View Full Version : New Bird - 2004 Female Harris Hawk called "Sky"
Hi guy's well today was the day and what a day,the day started off with me making sure every thing was just right ready to recieve my new bird,first thing i had a problem with my door to the aivery,while going through the process of entering and exiting while pretending i had a bird on the fist,it just wasn't right,so off came the door,down to B.N.Q baught some more wood with a plan to make a sliding door,i already had a runner so i just had to make a door,no mean feat with the time i had but i managed to make one,now i'm off for me bird driving like a man possesed,arives at the destination to be greated by a raving lunatic, adrian tried to reasure me that harris's soon settle down,anyway on with the hood which helped alot,got her to sit somwhat clumsily on the fist eventualy she settled and we put her into the box,now the journey home driving like a short sighted geriatric,once home a manned her for a while and was supprised how quick she settled and got the hang of standing on the fist,now settled it was time for the scales,she wouldnt leave my fist for the scales so i tried to coax her off but she bated and ended up quite clumsily upside down,in goes the free hand to help her regain the fist which she does with a vengeance only problem was it was the unprotected hand,no problem just stay calm :lol: anyway after a second or two which felt like an hour i got her back on the fist,once composed it was back to the scales this time more or less straight on, weighed in at 2lb 8oz exact,now after that fiasco it was time for some quality time together so we just sat while i stroked and talked to her,next thing without warning she bates up at me and foots me in the head,does'nt tell you that in the book does it! anyway first day over and it's two nil to sky but tomorrow's another day and i've got a box full of patience,,,,,,,on ward and upward! :wink:
Ian Wileman
05-10-2004, 09:33 PM
Great to hear you have your new bird Jiff, and I am sure you are like a kid with a new toy. ...Please, I may be preaching to the converted, so dont take offence.......Dont over man her. This is a cardinal sin and can cause many problems, not least a screamer! I am not telling you to do it my way, she is your bird and I am sure you have read up on it, but I personally think in the first few days, she can see you all you want from a distance, but as for time on the fist...hardly any, just enough to do the essentials (weigh etc), and a couple of minutes quality time. Thats 2 or 3 minutes every couple of hours max. Sorry once again if I am preaching.
Ian Wileman
05-10-2004, 09:53 PM
I bet if I shout loud enough it will echo in your computer room Jiff.....HEEEEEEELLLLLLLLLLOOOOOOOOOOOO! HEEEEELLLLLLOOOOOOO! HEEELLLLOOOO! HEELLOO! HELLO! See. Echo. Why? Cause your outside with your new bird arnt you. Well? See. Told you.
Hawkmaster
05-10-2004, 10:13 PM
Funny old thing falconry? I would say you can not man enough? The more you do now the better . . . Aaaaah just go for it! lol
So the day finally arrived :D
best of luck wth her
Wightwings
05-10-2004, 10:44 PM
Jiff, we all have our own ideas, you have got your plan set ( you should after 12 months) so stick to it. hit twice on the first day! IS THAT ALL MAN!!!? keep it up and i look forward to your diaries. OK jiff come in now its dark....... Jiff its dark come IN........ JIIIIIFF! :)
Ian Wileman
05-10-2004, 11:01 PM
Dont want to take the chance that your new baby might put all its attentions on you (as its new mummy), so early on in itd training. In a wekk or so, GO FOR IT, walk, talk, friends round for a hold......early on, you oculd end up with a bird that loves you...like its mum (partial imprint), than cut its weight.......waaaaaa! waaaaaa!waaaaaaa!waaaaaaaa!waaaaaaa!waaaaaaa!waaaa aaaaa!waaaaaaaaaa!waaaaaaaaa. sorry, get my point though? anyway, it might not happen to you Jiff, just that if it does.....?
Wightwings
05-10-2004, 11:12 PM
I think what Ian is saying Jiff is slow down and let the bird settle for a few days. and then get on with your plan.
5 weeks to getting mine yet :cry: so yes (Ian) i am green with envy but good things come to those who wait. (same with the bird Jiff you've got 15 yrs with her) NOW GET OUT OF THAT AVIARY!!!!!!!!he he he
Hawkmaster
05-10-2004, 11:15 PM
Just had a student of mine get a bird at 12 weeks to the day started manning and training and this does not mean cutting every inch of flesh off her! She now flys higher than when he got her.
From the day he got her to flying free 10 days! Best Harris most of us have seen around here with people dogs and everything birds think are scary!
Dave Newby had a Harris called Rolf that was 12 weeks too, he used the settling period of training, too much sitting around in my mind, it screamed! I advised a closed chamber, a few weeks later, cracking hawk that has to be seen once manned, you can walk over him!
Phils daughter, Kelly now flys him.
Wightwings
05-10-2004, 11:27 PM
comeon guys wrong thread we've got this one elswhere, this if jiffs diary and the poor fellow will have a head rush at this rate. :?
