Who issues falconer licenses? Are there schools that still teach this stuff?
I saw a hawk pick off what looked like a robin last week. The smaller bird was in the hawk's claws, flopping around without any apparent disruption to the hawk's flying ability.
Ah.
Thanks for clearing that up...
Natalie
Right now, we've got four cats, one dog, and two desert tortoises, legally obtained.
But I might have a use for that rabbit one day.
------------------------------------------------ The DNC - Building a bridge to the 19th Century.
"Ray O" wrote: snip
Reminds me of the whole crew of the motor vessel 'Bluenose' watching a pair of eagles working the bay at Bar Harbor, Maine after ducks.
They'd stay in a tight circuit about 200 feet behind each other, the ducks would see the first one coming, dive, then come back up 'just' ahead of the next eagle in line who'd nab him...I swear that they had it figured out precisely...you could almost see them grinning and saying "Stupid friggin ducks!"... :)
We sure spent many pleasant lazy summer afternoons in deckchairs quaffing a cool one or two telling jokes and keeping tally on their 'kills'. Damn, fun times.
Lots of wild red-tailed hawks flying around in the semi-rural areas of Southern California. Their favorite "high spot" perches seem to be the streetlight crossarms on freeway onramps.
I just hope they have the sense to tell the difference between a jackrabbit (that they can easily take down in the nicely mowed median or shoulders) and a Volkswagen Rabbit... ;-)
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Yup. Rats galore, and plenty of cottontails.
Urban redtails aren't usually big enough to naturally take jacks. I had to train two to finally want to get beaten up that badly. Now my Harris Hawk loved the fight, but then California jacks aren't that big.
They're also smart enough, unlike some people, to stay away from the VW variety.
------------------------------------------------ The DNC - Building a bridge to the 19th Century.
Bit of a laugh. My sister just got a 2-pound 10 week old chihuahua. It sits in the yard and barks at the rabbits. The rabbits don't move. I can imagine them laughing to themselves. "We're supposed to be scared of that barking rat? We're bigger."
Charles of Kankakee
My mother-in-law lives with us. She's got a Shih Tzu (not the dog I mentioned earlier). This animal is constantly writing checks with his mouth that his butt can't cash. He'll bark at my Boxer, then turn tail when pursued. Funny stuff.
------------------------------------------------ The DNC - Building a bridge to the 19th Century.
Our Keeshond doesn't like animals that are smaller than him. It's funny to see the rabbit chase him around the house!
Possible but not likely. The diet of a Harrier consists of small rodents, frogs, grasshoppers, etc. They hover or fly vveeeerrrryyyy slowly when compared to other hawks. Very good for catching ground-based prey. They can and do take an occasional bird, but robins are pretty maneuverable. It usually takes a Cooper's hawk or Sharp Shin to catch 'em.
Coop's are amazing to watch. Several years ago, I was looking for nests. I found one, or rather mom found me. I was the subject of a dive-bombing attack that didn't end until I left the area. She was very vocal. As she flew by my head several times, I could hear the air going through her feathers. Her maneuvers in and around low branches in the small woods I was in were impressive to say the least. Luckily she never connected with my scalp, as is what happened to an acquaintance who required a few stitches to close up his "encounter" with a different female.
------------------------------------------------ The DNC - Building a bridge to the 19th Century.
That must have been quite something indeed. They have some awesome tangs.
We have a great number of raptors around here including the Bald Eagle. The Northern Harrier (also called a marsh hawk) likes wooded areas and mashes. I've watched them fly around trees, very agile flyers. I had one sit on our bird feeder, looked around then jumped into the bird bath, LOL. Very boldly walked in the water, looked around for a while and took off into the woods. I've seen other raptors along freeways. Once observed a hawk of some type, I couldnt ID it, but it was after a small mammal. As I watched in my rear view mirror the critter was getting away, but for how long I don't know.
Some of the most spectacular flights my birds took over the years have been "misses". To see the Cream of the Crop among prey animals get away, with unbelievable moves, were days I'll never forget.
But the greatest flight I ever watched was my female Harris, Annie, who took off after a jack rabbit. The hare made it into a large gathering of tumbleweed and probably thought all was well. Annie came from behind, shot straight up twenty feet over the pile, then banked over and straight down. Just after tucking in her wings, she crashed right into the middle of the weeds, and was rewarded by a screaming jack.
She earned that meal. What a day. The memory is a video in my head.
------------------------------------------------ The DNC - Building a bridge to the 19th Century.
Dbu_^ wrote: snip
My son tells the story of watching an eagle attack a white plastic bag holding a pair of running shoes on the back of a friend's motorcycle. The bag had become a bit loose and was flapping in the slipstream. The bird got away with one of the shoes...tough supper that night...
Amazing story. They're always fun to watch. I enjoy watching them soar on thermals and do they get high in the sky.
Speaking of plastic bags, watched a gull in a Sams Club parking lot of all places, try to get untangled from a plastic bags. I tried to catch it, but every time I approached the gull took off, but could only fly about 100 feet as the bag inflated and acted like a air brake. It was sad thing to see and I'm quite sure that bird didn't last long. I suppose it got tangled up while scavenging for food.
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