Sorry - no wabbit pics again today. Of course most of the problem we had was the depth of the snow - if you could walk on top you're ok - but as soon as you fell thru - you're over your knee caps.. But it was a nice day to get out and enjoy the outdoors with her and some good friends. Me and Roxie.. My friend Doreen and Roxie. I tiold her it can be a little scary the first time she flies at ya..Her face says it all... Here's my buddy SlipBob calling her in so I could get some landing shots.. I though this shot was knida neat - even though she's not in focus.. And here's what happens when you're not ready but she wants to land anyway...lol... Maybe we'll loose some snowpack this week and get into some better rabbit hunting.. Until next time - take good care Dave
That's a beautiful bird. As always, great pics. I especially like the ones where she's flying at the camera.
Great photos! She's a beautiful bird. We get some redtails here in the yard. They stare at the chickens... but so far they haven't tried for them (not this year anyhow). They behave kind of strangely. For instance, Kendall shot a squirrel last month and when he went out to the yard to pick it up, a redtail was eating it. He had to physically push the hawk off of the squirrel to get it. Must have been one tasty squirrel.
Just absolutely amazing. That has got to be one of the coolest things to do. Birds of prey are so neat.
What is the purpose of the bells on the legs? To someone who knows zero about this, I immediately think "what if those get caught in the crotch of a branch or something?" How old is that pretty girl??
Thanks a lot guys. Glad you find it interesting. Just wish I could get a good video of her actually catching a rabbit. MNpurple - the bells on here ankles are for hearing her. It is a real pain trying to keep track of her without the bells on. Sometimes she crashes in such thick brush , the only way you can locate her is by listening for her bells. It's also nice that you can hear her when she takes off out of a tree - she is either chasing game or changing perches. She was born last year , you can only keep immature ones for falconry.- I trapped her on October 30 and had flying to me on a creance line in exactly two weeks. Had her free flying and hunting in a little more than four weeks. It is definately one of the neatest things I've ever done. I'll be letting her go in April and will start all over again next year with a new one.
Wow, I didn't realize you couldn't keep them more than one winter. I remember you saying you could only catch immature ones, but then I thought you had them for good. They obviously must acclimate back to the wild pretty easily. Will you try for another red tail or take whatever you happen upon?
Awesome pictures!!! Great Info too In your post to MNpurple. One of the better threads I've saw In a long time. Thank you for sharing!
Thanks again guys. Rybo - I guess I should have explained myself better. I could keep her if I wanted to, but you can't really hunt with them in the summer - you have to keep them real fat while they molt and get their mature feathers in. It's called intermewing them. A lot of falconers do it though. And if I did keep her - I would need to buy all her food and have someone feed her if I were to go on vacation during the summer. I find it would be just as easy to let her go and trap and train a new one next year, seems how it only takes a few weeks to train one. Each bird has their own personality so it will be a good experience for me to train another one while I'm still in my apprenticeship. And while I'm an apprentice (2 years) I can only have a Redtail or a Kestral. They say the mortality rate for first year birds is close to 70% thier first winter. Having a falconer take one in during this time pretty much guarantees they will make it. Letting my bird go in the springtime will give her that much more of a chance of making it on her own. I can hunt with her until the end of March and I will probably let her go in the beginning of April. There should be a lot of critters running around by then... I hope this explains it a little better. If you ever get a chance to go out with a falconer and his bird - you should go just for the experience - it is quite amazing that's for sure. Take care Dave
wow dave, it would be hard for me to let her go, but happy at the same time! thanks for the pics and i prob woulda passed out if Roxy woulda landed on my head! haaa