Hawkmaster
05-10-2004, 11:50 PM
Sorry, :oops: just don't want anyone to do the wrong thing, but it seems like everthings works anyway? So train it 'however you like', should be the call of the day?
Darren
06-10-2004, 08:27 AM
bet ur well chuffed Jiff....be ready for the footing next time...at last u have her.keep up the good work & ur diary here
Debbie
06-10-2004, 07:16 PM
Huge congrats Jiff, Thought you were quiet but remembered you were getting your new bird around this time.
I do think you should spend less time with her though as your beds not been slept in since you got her :lol:
She has not the heart to tell her new everso keen owner that she could do with some personal time to herself :lol:
I loved your first post and am so pleased that you have your bird at last.
Debbs
Johnny
06-10-2004, 07:20 PM
Jiff im made up for you m8 .
Ive only just seen the thread so you,ve been nailed m8 (OUCH)
I got nailed today by mine on the finger getting some chick out to put on the glove and he came down to fast (did it hurt it Knockered ,lol)
All the best with sky
johnny :)
North East Harris Hawker
06-10-2004, 07:50 PM
congratulations jiff, im off for 8 days starting wednesday give us a bell and one of us can pop over the others to gawp/drink tea/etc
day two: today started at 7:30 and thank the stars she's starting to think like jiff! she was flat out with her head under her wing,so back indoors for a second cup of coffee,over coffee i mulled over the fiasco that was yesterday,i'd decided to forget all about it and start with a clean sheet today,anyway the time came to go out and try and make friends with my new charge,so on with the glove and into the mew,not realy knowing what to expect i was supprised to find her perfectly relaxed with my approach,a few sweet nothings and a reasurance of how good she was braught the correct responce and up onto the glove she came,i sat for a while with her perfectly relaxed,when i thaught i was pushing it a bit i put her back onto the perch and left her to relax,i had quite a bit of work to do on and arround the mew today so like it or not she was going to know i was about,i got on with what i had to do constantly talking to her and watching her reaction,on occasion i picked her up onto the glove and we became friends,the fist sesions were short and sweet,not wanting to push my luck,anyway things whent so well that by tea time i was drilling holes in the shed near the mew,without any reaction from her,i even had her on the glove with the yorki sniffing at her feet without her so much as lifting a wing in anger,things are looking up,as the day started to draw in i picked her up got her relaxed and struck the braces to give her peek,things couldnt get better, then the wife shouts "jiff you still out there" instinctively i shout back "yes pet" big mistake sky rears up and strikes at the noise "my gob" and jiff gets another love scratch from sky.
i don't think this will set us back any,i think she's just giving me somthing to look back on in old age,anyway moral of today's story,never relax keep focused keep thinking about you'r bird all the time you'r with her,one lapse in consentration and an instinctive reply to my wife put the only blot on todays procedings. :D bring on tomorrow :wink:
Ian Wileman
06-10-2004, 10:02 PM
Take care Jiff.....you only have one life. lol.
Darren
07-10-2004, 09:26 AM
JIFF AKA scarface
Sparrow Hawker
07-10-2004, 06:10 PM
Hi Jiff,
Hope all's going well, did you get hurt badly when she footed you in the head? it's painful isn't it when they grab you. I have been grabbed before through a glove which hurt badly enough.
All The Best,
Regards,
HH
Wightwings
07-10-2004, 07:32 PM
weel done jiff, hope you finished positive though anf the "footing" was not her last memory of you for the day????
keep it up mate
today i must make one thing clear before would be's and experienced alike get the wrong idea,sky my bitch has been hooded since i picked her up,except when she's on the fist,the reasons for this are,1:the hood to my style of hunting in the future is impportant,and 2nd the hood does away with bates on you'r approach and or any other frightening noise or experience,it does however prolong the tamming/manning time but whats a few days in a life time,while the bitch is on the glove the hood is off (and don't i know it) anyway if now that point is clear we can get on.
