New Rabbit "Fork"...highly inaccurate

[lowyder993s]

...at least for the time being. Her name is Peppermint and I trapped her in late September. She is a passage (bird of the year) red-tail hawk. After about 40 days of training we've been out hunting every other day or two. With this drought in So Cal, it's tough to find some bunnies for her to chase. She gets closer everytime...now it's just a matter of time. The video was from this morning. It's too bad the sun rides so low in the sky in the a.m. The first shot I had kicked a rabbit out in front and knew it would head for the brush pile...so that's where I put Peppermint. She dove off the sticks and nearly had it, having to wingover to try and counteract the bunnies jukes. The 2nd one, there was no high vantage point for her so she rode the fist. Even though the rabbit had a 10 yd. head start, Peppermint was close before the bunnie scampered under the truck. The last one, a suicide bun made a run waaaayyy out in the open. The hawk was on a pole about 150 yds away...that's why I was only halfheartedly calling her to it. She saw it and went in on the glide as the rabbit just sat there. At the last second, it took off for cover and made a hole before Pepper could sink her talons in it. She is a TON of fun. It's so cool watching her trust in me develop!

[rwest]

Very cool Jim,

Few questions: do you need a permit for the bird; who gets the rabbit once it gets caught; is the bird like a pet, or does it stay in a cage until hunting time?

Thanks,
Rutager

[quicksix]

Very Cool, I got my Falconry license back in 1990 and flew red tails for a couple of years before life got in the way. She looks great,whats her flying weight?
She will get much better with more looks at game.
Good to see someone practicing.
I miss it.

[lowyder993s]

YES!!! You need to be permitted by the State after taking a written test on falconry and avian husbandry. You need to build facilities BEFORE you get a bird and have them inspected by the Dept. of Fish and Wildlife. You must also consent to DFW being able to inspect your bird and facilities at ANY reasonable hour. You have to electronically file with the feds any bird you capture or purchase. I just now ticking this bucket list item...it's been in the bucket 40 yrs...so I'm an apprentice falconer; as such, I have a sponsor (mentor) whom I keep in contact with and let him know how we are getting along.
The first few rabbits you catch together, you let her eat her fill...this helps strengthen the bond between the 2 of you. After that, you do what's called a "Trade Off"...that is giving her something that she will unbind from the rabbit and come to you to eat. That can be a quail, a dead 1 day old chick (DOC's are crack for hawks)...pigeon, rat, etc. While she's eating the tradeoff, you slyly put the rabbit in your game bag w/o her seeing it...she has forgotten about it already...think Oh, nom,nom on the DOC!
She is VERY DEFINITELY NOT a pet. That's 1 of the worst accusations you can make against a falconer. They are to be hunted, doing what comes naturally to them. When it is time to release them, they still have all their instincts to hunt and they quickly revert back to a wild state. When not hunting her, she stays in her hawk house 8'x8'x8' room with barred openings to let in fresh air and sunshine. Like today tho, she hunted in the morning, took her back to work. She sits in my office or her hawk box and sleeps. I'll take her out at lunch and release her at work...then pull out a lure (a lure can be ANYTHING...mine is an old leather glove) with a GOOD meal attached to it. When I throw it out, she whistles out of the tree to get her BIG MEAL. This reinforces that if she comes back to me, she gets fed well.

[lowyder993s]

Originally Posted by quicksix

Very Cool, I got my Falconry license back in 1990 and flew red tails for a couple of years before life got in the way. She looks great,whats her flying weight?
She will get much better with more looks at game.
Good to see someone practicing.
I miss it.

AWESOME...there are some VERY GOOD falconer's up your way. I'm going to the State Meet with her in January at Santa Nella (Los Banos). She was trapped at 1394g. I've been flying her at 1210g to 1240g and she seems pretty responsive. She won't come back for tidbits anymore, but ALWAYS comes back to the lure. She follows along well, though sometimes dawdles on a perch when she should be closer. I just her to seal the deal...once she does, I think she'll be a jack killing machine!

[quicksix]

That is great, she will learn to follow you on the poles,and then the fun really starts.
Ok time for some falconry porn, can we see the Mews?
I free lofted mine,sounds like what you are doing.
I was looking through my old stuff after you posted the pic of Peppermint in her ring perch and started to get the itch...
Is the test still mainly coming out of Beebe and Websters book?

[Nostril Cheese]

Seems a lot of trouble to go through. Are these used for pest control?

[lowyder993s]

Originally Posted by quicksix

That is great, she will learn to follow you on the poles,and then the fun really starts.
Ok time for some falconry porn, can we see the Mews?
I free lofted mine,sounds like what you are doing.
I was looking through my old stuff after you posted the pic of Peppermint in her ring perch and started to get the itch...
Is the test still mainly coming out of Beebe and Websters book?

