david901
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Posts posted by david901
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Muttley only you can decide what kind of falconry you want.
If you have someone decent that can advise you and bounce questions and ideas at, then that will help your decision.
One word of warning though, you said most of your permissions are quite small areas, a Goshawk can go a hell of a long way on a pheasant flight [if its any good...LOL]
All the best
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Cheers mate. I can't see the advantage of them myself. A good harris is the best hawk put there imo. Just a joy to fly but I fancy something else. Suppose I'm just not ready to let go of the harris to much yet haha
haha I can imagine! Im hoping to get my first bird in the next couple of years (situation allowing) and am gearing towards a harris I think, I've got a fella who's taken me out with a peregrine a few times and said he can guide me through it and there wouldn't be an issue with it being my first bird but I'm unsure! not sure my nerves would hold out flying it free to start with (I imagine anything is terrifying let alone the distances his goes away only to return) and I think in terms of land availability I have will gear itself more towards a Harris or Gos, would love to have a sparrowhawk but I think for my first bird and without someone to help me that may be a little too much! I absolutely love all birds of prey and the different flying and hunting styles, just a case of picking the one I want to start with I guess!
Been trying to decide for about 3 or 4 years already and I've still got a couple to decide but from what Ive seen Harris' seem very versatile and fantastic hunters if done right!
Mutley a HH is a great hawk in the right hands, but so is any hawk/falcon.
It depends on which quarry you have available and how you want to catch it.
IMO on average you will probably catch more head of game with the HH per season [ though not necessarily ]
They are at their best flown following on and given a lot of freedom to fly.
But I will stick my neck out here and say to me falconry is not about catching lots of game,
but is instead the spectacle of a hawk pursuing evenly matched game. The harder the quarry, the better the flights.
Some of the best sport I had was flying at crows and I don't mean car hawking neither.
The HH is an easy going, easy to train hawk and easy to hunt.
As P. Glasier once wrote - you would need to be a poor falconer to fail with a HH.
Good luck with whatever you choose.
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Eddie chapman has 2 books out on jack russells which are not a bad read.
Eddie's book on the Working JR is a very good read. Plenty of information in it.
The other is not too bad either.
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The German male Goshawk in one of the topics is mine mate.
If your Harris' is creche reared it should tame down and train easily.
I have not had much experience with Harris' myself, but they are THE most popular hawk used in falconry.
There is a reason for that
I have only ever flown one, a male that flew at 1lb 6. He was a great hawk and I had loads of fun with him for several years until I gave him away to a mate.
Are you going to hunt with yours mate?
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Thanks it will be 10 weeks first week in June do u have birds?
Hi Dean
I personally wouldn't pick up a Harris' until it was at least 16 to 18 weeks old due to the noise they can make.
Sorry for butting in and I'm sure you know what your doing mate.
All the best
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Hi Sean
Will you fly the female as well this season?
Its not so easy flying 2 goshawks at the same time.
I always flew one in preference to another [the female] which meant the male always had limited flying.
Which is a shame as he never really reached his full potential.
The males can certainly be good fun though.
What will you fly him at - Crows?
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Hi Steve
You could maybe post it on the Indepenent Bird Register [iBR]
They try to re -unite missing birds with their owners
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Hi Mark, if you get any more woodies send me a pm I will sort you out some money for ammo, can also collect cheers Richard
Hi mate
If you want woodies go on Facebook and search "steel shot woodies"
There are shooters there who use steel shot and sell them for around 50p to £1 each.
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You read my mind Charlie Caller.
I was thinking of getting a Benelli Semi auto.
Trying to decide on which model though.
It will be a second hand gun that I get, but if its been cared for it should last me a good few years.
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Thanks guys.
I read that you can use non high performance shot without issue.
I was just checking...lol
I was considering buying a semi-automatic but cash is tight right now so I would prefer to stick with the old side by side for the time being.
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OK thanks mate.
I will look them up.
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I have an old Baikal side by side 12 bore and was wondering if it would be OK to use Steel shot in it?
Its not proofed for steel but I read that it should be Ok.
I am interested in using it for some pigeon shooting, which I can then use for feeding ferrets, hawks etc.
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That's interesting mate, I don't keep birds myself, but always thought it was more to do with getting the birds at the right weight (yarak) that was needed to make them keen to work ?, had a day with a falconer last sunday flying a few different birds, my dogs take all my time up, but I would love to get involved with falcons/hawks if I ever get the chance
That is a good question.How often do the need to be out??
A lot depends on your quarry and how you fly it.
For example if flying a Harris Hawk at rabbits off the fist, it generally needs to be fitter than if you are flying it from trees.
The height from the tree gives the waiting hawk a bit of an advantage. Therefore the hawk flown from the fist would need to be a bit fitter so needs to be exercised more.
