Falconry Advice

[Greb0603 1]

Hello

 

Could anyone kindly give me some advice? I have always had an interest in falconry - and used to go with a friend who kept Harris Hawks and a peregrine. Due to work etc my friend was going to let me have one of his Harris's - but unfortunatley he was killed in an accident and everything fell through - so I left it at that.

 

Anyway, just lately I am starting to get an interest again - parlty due to a falconry centre opening nearby. Anyway, what I want to ask is; apart from buying a bird - how much cost and time would I need to invest in keeping a bird?

 

Any advice would be appreciated.

[paulus 26]

in my experience i always found i either had "the time and not the money" or " the money and not the time" never did find any middle ground

[pointer 543]

Telemetry is the only real cost after the bird. The rest of the equipment is about a hundred quid or so if you make a lot of it yourself.

The time involved depends upon how far your travelling to hunting grounds but I've found I've lost so much time to bad weather that I spend more time looking at the met office website and out of the window at trees bending double or rain belting off the window.

Hunting a Harris hawk takes up less time than working terriers or lurchers or hunting with hounds does.

[david901 165]

"Hunting a Harris hawk takes up less time than working terriers or lurchers or hunting with hounds does."

 

I wouldn't really agree with this comment. Its true you can take a hawk out once a week and fly it, but it will not be fit and you will not get the best out of your hawk.

I always try to get any hawk of mine out 4 or 5 times a week minimum. When they are young and learning, you need to get them out as much as possible on good game areas for them to master their skills. Its easy enough to get them out in Autumn, but when the nights draw in its a real struggle from December onwards if you have a nine to five job.

Just my opinion.

[charlie caller 3,654]

Hunting a Harris, or any hawk for that matter takes up MORE time than running a lurcher believe me, unless you want to be content with an unfit bird that will never get close to its potential, and will look very ordinary at the side of a fit hawk, out flying four times a week should be a minimum in my opinion, if I did not lamp my birds I would not keep a hawk, as in the winter, due to work I could not get out in the daytime, just as well I really enjoy lamping them, and it does make for a fit hawk, as every chase is a wing pumping sprint to the quarry, if you cant/wont dedicate a considerable amount of time,then please do not get a bird, also consider what arrangements you can make for the birds care if you go away or were ill, think about housing do you have the skills to build a mews, or if not the cash to pay someone to do the job? think about where you will store the food, does your wife/partner mind you keeping 200 dead chicks, dead rabbits, squirrels, etc etc, in the family freezer? and if you have family commitments, can you stand the resulting nagging/earache that will ensue when you appear to be putting that bloody bird first before me and the kids? Think about it carefully before you commit, it is rewarding, but not easy, good luck.

[Accip74 7,112]

Just remember you wont be able to rely on effective lamping on a weekly basis throughout the season with a hawk, what with the moon, high winds, heavy rain & possibly snow, you will also need a good alternative fitness ragime.

[pointer 543]

"Hunting a Harris hawk takes up less time than working terriers or lurchers or hunting with hounds does."

 

I wouldn't really agree with this comment. Its true you can take a hawk out once a week and fly it, but it will not be fit and you will not get the best out of your hawk.

I always try to get any hawk of mine out 4 or 5 times a week minimum. When they are young and learning, you need to get them out as much as possible on good game areas for them to master their skills. Its easy enough to get them out in Autumn, but when the nights draw in its a real struggle from December onwards if you have a nine to five job.

Just my opinion.

I have to disagree, at least in part.

A lurcher and terrier team takes up a lot of time, when I had them I'd be lamping a lurcher or lamping a few rats with the terriers almost every night. In the hunting season I'd be working them at least one day in the week but usually two and then every Saturday and Sunday. When I followed hounds I'd be doing two days mid week and every Saturday and Sunday plus still doing some lamping with an ageing lurcher and also ratting with either the dogs or airgun two or three nights a week.

Now with a hawk I've found you lose a load of days to the weather, I'll agree that the working man can struggle to get out as much as he wants to but there's only a few weeks of the year when I can't get home from work and get my hawk out for at least an hour.When you can't get back in daylight you either use up your holidays for mid week flying or perhaps there's lamping.

 

I'm not saying it's not time consuming I'm saying that a serious terrierman, lurcherman or hound enthusiast will spend as much time in the field as the vast majority of people with Harris hawks, I'd say more so as the weather rarely stops the other fieldsport a from taking place. The most frustrating part of my season has been due to having the time to hunt but the weather has often been against us.

As for needing good game areas I'd agree but that's the same for all hunting and has nothing to do with how much time is spent. Infact it's often the opposite, when your tripping over quarry you don't spend as much time looking for it.

[pointer 543]

Hunting a Harris, or any hawk for that matter takes up MORE time than running a lurcher believe me, unless you want to be content with an unfit bird that will never get close to its potential, and will look very ordinary at the side of a fit hawk, out flying four times a week should be a minimum in my opinion, if I did not lamp my birds I would not keep a hawk, as in the winter, due to work I could not get out in the daytime, just as well I really enjoy lamping them, and it does make for a fit hawk, as every chase is a wing pumping sprint to the quarry, if you cant/wont dedicate a considerable amount of time,then please do not get a bird, also consider what arrangements you can make for the birds care if you go away or were ill, think about housing do you have the skills to build a mews, or if not the cash to pay someone to do the job? think about where you will store the food, does your wife/partner mind you keeping 200 dead chicks, dead rabbits, squirrels, etc etc, in the family freezer? and if you have family commitments, can you stand the resulting nagging/earache that will ensue when you appear to be putting that bloody bird first before me and the kids? Think about it carefully before you commit, it is rewarding, but not easy, good luck.

