UKC Forums - OT. Raising and Hunting a Finish Goshawk

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Posted by Majestic Tree H on 10-28-2010 03:11 PM:

OT. Raising and Hunting a Finish Goshawk

This Hawk belong to my Brother and Sister in Law ..
Raised over the Summer and Imprinted from 4-5 Days old ..

After Training in Virginia She was taken to Wyo. for Grouse and Duck.. Last Pic is from last Week her back in Virginia ..

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Posted by Hoosier Man1 on 10-28-2010 03:22 PM:

That's quit the game catcher! LOL

Posted by Majestic Tree H on 10-28-2010 03:28 PM:

The Goshawk is a Killing Machine !! With less misses than Shooting a Shot Gun !! lol

Here where some of Her First Training Videos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SFMWn2UVJlQ

This Video is Just before they left to go to Wyo. ..

She really progressed From this Stage !!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vtDv...feature=related

Posted by branchvillekell on 10-28-2010 04:44 PM:

that has got to be the most rewarding, what a beautiful bird. wow. that is sooooooooo cool
kelley

Posted by Two Toes on 10-28-2010 05:23 PM:

"KILLIN MACHINES"

I got some experience with this myself. Been several years though. It is an awesome sport & unequeled.

I raised a pair of Kestrels & one redtail female. Cleaned house on the sparrows & Starlings around the farm one summer when I was 13 or 14. My uncles brothers have been into it for 40+ years & are of the few in our stae licensed for both Bald & Golden Eagles. Them things are the most awsome to look at up close as anything I've seen. Talk about havin the look!They go west & get Peragrins by propelling down faces to get them from their nest!

Incorporate the Hawks & Falcons with a rite steady German Shorthair & you'll see an amazing display of two of mother natures critters workin together.

Usta have falconry competitions & sure they still do some where?

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Posted by Majestic Tree H on 10-28-2010 05:37 PM:

I'am 52 and and have had Hawks, Falcons and Owls since I was 12 or so .. I only allowed my Permits to laps when the Hounds really pushed my Time allowance over the line to Work with Birds also ..

They have Lots of Field Meets for the Hawkers with very good turn outs ..

Posted by on 10-28-2010 05:52 PM:

I've dabbled in falconry a bit too. I was friends with a high school kid a few years back that was really into it. He got into falconry and since he didn't have wheels yet I did all his driving for him and helped him with the whole process of getting permits and what not. Quite a process.
I couldn't believe how much goes into it to own a bird legally, with the special housing requirements and apprenticeship program.
As soon as he got the okay from the DNR we began the pursuit of trapping / capturing a wild red tail hawk. We spent quite a bit of time driving and it cost me the transmission in my car.
We finally got one and the training began. That was a whole other process that surprised me how difficult yet easy it was.
He'd be training that hawk in town at home and he'd go perch somewhere and wouldn't come in. For some reason, it never failed when I'd show up and give the command it would come right to me.
We spent quite a bit of time together that fall working with that bird. We weren't real successful but had enough near misses to keep it exciting.
Unfortunately that bird didn't survive the winter after following some advice from his master falconer mentor.
He found another red tail that was imprinted and already trained.
We've lost contact but I've heard he's gotten into it pretty serious and has graduated into dealing with some of the more exotic european and asian birds.
Falconry is an amazing sport but unfortunately it is more of a lifestyle than a hobby, even more so that us and our hounds. It isn't really something you can just dabble in to do on a few weekends. It is an everyday type of dedication.
I've always enjoyed reading them Working Dachsund articles in Full Cry where they team up with them little dogs and the birds. After seeing some of this action first hand I can totally understand the obsession with it.

