I'm Sick Of The Wind

[Accip74 7,112]

Yeh don't rule it out..........if you do one day......don't let it fly from tree's........things will gradually start to slip, you don't need to anyway, that's the point.........they don't actually need that advantage, especially if you've got a dog......;-)

[pointer 543]

Hopefully I'll get to see goshawks out flying sometime and learn more about them. It's probably inevitable that I'll want to fly one in the future but not yet.

[youcanthide...BANG 1,051]

Im the same, when i sold my male everybody was saying so whats next, a male goshawk? And i considered it for abit but then i realised i was having a good enough time with the harris. Plus i need a good dog first.

[pointer 543]

It appears to me that all the species have pros and cons. I've known of a couple of lads that went from doing regular hunting with a Harris but once they moved onto a goshawk they did very little for whatever reason and now don't fly hawks. It seems that if you fail with a goshawk pride won't let some people go back to the humble Harris lol.

I've just came back from an hours hunt where the hawk was unlucky not to catch a couple of rabbits that the lurcher put out of cover and then dived into a stream after a moorhen which the pointer had spent ages locating before flushing out of a big bramble bush. With a wet hawk and fading light we had to go home but I'm enjoying my time hunting with a Harris. She sometimes misses things and I guess its natural to wonder if a goshawk would have caught it but it can't be that simple.

[pointer 543]

We had a canny hour out today before dark catching one rabbit and missing a few more.

[arcticgun 4,548]

Think it was frank bebbe said you will catch far more quarry and a greater variety of quarry of quarry in many different styles with a harris than any other single species of falcon or hawk. Harris pure pleasure too own and fly imho love the team ethic of working them with dog's excellet sport nearly lad a lone goose today bird was keen for it shame spaniel was too keen spoilt what could of been kill of the season leaving one frustrated harris no kill today but enjoyed watching her soaring and also hurtling through woods out first light tomorow cant wait

[pointer 543]

Take a camera the forum has died this season.

Mine doesn't look at geese, she sees them several times a week.

[arcticgun 4,548]

Got a few on me phone all post up soon as I transfer them to photobucket, just had dogs out winds building up early today gunna leave it until later, had it been calmer would of gone out all afternoon, rabbit on menu this evening fingers crossed she gets a full crop lol

[pointer 543]

Are you on I phone, if so the photobucket app is real easy and fast to use.

The weather looks good for the weekend.......,,so far.

[pointer 543]

Left my phone at home on charge so no pic of tonight's kill. Lovely weather, just enough wind to encourage her to circle around above us. She took off across the field and I wasn't sure where she was at first but heard her bell and found her in a water filled ditch with her catch.

[pointer 543]

Rat from last week

Edited February 27, 2014 by pointer

[pointer 543]

I didn't get to where I wanted to go today because the hawk jumped on a rat that ran out into deep mud. I went straight back home to clean the mud off her feet and some feathers.

[pointer 543]

Yesterday she had flights and dives at a dozen rabbits but just couldn't catch one in the waist high bramble and bushes. That's maybe why there's more rabbits at this little place than anywhere else I go.

This morning she caught a rabbit, then Arcticgun rang to see if I wanted a look out this afternoon. I'd fed mine from the rabbit but even at the higher weight she still followed on ok making two more kills the last one being a rat. At times both hawks were loose and we had no incidents. I think they are happy enough in each other's company now. I don't think cast flying is something I'd want to do all the time especially on open land out ferreting but i think in thick cover areas where the quarry isn't overmatched it can be good fun.

All three of my hawks kills today were real easy but sometimes it's ok to just bag a few things for a confidence boost, it can't do these hawks any harm especially after losing so many days to the bad weather. It was like summer out there today.

[pointer 543]

She missed at least half a dozen rabbits this morning up the dales and only caught one. She did have some good flights on these strong bunnies so it was worth the drive. I planned to go back out this afternoon but it's raining and its due to get heavier.

[martin hollinshead 13]

Pointer, do you do any hawking from a soar - over the dog or ferrets?

Martin