looking into getting a goshawk

[romany52 313]

i got a male p/r 50/50 german/finnish gos last year as my first bird.

did a year with a mentor that flew gosses before i got the bird and had no trouble with the gos.

he managed to lose a talon over tangling with a rabbit in mid november and i had to finish the season early but at that date he had 114 kills.

he took rook,grey crow,maggie,s,jackdaw,s,rabbits,pheasants,ducks,and took a black back gull too!

if you have a good head on your shoulders i dont see why you cant start with a gos like i did

 

 

thanks for that supersam thats the way that i say it

also my brother was coming out watching me fly mine.

and my mentor gave him a loan of an imprint male to fly and he did a good job with him.

flew him for a few months no bother.

yeah but you did it with a mentor who was also flyin a gos

My first bird was a parent reared male gos, it would have been a harris but couldn't afford one , goshawks were cheaper then! Didn't have a mentor, just library books,So it can be done, mind you I had 25 years of looking after a multitude of other animals including birds, having said that some folks aren't capable of taking on a budgie as a first bird! so I'd say it depends on the individual, If he is thoroughly read up on the subject and honestly feels capable, why not, a lot of European falconers did and still do start with a gos. He should just not think it will be easy. Mike.

[supersam 64]

i got a male p/r 50/50 german/finnish gos last year as my first bird.

did a year with a mentor that flew gosses before i got the bird and had no trouble with the gos.

he managed to lose a talon over tangling with a rabbit in mid november and i had to finish the season early but at that date he had 114 kills.

he took rook,grey crow,maggie,s,jackdaw,s,rabbits,pheasants,ducks,and took a black back gull too!

if you have a good head on your shoulders i dont see why you cant start with a gos like i did

 

 

thanks for that supersam thats the way that i say it

also my brother was coming out watching me fly mine.

and my mentor gave him a loan of an imprint male to fly and he did a good job with him.

flew him for a few months no bother.

yeah but you did it with a mentor who was also flyin a gos

true but his mates fly harris and redtail,s.

what iv seen of redtail,s there every bit as hard to fly as a gos imho.

mabey more time with a gos is needed so if he can fly the bird near every day like i could and has a good head on his shoulders i dont see why he cant start with a gos.

[Foxy09 3]

This bloke clearly has his mind made up regardless of what advice anyone gives him so lets just let him get on with it. Hopefully he will start and run a thread on his progress once he has the bird, The suspense is already killing me.

[liftboy1 0]

I remember looking after a finnish gos for a friend and I had 2 harrises, and found it the worst week of my life, gosses are so unpredictable, I will be waiting in the for sale section to buy it when it comes for sale, It seems that falconry has a sort of hierarchy everyone wants to fly gosses and it`s a shame because people think that gosses=macho falconer, well the newbies anyway. I would fly a gos if i was semi-retired, and i work 8 till 4.30!

[supersam 64]

I remember looking after a finnish gos for a friend and I had 2 harrises, and found it the worst week of my life, gosses are so unpredictable, I will be waiting in the for sale section to buy it when it comes for sale, It seems that falconry has a sort of hierarchy everyone wants to fly gosses and it`s a shame because people think that gosses=macho falconer, well the newbies anyway. I would fly a gos if i was semi-retired, and i work 8 till 4.30!

well i was a newbie and i didnt think gosses=macho.

also i didnt find the gos i flew unpredictable,nor the ones my mentor flew and even not the one my brother flew and actually i found it quite the opposite once ya know what your doing.

but i do agree that you need time on your hands to fly one.

[jasper65 6]

well i was a newbie and i didnt think gosses=macho.

also i didnt find the gos i flew unpredictable,nor the ones my mentor flew and even not the one my brother flew and actually i found it quite the opposite once ya know what your doing.

but i do agree that you need time on your hands to fly one.

 

:clapper: Great Post............

[liftboy1 0]

There is no offence meant, I agree with a mentor it can be done, but with his mates flying harrises and him jumping onto a gos its slightly different, were I come from everybody seems to buy gosses and some people fail. I think a harris can be raised through a book + dvd, but a gos would need a mentor, just my thoughts no offence meant!

[supersam 64]

no offence taken :thumbs:i think id depends on the person and not really what his mates fly imo

if he knows the basic training which for a gos its pretty much the same as a harris or redtail and if he has the time and land to do one justice then i dont see a problem if im totally honest.

