Dave B / 09 May 2010 16:50

Gentlemen - I have witnessed a spectacular but fatal display of the worst
kind today. Liberated 8 hens (6 blues and 2 badges) at 3pm, watched them
rise to a good height settling in to a normal training flying routine.
Karen and i got changed to go out for few hours, i said i would just check
the birds before we go. Looked up and one bird flying like a racing pigeon
above the house, thought that was strange, something up here. Searched the
skies and six of the kit were all over the skies right in the tops and all
flying like lunatics darting about. I said i couldn't leave the birds like
this, so we poured ourselves a drink and sat in the garden looking upwards
for the kit. Well! let the entertainment begin, two of my kit (a badge and a
blue) were flying together above the house and out of nothing 2 Percy's
appeared and started diving into the two tipplers, the Percy cock took the
badge in spectacular fashion, and the noise the Percy hen made was something
that will stay with me for a while. So off flew the Percy cock with my badge
hen (and Karen's favourite bird) and the Percy hen just floated above the
skies looking for the kit. Sure enough she spotted one of kit flying solo,
so off she went on the attack, she dived for the tippler and the acrobatics
of this tippler hen was something to be seen, she outwitted three attempts
by the falcon and was chased down from a good height and i swear she was
diving faster than the falcon, the speed was awesome, and completely
outwitted the Percy hen. The Percy hen tried another bird, and exactly the
same thing happened the tippler out-dived the Percy and off the Percy flew.
Eventually 5 of my kit reformed and although flying very fast, with one or
two darting about i was pleased that at least i was seeing a kit together.
Mrs Percy decided to come back, and at the same time one of my other birds
out of the kit was spotted flying solo above the other 5 so Mrs Percy locked
onto her and bang she was a gonna, and off she flew with a blue tucked away
underneath her. So we sat and watched the other 5 flying and by now settling
into the normal flying style. I then had to go a message for half and hour,
so Karen sat and watched the kit, came back home 30minutes later and walked
into the garden, and here is Mrs Percy flying away from the scene with a
pigeon in her talons, Karen said she had seen the kit off 5 all flying
together about 3 mins previous. Well i searched the skies for over an hour
and not a feather, and believe it or not Mrs Percy came back again, but this
time she was chased by a huge herring gull and off she went screeching like
a maniac. Continued searching the skies for my kit, spotted one then two
and eventually three, which eventually got together, one had her tail ripped
out and these three were absolutely knackered, showed them the droppers and
got them down albeit very nervously in daylight. One other eventually came
over in the tops and i managed to drop her to the the loft. So 4 out of 8 is
not a very good return, and not a very good introduction to seeing the
Percy's for the very first time flying in my location, but have witnessed 3
birds being taken in one training fly, with the possibility that they took
the first bird which made the kit all split in the first
place................Karen was pretty upset, and she said watching it all
unfold was seeing is to believe it....With me being the most Northerly
tippler flyer in the union, i guess its welcome to the real world of the
Percy's as they are now in every region of the UK....Karen thinks i am
pretty cool about it and is amazed with my reaction. i guess it ain't hit me
yet, probably be suicidal come the morning......OH happy days.

Submitted by "Dave B" on 5/9/2010 4:23:04 PM
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