My Latest Endeavor...

[Moozillion]

I was re-reading this whole thread, just because it's all so cool.

Tom, if that WAS Minerva, and she came to you, what would you have done then?

And wasn't Minerva a BIG girl who was a bully who BASHED into other hawks and stole their kill? Something of a WITCH...but substitute a B for the W ?
@Tom

 

[Tom]

I was re-reading this whole thread, just because it's all so cool.

Tom, if that WAS Minerva, and she came to you, what would you have done then?

And wasn't Minerva a BIG girl who was a bully who BASHED into other hawks and stole their kill? Something of a WITCH...but substitute a B for the W ?
@Tom

If she had flown down to me or the lure, I would have fed her and let her fly away as she wished.

And yes, she was a huge mean bully. This bird was doing her best to drive my bird from the territory, which is exactly what Minerva did when that little male wild redtail was trying to hunt the rabbits that I was stirring up. Instead of hunting, Minerva just kept flying pole to pole displacing the little male. This bird was doing the exact same thing in the exact same way to Tacoma.

 

[Moozillion]

If she had flown down to me or the lure, I would have fed her and let her fly away as she wished.

And yes, she was a huge mean bully. This bird was doing her best to drive my bird from the territory, which is exactly what Minerva did when that little male wild redtail was trying to hunt the rabbits that I was stirring up. Instead of hunting, Minerva just kept flying pole to pole displacing the little male. This bird was doing the exact same thing in the exact same way to Tacoma.

WOW!!!! I betcha it was HER!!!

 

[Tom]

I just re-read this whole thread. Fun stuff. So many memories stirred.

Tacoma finished out her season with no drama. We just went out and hunted and had a good time. She's molting now and dropping loads of feathers. I intend to get her hunting again in October and then release her back to the wild once I know she's in good shape. Here she is right at the end of hunting season before the molt:



And this pic is mid molt. The first distinctive red tail feathers are just showing up:

 

[Chubbs the tegu]

Beautiful!

 

[Markw84]

@Tom Do you have pictures of the new birds? Love to see them and hear more about them...

 

[Tom]

So far we've had Toothless, Minerva, Chicken, and Tacoma. All wild caught passage red tail hawks. Now its time for a new chapter:

Introducing Rick and Morty:

@Tom Do you have pictures of the new birds? Love to see them and hear more about them...

Typing it up now...

 

[KarenSoCal]

So far we've had Toothless, Minerva, Chicken, and Tacoma. All wild caught passage red tail hawks. Now its time for a new chapter:

Introducing Rick and Morty:

Typing it up now...

I'm so glad to find you keeping on this thread! I've missed reading your posts while I've been sick.

 

[Tom]

So far we've had Toothless, Minerva, Chicken, and Tacoma. All wild caught passage red tail hawks. Now its time for a new chapter:

Introducing Rick and Morty:




These guys are Harris' Hawks. They are captive bred and about 4 months old. Instead of trapping a wild hawk that already knows how to hunt and survive on its own, I'll be training these guys from scratch. They are chamber raised by their parents so that they do not imprint on humans. I'm working very hard to not be seen as a food source, like their parents were, but rather as a member of the hunting party that provides opportunities for them to hunt and catch their own food. On paper, this doesn't sound like much of a distinction, but in the mind of a young hawk, its worlds of difference. Much time is spent trying to wed a passage wild caught red tail to the glove, lure and falconer. Its the opposite with these guys. I don't want them to love me or think I'm their daddy. I want them to think that if they follow me around meals will jump up and present themselves to them. I want to be seen as an opportunity-to-hunt-provider, not a tidbit dispenser.

If one could design a bird for the rabbit hawking type falconry and select all the perfect traits in perfect balance, I don't think you could do better, or even as well as these birds. They are super tame, not afraid of humans and typical human activity, they hunt in groups, cooperatively, in the wild, they are extremely driven to hunt most anything that moves, they are very fast and agile which makes it easy to hunt them off the fist, and they are super smart and trainable. Their versatility is extraordinary. They can hunt quail, pheasant or duck. They can hunt any type of rabbit in any environment. You can hunt them in groups. That is HUGE. Most falcons and hawks must be flown alone. These guys will work together to flush, push and strike at game all on their own, and then share the kill. You can see them doing this in the wild in AZ, NM, TX and Northern Mexico where they are from. And that reminds me of another great trait: They don't care if its hot. Most raptors start to lose some interest in hunting and working hard as the temperature rises out of the 70s. Not these guys. They will hunt when its 100 outside! People who live in areas with winter snow have to be careful and these guys don't tolerate freezing weather well, but that isn't an issue here for me. My issue is 80-90 degrees days in the middle of December and January during hunting season. Great tortoise weather, but not so good for hunting with hawks... unless you have Harris' Hawks!!!