Posted by robgregory on 10-28-2010 06:15 PM:

Steve,

I gotta give it to you------You are one talented individual.
Rob Gregory

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Posted by Majestic Tree H on 10-28-2010 07:45 PM:

Re: Steve,

quote:
Originally posted by robgregory
I gotta give it to you------You are one talented individual.
Rob Gregory

Yea Right !! If Spent 1/2 as much Time Working as I have screwing Off .. Well I'd be a Rich Man !!! lol

I've mentioned to you Rob about Sandbridge !! Well most of my trips their were with a Harris Hawk I was hunting Rabbits !! Down near the southern end durring the winter when their wasn't a sole around .. I was hunting in the Back yards of the Beach houses ...

I'd put the Bird up on a Roof top then start kickin the thick brush ..

That Bird and I killed 8 rabbits one day .. Flew Her till She was Wooped and couldn't catch another .. I spent the night in Virginia Beach for about $30 .. Then Hunted the next day and Did a bit of Surf Fishing Too ..

One of the Best Times I ever Spent Alone ........

Man that places had a Ton of Rabbits around the end of Jan./Feb

Posted by robgregory on 10-28-2010 08:02 PM:

Steve,

Everthing in and around Sandbridge is now NWR.Get caught huntin' in there now,you're lookin' at hard time now.I know a farmer whose farm land is right outside of Sandbridge.He's surrounded by the refuge.His name is Steve Barnes and knows the Refuge Supervisor well.I asked Steve to ask the Supervisor if I could hunt my English hounds in there if I promised not to carry a firearm.His answer was---"Definitely Not".
Rob

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home#- 540-925-4437
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Posted by Majestic Tree H on 10-28-2010 08:08 PM:

Well its been a Long time since I was their .. Guessing about 15 years now ..

Heck even the Secret Service had a "Book" on me !! .. I was catching pigons for Hawk Trapin in front of the White House one day .. Well This one SS Cop wanted to know what I was up too .. So I told him some off the wall story then thru My Crab net Full!! of Pigons in the Car and left ..

Its not against the Law to Catch them In DC .. But the SS did do a Back Ground check off my Car Tag # ....... And well they got alittle $$hity with me ....... I think I was 17 when that happened ..

Posted by robgregory on 10-28-2010 08:32 PM:

D@#$!!!!!

You REALLY got a pair of cajones,don't you? I done some crazy snit in my life,but nuthin' to compare to that!!!
Rob

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"PR"High Lonesome Hannah. Nt.Ch. Hardtime Miss Kitty's Cat

Posted by BIGCASTLEDAWGS on 10-29-2010 01:55 AM:

FANTASTIC!

More Super Pix! Gotta love the birds of prey.. SO beautiful! We still have a healthy pop. here and I get a thrill when the Coopers comes in right over my head now to grab sparrows as I feed the remaining chickens we have here. Falconry would have been something I would have LOVED to have done. I loved having parrots when I was younger... and often wished I could have birds of prey instead. Was lucky enough to work with the birds at the Museum of science Boston for a summer or two. THAT was WAY cool (other animals as well)....

I really feel fortunate to have been exposed to so much cool stuff... I LOVE to see you share your adventures on here since alot of us don't have opportunity to do this stuff!

Thanks for sharing!! Heather

PS... Bob LOVED the pix... except the "ugly chick" and the dead duck(he has a pet duck and adores ducks... I tease him about the MEAL I could make out of "quackers" LOL)....

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Posted by rmcmillan on 10-29-2010 02:06 AM:

THANKS FOR SHAREING THE PHOTOS, I ENJOYED THE STORIES ALSO. KEEP EM COMING I WILL CHECK IN AGAIN.

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Posted by Majestic Tree H on 10-30-2010 02:37 PM:

Well She cought a Green Wing Teal yesterday and missed on a Blue Wing...

Those Blue Wing Teal Leave those Ponds like they were Shot out of Cannon !!!!! The Green Wings are about twice the Size and are a bit slower ..

Posted by Majestic Tree H on 12-04-2010 11:35 AM:

UpDate : My Brother and Sister-in-law just wrote up how their Gos hawk has been doing in the past week..

The last couple days has been so rewarding for the new baby gos that it warrants an update!

