RC K9

About halfway in is where this gets fun.

There are also some special considerations for falconry on some game species where the falconers ARE permitted to take game when the season for said game has ended for regular bow, gun, etc.

Yes and no. There is no closed season on rabbit and squirrels. With falconry though, the law in Texas is, if it kills something that is either not legal game, or is not in season, the raptor can eat it, but you cannot take it into your possession. So for instance, if I come up on a creek while rabbit hunting this week, and there are ducks that take off, and she goes for one and nabs it, I can allow her to feed up on the kill, but then I have to transfer her off whatever is left when she is done and leave it where it lies. I can't take it into my possession.

It's not the killing things in falconry that they are laid back about. It's the steps required to be taken to legally own a hawk for falconry purposes. Their laws in regards to actual taking of game, i.e. hunting seasons, bag limits, etc are pretty in line with other states from what I have seen.

It's a lot of work. It's not something someone can go into halfheartedly and be good at. (Not at all implying either one of you would be. Just saying it's a lot of dedication). The basic requirements are the same across all states I believe. Get a sponsor. Take the state test. Have your facility/equipment inspected and approved by the state. Once you have all of that done, you go trap a bird, and thus begins your two year apprenticeship. I am fortunate to be in TX for all of this as TX pretty much has the bare minimum regulations in place (dictated by the Feds). Ohio, New York, etc have laws that are a little different, and in some ways, stricter, and i'm not so sure i'd want to be an apprentice in either one of those states. There is a reason OH has like 98 licensed falconers, and like only half of them are active/have birds, whereas TX has several hundred falconers and is a state that has kind of taken a leadership/role model kind of position in the US when it comes to falconry.

Some good ole Kansas falconry with a golden eagle.

RT's are ideal for squirrel hunting. RT's have bigger, stronger feet than HH's and squirrels are much harder to kill than rabbits. They also fight back. You'll often see wild, and even some falconry birds missing toes and such from where a squirrel bit them off. They make special leather foot/leg equipment for falconers who want to fly their birds on squirrels. My personal opinion at this point on the affection thing, (keep in mind, i'm only an apprentice, not a General or a Master), is that it's more for the falconer since people in general get attached to animals. I am not convinced that the birds actually "love" you, or crave physical affection. When I show my bird physical affection like stroking her feet, breast, etc, (man that sounds bad, ha ha) it's for the purpose of desensitizing her to being touched by people as people often want to pet her, or I have to screw around with equipment on her, and I want her to be calm and used to it. I personally don't believe she actually "likes" it. As for golden eagles, they are no joke. They kill foxes, goats, roe deer, jack rabbits, etc. Some people fly golden eagles here in the states too. I think WY is the state where most people trap their eagles. There are very few eagle falconers in the US though. It is VERY heavily regulated by the USFWS, and even a master falconer cannot get a permit to fly an eagle unless they have written endorsements from two other current falconers that fly eagles. Watching people hunt jackrabbits with Goldens is pretty neat stuff.

Hunger. You don't starve the bird, but the bird has to be hungry to be motivated to hunt, and come back. Weight management is critical. For instance, 740g is her "not screwing around" weight. If I were to try to hunt her around 770g right now, she probably wouldn't be all that reliable. I.E. less likely to put forth the energy for hard flights. Take her jolley time coming back to me, etc. 800g and she'd probably take off and be like, "thanks, it was fun...but i'm out!" I've taught her I am a reliable source of food for her. That's how you train them. Finding at what weight they are responsive, and working from there. Yeah, redtails are beautiful. The ones in OH I think tend to be a little bigger than the ones here. They are very plentiful as well. My girl is a Harris' Hawk I went down to south texas to trap since we don't have them this far north. Had I not been able to trap a Harris' though, a big female redtail would have been my backup as I have a few passage (immature) RT's within close proximity to me. Also Tim, in case you weren't aware, and something you can teach your kids, with Raptors, the Females of any given species are bigger than the males. Usually by about 30%. So if you see two that are beside each other, the bigger one is usually the female.

Here are some pics my wife took of her coming back to the t-perch while we were hunting the other day. http://www.columbusracing.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=854&pictureid=8890 http://www.columbusracing.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=854&pictureid=8891

Short answer is yes. Long answer is: More of a hunting partner than a pet. Some falconers get pissy when you refer to their birds as pets. It doesn't really bother me either way. But the relationship is not really the same as it is with a dog. She is still a wild bird and could be released by me, or take off on her own and not come back and she is perfectly capable of taking care of herself.

Does anyone know of any good public land or even private land with hunter friendly owners that have good bunny populations where I could fly my hawk? I'd like to try to make it back in November and have my hawk with us so I can do some hunting, (something I haven't done in OH in many many years). The public lands I used to hunt were Dillon wildlife area and that place out in Delaware, (I don't recall the official name). Dillon had the occasional rabbit/stocked pheasant, but I don't recall there being an abundance. I seem to recall Delaware having noticeably more rabbits. Open fields with hedgerows and such would be ideal so the hawk has a chance at a decent slip. Private land is better as I am not trying to be out in the field with a bunch of jim-bobs that shoot at anything that moves, but I understand a lot of people don't like people they don't know hunting their property. So if anyone has suggestions, I am all ears. -Ryan

In my world, hope it's totaled out. They lowball you on the value. You proceed to pepper their angus and take em through the ringer by destroying their valuation. You get the offer up a few G's. Buy it back for a few hundred. Fix car yourself with parts from a junkyard, pocket the rest. Get rebuilt title. Win.

Man, an English muffin sounds good.

And this is why honduh fanbois have the rep they do as thieves. Down here LOTS of civic parts get stolen.

Wrong. Winter is HERE!

Have been to the one in Dublin a few times when I lived in Columbus. I really enjoy their food.

ha ha ha

yup

Do you do anything with Valeryian steel?

Not every insult requires a response.

One of our phone #'s was on the list. Thanks for the info.

I believe I heard the same story. Even the head of the FCC gets these calls and he is pissed and actively investigating this matter.

She has been flying consistently to the fist 25ft indoors for a few days. Now the real work begins with outside creance work.