day 3: today started as yesterday with me getting up to find sky flat out head under wing(bone idle )anyway gave her a cluck and a whistle and the day was away,up onto the glove,settle in hood off we look at each other with the same thought"here we go again"she was perfectly behaved for the first sesion which was only 30 mins or so,hood back on and onto her perch,took the wife to work and did what a guy has to do arround his normal life,our second manning/tamming sesion found sky quite comfy on the fist but she was looking arround and listening,all the sounds she'd never taken notice of before were starting to register,(cars going past the bin man ect ect)so things arelooking up,manning sesions were kept as short as i thought she needed them,as soon as she started to show any needle back on with the hood and let her chill. it was'nt untill this evening,that some very unorthadox manning tactics came into play,now bare in mind before i carry on i'm not you'r usual gadgy and what i'm about to portray isn't normal practice,to start i whent into the mew took sky onto the fist(which at this point is now a pleasure)i removed her hood and again it's a pleasure,gone is that look that i've only ever seen in my wifes eye's,you know the look"i love ya but i'll f***in kill ya if i get me hands on ya,"so we set about our final sesion for the day,the end result i hoped was going to be a chick from the fist,while we sat and admired each other in the semi fake sunset created by the tarp draped over the open section of the mew,and just before i stired the horlicks that was to be my gateway to a decent nights sleep,a blackbird decided to let rip just above us,this in itself only created a half hearted glance from sky,it wasn't till the full creshendo of song birds filled the night sky that she flipped add to this next doors dog and god knows what else,now taking into concideration the last couple of day's! dealing with "sky" now !was a push over :lol: problem was on her first bate she somehow got her tallon caught in the leash(there's another thread on leash material,cornie that **** from B N Q is exactly that)any way in 2 seconds things were going tits up after a great day,i can't help my self,straight in with the free hand,she took purchase of the free hand and stabalised her sellf i cast off the glove and sorted the leash it was at this point when i realised that i was trying to control the situation with no protection to my self.did i need it did i **** after only 36 hours when she was in the poo she knew who was who i spent another 20 mins or so with her just sitting and fidgitting about before hooding her and putting her back on the perch,manning without a glove i love it ,does anyone whant to buy a glove:warning,these are the words of a very experienced novice,the forum can not be held resposible for any injury or death resulting from stupid acts reinacted from stories that you read.......on a serious note guy's she still hasn't taken food,she's showed a passing interest but no commitment,should i be worried?
Wightwings
07-10-2004, 10:36 PM
no jiff not yet shes still alert and takin it all in, try to keep an eye on her weight an dmake it part of her routine to be weighed if you can.
keep up the manning you seem to be on top if things as far as i can see. i beleive Lee is close enough if you have any real concerns but its VERY early days yet. wel done
Johnny
08-10-2004, 06:31 AM
Good going jiff you seem to be doing great m8 ,keep up the good work .
All the best
Johnny
well guy's today before i start i must pay tribute to the people who have taken the time to post messages of congrats and encouragement,to all of thanks a lot,
now day 4: this morning was a bit run of the mill,sky came up onto the fist sat for a while and then was totaly distracted by anything and every thing,then she started bating up at the perches in the mew,i soon realised there was nothing to be achieved by prolonging the procedings,so on with the hood back onto the perch and left her to chill,now i'll just go through a few things that have been bothering me from day one and hope that someone can help,firstly once the excitment of owning a harris had worn off(only slightly)i started to take more notice of sky's plumage which was'nt in the best nick,she's carrying a lot of fret dammage which isn't much of a concern,but one thing that is worrying me,again back to my pigeon days lads,at times in summer months we'd find birds with boddy feathers that looked as if they'd been eaten away,(simler to a lettuce leaf after a catapillar has been there)the usual reaction was feather mite and the birds and loft were sprayed,after some research,it turns out that although feather mite do leave the same clues as to there presance,most of our damage was caused by a small white moth that preyed on the birds at night.sky is carrying alot of this type of damage,what course of action should i take?
secondly,when i picked my bird up she was fitted with basic furniture,and i mean basic,again for the first day or two i't was the least of my worries,but today it got on my nerves,my mate phoned to see how things were going,after a brief conversation he was roped in to cast sky and renew her furniture,anyway i don't want to name and shame the guy as he is a good breeder of good birds,but should i have expected her to be better equiped,or is rough and ready anklets ect,what i should of expected?
right! back to the job in hand,i managed to chill abit today even whent for a pint with the wife,after i picked her up from work,yesterday our best sesion was evening,so today i tried very hard to stay away from sky untill then,no mean feat when you'r in love,twilight eventualy came along and it was on with the glove and into the mew,sky steps up perfectly,the hood comes off,the wings come up,but only half heartidly,then they drop and for the first time there's no look of distain in her eye's infact i think she's starting to like me,causiously we whent about our session,for me it was nerve wracking i was just waiting for somthing to spoil it,but you learn as you go on,and now sky was starting to relax and it was me listening and sensing for anything that could spoil it,just as i thought the time was right,in the pocket and out with a chick,she showed a half hearted interest but nothing more,i did'nt push it,i put the chick in the fist and just sat,after a while i showed her the chick right infront of her trap,she took a bite at it and pulled back,(not with any great enthusiasm,but never the less it was a step in the right direction,i stroked the chick accross her feet and shure enough she dipped her head and took a stab at the chick,we'r on our way,she continues stabbing at it and taking morsals of food,with my free hand i pulled the chick deeper into the glove to make her work a little harder for it and to prolong the session,once she was all just about done and while she was occupied with the chick out and on came the hood ,and back onto her perch what a result.i'f our lass obliges tonight it would be the perfect end to the perfect day. :lol: looking forward to tomorrow(seriously this time) :wink:
Wightwings
08-10-2004, 10:32 PM
good goin jiff. and yes just expect the basic furniture. most people do prefer to put there own on anyway so why waste money!! as long as they were not damaging dont worry.