More later.

 

[katieandiggy]

They are great birds.
We went and watched some being flown, these were captive bred and they did look at the human as the food source. They kept many birds, i particularly liked the raven.
Once we got home my hubby wanted a Harris hawk but I dug my heels in.
We have them here in the UK, they have actually cross bred with Buzzards over here. Obviously naturally they are not found here so it is assumed that they are escaped ‘pets’ but they have thrived in the wild.

 

[Tom]

So much to catch up on! Tacoma is back free and in the wild. She got some anti-parasite treatment for a month of residual protection, a good meal, and I set her loose right where I caught her last year. This is where I sat her after I cut her bracelets off and fed her her last free meal.


She sat here for a while and then flew up to one of the power poles that she grew up on. This is where I left her. She sat there with me for about a half hour on the low post before flying up to the taller pole. She seemed relaxed and content as she surveyed her old familiar territory.


Fish and Wildlife studies have demonstrated a 98% survival rate for redtails release after a year or two of falconry. Compare that to the 5% of wild birds who are hanging on by a string as they reach their first birthday. I don't see how the number could be so high, but that's what they tell us.

 

[Tom]

What about Rick and Morty? Anyone can see from these pages that I love falconry. I live falconry. I had so much fun with my redtails. I learned a tremendous amount, overcame problems and challenges, and had a lot of success, adventures and good times. There is so much more to learn and so much more that could be done with redtails. If that's is all I had to work with, I'd do it for decades and die a happy man.

But these Harris' hawks... HOLY COW! They take the fun and enjoyment to another level. They have all the best parts of the redtail hawks, but none of the drawbacks. I was limited in the fields I could hunt with the redtails because they needed perching around the edges of the fields. Trees, light poles, telephone poles, etc... The Harris' hawks ride around on a T-perch in the field with me, or hunt off the fist. They are a bit faster and more maneuverable than a redtail, so they can go from a dead stop on flat ground and still catch their quarry.



In the wild, the Harris' hawks also live and hunt communally, unlike any other raptor. 5 or 6 at a time can be seen hunting jack rabbits together in their wild desert habitats. They even rear and protect the young in groups sometimes. As a result, you can hunt with them in groups in captivity. Rick and Morty hunt together. As I started hunting with them, their behavior and knowledge increased daily. They seemed to learn and get better each day. They had a few minor squabbles at first about who was in charge, and I quickly convinced them both that I was the boss.

The first few days working with them were slow going. They had never been touched or messed with by humans. They started hopping to the fist after about 5 days, and I had them free flying outside on day 17 and we began hunting almost daily on day 18. They did a lot of chasing game at first, but didn't catch anything for a little while. Those wild rabbits seemed to be too smart and too fast for these inexperienced little baby birds. They made their first catch of wild game, in the wild, on day 33. I was elated. When one of the redtails caught something, they would eat a lot, and then I'd have to hold on to them and walk them back to the car on my glove so they didn't fly away and refuse to come back now that their stomach was full. These guys feast on a kill, and then, because of their social nature and eagerness to hunt, they just keep hunting and following along as you walk back to the car. They don't have any desire to fly off and leave the hunting party. Its AMAZING!!!


We had a dry spell for the next two weeks, and then they seemed to turn a corner and really figure it out. Sometimes they catch one all by themselves, and other times the two of them work together and catch game as a team. They are continually learning and getting better, and this has been a perfect year to start new birds. We had two good years of rain here, very unusual, and the rabbit population has exploded. The fields are all teeming with them. The best "training" for new birds is lots and lots of slips on game. They exercise their muscles and their brains all at the same time in relentless pursuit of game. It has been so much fun to watch. Most of the time they miss and the wiley rabbit escapes to live another day. The goal is to catch game, but sometimes the misses are more fun than the catches. Watching the rabbits dodge wave after wave of these birds trying their hardest to catch them is where the "sport" comes in to this sport. I'd say they miss 30-40 times for every catch. The birds get a great work out, and so do I marching around on rough terrain and chasing after them while they are in pursuit. The rabbits get a good lesson in being more cautious too.

And for those who know the show, I got the names backwards. Rick is more of a Morty and Morty is more of a Rick, but both are doing great and its been tremendously entertaining watching their personalities and individuality come out.


