Carson the Red-tailed Hawk stands at her window and watches me unlock the mew door. Her head tips sideways as I juggle the lock, my keys, and a scale in my hands. I try not to drop anything under her careful watch. I swing the door open and step inside. Carson turns to face me, looks at the food cup clipped to my belt, and hops to the back perch where we always start our training sessions. She watches me eagerly, ready to earn her breakfast.
I set the scale on the shelf perch nearby. Almost instantly Carson leaps to the scale and quickly looks between me and the food cup. "See? I did it! Where's my food?" I respond, "no, you need to wait until I ask!" She went too soon, before I had the chance to turn the scale on. I tap on the other perch and wait. Carson hesitates for a moment, then hops off the scale and she takes a rat tidbit.
This time she waits as I hit the power button on the scale. Now that I'm ready, I tap on the scale. Carson hops over again, this time earning a "click" and a tidbit. But in her eagerness, she perches on the front edge of the scale plate, nearly falling forward and giving an inaccurate reading on the digital display. I wait. Carson leans back slightly and steps her left foot to the middle of the scale. I "click" and offer a tidbit. Now I watch the numbers on the scale, waiting for the moment she stands still and the numbers rest on 1375 g. Another "click" for standing still and another tidbit.
I tap the perch and she hops off the scale. I leave her with a big piece of rat to enjoy as gather up the scale and step out of the mew.
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