Here we can see Tara relaxing on her perch. She is tethered full time in the mews. The reason for this is that I've talked with others who do this, and they report that their hawks are much easier to manage when tethered full time in the mews. I am all for ease of hawk training and general management.

The artifical grass is from Home Depot. They sell it by the rolled piece - all cut and wrapped. It fit just perfectly. It is used to keep Tara from dulling her talons on the gravel. The material washes fairly easy with a garden hose as it isn't as dense a fabric as AstroTurf is. So far it appears to be doing the job nicely. If I have to replace it in 6 months it won't break the bank as it cost less than $20.

The bath is from Western Sporting. I talked with a lot of falconers about their baths - from cheap to high end. I came away with the feeling that this was my best bet. Has it been worthwhile? IMO, yes. I just wish that the freight were less expensive, but then one can't have everything...

The back wall is covered with heavy, sheet plastic and held in place with 1"x2" pieces of wood across the top and bottom. It washes nicely, except for the bottom piece of wood. Perhaps I'll paint the next piece with a high gloss enamel to see if that washes better. So far I have not covered the side walls. I had intended to use Coroplast, but I need to get the hurricane fasteners in place first and have them inspected by the city - we are in a hurricane zone 2 area which requires these plus hold downs at the corners.