I was starting to wonder if anyone else was gonna chime in! Getting footed sucks! I got nailed once by a imprint red in the face. Middle toe went in between my eye, and the socket. Wasn't a falconry bird, but someone's attempt at a pet. After that we decided against using him for flight demos to the public.

Quick update. Natasha did pretty well today, she followed like a champ. However she doesn't like it when I stray to far from the tree line. I had to go around a pond, and she landed on my head. Didn't hear her bells till it was to late. Thankfully I wore a hat, and she just wanted to stay close now that she knows I flush game.

She did chase a rabbit, but it was under ground before she even had a chance. An the one squirrel we saw made it to the nest. She was was more aggressive about chasing this one, and did a number on the nest. Never could get it to come out. After that we got out hunt cut short by a lady with a huge mastiff she couldn't control. So I called her down and went to the jeep. So ready for this long weekend where I will have the daylight needed to get her to some better feilds.

Only thing I need to work on with her is getting her to pay more attention to the area, and less on me. So I've stopped calling her to the fist unless nessisary.

I think we could get together a fund for a helmet with a branch on top

This is fascinating, when transporting do you have a cage of some kind?

And if so how hard is it to get the falcon in there, does she travel well

I always see the little hoods on birds of pray do you use one?

So the hawk sampled your buddy's blood?  
Pretty awesome, sir!

this!

absolutely amazing!

we have TWO of you on here??

There hood is used to keep the bird calm. Take away there eyesight and even a freshly trapped bird will stay still. I have one for her, but very rarely use it. I have a large box we call a giant hood. It's nothing more than a box big enough for the bird to perch upright in, and be completely dark inside. She hangs in there for car rides, and eventually when hunting with other folks. There are 5 of us inside of 20 minutes form my house.

Lol, no we took a sample of the hawks. It was for a study at one of Kentuckys universities. Can't for the life of me remember which one.

Thanks for this thread!!!

Excellent thread OP.  They are beautiful creatures.  We have them around our area, and I see them sitting on telephone poles or light poles - watching for prey.  

Thanks for sharing.

Neat thread.  I used to know a guy who hunted teal with a falcon.   Well, I didn't really know him, he just hunted the property that neighbored my uncle's and we used to chat after hunting had ended for the day.  Super cool to watch.   No idea what type of bird he was using.

So quick update/story. Took Natasha out hunting in an abandoned lot next to a Kmart. Hadn't hunted there in a while, but historically I've always been able to kick up at least one rabbit. Well after about 30 minutes of fighting with waist high thorn bushes, she took off like a shot out of the woods into the feild. I ran after her hoping to hear a rabbit scream, but couldn't find her anywhere. So I kept walking in the direction I saw her heading. After I got pretty close to the road I could hear her bells, and caught sight of her in a front yard as she flew to the back of a small farm. Thankfully the land owner was in they yard picking up sticks from her small walnut plantation (no idea if that's the right word) of about 200 trees. She gave me the ok to go look for my bird as long as I let her see it if I found her. Thankfully she was in the back of the property near the compost heap full of pumpkins chasing a squirrel. After about a ten minute chase the squirrel somehow vanished. Neither I nor Natasha could figure out where she went, and it was getting dark fast. So I called her down and went back to talk to the land owner. She was a very sweet old lady, and told me we where welcome back anytime to chase squirrels. So I'm going back Friday so herbhusband, and grand kids can see the bird, and maybe chase a few squirrels. All in all it was a good day.

Very neat. Excellent photos as well.

do you take her out hunting every day?

Yes I do. That's what makes falconry more of a lifestyle than a hobby. It's a bare minimum of 2 hours a day, every day during the hunting season. If she's at hunting weight, and the weather isn't hellish we will be hunting. Plan to hunt her tomorrow right after I eat. So she will go to the grandparents, and we will run to a spot I have five minutes away. Afterwards I'll go back to hang with the family, and eat dessert.

This is awesome!  

What and how much do you feed it every day?  Do you let it keep and eat its prey?  Do you ever let it loose in the house?

Right now she gets about 2-3oz of meat and day.

