Miguel the merlin has been here for a bit over a week now. He is very satisfied with his little kennel and happily perches throughout the day, oddly spending time facing both directions, if the mutes are accurate. His daily routine starts with weighing. CWC found us a beautiful digital scale and rounded log perch with astroturf. Miguel leaps to the scale about two seconds after I put a tidbit on the perch and leaves very reluctantly. I think he hopes he can just have his whole meal there.

After weighing, I change the paper towels (at first I thought I'd go with fabric cage pads. That idea went away with the ant party. We strive for a poop free zone.) I move his perch, with him on it, to the back of the cage. He watches me switch out the paper towels with no alarm--again, I think he sees it all as a prelude to food.

With everything clean and in place the glove arrives. I've been cutting some tiny tidbits and also some larger more substantial pieces that I can hold on to while he eats. The tidbits serve to first get him to the glove. Then the large piece shows up. He stands on the glove and eagerly gnaws and pulls at the meat. While he is working, I move the jesses around to the front. By now, we've done this enough that I can get the jesses "in place" in my fingers without him reacting at all.

Today, I lifted back the sheet cover for the front of the cage and Miguel got a good look around. I very slowly moved him out of the cage and was met with loud alarm calling and bating. He regained the glove right away and I kept tidbitting the glove as he did. He eventually calmed while on the glove and stepped back to his perch in the cage. We did this for two feedings.

Tomorrow, I think we'll take it a bit slower: maybe just hover at the threshold.

I'm thrilled with the little guy's progress. He is very trusting and smart!