My falconer buddy has a juvenile female redtail that his grandson named George. Told him it's a girl - he said that's ok - George is a good name for her . lol. I was lucky enough to go out rabbit hunting with them today. For anyone who has never been out hunting with a falcon - I would highy recommend it. The sheer speed and determination of these creatures is just absolutely amazing. We ran quite a few rabbits today and she had quite a few flies. She actually got fur off two bunnies but just didn't have a good enough hold on to them. So unfortunately no kill shots today but did get some flight shots of her. These were all taken with a Nikon D300 DSLR. Next time I need to take my smaller lens - the Nikon 70-200 f/2.8. The 200-400 was just too big for much of the action today. Once again if you ever get a chance to go out with a falconer - definately go - you will be absolutely amazed. I can't wait to go out again and get a kill shot of her. Here's George.. 1) Caught her in a blink... 2) 3) 4) 5) 6) 7) 8) 9) 10) 11)Flying to the glove... 12) 13) 14) 15) 16) 18) 19) Last week while out hunting with her they found a dead buck - too bad, he was a nice one. Well hope you enjoyed the pics as much as I did taking them. Next time hope to get her with her prey. Take care Dave
What a beautiful bird. The pictures are amazing thanks for sharing them. That D300 is a nice camera, my instructor had one when I was in school and he got some nice shots but mostly of scenery. Nothing like the birds flying.
Wow, great shots and what an interesting hobby. Thanks for sharing. Are the leather straps on its legs a concern when it perches in trees? The first thing I thought of is what if one of those gets caught on a branch!
Man, you and Vito got this camera thing down...and thanks for showing me how much I suck as a camera man.
Thanks guys - it was definately an amazing site to see. As far as geting into falconry - I know in NY you need to do an apprenticeship thru an already liscensed falconer and I'm pretty sure you need to pass a written exam as well. MNpurple - as far as I know he's never had a problem with the tethers getting caught in trees. I'll be sure to post some more pics of out next outing.
thats awesome. Gotta love broadwings!! tell your bbddy to check out my buddy bobs site!! www.hollisterlongwings.comBob breeds and sells longwings (falcons) of all varieties. his place is neat and he is a great guy. there is nothing in the world quite so beautiful to me as these birds.
Thanks for the link Live2Draw. Your buddy sure has some nice falcons. I'd love to see one of them after a game bird - that would be sweet...
they are amazing, His one bird "Bugs" will play fetch with a tennis ball, its great. Doesnt fly or anything, walks over and kicks it back lol. But watching them hunt is EPIC!! there is a apprenticeship program nationwide to get into falconry. it is a VERY arduous process. But it is pretty neat. They dictate what kind of birds you can handle by how long you have been doing it.