An she will keep what she catches for a while. After 5 or 6 kills I'll take one, maybe two from her if she gets them in a short period of time. But she will always end the day eating something she killed. Assuming she killed something.

An no, she is way to big. With a 4 foot wing span she would destroy the house, and probably hurt her self. She gets plenty of exercise out side every day.

I will add that on my days off she gets tethered out side for a few hours to soak up some sun if it's nice out.

Amazing...

So no idea if any of you will be interested in this, but it may answer a few questions, or create  a whole new ones. This is a copy of my logs. I make little notes each day from working with her. Its kinda like keeping a log for long range shooting. It helps me predict what her weight will be each day, and how her attitude towards flying will be.

10/31/15
48oz        <--- birds weight
0oz of food   <--- how much food she ate.
Trapped a new female red tail off highway 81 at 48oz, with a full crop.
Trapped was tossed out of my jeep on the opposite side of the road about 20 yards in front of her, using two hamster. She didn't even wait for me to pull over a ways down the road before she flew over to it. She hovered by flying against the wind before dropping right next to it. She showed no signs of being nervous about cars driving 5 feet away from her so I drove back past her to a small gravel road about 40 feet from her and backed in. Took about five minutes of her grabbing at the hamsters before I saw her jump and snare a leg. So I started the jeep and pulled up next to her, she dragged the trap a ways into the feild, but when I caught up to her I wrapped her in a towel and took her to the car. Once I got her all jessed [the leather straps on a raptors legs] up I stood her on the glove and removed her hood. She showed fear, but stood her ground. Manned  [process of taming them down] her for about an hour.

11/01/15
42.8oz
0oz
More manning for about 2 hours, shes taking it well. Let me walk right up to her and pick her up. She did foot [when they grab something like a hand] the glove when I put her back on the perch. I'm fairly certain she would eat me if she could figure out how to hold me down. She did trow a casting from he last meal as a wild bird. No bones, just a lot of fur. Looks like rabbit.

11/02/15
42.7oz
0oz
More manning today, she did well for about 2 hours. I started offering food today, but she shows no interest. Still a lot of fat on her. She did bate [when a bird tryst to fly off an hits the end of the leash] a bit today, but not much. She pulls herself back up every time

11/03/15
40.11oz
1.3oz
More manning, and she finally felt comfortable to eat off the fist. Gave her a whole day old chick.


11/04/15
39.8oz
1.4oz
Started trying to get her to hop to the fist. She shows interest, but won't jump. She did manage to steal a big chunk from my gloved with a lean that would make Michael Jackson jealous.

11/05/15
39.6
.6oz
No more free food, except the .6 oz she stole by beating her previous leaning record. Still won't jump to the glove, she paces side to side, so I know she wants to.

11/06/15
39.5
0oz
She still won't jump.

11/07/15
37.9
0oz
Same as yesterday.

11/08/15
38oz 2pm
0oz 2pm
Still won't jump.
37.8oz
2.6oz
Decided to try again before bed. An she finally hoped to the fist. An comes when called to 8 feet with little hesitation.

11/09/15
38.6oz
2.1oz
Flying the full length of the room with zero hesitation. Time to move outside.

11/10/15
39.1oz
1.2oz
She was a bit fat, and to distracted to do more than 6 feet outside. Her weight needs to be cut.

11/11/15
38.38oz
1.2oz
Flew the full length of my yard on the creance  <traing line]. Showed her the lure for the first time [leather sack that with meet tied to it. The bird is always given a good meal on it. And wI think it being away from the trainer a fat bird is more likely to come to it, and a fit bird will come from a long way off. Think of it as an insurance policy], she wanted nothing to do with it. I had to hold it to get her to eat off it.

11/12/2015
37.7oz
2.11oz
Still won't go to the lure on her own. She will only eat off it until late she likesaid it.

11/13/2015
38.6oz
1.38oz
Had to bring her to the lure, but she did eat off it on the ground. Traded her the bare lure for a chicken leg.

11/14/2015
38.2oz
2.11oz
Flew the yard again. Her lure response was better. She came off the perch and landed next to it before grabbing it.

11/15/2015
37.9oz
2.11oz
Rained all day. Gave her the lure inside. She flew right to it. She's getting it now.

