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david901

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Posts posted by david901

  1. I've never flown a female HH, but from what I've seen and heard, some can be very good hare hawks.

    If hares were my main concern, I'd go for the biggest female I could get and enter it early before the hares get too big to build its confidence.

    Every hare it caught, the hawk would get a massive feed up on warm flesh.

    Just my opinion.

    • Like 1
  2. Hi Muttley94

    Some of the best flights I have seen are where the quarry escapes.

    To me Falconry is not about catching large quantities of game,

    but instead watching a hawk/falcon performing at its best on difficult quarry.

  3. great seeing you work her despite the injury, I think there are those who sadly wouldn't bother, just shows never to give up on or underestimate the birds! great stuff mate :thumbs:

    Thanks mate.

    Before her injury she very rarely lost any quarry.

    She always was a good hawk, making the most of any opportunity.

    It seemed worthwhile persevering with her.

    • Like 1
  4. Thanks mate.

    Getting them fit and confident is what its all about.

    What I like about the gos is the wide variety of quarry they are capable of taking.

    I used to hunt this bird at a landfill and would slip her gulls at over 100 yards away.

     

    post-20061-0-62462000-1452976238_thumb.jpg

    • Like 2
  5. A couple of pics of the imprint gos doing what she does best.....LOL

    She has had a few rabbits as well and hopefully if the weather stays dry and cold,

    I can do a few streams for some duck before the season ends.

    I'm pleased that despite her injury, she continues to put game in the bag.

     

    post-20061-0-40691000-1452971296_thumb.jpg

    post-20061-0-90864000-1452971354_thumb.jpg

    • Like 4
  6. Crows can be a bit intimidating for some hawks and may require a weight reduction????? Maybe not though.

    I found getting a few easy slips and kills gets a gos fired up for them.

    Every season I will give the hawk a few carcases and I also use a crow carcase as a swing lure exercise.

    Crows are difficult for female gosses, but they will take them, perhaps not as efficient as a male though.

    They are never easy [unless car-hawking, which I dislike]

    Once your bird switches on to them, you will get some good flights and [dare I say it] more entertaining than rabbits :whistling:

    The good thing about using a female, is they won't give your hawk too much trouble once caught.

    The German male I have can take a bit of a beating from them and they can break away from him if I'm too far away to help.

    Once a female has a good grip, its game over.

    Pete Smith has a good video on youtube showing his male crow and magpie hawking.

  7. I'll throw my twopence in.....

     

    As the dog is only a pup, I would let him find out he CAN'T catch the birds. The only way he will learn this is from experience.

    I let my Brittany hunt up and point snipe from an early age. After I flushed them, he would be off chasing them.

    Eventually with a combination of him learning they were uncatchable and also with me instilling the STOP command, he steadied up.

    Brittanys are quite excitable as a rule, but they are also smart and will work out what works and I wholeheartedly agree with Casso's comments above.

    I believe that it is important for them to be around game at an early age, where they are still learning about life.

    I think this helps with this particular breed.

     

    Everyone has their own methods that work well for their breed.

    Perhaps join a Brittany forum for more specific breed oriented advice.

  8. Hi mate

     

    Its a case of if she learns to adapt.

    Last year on the same bit of ground, I bolted 6 rabbits out.

    She caught 5 of them, sometimes more than once, but couldn't hold them.

    She finally nailed and held the sixth rabbit, so I fed her up and went home.

    A similar thing happened the next few times we went out, so I ended the season.

    Before the injury, she very rarely lost any quarry she got a foot to.

    The thing is, she is a smart hawk and uses her brains, so I thought what the hell, I would give her more chances to learn.

    If she carries on like this, I will be very happy. :boogy:

    • Like 1
  9. Well I have started flying my female imprint gos who has a damaged foot.

     

    This bird rarely if ever let anything get away previously, but unfortunately due to tendon damage she has had a difficult time holding quarry.

    Last year I bolted 6 rabbits out for her one day and she caught 5 of them. Sometimes she would catch them a couple of times before they would get away.

    She eventually held onto the last one, so was cropped up.

    I had her out last week and she nailed a mallard and then a few days ago she caught 2 rabbits, letting the first one get away, but thankfully she held the second one.

    It will be good to see if she can learn and adapt to holding them with one good foot.

    post-20061-0-45720300-1450382530_thumb.jpg

    post-20061-0-30322300-1450382576_thumb.jpg

    • Like 2
  10. Hi does anyone know if you have to have a license to have any bird of prey?

    In the UK you don't need a license. Though some birds have to be registered with an A10 certificate.

    For the likes of Harris' Hawks and redtail hawks no certificate is needed.

    You should start off by reading some good books on the subject.

    It will stand you in good stead and you will learn the basics.

    Christmas is coming up so its a good idea to get your nearest and dearest to get some as a present...LOL

     

    There are a few posts already on falconry books.

    Try Philip Glazier's Falconry and Hawking to begin with.

     

    All the best.

    • Like 1
  11. Hi everyone thanks for great advice really appreciate it and will take all comments on board, like I said I'm new to falconry and never done it before but willing to learn anything and everything about it and will definately put 100% into it. This is why I'm trying to get as much info as possible so I know what I'm doing and getting the experience, getting to know the Harris etc, I don't want to get a Harris and not have a clue what I'm doing this is why I'm asking so many questions. Thank-you for reading carlotti :-) PS I am female lol I am writing this as some of you referred me as mate lol thanks again

    You should try and get out with as many people as you can that are flying a variety of birds.

    You mentioned getting a Harris', which are great hawks, but you may be more suited to a different species.

    Are you going to hunt with the hawk, or just fly it for fun?

    • Like 1
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