Crow Hawking Question

[Fletcher 0]

My male Harris took his first crow today, I wasn't really sure how to deal with it, for his first 2 seasons he's been taking mainly rabbit.

I dispatched it by spiking it through the eye as it had my bird's leg in it's beak, I let him pull out a few feathers and then called him off with the lure and let him feed up on that.

My question is it ok to feed the hawk crow meat?

[Fletcher 0]

Cheers Jake I was thinking that, just playing it safe.

[thurso jack 3]

cant see any harm in it, have you never heard of crow pie??

 

oh btw answer your phone!!

[jamesy 0]

ive feed my mhh on crow i had shot with my air rifle, how did you switch your harris onto crow ,,,or did you just slip him on one... how have you been hunting crows,

thanks

[Fletcher 0]

I've been trying to get him to take feather since day one but he's never showed any interest then a few weeks ago he took a hen pheasant now theres no stopping him.

He'd had several flights at rabbits today but where he was damp from the rain he was a little off the mark, on the way home he was on the fist and spotted a crow on the ground about 50 m away, my bird took off gaining plenty of height, when he was right above the crow he dropped like a stone taking out the crow as it was taking flight. First of many hopefully as theres more than enough crows around here.

[jamesy 0]

ive just had my 2nd kill season with my m harris his 1st kill was a stoat, then he got a rabbit the other day ,need to get him back in the swing of things..

would mined getting my harris entered on crow,,, he has taken magpie.... had a few flights at pheasant,

i see loads of crows about but most of the time they mob him, but i think i need to get a sitting crow, and then slip surprise attack, its just hard to get the right slip,,,http://

Edited November 7, 2006 by jamesy

[Fletcher 0]

Well done Jamesy, you could try making a lure out of crow's wings that you've shot.

I free fly my bird, that way the bird can get well ahead of you, you can then flush towards it.

[jamesy 0]

yep am knocking up some lures at the moment, well hope things carry on the same, injoy the season mate

[Guest falconeru.k01]

The flesh of corvids is bitter & can sometimes put the bird off ,the best thing is to let him have few bites & give him some quail this way he wont be put off them. Another thing watch out for mites they are full of them frontline will sort this out a quick spray at the nape & under wings.Lasts for around 3 months but no bathing for couple of days.

[Fletcher 0]

Thanks for that.

[Fletcher 0]

Another good day, one crow and two rabbits, fed up him on each one as I wasn't expecting the next by the time we got back to the car he was as fat as a house.

[jamesy 0]

good day out then

looks like you got some nice land there..

[Fletcher 0]

That is an excellent bit of ground, there's a lot of rabbits, crows, gulls, snipe, woodcock, foxes, and roe deer.

But, just beyond the sand dunes you can see in the background is the north sea, so it is quite exposed and is usually pretty windy.

[jamesy 0]

sounds great, that wind can be a nightmare, my harris love to catch the wind

[Fletcher 0]

I take a wind meter out with me and record the wind speed in my hunting log, (yes I am a hawking nurd) the pefect wind speed for hunting with my hawk is 8mph, I flew him in a 22mph wind last week, not good for hunting but excellent fitness training, good idea to have the telemetry on.

Heres a handy web site for us falconers http://www.xcweather.co.uk/

Edited November 12, 2006 by Fletcher