11/16/2015
37.8oz
1.6oz
Same as yesterday. Fucking rain.

11/17/2015
38.11oz
1.3oz
Some asshole stole my giant hood [wooden box that the bird rides in for car trips] out of the jeep. Guess I didn't lock it. Hope they where disappointed to find nothing but bird shit in it. So I had to make a new one fast. It works, but it looks like a blind man who had only a rough idea of what it should be made it. So training was delayed.

11/18/2015
37.4oz
1.1oz
She did awesome, went from almost 20' to 80' when called. Good response times to the fist and lure.

11/19/2015
36.8oz
2oz
Flew full 150' on the creance when called. No hesitation to the glove, but she's still slow to come to the lure.

11/20/2015
37.4oz
1.5oz
OK should be her last day on the creance. Lure response is where I want it to fly free. Was very windy today, she was struggle bussing a bit to get to me.

11/21/2015
38oz
1.3oz
Crazy wind today, poor bird can't stand in the open. We will try again tomorrow.

11/22/2015
36.5oz
2.38oz
Flew free finally! It was a beautiful day. Her response was excellent. Let her fly to the top of an old oak tree, and showed her the lure. I held it off the ground, and she came instantly an slammed into it. Was a damn good day.

11/23/2015
36.4oz
1.9oz
She follows from tree to tree like a champ! No need to teach her. She even chased a squirrel, and rabbit. No luck, but a promising start for sure!

11/24/2015
36.2oz
1.4oz
Took her back to the same tree line. She chased the same squirrel a second time. She put in a good effort, but the squirrel managed to get into a hole. We would have continued hunting, but a lady with a dog she couldn't control made me decide to call it for the day.

11/25/2015
35.9oz
1.6oz
This entry is up a few posts, and to long to type on my phone again.

I think her final hunting weight will probably be 35.5oz. As it gets colder I'll bring it up a bit. Hope you guys found that at least somewhat interesting. But that's pretty much the norm training a red tail. She was a little slow due to being VERY fat when I got her. She had almost 6oz of food in her crop when I caught her, and another 5 or so in fat. My last bird flew only 4oz below his trap weight, but he was pretty lean.

That is a remarkable progress rate!  I used to do Schutzhund, and while GSDs are very intelligent, it takes a lot more time to achieve that level of reliable training.  It's amazing that a wild bird can do so well in such a short amount of time.

Church, are you married, kids does she get along with other family members?
Does your wife or family members get jealous of the time you spend with her?

They do progress very quickly, but really we just train in a good recall. I've looked in to Schutzhund before, itso a lot more involved.

An tequilabob, I am not married. And no kids, my dog and girl friend are both cool with it.

Today's update, after eating thanks giving with my family, I went out to my uncle's place. He and 4 others, and I started working the tree line. After about five minutes we found a squirrel, and the chase was on. Natasha kept between the squirrel and the nest, and me and her started pushing the squirrel down the tree row. Every time the squirrel would make a jump for the next tree she would make a pass at it. After about 3 minutes of this week got it in an dead tree covered in vines. She perched herself above the squirrel, and I moved to the other side where the it was hiding. Shaking the vines made the squirrel panic, and try running down the tree, it only had a straight down path. So Natasha tucked her wings in and dove right at it. The squirrel tried to leap off the tree to escape and was plowed mid air 3 feet from me at eye level! I quickly dispatched the squirrel, and let her eat her fill.

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1201638643183895&id=100000133112773
Hell of a way to end thanksgiving!






Who wants spaghetti??

Awesome!!!!! This is the best post ever.

Very cool.  Is she food aggressive?  Meaning, will she try to gouge your eye out if you get near her food?

She not aggressive about me touching her food at all. About 3 seconds after she hit the ground with the squirrel I had my gloved hand wrapped around the squirrels chest, she made no protest at all. Nor did she get up set when I went in with a set of game shears to cut it open. Now sometimes she can get a little crabby if she feels I'm being stingy with her food.

An for today's update not much to report. She's still full from eating half a squirrel, so no flying today. I'm hoping she will be good to go tomorrow, if not then she will be Sunday.