Ps have you had a look at the ones i use, just though you might find then interesting?http://www.falconryforum.co.uk/viewtopic.php?p=12657#12657
Wightwings
08-10-2004, 10:34 PM
oops didnt work that link, they are on the equipment part anyway :oops:
Hi Jiff, I'm a bit confused and concerned that you are getting footed in the face. Your hawk should be held on the fist and restrained by its jesses and the length of them should mean it wouldn't be near your face with its feet. The picture of the hooded saker posted today http://www.falconryforum.co.uk/viewtopic.php?t=881 by MJ-Hoods shows that the swivel should be in the hand and the hawk will always have less than the full length of its jesses available. It should always be held securely in this position. Any lapse can mean a hawk loose trailing jesses, swivel and leash. If that happens outside in summer there is a good chance of a hawk tangled and invisible at the top of a tree.
Take care of yourself and Sky.
Good luck.
Johnny
09-10-2004, 04:13 AM
Jiff a bird in the hand and a bird in the bed you want to much out of life ,lol
As for the basic equipment being fitted ,when i got flame hawkmaster came and fitted the lot and gave me a lesson in handleing and falconers knots .
He stayed for about 2 hours, in my eyes i think all breeders should spend some time with the novice just to help them and to lead them on the straight and narrow .
When you get your first bird its very nerve racking !
Keep us informed of the progres your doing a good job
All the best
Johnny
hi lads,bill mate,everything so far as been my own fault and i'll freely admit it,the thing is you can read all the books watch all the vids ect,they generaly show the job in a perfect world,what they don't show you is,a hawk clumsy on it's feet due to the restraint of the jesses and a handler clumsy with his hands due to the nerves and adrenilin rush,the result being nothing like what you see in the book,as regards getting caught in the head and face,when the bird bates instinctively you try and control the bate,so that she does no harm,she was bating up at me,i controled her with her in mind,and a total disregard to my own safety,foolhardy i hear you say,but it's not just with the hawk,all my life i've been the same and carry scars from all kinds of stricken animals from horses and cows to mice and rats,because i can't help but try and help or rescue with no thought to myself,add to this the fact that she gives no warrning (the bitch) anyway guy's no real harm done and the quickest way to learn a lesson is to feel what it's like if you get it wrong(remember the cane)
Wightwings
09-10-2004, 01:39 PM
we had the slipper! ouch!
your diary is a good read Jiff. keep it up its very interesting for people contemplating a bird for the first time to understand you can only get so much from books and the actual commitment etc involved is far greater.
Kornie
09-10-2004, 02:53 PM
Jiff, from what I hear your doing really well, with sky. If youve got any concerns get lee to stop by and see whats up.
keep it upp jiff. Kornie.
P.S. Im sorry bout the leash thing jiff, never happened to trinity before. :(
Johnny
09-10-2004, 05:32 PM
Arr the cane nothing better then getting six of the best ,lol
I wish they,d bring it back some of the kids of today think they are untouchable ,
My wifes a teacher i could never be id end up doing them in ,lol
Remember after you had the cane and it would throb so you,d sit on your hand for an hour ,he he
Hi guy's, sorry i missed yesterday,but better late than never!
Day 5
Again i'm sorry,as today whent by much more settled no quirky momments to bring the giggles from you experienced folk,manning sesions whent like clock work,sky now steps up to the fist like a vetran,she weighed in yesterday at 2lb 4 3/4 oz,shes started to take food from the fist,but im restricting her intake,small amounts tightly held so that she has to work at rooting it out,she's gaining confidance by the hour now,depending how our first sesion goes this morning,will determine the rest of the day,sometimes on the first sesion shes a bit grumpy and seams to have gone back over slightly but that soon improves maybe like most women she's naturaly grumpy in the morning(no dissrespect to our female members meant)anyway if she does well i'll tether her without the hood and we'll just sit for a while,if that goes well,i'm hoping to see her hop to the fist for a mouthfull this evening,the biggest problem i've got at the momment is friends popping round,they alway's seam to call at the wrong time, another point worth mentioning,as you know sky's hooded,so that she can be approached and picked up without bateing,manning is done in the mew with the hood taken off,now our first couple of sesions were a bit of a fiasco as you may already know from my posts,however i changed thetarpoulin that covers the open section,it makes the mew slightly darker(and i mean only slightly)but what a differance it made to our manning sesion yesterday,just for that slight change sky progressed in leaps and bounds,dissplaying twice the confidance in our friendship,as she had previously.
Just one concern,that someone with experiance may be able to help,as mentioned sky is hooded,she's now started to take food from the fist(chicks) will she be able to cast in the hood if she needs to,and should i be carefull of when i actualy feed her now,i know that you shouldnt feed untill the bird has cat from the previous days feed but this tit bit reward thing is slightly confusing,because as apposed to a full days ration she is only taking tit bits,i'm sure at some point she'll need to cast but can i keep giving the tit bits.