Sorry but I don't understand your point of view, you lamp your hawk to keep it fit and to get out as much as possible. That makes sense but your hawk wouldn't be able to fly in conditions that a lurcher could. I'm sat at home now and could have been out my hawk two hours after work but the gales were experiencing make it impossible to do so, yet a lurcher can work in that. Therefore no matter how keen you are at lamping a hawk you could never work it as many nights as a lurcherman his dog. That's just obvious so I can't see a different point if view, never mind the fact a lurcher can be slipped on a lot more rabbits than any hawk could in a night hence more time spent hunting.

I must be missing something here because lurchers can be taken out hunting a lot more than any hawk can.

[pointer 543]

Just remember you wont be able to rely on effective lamping on a weekly basis throughout the season with a hawk, what with the moon, high winds, heavy rain & possibly snow, you will also need a good alternative fitness ragime.

That's my point, the weather plays such a big part in flying hawks. I never used to think about it much with other hunting. With hounds for example you go out on the fells in all weathers setting off early morning and walking until near darkness and often later if a hound is missing, I was often cold and more often than not wet to some degree but nothing stopped hunting.

Lurchermen look forward to a windy night where a hawk would be blown away. Rain dosent matter either or even sleet and snow.

 

I high jumped mine etc to keep her ticking over when we couldn't get out flying.That took less time than It used to take to walk my dogs out every night.

[bullet 125]

sorry but im with pointer on this one, I used to do lurchers and terriers, but for the last 8 years ive done falconry and I don't know what to do with my spare time, in the week I can fly my bird around the duck ponds in less than an hour an half, sat and sundays were used as I pleased, hour-four hours, when I hunted with dogs I was out all days and nights, training my bird is done less than an hour, getting my lurcher fit I used to walk it every evening which could be up to three hours

I hunted my male gos for the last five seasons

[Accip74 7,112]

It's tricky to say which takes up more time to be honest, I grew up with terriers & lurchers & they took up most of my spare time, my own personal lurchers were just mooching dogs, neither lamping machines nor super fit coursing dogs though. Most time was spent with the terriers, getting them right & finding them work, which at various time's was anywhere from 3 to 8 dogs, this took up all my spare time..........

In comparison I've only ever kept one hawk & no dogs at the time & it was a lot easier........but I was older & more organised :-) one thing I could certainly do with the gos, if I was short on time or the whether bad, was just nip out with the ferret & get a kill within the hour........ Infact, often with the gos I wasn't out as long as I'd like because he would kill so dam quickly...........I'd be getting home, just as my then girlfriend was getting up lol

......this way of doing things, I could never do with the dogs....

[pointer 543]

I think far too many in the falconry world think they are doing something which takes up more time and requires more commitment than other hunting pursuits. It really annoys me because I find it disrespectful to those that partake in those sports.

 

I dare bet there are stamp collectors and train spotters that spend more time doing their hobby than anybody who will read this. Most people have to go to work so regardless of what hobby we partake in we get a few hours after work days, every weekend and twenty odd days of holiday to do it. That's all there is to it.

[charlie caller 3,654]

Pointer, I dont think you have digested my point fully! I totally agree that a lurcher can be taken out (at night generally) in conditions that would defeat the best hawk, I have never suggested otherwise, my point is this, if you are content to fly a hawk at the weekend, unfit and never reaching anywhere near its potential, then fine, but the commitment/time needed to produce a super fit hawk that will take game in all conditions, is huge, as I am sure you dont need me to tell you, we get out what we put in, in the hunting with animals world, my advice was not to experienced members of the forum, rather to the op who asks advice about getting his first hawk, I am merely trying to point out the various pitfalls to him before he starts his epic journey.

[pointer 543]

I wouldn't own a hawk if I could only fly it on a weekend the same as I wouldn't have owned a lurcher. I agree with everything you have said regarding time, commitment, fitness etc but I feel that the same applies to dogs.

 

I know what your saying though and I don't think everybody could fly a hawk, I've spent less time actually hunting this season than any other but have had to think about it more getting over issues like my hawk hating dogs, wanting to attack ferrets etc.

[charlie caller 3,654]

No neither would I mate, but there seems to be this myth attached to Harris hawks in particular, that it is ok just to fly at the weekend, ok the bird might catch the odd rabbit etc, but it will be a very poor specimen alongside a fit hawk, I agree that running a lurcher properly does take devotion, the stark difference being, you can take the working lurcher for a run in the local park, to maintain some fitness, and walk it on the road to condition its feet, but if its lashing down with rain, or doing an 80mph typhoon, the hawk is confined to its mews, a week of that and she starts to lose some fitness, I suppose the whole point of me rambling on is to try and instil in the op and any other potential hawk owners reading this, is if you are going to get a hawk, think very very carefully before diving in at the deep end, they require a hell of a lot of attention, and cant be put to the bottom of the toy box if you get fed up.

Edited March 20, 2014 by charlie caller