RC K9 Posted December 22, 2014 Report Share Posted December 22, 2014 http://i1038.photobucket.com/albums/a461/RyanCorlew/Outdoors/IMAG10901_zps8e2aae76.jpg I'm working on my car, look up, and see a dude walking down my street with a hawk on his arm. I couldn't resist going out to talk to him as I haven't been this close to a hawk in 20yrs. We spoke for 20min. He does falconry as a hobby, but also has a side business where he does bird abatement. This particular hawk is a Harris Hawk. He was out in the undeveloped fields right by my house hunting rabbits and ducks. I believe he also stated that he has a redtail. It was a fascinating conversation. We exchanged info, and he said he would invite me to come along with him, (in fact, I just got e-mailed an invitation a couple minutes ago). that being said, along the course of our conversation, I had referenced seeing a raptor I could not identify, seen in this thread: http://www.columbusracing.com/forums/showthread.php?t=108681&highlight=osprey I e-mailed him the pic, and he got in touch with his friend who handles the raptors at the Fort Worth zoo. This was the response I got in regards to that pic: "XXX said that it was a very interesting morph but most likely an immature Redtail, probably a female due to the size. Look at the feet too, they are definitely “hawk feet” compared to Osprey feet that are specialized for fishing and are thicker with fishhook like talons where two are almost forward and two back (close anyway). Still, a great pic and definitely an RT trying very hard to look like an Osprey!" Anyway, that's my story. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaddyBuiltRacing Posted December 22, 2014 Report Share Posted December 22, 2014 Just out walking my hawk, nothing to see here Pretty cool! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sol740 Posted December 22, 2014 Report Share Posted December 22, 2014 Stories with hawks>Other stories. Fookin Neat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zeitgeist57 Posted December 22, 2014 Report Share Posted December 22, 2014 My office is downtown on the 22nd floor, and last week I was on a conference call with a flock of pigeons flying in a group outside. All of a sudden there was a huge BANG from outside and above me, and as I looked out the window I saw a ball of feathers streak downward from me. As I stood up, I saw a hawk swoop over to the Huntington building to devour a pigeon it had just caught. My guess is that beautiful bird grabbed a pigeon out of the flock in mid-air, slamming and stunning it against the glass wall in the process of it's dive. Pigeon was still flapping its wings as the hawk ripped feathers off and started eating its guts. It was glorious. GREATEST.CONFERENCE.CALL.EVER. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gillbot Posted December 22, 2014 Report Share Posted December 22, 2014 My office is downtown on the 22nd floor, and last week I was on a conference call with a flock of pigeons flying in a group outside. All of a sudden there was a huge BANG from outside and above me, and as I looked out the window I saw a ball of feathers streak downward from me. As I stood up, I saw a hawk swoop over to the Huntington building to devour a pigeon it had just caught. My guess is that beautiful bird grabbed a pigeon out of the flock in mid-air, slamming and stunning it against the glass wall in the process of it's dive. Pigeon was still flapping its wings as the hawk ripped feathers off and started eating its guts. It was glorious. GREATEST.CONFERENCE.CALL.EVER. I fucking hate rats with wings. I applaud that hawk. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orion Posted December 22, 2014 Report Share Posted December 22, 2014 My office is downtown on the 22nd floor, and last week I was on a conference call with a flock of pigeons flying in a group outside. All of a sudden there was a huge BANG from outside and above me, and as I looked out the window I saw a ball of feathers streak downward from me. As I stood up, I saw a hawk swoop over to the Huntington building to devour a pigeon it had just caught. My guess is that beautiful bird grabbed a pigeon out of the flock in mid-air, slamming and stunning it against the glass wall in the process of it's dive. Pigeon was still flapping its wings as the hawk ripped feathers off and started eating its guts. It was glorious. GREATEST.CONFERENCE.CALL.EVER. That was most likely a Peregrine (or Kestrel) Falcon. They are the Jet Fighters of the flying animal world, and also hold the world record for speed in a dive at ~240MPH (YARLY, that little bird has been to speeds BUTT NEKKID that your car can only dream about, and then wet itself as a result of that dream). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RC K9 Posted December 22, 2014 Author Report Share Posted December 22, 2014 Yeah, that guy was talking about the strengths and weaknesses of different hawks for different kinds of hunting. He touched on Goshawks, Redtails, Falcons, his Harris, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cstmg8 Posted December 22, 2014 Report Share Posted December 22, 2014 That's really cool. My neighbor has this poodle that.............. Never mind, I wish said hawk would eat poodle........ Awesome experience man! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forrest Gump 9 Posted December 22, 2014 Report Share Posted December 22, 2014 That's really cool. My neighbor has this poodle that.............. Never mind, I wish said hawk would eat poodle........ Awesome experience man! Dress the poodle up with pigeon feathers and let it run around the yard. You may get your wish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimTaylor751647545500 Posted December 22, 2014 Report Share Posted December 22, 2014 http://www.quickmeme.com/img/bb/bb703cfc2b08ecf23433525a2c0017a7b23b2e05f72fd091625651b8796cfe19.jpg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RC K9 Posted December 23, 2014 Author Report Share Posted December 23, 2014 When I lived in Columbus and was training dogs, I had to get special business insurance. When I was talking to the lady at the Ins Co, she was telling me they get some crazy stories, one of them being that one of their customers had a hawk come down and snatch up a toy dog, like a min pin or something. I got a good laugh out of that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ImUrOBGYN Posted December 23, 2014 Report Share Posted December 23, 2014 When I lived in Columbus and was training dogs, I had to get special business insurance. When I was talking to the lady at the Ins Co, she was telling me they get some crazy stories, one of them being that one of their customers had a hawk come down and snatch up a toy dog, like a min pin or something. I got a good laugh out of that. That's pretty cool. We had one chilling on the fence by the backdoor the other day. Our dogs are too big, though. haha I have seen birds taken and I've seen a rabbit taken by a redtail right in front of me. I've also had owls take a rabbit and a small cat from right in front of me at night (within 20-25ft max). Damn owls are silent. Would still love one as a pet. --- Skip this if you don't want to hear about dead birds and bird ownership: I actually started to get into falconry back in the late 80s to help deal with pigeon problems. Too bad shorty after, some of what would've been my largest clients, went with poisoning vermin and pigeons instead. What a cluster fuck that was. One of the places was my school and their very extensive barn system. You should've seen the sheer numbers of suffering and dying birds laying everywhere contaminating hay and feed and poisoning local cats, coons, etc. I ended up saving a bunch of young pigeons, taking them home, caring for them and eventually having a small group of pigeons I got into. (I had 10acres with all kinds of animals I cared for. A few more pigeons were nothing and they were fun to train for homing and shit.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RC K9 Posted December 23, 2014 Author Report Share Posted December 23, 2014 This guy was saying pigeons are the hardest birds to disperse due to their homing instinct. He said unlike pretty much all other birds, pigeons always come back eventually. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RC K9 Posted December 24, 2014 Author Report Share Posted December 24, 2014 Just got a phone call. He is going this morning. Unfortunately I am at work and with the craziness of the holidays, I am not in a position to just leave. He also said he thinks he is going on Saturday morning, so barring anything crazy happening in my life, I plan on going with him this weekend. I am pretty excited. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ImUrOBGYN Posted December 24, 2014 Report Share Posted December 24, 2014 Somewhere there's an opportunity for a good flippin the bird joke in here... Or perhaps not a good one, but it exists, dammit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Das Borgen Posted December 24, 2014 Report Share Posted December 24, 2014 that is a badass thing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Putty Posted December 25, 2014 Report Share Posted December 25, 2014 Very cool. When I am fishing the Scioto I see Bald Eagles flying and perching up/down the river. Really cool. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RC K9 Posted February 1, 2015 Author Report Share Posted February 1, 2015 Got a chance to go hunting with Jeff and his apprentice today. Got a ton of footage, but only a little bit video worthy. First vid, hawk goes for rabbit, catches it, then rabbit escapes. 2nd vid is the hawk catching another rabbit. This one did not escape. Then the 3rd vid is his 2nd hawk, who was being super lazy today and not even trying to catch rabbits until the end, as it comes back, it decides to land on my gopro instead of Jeff's T Pearch. THis was a most awesome experience and I look forward to participating again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cstmg8 Posted February 1, 2015 Report Share Posted February 1, 2015 That is really cool, what a lucky chance encounter! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RC K9 Posted February 1, 2015 Author Report Share Posted February 1, 2015 Definitely one of the most awesome experiences ever. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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