david901
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Everything posted by david901
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Well the female gos took another rabbit today. Her success rate is quite impressive if I say so myself. Most things she catches, she keeps a hold of. Not bad considering her Hallux doesn't work on her right foot. Its a far cry from her performance last year where I saw her lose rabbit after rabbit and also duff a few pheasant catches.
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Mate there will be plenty for sale around then. Though it is a wise policy to start looking now. Try to find a decent breeder that is producing good quality hawks.
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Nice one mate. Its been good reading about her. Cheers
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The day before yesterday, I had one flight at pheasant with the gos. She chased it to a patch of brash in the nearby woodland.Unfortunately she tried following it in and ended up soaked on the ground due to all the melted/wet snow lying. After that we went home. This morning I tried at the same piece of ground. Due to the brash and cover lying in amongst some thick conifers, it can be hard to get a clean flush. Usually the gos gets held up trying to go through the cover or she has to fly around it, giving the pheasant a fair start on her. I kept the dog in close and tried to pick where I w
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There's some footage on Youtube somewhere.
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I've never flown a female HH, but from what I've seen and heard, some can be very good hare hawks. If hares were my main concern, I'd go for the biggest female I could get and enter it early before the hares get too big to build its confidence. Every hare it caught, the hawk would get a massive feed up on warm flesh. Just my opinion.
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Hi Sean I actually keep my imprint freelofted all year round. Feather damage is never an issue with her.
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Hi Muttley94 Some of the best flights I have seen are where the quarry escapes. To me Falconry is not about catching large quantities of game, but instead watching a hawk/falcon performing at its best on difficult quarry.
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A fun days hawking. That's what its all about. It looks like you have decent rabbit ground there mate. Do you still have good numbers where you live?
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A picture of todays catch. A rabbit for a bit of variety. I wish I had some more rabbit ground as they are very thin on the ground here.
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Thanks mate. Before her injury she very rarely lost any quarry. She always was a good hawk, making the most of any opportunity. It seemed worthwhile persevering with her.
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Thanks mate. Getting them fit and confident is what its all about. What I like about the gos is the wide variety of quarry they are capable of taking. I used to hunt this bird at a landfill and would slip her gulls at over 100 yards away.
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Nice one Sean I like the loop perch you have. That is how I kept my first gos as well.
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A couple of pics of the imprint gos doing what she does best.....LOL She has had a few rabbits as well and hopefully if the weather stays dry and cold, I can do a few streams for some duck before the season ends. I'm pleased that despite her injury, she continues to put game in the bag.
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I did the same with my female Sean. She had a slip at some gulls first though, but the wind picked up before I could slip her and the gull she singled out managed to dodge her. It was a good flight though.
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Crows can be a bit intimidating for some hawks and may require a weight reduction????? Maybe not though. I found getting a few easy slips and kills gets a gos fired up for them. Every season I will give the hawk a few carcases and I also use a crow carcase as a swing lure exercise. Crows are difficult for female gosses, but they will take them, perhaps not as efficient as a male though. They are never easy [unless car-hawking, which I dislike] Once your bird switches on to them, you will get some good flights and [dare I say it] more entertaining than rabbits The good thing about using
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Hopefully it will dry up a little before the season ends mate. If you continue with your gos, you will still get slips at crows.
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Hi Sean Good to see you're still going at it. Hopefully the weather will quieten down and we can get some decent days flying.
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I'll throw my twopence in..... As the dog is only a pup, I would let him find out he CAN'T catch the birds. The only way he will learn this is from experience. I let my Brittany hunt up and point snipe from an early age. After I flushed them, he would be off chasing them. Eventually with a combination of him learning they were uncatchable and also with me instilling the STOP command, he steadied up. Brittanys are quite excitable as a rule, but they are also smart and will work out what works and I wholeheartedly agree with Casso's comments above. I believe that it is important for the
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You should perhaps contact the IBR or Independent Bird Register. Someone may have posted their lost hawk on it. Cheers
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I bet they are still cheaper than a Vizsla though
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They sound an ideal hunting companion. Out of curiosity how much would a well bred setter cost? Cheers
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Thanks for sharing Andrew. What are they like when working woodland? Do they range too far out or will they keep in touch with you? I like what I have heard about setters. Derry Argue used to breed his own line a while ago and the book he wrote gives some good information about them.
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Hi mate Its a case of if she learns to adapt. Last year on the same bit of ground, I bolted 6 rabbits out. She caught 5 of them, sometimes more than once, but couldn't hold them. She finally nailed and held the sixth rabbit, so I fed her up and went home. A similar thing happened the next few times we went out, so I ended the season. Before the injury, she very rarely lost any quarry she got a foot to. The thing is, she is a smart hawk and uses her brains, so I thought what the hell, I would give her more chances to learn. If she carries on like this, I will be very happy.
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She nailed another rabbit today. Caught it immediately, but it broke free, but she set off after it again into a strong head wind and secured it. Cropped up again and a couple of days off.