All the best guy's and thanks for you'r support
Kevin Massey
10-10-2004, 02:43 PM
jiff m8,
the main thing to remember above all is "respect".........mostly for what she can do and most proberbly will do.
at the momment she is not one of the birds flown by one of your friends....but wild ,scared and angry.
remember any uncertenty by you will transfer to the bird...also the bird will exploit this as well, some times making the falconer looking more clumsy than they accualy are.
i remember the first time i got nailed....that was a lack of concentration + a bit complacent really, jed was about 2-3 weeks flying free...following on quite well, all i did was try and transfer a chick from one pocket to the other...took the eye off the ball ... and bang !!!...tallon burried in the hand and the other foot hanging onto the pocket, must say it has'nt happened since (touch wood).
mind you a friend we fly with never learns.....jeds had chicks off him a few times now...only looking at his own bird ....waving a chick to get her back on the glove...jed loves karl to bits "sucker!!!".
i've even had a few rows over it .
kev
hi guy's
day 6: and today whent again by the book,this morning sky was her grumpy old self,not realy wanting to play,and you could see it in her eye's,we did a small amount of manning but again if you don't realy think you'r achieving anything then why push it,i left her to contemplate her restrictions while i whent about cleaning and feeding the ferrets,our second session was a bit more bond building,i'd sectioned a rat and had her on the fist while she picked and tugged at the upper torso section,in this time i walked her about and even showed her the ferrets and yorki,(never showed her the wife,i'll leave that to a better day)anyway the day whent great,i teathered her without the hood and had my dinner,she bated but nothing to wright home about,the evening session as with all evening sessions whent fantastic i got her onto the fist,gave her the bit of rat let her pick and tugg,but at the same time i pulled it in with the thumb of my gloved hand,at the point where she was realy struggling to get any thing in whent my free hand,i tugged and pulled in the hope of simmulating a helping hand,and voiloa we now are the best rat eating team arround :lol: her weight is creping up she weighed today at 2lb 5 0z i realy don't care about weight dicsepline at this stage,i believe if you can get the bird to be part of the team without extremes then so much the better,don't all shout at once! at this moment in time i'm not realy asking the bird to do anything difficult,i would sooner see how much encouragement the bird is going to need to go through her training,than start to encourage her now to do nothing, anyway guy's i left sky well into darkness the reason being it's her first night without a hood........tomorrow will tell. :wink:
Shaun Byrne
10-10-2004, 09:15 PM
Nice one Jiff, are you going to try and keep her weight up during manning as mentioned in another thread, I'll be interested to see how it goes if you are, not that I wont if.................... well you know what I mean.
hi huy's don't know where to post this but here seams fine,the jiffster has just had some bad news come he's way,and so won't be posting for a few days,best of luck to every one and i'll be back soon
Kornie
10-10-2004, 09:40 PM
Yeah good luck jiff,
Johnny
10-10-2004, 09:46 PM
Hope everythings ok m8 take care
Shaun Byrne
10-10-2004, 10:01 PM
All the best with what ever it is mate.
Shaun
Johnny
10-10-2004, 10:04 PM
I bet you he was typing at the computer and the harris attacked him ?
Nothing that a needle and some strong cotton could,nt sort out
All the best
johnny
P>S Just trying to lighten it up
Darren
11-10-2004, 08:57 AM
Take it easy Jiff & hopefully hear from ya soon
Hawkmaster
11-10-2004, 10:28 AM
Jiffster I hope everything is OK? Good Luck and keep smiling!
Johnny
12-10-2004, 07:52 PM
Jiff hows it going m8 is everything sorted now hope you are ok m8 ,
so how is the bird coming on ?
Ive just seen you on then ,
speak oh prodicle chil;d ,lol
Only joking
Johnny
hi guy's i'm back,a friend of our's decided life was all a bit too much and decided to cash in his chips,a bit of a shock at the time,but never the less he was a good guy and i'm sure he had he's reasons.
Johnny
12-10-2004, 08:16 PM
Im sorry for that m8 ive had a few m8s do the same .
God rest his soul
I least he,s at peace now m8 .
keep your chin up thats what he,d want
Sorry
Johnny
Darren
12-10-2004, 08:29 PM
sad news indeed..sorry to hear of it happening.i have had a mate & a cousin do the same thing....all different thingsd run through your mind when this happens.
Debbie
12-10-2004, 08:42 PM
Jiff,
So sorry about your news. I too have known a few that just had enough for whatever reason. For some you can say it was the right thing but many its just such a waste and a great loss.
Keep your chin up and just remember the happy memories.
