THAT is too cool!!

ya one of the pics that has 2 rabbits on the back of the truck I caught 7 bunny's that day and did catch and release. so those 2 where the ones I kept to feed me and the bird

FStrewth Mate!! them rabbits are bigger than the bird!!

Man those hawks must have heart as big as an elephant!!

the last 2 yrs I hunted with a Harris Hawk and caught many bunnies. the head count for last yr was around 100 head of game by the end of the season. the season ran from Oct 1st to March 22nd. falconry is the most regulated sport in the world so there is allot to do befor you can even get a bird. the greatest part of it is the fact that you are the dog and they are the hunter. you as a participant get to see the stuff that most never get to see and that is a wild bird doing what is natural to them hunting. training theses birds take allot of time and work. I spend 2-4 hrs every day training and hunting each bird that I have.

some of the great hunts are when you are out hunting a great field the bird is keeping a close eye on you because it has learned with time that you will show it game. different birds hunt different game. you cant get quite the head count with a hawk or falcon that you would with a firearm but the thrill is more than you can imagine after the new bird makes its first kill.

one of the greatest days out in the field last yr was me and Dink the Harris Hawk spent 4 hrs out in the desert hunting and caught 1 road runner, 4 bunnies, and 3 pack rats. the road runner and 2 of the bunnies where released back to the wild to live another day. just the aerobatics that the birds do to catch game is impressive the way they can twist and turn in a blink of an eye to get the right angle to grab a moving rabbit by the head.

gelandangan wrote:

8O FStrewth Mate!! them rabbits are bigger than the bird!! Man those hawks must have heart as big as an elephant!!

yes they are bigger, that rabbit weighed 6 1\2lb and the bird only weighed 1 1\4lb. they will show you things that you never thought possible

Funny, I've never seen a Falcon/Hawk with a crash helmet before.

LOL its a hood to keep him calm. although with as hard as they crash threw the brush it might not be a bad idea

I love to watch them circling the fields when I'm out plowing or bush hogging. I flush lots of jack rabbits and other small game, including snakes. They strike like lightening. It's an awesome sight. Now if I could just get one to fetch a wild hog, I'd be in (wild) hog heaven!!! (BBQ)

Awesome pictures.

Does the Oct 1st to March 22nd season run for only the bird or does it correspond to a rabbit season in your area?

I looked up Texas hunting laws and could only find a season for hunting migratory game birds with a falcon. I could be wrong, but it appears that all other game is legal year round.

Cary

I sometimes get out earlier in the yr but that is just a guide. the birds molt their feathers over the summer and are cranky so we usually just don't hunt them at that time. rabbit season runs all yr long here so we could keep hunting. I have gotten hunting as early as Aug. it is still a bit warm to be running around but it is a ton of fun so you don't notice it as much. TX has a very large falconry club as well as some of the most dedicated pure what we call dirt hawkers (which means they mainly hunt ground quarry) they hunt rabbits of all kinds and squirrels.

A buddy of mine had a nice fat red tail that he hunted squirrels with. I went with him a couple of times. This hawk would knock the squirrels off a limb, and catch them by the head in mid air. One time, he missed the head, and the squirrel turned in the hawk's talons and tried to bite the hawk. The hawk performed a tight climb and released the squirrel, flipping it straight up in the air, and re-caught it by the head.

Alas, my buddy was out hunting him on a warm spring day two years ago, and the hawk caught a thermal. By the time he got back to the truck where the electronic tracker was, the hawk was long gone way out of range.

He tried a female Cooper's hawk last year, but let her go. He said she was so mean he couldn't get within 5 feet of her.

lol some of those coops can be a handful. squirrel hawking is a neat thing to see. and the work the bird has to do to get them is intense. I fly a coop now but she is a sweet heart

well I have started over with a new coopers hawk this yr. raised her from a chick. we are about to start flying any day now. since the season is getting started and I didnt get drawn for anything this yr this is what I am going to be doing. her name is Neha and she will be hunting bunnies quail and dove.

when I got her in june


and from a few days ago

That is really cool! I was interested in falconry but realized that I didn't have the time to do it right. I hope you'll keep those pictures coming!

Let us no how she does
Joe