Well quick update for the last two days. Saturday was a no go for hunting due to it raining hard all day. An today wasn't much better, but we still managed to chase one fox squirrel, but it made it to a tree hollow pretty fast. She had a hell of a time staying dry the whole time, and wet feathers make for slow flight. Hopefully it dries up a bit over the next few days.

church, how long have you been a falconer? how did you get interested in it, whats the biggest bird you have had,
have you ever considerd a captive  bred bird?  is there different classifactions on your " license" to keep, hunt raise raptors?
how many can you have at once?

 I've been involved in the sport for over a decade, but this is my first year as a licensed falconer.
  There are 3 levels of licencing for falconry. The first is an apprentice, you have to have an experienced Falconer vouch for you, and agree  to mentor you for two years.  At this level you can generally have a red tail or a Kestrel depending on the state.
  Then you advance to a general level falconer. As a general you can fly anything but bald, and golden eagles or anything endangered.
 After 5 years at the general level you can advance to master. They can fly anything but bald eagles.
 General, and master class falconers can have multiple birds. Here I believe they can have 3 wild caught birds, and unlimited captive breed birds.

An my current red tail is the biggest I've had. Red tails are the biggest most folks will fly. Only two birds bigger that are fairly commonly flown are  ferruginous hawks, and golden eagles.

I became interested in it after reading "My Side of the Mountain" in 4th grade. The book was about a kid who ran away to live off the land, and caught a peregrine falcon that he trained. This made me look up falconry in the library, and they had a dozen or so books on it. I read them all a million times, and started volunteering at 13 with raptor rescues doing education work, and some training.

Quick update for the last 2 days. Sunday we managed to get out, and tried a new spot I got permission to hunt. It was cold and very wet out. After about 30 minutes she was pretty damp. She did chase one big fox squirrel, but it made it into a tree hollow. We continued on after that until a adult red tail took exception to her, luckily she came down when called. By this time she was so wet she was struggling to climb higher in the trees so I fed her up and called it a day.
Today it was so overcast that by the time I got home it was to dark to hunt. So we did what are called jump ups. I put a chunk of food in the gloved hand and have her fly about 6 feet straight up for it. Think of it like burpees for birds. She did about 20 before she was winded, and I gave her the last half of her food. She then sat in the living room with me and the dog and watched Archer for a while.

May this thread live forever!  Thanks for posting this church you should continue this on gd.

If a Mod wants to move this to GD I wouldn't have a problem with it.

Not sure how many mods even come here.  I do think many more people than just the folks that visit this section would really enjoy it.
Maybe just copy and paste your log and a link to this thread in gd?  
Thanks again church, by far my favorite thread on arfcom.

We have tons of them in SE Wisconsin.
All are very FAT as well.

NEVER saw a raptor til the 90's.
Now it is an everyday occurrence.

Made a post in GD, we'll see if it gets any traction.

Golden Eagle

I would have a bomb disposal suit on  

This is the coolest thread I have read in the ten years I have been on this site.

Church this is freaking amazing.

What part of Ky are you in?  

I am in Louisville but have a hunting spot in nelson county my cousin owns.

Awesome thread !

Looks like a very cool hobby.

I'm in Owensboro, about 2 hours west. There's a bunch of folks in the Louisville area.

Note to self:  Never, ever, get in an argument with a golden eagle.  

Awesome thread Church!

Is that right, this thread has been viewed 36 thousand times?

 I think it may be off just a tad....

Church 92 36886

What it shows on my page

I am postless ....speechless!

Does that mean nobody can fly a bald eagle?

They aren't legal to have in the US. Even if they where they aren't very good. Beautiful birds, but they lack the drive that golden eagles have. Also the primary eat fish in the summer, ducks on migration. They are also prolific scavengers.

Interesting, thanks for the info.

I've only seen them in the wild once around here in east TN. There were two of them circling some trees above a lake, and they dove down and came up with fish. Very, very interesting to watch happen in the wild. I was so excited.

Church---Do you have perches around your home, or just one that move and tether her to?

Natasha is my  background pic

keep us in the loop please

I have a few. One that stays outside so she can get some sunshine on nice mornings, two in her room, and one in the living room for lazy days when it sucks outside.