Edited August 5, 2010 by supersam

[liftboy1 0]

No no I agree, the goshawk demands time and also needs a lot of kills under its belt, I wish him all the best but I do think he could be taking on a handful.

[supersam 64]

No no I agree, the goshawk demands time and also needs a lot of kills under its belt, I wish him all the best but I do think he could be taking on a handful.

all depends,s on the person.

i am lucky in a way i could fly him near every day and have lots of permission due to working my dogs and i took my time with initial training and made sure his recall was spot on to the fist and lure off the training perch and low branches on the creance before i flew him free with his telemetry of course.

[RIOHH 30]

If his mind is made up then there isnt a great deal anyone can do about it although in my opinion he would be better with a red or harris. I personnally cant see what all the hype is with a gos i have flown red tails, hh, various falcons and a friends eagle and gos and personally i think you can have more fun with a hh or a red. The problem is that alot of newbies dont put enough effort into these birds and that is why they have the reputatoin of being a mugging bird or easy to train. Done right a hh or red will give you as much fun if not more than a gos.

 

ATB martin

[supersam 64]

If his mind is made up then there isnt a great deal anyone can do about it although in my opinion he would be better with a red or harris. I personnally cant see what all the hype is with a gos i have flown red tails, hh, various falcons and a friends eagle and gos and personally i think you can have more fun with a hh or a red. The problem is that alot of newbies dont put enough effort into these birds and that is why they have the reputatoin of being a mugging bird or easy to train. Done right a hh or red will give you as much fun if not more than a gos.

 

ATB martin

iv seen harris ans reds at work and it was a pleasure watching them.

but they dont have the heart in the mouth explosive pace that a gos brings imho.

[jasper65 6]

I flew a male Retail when I was younger and have to say I had some cracking sport with the bird, fittness was the key but once he was fit he would take on the most ridiculouse long slips often sloop soaring out of trees ending in a quick turn and grab at the end of it, the bird was also pretty suicidal in the way it would drill itself in the ground dropping virtically onto quarry....

 

Ok he didn't have the blistering pace of a fit Gos but lets face it he wasn't a Accipter and wasn't designed for such bursts of speed which is why there should'nt be a comparison. I know this much!! on any given day I'm confident when flying Rabbits I could bring just as many to the bag as a Gos, the Redtail would spot them way ahead when following on from tree to tree, Many Rabbits would be mugged before I ever set eyes on them......

 

Jasper

[supersam 64]

I flew a male Retail when I was younger and have to say I had some cracking sport with the bird, fittness was the key but once he was fit he would take on the most ridiculouse long slips often sloop soaring out of trees ending in a quick turn and grab at the end of it, the bird was also pretty suicidal in the way it would drill itself in the ground dropping virtically onto quarry....

 

Ok he didn't have the blistering pace of a fit Gos but lets face it he wasn't a Accipter and wasn't designed for such bursts of speed which is why there should'nt be a comparison. I know this much!! on any given day I'm confident when flying Rabbits I could bring just as many to the bag as a Gos, the Redtail would spot them way ahead when following on from tree to tree, Many Rabbits would be mugged before I ever set eyes on them......

 

Jasper

dont forget hte harris hawk.

i seen my mates female bag more than 2 goses on a few occasions.

and they wernt muggins either.

but for flying feather then it has to be mugged for the harris and redtail imo.

i liked nothing mre than flying ducks with my gos last year.

for that kind of sport ya need a gos imho.

Edited August 8, 2010 by supersam

[jasper65 6]

Yep you're right its fast action sport with a Goshawk sam which can't be compared with a Broadwing or HH's, its all a diiferent ball game and different styles of flight that each indivudual species is designed for, shortwinged Longtailed accipters and built for the explosive dash which like you say can be a seriouse adrenlin rush...

 

I love the Gos's or I wouldn't breed them plus also flown a few but I now have to say I also enjoy the different styles of flight different species have to offer, these days I'm just as happy watching any fit bird do its job in the manner it was designed to do, OK perhaps the rush isn't there but they all kill for a living with a technique and style that suits the birds capabilities....

 

having said that I'll take up a young Gos this year after the school holidays, the days seem to have gone when I couldn't wait to get them out! she'll stay there until the kids go back, I'll then take her up kit her out and if all goes well should have some decent sport........