Thats not a hawk, is it?

You know... you might be right. >.>

Well it's not a falcon, for sure

See my latest reply.

I think its an eagle.

see my latest reply.

After re-reading the article from the Caribbean Beat magazine, I've determined that Coco is in fact a Harris Hawk.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Harris_Hawk,_Leeds_Castle,_England_-_Aug_2009.jpg

Indeed a Harris Hawk, and once one starts squawking at you, you'll never forget it. They have a very very distinctive cry.

You've interacted with a Harris Hawk before? >.>

I once had a harris hawk hanging upside off of one (ungloved) hand while yelling wildly. After putting her back, she made a staccato cawing that sounded suspiciously like mocking laughter.

She was a bitch to people she didn't like. Probably my greatest slipup when handling raptors. >_>

Yikes! Did you say ungloved? Is your arm okay? >.>

And do you still handle raptors? >.>

Injuries were minor scratches. I've made a full recovery in the nearly 20 years since the incident. I've had worse, though that was my scariest moment.

Unfortunately raptor handling was one of the things I had to give up during college. Full time classes + job + raptors = Too much time. I had to give one up, and raptors were not going to be my career. I still love them, though!

I'd like to pick it up, i.e. handling raptors, as a hobby. Is there any tips/advice you could give me?

I originally got into it doing volunteer at a local wildlife rehabilitation center. This meant that the birds I worked with had some sort of ailment (physical or mental) that would prevent their release to the wild.

Such as previously mentioned Harris Hawk, who was an imprint and had no fear of humans.

Sadly there are not any local wildlife rehabilitation centers around where I live and so I'd have to go back to the place where I took these photos if I wanted to work with these birds again.

Hi there!

I really enjoyed seeing the pictures of yourself and the birds! There are some lovely raptors at that Raptor Management centre in Tobago! (Now I have another reason to go to Tobago, aside from enjoying all that beautiful beach and ocean.)

I'm glad you enjoyed handling those raptors! I used to do some volunteer work near Toronto, Canada. There is a raptor rehabilitation centre called the Mountsberg Conservation Area. We housed about 33 permanently-injured non-releasable birds of prey. Approximately half of the raptors were used in our education and out-reach programs. I had a wonderful time being a volunteer at the raptor centre. I did that volunteer work for almost 8 years, volunteering primarily on a Saturday. (I worked full time during the working week.)

My parents grew up in Trinidad before immigrating to Canada. I still have grandparents, aunts and uncles who live in Trinidad. I don't visit Trinidad all that often. My last visit was in December 2008. Prior to 2008, my last visit was back in 1986! (A very long time ago.)

Glad to see a Trini who enjoys "furry". Heheh!