Debbs
hi guy's not going to try and give a minute by minute account of the last few day's,to spite my situation i've still made time for sky,she's been manned progresively longer day by day,she still wears her hood but for progressivly shorter periods of time,yesterday i took her out to the banks of our local river and walked her for a couple of hours,she bated off the glove on occasion but without any conviction,she is now very settled,but generaly only with me,time to push the boat out further,after contacting NEHH we agreed i'd visit and we would socialise with his bird and his gsp,i hooded her and boxed her and away we whent on the long treck to his place,once there we exchanged pleasantries and i took sky from the box and removed her hood(i could see the envy in his eyes emmediately)anyway after a word or too about how outstanding she was, i had to shut him up,and told him to put the kettle on,i teathered sky out back with poppy while we had coffe,(this bird has been completely silent since picking her up,soon as poppy came on the scene they were chirping or grunting or what ever that social noise is that harrises make) we sat and drank coffee and talked **** and somtimes sence but mostly ****,after quite some time,we boxed the birds up and set off for some local ground to walk,there would be moderate traffic and the dog to suffer so i was keen to see sky's reaction,out of the box onto the fist the occational bate but generaly well behaved,by the end of the session lee's dog was sitting at my feet with sky..... well! not realy arsed,the last test was boxing up,now for a hooded hawk boxing without a hood i was a little scheptical,but lee gave me the confidace to try,straight in no worries,no hood,what a great day, if i can just take this oppertunity to publicly thank NEHH for his time today and him being whittness to a steady,hooded while manned bird.
P.S.
i've some pictures of sky,and my shed(sean which i built from scratch)
i can't get them on cos i'm p.c thick,i'll mail them to someone and try and get them posted.
Johnny
12-10-2004, 08:51 PM
Jiff i had a m8 today get murdered in liverpool ,not nice is it m8 ,cheer up m8 tell us how your trainings going on m8
all the best
johnny
Hawkmaster
12-10-2004, 09:50 PM
Jiff send them over mate: Hawkmaster@eclipse.co.uk
HM. got them on my personal gallery if you want a look.
Hawkmaster
12-10-2004, 09:56 PM
Cool Just seen them! Cheers :lol:
Johnny
12-10-2004, 09:57 PM
Nice photos m8 ,the birds lovely ,so hows she doing have you kept up with the training ?
All the best
johnny
yes mate going great,a bit slower than in general cos of the hood,i'll be relying on the hood in the future,so it's important to me,but at seven day's out of the aivery,from crazy to tollerating most things including dogs and live stock, i'm happy with the procedings :wink:
Johnny
12-10-2004, 10:06 PM
made up m8 keep us all up to date ?
The mews a cracker m8 and the photos are great
All the best
jOHNNY
Johnny
13-10-2004, 06:41 AM
Andy yours wont be as good as jiffs you cant use a hammer or a tape measure ,lol
Joking johnny
Darren
13-10-2004, 07:02 AM
but his mum will let him use the wood glue & double sided sticky tape with the safty scissors...LOL
hi guy's and gals,firstly thanks for the feed back on the mew,
well what can i say about today,this morning i took sky to the local park,we walked for an hour or more,again she tolerated,dogs,cyclists and onlookers without much grumbling,she did'nt however tolerate a chainsaw that was fired up on the other side of a conifer hedge,i hooded her and made good our retreat,back to the car,hood off,i gave her a titbit and wispered sweet nothings in the hope of erasing the fright of the saw which actualy fased me a bit(it was so sudden) anyway in the box and off to another park with some thick woodland walks, out of the box up onto the glove and i scan arround looking for manning opertunities,not much going on actualy so i started my walk,now in the corner of the car park there's a recycling point,as we approached a women pulls up in her car opens the boot see's us comming stops what she's doing and then the conversation starts"she's gorgeous'what type of bird is it ect "
while talking i slowly edged forward,and stood beside her while i answered her questions,after explaining the tamming/manning process and thanking her for her compliments to my bird i made it on my way,three strides i took before she threw a box full of bottles into an empty skip,inevitably sky goes on one i couldnt believe this bitch,after 15 mins of expaining she goes and does that(i'm glad i never carry a gun)
sky settled and i made for some quieter ground to get her back to her self we spent an hour or so just walking before i came upon a great oppertunity to test her bottle,a group of school kids with two teachers visiting the park,the kids naturaly are asking the teacher,what bird it is,the teacher approaches,and asks,i explain that sky is a young harris' hawk and going through her manning,if the kids split into groups they can approach and see her close up,so for an hour we stood while groups of four and five kids approached comicaly trying not to make any sudden movements or noises,i thought it whent great sky lifted her wings twice but never bated,and was overall well behaved,enough for one session i thaught,back to the car,i gave her a chick on the fist while we made our way back to the car into the box and home for lunch,in the afternoon i took her to some local farm land and walked her arround the hedges,cow's,sheep and horses,no responce at all realy,anyway the heavens opened so it was post haste back to the car and home with the session cut short,but overall not a bab day.
