2014/15 Season

[Lee C 55]

Just starting to bring Vladimirs weight down so hope to get out soon and get my little boy out with me. Need to get some wellington boots in size 5 ish for his little feet and some small outdoor clothing so he looks the part.

Can't wait he knows the birds name but never really seen him fly or out of aviary.

All excited !!

 

All the best with the season.

Lee c

[pointer 543]

I bet he will love it.

[CrowHawker 227]

What am I flying well I'm flying a rehab spar and a American kes at starlings

[charlie caller 3,654]

My redtail has about 3 inches of a couple of deck feathers to come down, then he is done it does not seem to make any difference to his temperament whatever weight he is at, even fat as he is now he jumps straight onto the glove, the only difference I notice is he is a bit more wary and skittish when he is out of his mews, just made him some new anklets, and going to try a crimp on tail mount this year instead of a plectrum type, cant wait to get him out, going to try for a lot of tree rats this season, there is something about squirrel hawking that really appeals to me, and hopefully the hawk

[Accip74 7,112]

My redtail has about 3 inches of a couple of deck feathers to come down, then he is done it does not seem to make any difference to his temperament whatever weight he is at, even fat as he is now he jumps straight onto the glove, the only difference I notice is he is a bit more wary and skittish when he is out of his mews, just made him some new anklets, and going to try a crimp on tail mount this year instead of a plectrum type, cant wait to get him out, going to try for a lot of tree rats this season, there is something about squirrel hawking that really appeals to me, and hopefully the hawk

Crimping is the way to go, then in worst case scenario you only lose one deck! Lol

Have you tried a back-pack or leg mount? Just my preference, I grew to dislike anything on the tail....

[charlie caller 3,654]

Never tried a backpack. and I dont like leg mounts, to be honest I have been lucky and never lost a deck due to tailmounting, this will be the first time I try crimping, just going to have the transmitter on, no bell on the tail, so as not to have too much weight on the one feather, just have a leg bell on him this year.

[Accip74 7,112]

Yeh that's what I did, I never bothered with a tail bell......to be honest I never lost a deck either, although I know a few who have......

I tried the back-pack & really liked it, if you get it on right, it can stay on for several seasons.......but the last one I did, not so successful, come off after 2 months.....so switched to leg mount & that was fine....

Back-packs worth having a crack at one day though.......I'd try it again...

[youcanthide...BANG 1,051]

What am I flying well I'm flying a rehab spar and a American kes at starlings

Micro hawking lol, will be really interested to see how the kestrel gets on

mate had a euro kestrel that he got going on little birds.now he's gone to the other end of the scale with a male Goldie lol. Flew on the creance the first time today so will be good to go out and watch that's doing the business.

[CrowHawker 227]

Yes mate this AK is a killing machine heart of a lion! Yes very different but this bird has been loaned to me for a season or two as the line is special. Have a imprint Merlin here two that I'm sure I can help but get out

[pointer 543]

My hawk has been taken out for short sessions but being overweight she hasn't been hunting properly. On Friday she flew at a rabbit but veered off and landed in a tree. I didn't fly her yesterday and I was seriously hung over today after attending a mates 30th birthday party. My head was still pounding this afternoon when I dragged myself up to the aviary. I could tell she was somewhere near weight by her general attitude and as i walked to where I could let her off she was looking everywhere and reacting to the sound of rabbits in cover and pigeons in the trees. I let her fly into a tree and a few seconds later she took off across the land and landed in another tree then started to look down into the cover. I actually tried to tempt her back to me as I didn't think she would catch anything there and I didn't fancy making my way across the bramble and water filled holes to start bashing the cover. I really wanted to get moving onto other areas but she was having none of it and stared at the bank leading down to a stream. As I got closer she crashed down out of sight and I heard a squeal. I figured she had caught a rabbit so made my way around the ponds and crossed the stream. It took me a while to beat a path to her and then I realised she was battling it out with a good sized rat. She had one foot on its back end but had a thick branch between her legs and couldn't do much with her other foot. The rat was trying to bite her but thankfully it was struggling to move as much as the hawk with bramble all over. The litter picker made sure the hawk was safe but I had choice but to move it and the hawk onto solid ground which isn't ideal but was unavoidable this time. She traded off nicely and we went home. She has been bitten but nothing looks too serious and her feet have been cleaned up and treated. Not an ideal start to the season but just the way it goes.

[youcanthide...BANG 1,051]

Kills a kill mate, well done the both of you

[pointer 543]

Cheers mate,

The covers a nightmare, it's been hard to spot her in trees. I didn't take a dog with us today because I wanted to make sure she was responding ok first.

[youcanthide...BANG 1,051]

Ye I've decided to hold off a little while before I get mine flying. Been walking her about and she's settling down really well. Took the new Jill for her first run through today and she bolted a rabbit and rat so was pleased with that. Took Freya along too on her portable bow perch. Can't wait to get at it now

[pointer 543]

Last season I didn't get going until October and then the hawk was bashing into cover after stuff but rarely catching. It's going to be interesting to see if she has more success in heavy cover areas this time round. For the time being there are rabbits locally but mixy is here so I want to try and get what we can until numbers drop. I'm optimistic that even with mixi there will be more rabbits about than last season.

[pointer 543]

Another rat tonight which was caught in thick cover. Another fairly difficult extraction after a smooth trade off. I'd have liked to have carried on but I think it best to go for single kills for a while. I like rat hawking but I think I'll take her somewhere tomorrow that only has rabbits. All the local hedges around where I go have rats in them and my hawk is obsessed with rats. She will just keep flying back to where she thinks she can catch one so I need to travel to other areas. The dogs are getting rats on almost every walk but it won't last for long, the food source from the cut fields will be eaten and the rats will move away into the farm buildings and urban areas as they always do. I've got traps set ready for them as they will arrive in my garden any day. It's the same every year.