Falconry coming to Woodward

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Michael Beran

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Your hawks can take down a beaver? :shocked:


Let me qualify this, my Hawks are able and often do "bind" to beavers.
Below is the very first Beaver I and a hawk ever over came.
It is a long story is anyone should wish to hear it!

Redtail hawk 900g's
Beaver 37 lbs

ai69.photobucket.com_albums_i71_Titaniumtalons_IMG26.jpg
 

Michael Beran

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whats happens if a hunting bird takes down a protected animal?
Or does the chase initiate with the handler id-ing the prey?

Falconry has special situational laws.
If we are pheasant hunting and we accidentally catch a hen we can keep the bird but we are finished for the day.
Protected species, often we can trade the hawk off and release if there are no vital/mortal wounds (often is the case), if the animal most be termanated most sates have a "let it lay" law where the hawk is allowed to eat as much as it can and we bury the rest on the spot.

Normally, under most situations, our birds capture what we are hunting, but, if we are out hunting in Arizona, busting rabbits and a Hualapai Mexican Vole pops out, well, one gulp and its gone, sorry about that.
 

RidgeHunter

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It is a long story is anyone should wish to hear it!

Well, I think I can safely speak for alot of us... YES we want to hear it!

This is a type of hunting most of us are not familar with and I enjoy reading about it. I haven't posted in this thread before know but I am reading it alot. Good stuff!
 

1shott

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Do the birds hunt and kill when hungry, or do they hunt and kill on sight, even when not hungry?

Do you not feed them for a day or two before a hunt?
 

Michael Beran

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Do the birds hunt and kill when hungry, or do they hunt and kill on sight, even when not hungry?
Do you not feed them for a day or two before a hunt?


Yes the birds do hunt best when hunger is a factor.
They hunt when they are not hungry but they put very little effort in the hunt.
The birds are fasted but never before a hunt, I fast my birds on Sundays after they have eaten as much as they can.


These birds are like finely tuned athletes, they hunt best and put the most effort into the hunt when they have a low body fat %. You have to feed them very high quality food that is low in fat, such as, wild duck breast, pigeon breast and whole quail. There are also vitamins and supplements available specially for raptors.
 

1shott

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Yes the birds do hunt best when hunger is a factor.
They hunt when they are not hungry but they put very little effort in the hunt.
The birds are fasted but never before a hunt, I fast my birds on Sundays after they have eaten as much as they can.


These birds are like finely tuned athletes, they hunt best and put the most effort into the hunt when they have a low body fat %. You have to feed them very high quality food that is low in fat, such as, wild duck breast, pigeon breast and whole quail. There are also vitamins and supplements available specially for raptors.


Sweet, you guys that practice this sport are awesome, thanks for the information.
 

Michael Beran

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How in the hell does a bird kill a beaver?!?! I wanna know that story.

The very first one was my Female Passage Redtail Hawk, Mahja. She flew at 1000g's but I often hunted her at 900g's

We were hunting on a huge southern plantation called Magenta Plantation in Elm Grove, Louisiana
Most of the Plantation is now leased to corn farmers and petroleum company's, it's no longer a working Plantations as such. We had been hunting rabbits for about an hour with no luck, the rabbits were there but in heavy, heavy cover and Mahja just could not connect. I decided to change locations for some liter cover and started walking across a huge, grassed over corn stumble field about 500 yards from a small pond/lake. Mahja was not one to fly/hover over and open field so she came down to the glove and I was carrying her on the fist. (see PIC) also note big hunting stick.
ai69.photobucket.com_albums_i71_Titaniumtalons_PADMEfistsquirrel.jpg


Suddenly Mahja took off and started flying in front of me with purpose, I thought at first she saw a bunny but I saw nothing, then she did a wing over onto what I thought was a hump of earth, until it reared up and started moving. I had no clue, I was too far away to see clearly, then I noticed the creature was heading to the water, ultimately to drown the hawk attached to it's head. This is exactly what would have happened, once a hawk binds and its adrenaline stays elevated it can not let go, as long as there is movement the talons sink deeper and deeper, the tendons ratchet tighter and tighter and the hawk can not relax then to let go. Once I realized what was happening knowlege and fear both set in at the same time, I knew it was a beaver and I knew it was going to try and drown my hawk.

I started sprinting across what was left of farm rows, making my legs carry me as fast as they could, when I came upon the hawk attached to the beaver my first instinct was to use my hunting staff and stop the forward progress of the beaver. I thrust the staff in front of the beaver and he mowed me over like I was not even standing there, as he ambled by I grabbed his tail, pulled up to stop him and was promptly pulled forward onto my knees and did a face plant on the ground, being dragged by a 37 pound mass of pure muscle. I had no idea how strong a beaver was, nor did I know, as I was about to find out how tough a beaver is. I let go the beavers tail, ran back and grabbed my hunting staff. All the while the beaver was getting closer and closer to the waters edge. My hawk was attached firmly now, talons through the left eye and ear of the beaver, unfortunately in the way of me giving the beaver a good whack in the head and maybe stopping it. So I just swung at open fur in it's mid section, the staff just bounced off him, again and again I swung and nothing. Finally I swung with all my might and hit it in the hip, breaking something because it no longer had use of it's back legs, however this did not stop it, it was still crawling with it's front legs. I get my hunting knife out, I must say, I went Rambo on the beaver. Finally killing it some 100 yards from the waters edge.

The beaver had been grazing on the new winter growth grass we get here and was too far out for a quick retreat into water, this has been the case for any beaver we ever subdue!
 

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