Johnny
14-10-2004, 08:39 AM
I reckon its better for sky to get use to everything now ,the more she see,s the more relaxed sky will be ,well thats my way of thinking now ,
I let people stroke flame and let them watch me flying her when i first took flame out i was nervous of people coming up with dogs or kids.
your doing great jiff keep up the good work
All the best
Johnny
johnny you should be a falconry coach,full of enthusiasm and encouragment.
anyway to day with sky started with some manning arround the house,introduction to the ferrets which she let us and the neighbours know all about,if i have to be honnest sky has became very bidable indeed,i had to visit hospital today so the morn was short,anyway p.m saw pretty bad weather again,so we stuck it out between the mew and the house,another visit to the ferrets,and by and large just chilled out together,my mate brought me a couple of rabbits round so i removed some juicy bits from inside cut them into nice tit bits,and tried her with them"boy did she get a taste for them"she was so keen i started work right away,crouching by the bow perch i sat her down and offered her a morsel,she was leaning and twitching dareing herself to take the step,in the end(right or wrong) i offered the titbit with my right hand put my gloved hand close to she steped on i edged her away on came the other foot and sky got her reward this carried on a few times untill sky was steping onto the glove like a veteran for her titbit,once i was happy i gave her a decent feed and called it a day as the light was fading and i couldnt see us achieving more,hopefully in the morning we can start where we left off,but sky has a habbit of being slightly backward in the mornings, :D
Johnny
14-10-2004, 06:55 PM
I am really jiff im just seeing how these novices do it ,im spying for jemmima parry ,lol
You seem to be doing great m8 i wish mine was a simple when i got flame ,lol
All the best m8
Johnny
P.S so whats your next few steps after the fist ?
i've only sort of a plan nothing rigid,as you know mate the birds don't always play by the book,so tomorrow as from day one depends on sky if she's ok we'll press on,now i've got plenty of rabbit meat and she's been exposed to most things i think i'll creep her weight down and press on with training,but i'll always be watching sky's reaction and the length of time it takes her to settle after a bate.i don't think training ever realy starts or stops does it,theres always going to be somthing to learn for us both,weather its the basics right now,or getting her to take a higher perch before entering my ferret later,it never realy starts or stops just continues :wink:
Johnny
14-10-2004, 07:18 PM
good luck m8
Johnny
North East Harris Hawker
14-10-2004, 07:51 PM
i thought jiff's bird had a deformed wing when i first saw it and a beak badly in need of coping, closer inspection revealed the bird was carrying jiffs beer and smoking a roll up!
now thats advanced training!
keep up the good work jiff and i'll see you when im back
:wink: lee
Ian Wileman
15-10-2004, 12:25 PM
Local primary schools are always willing to let visitors come in and do an occassional 'school assembly" Jiff. This serves two very good purposes....one. thechildren have the chance to see a bird of prey/falconer/insight into falconry....two. your bird gets the chance to sit in front of several hundred kids (all who say...at exactly the same time AAAAAAAARGHHHHHH!). Great way of letting her get used to people. If you have kids, you might want to mention it to your kids teacher. Just a thought.
hi guy's.
the last couple of day's have whent by realy quite relaxed,sky is settleing into her new life style,she can be approached and picked up without much trouble.once on the fist she is just the greatest,a real best mate,she is now comming long leash length to the fist (just over 1m)for tit bits and i realy have to stop sometimes and think back to her first day in order to remind myself how far we've come 10 day's,i'm back at work now so time is at a premium out when its dark home when its dark,otherwise i know we could have hit the training field on the creance,she realy is so responsive at the moment,i fed her rabbit the last few days to reduce her weight but to be honnest her responce was so good i carried on sesions longer,with all kinds of tit bits so her weight hasnt droped that much and she weighed this afternoon 2lb51/2oz off work monday tuesday wed and thursday so i'll drop her weight a little and get her to the training field and see how things go. :D
North East Harris Hawker
17-10-2004, 05:51 PM
excellent! im off work the same days jiffster, give us a bell and we'll have a walk out
will do mate, got sky on creance tonight after work,started at about 1 1/2 meters and worked on that, trouble was i couldnt get away from her without her chasing me for the tit bits,i can't believe how she's come on,(and theres me stressing over it all) anyway one little bit of tom foolery for you,at about 3 or 4 meters i needed more creance i took the stick from my pocket and droped it on the floor,sky took more than a passing interest in it,i took her mind off it with a tit bit,and we carried on with the work,after a couple more flights to the fist we moved further, i put sky on the rail of my decking made my way back as i organised the creance i gave the stick a kick to one side,sky droped on it like a brick and clamped it,i moved in slowly as she tried eating it,then she tried to make off with it,eventualy i got her back on the fist tightly grasping her prize,end of sesion it was getting dark,and i could see it was going to take some tact if i was going to get my stick back,she spent the next 15 minutes grasping and pecking at itbefore she finaly decided it was'nt edible,once she relaxed a bit i offered a tit bit and retrieved my stick.
what next!
Milsbon
17-10-2004, 08:49 PM
jiff..get her in a field somewhere other than the garden where shes used to them surroundings, if shes still following you before ya ready, try her in a tree a couple of times on the line, if she still comes instant...let her go free
thats the job in the morning mate,sat and sun i dont get in till 6 ish so theres not much time i'm off all week so things are looking good.
