Caught my hawk for hunting this year just this past week. Got her flying to me in the house in just 5 days or so. Will be starting her training outside on the creance line tomorrow. So far she has been a great bird to work with- she doesn't even seem to mind my dog at all. Should have her ready for hunting rabbits and squirrels by the time our muzzleloader season closes. I'll be sure to update our status as the training progresses. Take care Dave Won't be long and well be having shots like this - This was my bird from last year..
Thanks guys. I let my last years hawk go around the end of April. I could have kept her but it's just as easy to let them go and trap and train a new one the following fall. It only takes a couple weeks to train one. That way you don't have to feed them all summer ,and if you go on vacation - you'd have to have someone feed them that knows how. When you trap one to train - you can only keep passage birds (ones that were born that year). They say that the mortality rate for immature redtails is close to 70% their first year. When falconers take them in - they are guaranteed to get fed weather they catch something or not. You work with them their first winter honing their hunting skills, so when you do turn them loose in the springtime - they are pretty much guaranteed to make it. As soon as they get a kill on their own after being set out - they are pretty much wild again. They wouldn't even come back if you tried to call them.. Of course this is all state and federally regulated - it's an apprenitceship you have to go thru. So not just anyone can go out and trap a hawk and hunt with it. If you ever do get a chance to hunt with a falconer and his bird - take the opportunity - it's pretty amazing, the determination of these birds. Last year my hawk got to learn to hunt with the beagle - as soon as he'd start sounding off - she'd fly and try and get in front of him and wait for the rabbit to flush. They made quite the pair. Take care Dave
YUP,,... you know how much I love your hawk adventures. Looking forward to a nice winter of bunny kills. LOL You know what puzzles me..... why do hawks put up with the crap from harrassing crows. I have a monster hawk.... I mean huge, living on the hill behind the house. He's so big that when I first saw him zip over head yesterday I thought it was the juvenille bald eagle we have hanging around. Anyway, right on his tail is a crow just pestering the hell out of him. He hit a tree and crow number 2 shows up. He zooms off but only made it 60 yards or so and treed up again. Last I saw he was heading west with 2 crows on his butt. Seems like they could do a talon attack and chase the crows away.
I've always wondered that myself Dave - I don't have an answer. I have seen a redtail eating a crow before- not sure if it was a road kill or fresh one it killed. I'll be sure to try and get some better videos this year of the action.