For a long time we had limited her to 2 head per day. However, this was typically accomplished with minimal flights, maybe a 20 foot and a 30 foot flight per day with virtually no sustained airtime. So, last Sunday we decided to start flying the wings off her - so to speak. With the help of John Foley, Kevin & Donna we got a lot of flying in, ending up with a cottontail. Then Monday and Tuesday we probably lost what little conditioning she had gained because we didn't fly her much due to the rainy weather. On Wednesday it was cold, windy and miserable but we forced ourselves to go out and at least try flying her in the wind. We lucked out and caught a rabbit before dusk.

Yesterday, Thursday, we decided to fly her hard on as many rabbits as we could, and that we did! For some reason the rabbits were getting up way out in front of us and Kalika did a fabulous job of trying to catch them before the got to cover. We sure got a lot of flying out of her that afternoon. In the end she had caught a field vole and three cottontails.

Today, Friday December 3rd, we wanted to catch a duck with her. The creeks were still high and rough so ducks were mainly in ponds. We had limited (zero) experience hawking ducks on ponds with Kalika but we gave it a try. For the first flight Lance took the goshawk on the fist and sneaked up behind the dam. We had planned on timing the flush for when Lance walked up on the dam while Jill would be rushing the ducks to flush them. Well like anything else involving a goshawk, it went awry. Before Lance could get onto the dam the ducks saw Jill coming and split! All that Lance and the gos saw was a flock of about 8 or 10 ducks blasting out of the pond. The gos heard them taking off but waited to see them well off the pond and climbing before she left the glove. She flew level for about 10 feet then pitched up another 15 feet to bind to a big drake mallard! When it happens like this, it sure makes goshawking ducks look EASY! But, trust us hawking ducks with a gos is tough compared to a big longwing.

Kalika is still learning to throw a foot on the duck's head so she can control it. However, her forte is to stand on the back of a duck which in turns runs/slithers really fast back into the pond or creek. This has happened many times but, to her credit, she hangs on to the duck regardless of how deep the water gets. The big downside to this is that before we can fly her again we have to dry out her wet feathers using the car heater on full blast. This takes about 30-40 minutes.

As soon as Kalika was dried out Lance dropped off Jill with the gos at a dead end creek. Walking quickly Jill rushed the ducks which blasted out of the creek bottom over a fence and a cow pasture. Kalika did a good power flight and after about 110' she bound to another drake mallard and brought it down! This one was too far away to even consider dragging the hawk into the water and so she stayed dry. So, we drove for another 10 minutes and found a pond with about 12 ducks in it. After quickly getting permission from the farmer we drove down close to the pond and got out of the truck, Jill holding the gos up high so she could clear the high pasture fence when and if she wanted to fly. Lance quickly threw a couple of choice rocks at the ducks. The flock of ducks took off with Kalika hot on them. She took another drake mallard after about 150' flight and that was that!

So baby gos had 3 flights from the fist and caught 3 drake mallards today. It was still early so we drove to a rabbit field just to round it off. Not long afterwards we had a rabbit in the bag as well. Needless to say we were very excited and proud of Kalika and she got a well deserved crop

Jill, Kalika, 3 drake mallards & a cottontail rabbit all in 2-1/2 hours of hunting

We eat everything we catch (excluding field voles).
Here are the 3 drake mallards 3 hours after catching them.

Posted by EnglishBabe on 12-04-2010 10:29 PM:

We have a local guy here that is a falconer, he has all kinds of birds of prey. His name is Mike Dupuy and I've been invited to go on a hunt in January with him to see his birds in actions. He breeds all kinds of birds, I haven't had the chance to actually go see his birds, but I will soon. You can find him on the net and on Facebook.

www.mikedupuyfalconry.com

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Posted by BIGCASTLEDAWGS on 12-05-2010 01:08 AM:

AWESOME!

What a Great job they are doing! Hope she keeps doing so well, learns to do that control maneuver soon... and keeps putting food on the table!

HappyHunting Heather

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