# Falconry



## Vol (Jul 5, 2009)

Some pics of my son and his young Harris Hawk hunting today.

He uses a single trailing Beagle to roust the rabbits out of the briars......while the hawk is perched high in a tree....as the Beagle circles the rabbit the hawk attempts a capture. These pics were at a neighbors farm.

Regards, Mike


----------



## deadmoose (Oct 30, 2011)

How did he get started in that?

Also love the green in the background. With white trim makes a fine looking tractor.


----------



## Vol (Jul 5, 2009)

Yea, my neighbor loves Olivers....he has a dozen or so.....it is actually slight off white which looks really good. I really like Olivers also.....if I ever buy a "collector" type tractor it probably will be a Oliver.....I like the 1850 and the 2250....I would like to have a "Cab" and a open station model.

My son has a older friend(about my age ) near Chattanooga that breeds racing homing pigeons and my son also raises the Homers....his friend was also involved in falconry. His friend took him on a hunt with his hawks one time while visiting him and my son was forever hooked.

Regards, Mike


----------



## Guest (Mar 7, 2015)

Very neat pictures ! I've never heard of that kind of rabbit hunt before. I'd love to see those two work rabbits together. Very interesting !


----------



## Vol (Jul 5, 2009)

bbos said:


> Very neat pictures ! I've never heard of that kind of rabbit hunt before. I'd love to see those two work rabbits together. Very interesting !


He uses a Red-tail hawk on squirrels......quite a sight....as the squirrel runs around the backside of the tree trunk to evade the Red-tail......the Red-tail uses its feet and runs around the tree flapping his wings for momentum......pretty freaky.

He is going to return the Red-tail back to the wild in the near future....he has another hawk, a true falcon, coming from Oregon that he will train to hunt ducks.....it takes sheer speed to capture ducks on the wing....and this only comes from the fastest of raptors.....the falcons.

Regards, Mike


----------



## cornshucker (Aug 22, 2011)

Nothing makes better gravy than rabbit broth. You going to indulge Mike? Never seen a Falcon work in person just on TV very interesting. Looks like your son is a good trainer.


----------



## Vol (Jul 5, 2009)

Winter pose on the farm in Tennessee.

Regards, Mike


----------



## somedevildawg (Jun 20, 2011)

We have a season for falconry down in Georgia never seen a hunt that was planned but seen many while deer hunting, nothing better than watching the raptors work....except when they're decimating your quail population


----------



## Dill (Nov 5, 2010)

That is pretty darn cool.

The UNH dairy has brought in a falcon a few times for pigeon control. It was a great show.


----------



## Vol (Jul 5, 2009)

This is a pic of his young Red-tail hawk after a successful hunt after a semi-rare snow event last week here in Tennessee. The Red-tail has his falconry hood on in this pic to get him to pose with his prey.

It is difficult for raptors to capture their prey in the wild.....I think I recall my son saying that about 1 in 8 attempts end in successful capture.

Regards, Mike


----------



## Grateful11 (Apr 5, 2009)

Mike that's awesome! Looks like your son has a good head on his shoulders. Something makes me feel like you're not going to have to worry about him down the road. I'd say you've done great job raising him.


----------



## Orchard6 (Apr 30, 2014)

That is awesome! I bet it takes a lot of hard work and training to get the birds to not instantly devour what they've caught. Not to mention just getting one to return back to you after you release it. Kudos to your son and his hard work! Looks like it is very rewarding!


----------



## FCF (Apr 23, 2010)

Interesting! Nothing like working with natural instincts of certain animals, modifying those instincts for the betterment of that animal and others. Another way of getting back to nature.


----------



## FarmerCline (Oct 12, 2011)

Mike, thanks for sharing....very neat. I watched something not long ago on harris hawks and it showed how they hunted in family groups in their native desert habitat in the south west. It was really neat......when one hawk spotted a rabbit if it ran into cover before the hawk could catch it the other hawks in the family group would run on the ground and attempt to flush the rabbit out of the bush/cactus while the other hawk was perched overhead ready to grab the rabbit when it came into the open. Does your son's harris hawk only hunt small animals or will it go after birds as well? The falcon you mention your son has coming is it a peregrine or a prairie? Are these captive bred birds or are they caught at a young age out of the wild with a permit for use in falconry?


----------



## Vol (Jul 5, 2009)

FarmerCline said:


> Mike, thanks for sharing....very neat. I watched something not long ago on harris hawks and it showed how they hunted in family groups in their native desert habitat in the south west. It was really neat......when one hawk spotted a rabbit if it ran into cover before the hawk could catch it the other hawks in the family group would run on the ground and attempt to flush the rabbit out of the bush/cactus while the other hawk was perched overhead ready to grab the rabbit when it came into the open. Does your son's harris hawk only hunt small animals or will it go after birds as well? The falcon you mention your son has coming is it a peregrine or a prairie? Are these captive bred birds or are they caught at a young age out of the wild with a permit for use in falconry?


Yes, Harris hawks do hunt in social groups in the desert Southwest....pretty cool and uncommon. The falcon he has coming is a Euro hybrid cross that was captive bred....especially for waterfowl.

My son bought his Harris hawk from a breeder in Chattanooga and he captured his Red-tail hawk early last fall from the wild. That is what is so cool about using native wild birds is that if you want to change birds or species, with native birds all you have to do is just turn them out and leave them and they go on living in the wild just like before their capture. They never miss a beat. 

Regards, Mike


----------



## stack em up (Mar 7, 2013)

1 in 8 ends in successful capture? Sounds like date night in our household....

I've always been fascinated with falconry. Lots of Red Tails and Sparrow Hawks around here. They stir the pigeons up something fierce. Hilarious to see em get all flustered when the red tail sqwaks a little bit.


----------



## somedevildawg (Jun 20, 2011)

Your batting average is higher than mine Stack.....and getting worse by the day


----------



## snowball (Feb 7, 2015)

Mike that is awesome  I like to see people involved in those great things that nature has given us


----------

