up for Simon Tyers on January 31, and he returns to the program to give us run down of the changes he made at the outset of the season, whether he believes they were of value, and what changes he might make for the 2025/26 season. I then ask Simon about his views on the importance of maintaining consistency among three aspects of gamehawking - the location where one hunts, the weight of the hawk, and the time of day. We then turn our attention to the proce...

6 months ago

27 minutes

The Fat Bird, Ugly Dog Podcast

60. Game Hawker Edition with Matt Mullenix (Part 1)

Well, Matt Mullenix is back, this time as one of the cohort of falconers participating in Game Hawker Edition. Matt trapped a passage jack merlin this season, and we begin the episode discussing the backstory associated with Matt's acquisition of "Artie the Artful Dodger". We then turned our attention to Matt's experience with "Artie's" training, beginning with feeding on the fist and hooding, and culminating with "Artie's" first free flight and then his first kill while Matt was on the road ...

6 months ago

40 minutes