I already enjoyed falconry more than words can express. I enjoy it even more now.

 

[jbuenavides]

I miss going on a nature trip after seeing these photos of Falcons from your last trip.

 

[Tom]

I miss going on a nature trip after seeing these photos of Falcons from your last trip.

I make this trip almost every day.

 

[CarolM]

What about Rick and Morty? Anyone can see from these pages that I love falconry. I live falconry. I had so much fun with my redtails. I learned a tremendous amount, overcame problems and challenges, and had a lot of success, adventures and good times. There is so much more to learn and so much more that could be done with redtails. If that's is all I had to work with, I'd do it for decades and die a happy man.

But these Harris' hawks... HOLY COW! They take the fun and enjoyment to another level. They have all the best parts of the redtail hawks, but none of the drawbacks. I was limited in the fields I could hunt with the redtails because they needed perching around the edges of the fields. Trees, light poles, telephone poles, etc... The Harris' hawks ride around on a T-perch in the field with me, or hunt off the fist. They are a bit faster and more maneuverable than a redtail, so they can go from a dead stop on flat ground and still catch their quarry.
View attachment 282539


In the wild, the Harris' hawks also live and hunt communally, unlike any other raptor. 5 or 6 at a time can be seen hunting jack rabbits together in their wild desert habitats. They even rear and protect the young in groups sometimes. As a result, you can hunt with them in groups in captivity. Rick and Morty hunt together. As I started hunting with them, their behavior and knowledge increased daily. They seemed to learn and get better each day. They had a few minor squabbles at first about who was in charge, and I quickly convinced them both that I was the boss.

The first few days working with them were slow going. They had never been touched or messed with by humans. They started hopping to the fist after about 5 days, and I had them free flying outside on day 17 and we began hunting almost daily on day 18. They did a lot of chasing game at first, but didn't catch anything for a little while. Those wild rabbits seemed to be too smart and too fast for these inexperienced little baby birds. They made their first catch of wild game, in the wild, on day 33. I was elated. When one of the redtails caught something, they would eat a lot, and then I'd have to hold on to them and walk them back to the car on my glove so they didn't fly away and refuse to come back now that their stomach was full. These guys feast on a kill, and then, because of their social nature and eagerness to hunt, they just keep hunting and following along as you walk back to the car. They don't have any desire to fly off and leave the hunting party. Its AMAZING!!!
View attachment 282540

We had a dry spell for the next two weeks, and then they seemed to turn a corner and really figure it out. Sometimes they catch one all by themselves, and other times the two of them work together and catch game as a team. They are continually learning and getting better, and this has been a perfect year to start new birds. We had two good years of rain here, very unusual, and the rabbit population has exploded. The fields are all teeming with them. The best "training" for new birds is lots and lots of slips on game. They exercise their muscles and their brains all at the same time in relentless pursuit of game. It has been so much fun to watch. Most of the time they miss and the wiley rabbit escapes to live another day. The goal is to catch game, but sometimes the misses are more fun than the catches. Watching the rabbits dodge wave after wave of these birds trying their hardest to catch them is where the "sport" comes in to this sport. I'd say they miss 30-40 times for every catch. The birds get a great work out, and so do I marching around on rough terrain and chasing after them while they are in pursuit. The rabbits get a good lesson in being more cautious too.

And for those who know the show, I got the names backwards. Rick is more of a Morty and Morty is more of a Rick, but both are doing great and its been tremendously entertaining watching their personalities and individuality come out.
View attachment 282541

I already enjoyed falconry more than words can express. I enjoy it even more now.

You most certainly make it fun for the rest of us as well. I have to live vicariously through your exploits with them and am enjoying it tremendously.

 

[Moozillion]

OH, TOM!!! Such fun, SUCH FUN to read your posts!!!!!!!

(I sat here at my computer, reading this and grinning my head off, so now my coffee is cold and it's YOUR fault! )

 

[Ray--Opo]

What a great thread. I am glad I came across this. Thanks Tom for sharing this.

 

[Tom]

I was taking pics of this:


Then he did this and I captured it just by luck:

 

[CarolM]

I was taking pics of this:
View attachment 283110

Then he did this and I captured it just by luck:
View attachment 283111

Wow, Perfect shot. He is such a beautiful bird!

 

[Ray--Opo]

I was taking pics of this:
View attachment 283110

Then he did this and I captured it just by luck:
View attachment 283111

Tom this bird was scoping out Opo yesterday. What type of hawk is this?