If flying it at harder to catch quarry eg gamebirds, it will generally need to be fairly fit. An unfit hawk will quickly learn it can't catch them and will give up easily.
If the hawk is fit and CONFIDENT it will give you some cracking long distant chases.
In short I try to get my gos out at least 4 or 5 times a week sometimes weather permitting we get out 6 times.
Every week he gets a crop-busting gorge and then he misses a days feeding/flying.
If I couldn't fly him at least 3 times a week, I wouldn't bother and then I would do fitness work with him on his days off.
I know some folk only flew their hawk once a week, but to me that is not so good for the hawk.
Generally the more you fly them, the better they become.
This is just my opinion, others may have different thoughts.
Cheers
To get the best out of them, there is more to flying them just weight management.
Think of them like a good quality running dog.[ or any athlete]
They need to be fit, - hunting it once a week and then leaving it locked up for the rest of the week just won't do that.
They need to be full of muscle and not fat, that is why they are weighed, it makes it easier to gauge their condition.
They need to be confident and believe they can catch what they chase.
Some folk just rely on getting their weight right and can have success at hunting them at less demanding quarry, but unless they are fit and confident, they will struggle against the more demanding quarry, which give the best flights.
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How often do the need to be out??
That is a good question.
A lot depends on your quarry and how you fly it.
For example if flying a Harris Hawk at rabbits off the fist, it generally needs to be fitter than if you are flying it from trees.
The height from the tree gives the waiting hawk a bit of an advantage. Therefore the hawk flown from the fist would need to be a bit fitter so needs to be exercised more.
If flying it at harder to catch quarry eg gamebirds, it will generally need to be fairly fit. An unfit hawk will quickly learn it can't catch them and will give up easily.
If the hawk is fit and CONFIDENT it will give you some cracking long distant chases.
In short I try to get my gos out at least 4 or 5 times a week sometimes weather permitting we get out 6 times.
Every week he gets a crop-busting gorge and then he misses a days feeding/flying.
If I couldn't fly him at least 3 times a week, I wouldn't bother and then I would do fitness work with him on his days off.
I know some folk only flew their hawk once a week, but to me that is not so good for the hawk.
Generally the more you fly them, the better they become.
This is just my opinion, others may have different thoughts.
Cheers
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Maybe next year or the year after for me, the wait is killing me but thats when I will hopefully be in a situation when I have the time to fully commit to a BoP! until then all I can do is read my books and live through guys on here and youtube
That is a wise choice mate.
If you don't have the time to fly them regularly, they won't get fit enough to take on challenging quarry, which is where the fun is in hawking.
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Quite a few Goshawks are lost by falconers every year mate.
I'm surprised it wasn't "white" by the amount that's now getting bred!!!! LOL
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A new musket for me hopefully this year.
:boogy: Hi Spar123
Nice one
Are you going to imprint him?
And what do you intend to hunt with him?
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Who has put down a deposit for a new hawk/falcon?
What are you getting - size, sex, species etc and what quarry [if any ]do you plan on hunting ?
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The way you describe its flying style and size, sounds like a Goshawk.
If you look on Youtube you will see quite a few vids of them flying.
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Thanks for sharing mate.
I remember years ago I had a day out with some folk and one lad flew a male Goldie.
They are fairly agile for such a big bird and it caught a rabbit that day.
A bit of overkill perhaps but it was interesting to see.
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Well the female gos took another rabbit today.
Her success rate is quite impressive if I say so myself.Most things she catches, she keeps a hold of. Not bad considering her Hallux doesn't work on her right foot.Its a far cry from her performance last year where I saw her lose rabbit after rabbit and also duff a few pheasant catches.-
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Mate there will be plenty for sale around then.
Though it is a wise policy to start looking now.
Try to find a decent breeder that is producing good quality hawks.
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Nice one mate.
Its been good reading about her.
Cheers
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The day before yesterday, I had one flight at pheasant with the gos.
She chased it to a patch of brash in the nearby woodland.Unfortunately she tried following it in and ended up soaked on the ground due to all the melted/wet snow lying.After that we went home.This morning I tried at the same piece of ground. Due to the brash and cover lying in amongst some thick conifers, it can be hard to get a clean flush. Usually the gos gets held up trying to go through the cover or she has to fly around it, giving the pheasant a fair start on her.I kept the dog in close and tried to pick where I worked him. He showed a lot of interest at some fallen branches. So I worked my way around them in order to get a reasonable slip.I shouted the dog on and just then a pheasant flushed.The pheasant burst out, but the gos powered after it, cutting through a clearing.The pheasant was heading back to the brushpile in the nearby woodland, but it never got that far.The gos pulled him down a short distance away.She got a good feed up and off we went home.-
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Day Old Chicks Fresh Required
in Falconry
Posted
Most DOC come already frozen in boxes of 200 or 250 mate.
You could try some of the chicken breeders/hatcheries if there are any local to you.