Under construction:





Annnd...Fini!




Funny you should mention that NC...my brother is a dentist and 1 of his patient's son and DIL are abatement contractors. Met them this weekend... They work landfills, orchards, vineyards, etc. $30.00/ hr. each...10 hr days and as much work as they want! DINKS...but with an aresenal of birds! 2 Harris' Hawks, 1 Kestrel (Sparrow Hawk), and then 4 falcon crosses...I can't remember the exact combos.

[Rick V]

We have a rather large collection of redtails in the area where I live. It is awesome to just sit and watch them nab the rabbits that I make brush piles for on the back of the property. They hunt all the local farms around here. They scare the crap out of me but I love watching them. Graceful death from above

[lowyder993s]

Good for you, Rick! ...AND good for the local ecosystem. I wish I had property instead of having to drive all over Hell and back to find measley cottontails and jacks!

Their grip strength is AMAZING! The 1st night she went thru 2 thickness' of cowhide on my glove...she also cuffed my right arm (no gauntlet)...1 of her talons caught a nerve running down my arm and dropped me to my knees...INSTANTLY! Now she's a sweetie pie. I can tell when she gets stressed by the level of pressure she exerts on the glove.

[lowyder993s]

Sorry Quick...

forgot to add...I'd free lofted her for about 3 weeks...weeks 2 thru 5. She bated often during the day. The whole mew is covered in Coroplast with minimal studs. This let's the walls deflect as she tried to find an opening. She put a nick on her cere (top of beak) and that was enough. She's been tethered with no problems. There is someone home all the time and everyone is trained to listen for the bell. You'd be amazed what you can glean from just listening to the bell on her leg.
One of the 1st things a falconer is judged on is the appearance of their bird. The term "feather perfect" means just that! No ragged edges, no lice chomping on the feathers and no broken or bent feathers from being incorrectly housed! Broken or bent while in pursuit of wild game are like red badges of courage...and the falconer must correct those problems quickly so they don't impede the bird's ability to hunt.
Cal. Hawking Club puts out an apprentice study guide...the test was nearly verbatim from that. With your previous experience, it'd be a cakewalk for you.

Sorry...was kind of a 2 fisted response...talking to Quicksix and also letting the others know what is req'd.

[porsche4life]

Very cool hobby Jim! Will she hunt pigeons? Because if so.. You need to come to AZ!

[lowyder993s]

Dunno Sid...she hasn't been presented with 1 yet in my presence. Band-Tail Pigeon (Mtn. Pigeon) opens a week before Xmas. Where I was deer-hunting there were about 200 in flocks of about 50-75 moving through the draw. They were LOW and SLOW...I 'think we are gonna try for them!

[porsche4life]

Not sure what type of pigeons are roosting on our roof... But I could get 'em with a slingshot if I was just a little better shot. Big dumb slow birds.

[9dreizig]

Thousands of bunny's here, Jim come on up to Reno!!!

[BeyGon]

That's a good looking bird, I would never have the patience for that but it sure looks fun. I did see this young Red Tail last summer, I think it was on it's first flight and landed in the bushes. I walked right up to it, stuck the camera in it's face and took a picture. If I had been brave and wanted to lose a hand I could have touched it.

[Jim Bremner]

I have a neighbor that feeds tons of birds and rats. this house sits across the street from my dinning room window. The local red tails eat well on vermin and fowl.

We also have owls the hunt our streets. One buzzed my 15 # terrier. Damn dog has survived a coyote attack and an owl fly by. Mean streets of Fullerton!

[GH85Carrera]

We drove up to Enid, OK for Thanksgiving and going across 30 miles of Hwy 64 I bet we saw over a dozen birds of prey. Mostly hawks but driving past at 70 MPH it is hard for me to make a solid ID. I think they were red tail hawks. They were mostly sitting on fence posts and trees along the highway just watching.

There is a lot of rabbits and mice with all the wheat fields. Very cool birds.

[lowyder993s]

Originally Posted by GH85Carrera

We drove up to Enid, OK for Thanksgiving and going across 30 miles of Hwy 64 I bet we saw over a dozen birds of prey. Mostly hawks but driving past at 70 MPH it is hard for me to make a solid ID. I think they were red tail hawks. They were mostly sitting on fence posts and trees along the highway just watching.

There is a lot of rabbits and mice with all the wheat fields. Very cool birds.

Yep...this is the migration period. Some guys will hold out for their idea of a perfect bird...either weight, plumage, aggression. 1 guy in OK trapped 12 red-tails in a day!

[Brando]

Very cool hobby! We're all curious if you have Peppermint for pest-control or for sport? A skilled raptor can do wonders to keep a homestead clean of pests!