Johnny
17-10-2004, 09:37 PM
Jiff im made up m8n a bit envious ,lol
Is she belled up
both legs and a tail bell mate
North East Harris Hawker
18-10-2004, 01:19 PM
if your off this week mate can you give me a hand tail belling mine?
North East Harris Hawker
18-10-2004, 01:20 PM
apologies for double post, i also could do with your advice regarding setting up the brakes on my trailer :oops: bring your spanners!
Hi guy's havn't posted lately,as the exprianced guy's know the early day's of training can be a bit mundane,for the inexperianced i'll just re-cap,sky settled and became quite tame,she started eating off the fist,i then walked her regularly on the fist exposing her to anything and every thing,i then asked her to step off the perch to the fist for titbits,the distance was increased sky now comes 50 meters to the fist,but not without thinking about it and taking some time about it,so i'll reduce her weight before i chance flying her free she weighed in to day at a hefty 2lb 5 oz,she was introduced to the recall lure today,a medium horse shoe lure,i tied a chick to it showed her from two meters away threw it another two meters and she nailed it,i left her to it,not wanting her to start dragging it away,she ate the chick then played with the lure till she was bored,close observation tells you when to call her to the fist,anyway up she came,i hooded her put her on her perch and tied another chick on the lure,i un hooded sky and walked off eighteen yards
(i train her on the local park football pitch)i gave her a whistle swung the lure tossed it to the floor and she hit it like a vetran,again i left her to it while she ate the chick and again played with the lure.i watched for the right moment and offered the glove,up she came and that was a rap!
Johnny
20-10-2004, 08:51 PM
Good on you jiff im made up m8 keep us informed
All the best
Johnny
North East Harris Hawker
20-10-2004, 11:27 PM
are you out tomorrow jiff?
hi guy's
yesterday i met up with NEHH the idea being to show sky's reaction to the glove,started on the creance at about 15m no worries then to an extreme distance no worries,NE says swap the jesses kido and fit this tele transmiter i do as he says,we start at a short distance no worries we extend the distance,sky goes to come catches a bit of wind realises she's got more freedom and makes for a nearby roof,no worries call her for my dear life and show the glove,she's having none of it and takes another free flight off into a near by cops,no worries(yeh right) we walk over she's not too high and i make in and call her to the glove,she sits and looks not knowing exactly what to make of things.but again she's having none off it,she takes flight again and goes quite some distance this time to a wood we watch her put in and make our way round,NE fires up the telly and we track her,each time we spot her she moves on some forty foot up in the canopy,it gets dark NE goes off, comes back with a lamp,he's tracking i'm lamping,in the dark we were up against it,NE was convinced he'd tracked her acuritly to a perticular tree i was convinced he was trying to make me feel better,i called an end to the procedings,and we agreed to meet at first light,i whent home that night very heavy hearted,north east for his part was a stalwort ,ever confident,once home i poured myself a drink and sat in the chair wondering why i wanted to be involved in the first place,then it came to me "IF IT WAS EASY EVERYBODY WOULD BE DOING IT" so away to bed for an early start,goes without mention i had a restless night,up at 5 on site by 6 doesnt get light till 1/2 seven(don't ask me) anyway NE turns up and we sit and chat,he still confident , me numb with dispear, light arives ever so slowly when you'r waiting for it,eventualy we both agree it's time,we walk to the area that NE had marked the night before,i whistle then i hear bells and my heart warms,i crash forward through the undergrowth and try to get a baring on the sound, sure enough she's in the next tree that NE had marked the night before,no worries give her a call show her some bait and home for breakfast,problem being sky is about thirty foot up and looking quite settled in,two hours passed with us taking turns on trying to talk her down,(no chance)eventualy she moves on,in to a near by garden,still quite high but in a tree that NE soon pointed out was climbable,off comes the coat and up jiff goes,(this was a serious tree) sky watches with interest as i risk life and limb in the death defying climb, i get within six feet show her a chick and she emediately ****es off, o dam i say, NE tracks her and we locate her in the local housing estate stood on a stunted cherry tree,"you look knackered jiff,i'll climb this one" yeh cheers! he's a gent! anyway off she goes again,we track her again,we spent 3 hours tracking her from one location to the next,as she was ousted by crows,eventualy i'd had enough,and if im honnest,if i had a gun i'd of shot that bitch at that point,we'd been so close to catching her at times,i was utterly shattered,stressed and emotionaly drained,NE senced this and suggested we take a break and get a cuppa,on our return sky was in the same place,25 foot up a tree in a fine looking garden,we agreed i should take first try,in i go,whistle,she looks up with half a smile then completely ignores me,well thats enough for jiff,i walk back to the car, and tell NE to forget it ,"i'll come back in the dark if she's there i'll catch her up,if not so what"i was so knackered and drained thats exactly how i felt(this was after no sleep and six hours of running and climbing trees)NE tells me to take a break in his disco,while he has a go,i must admit to thinking"you'r waisting you'r time"i sat in the disco and dosed periodicly woken up by passing cars and the whistling and calling of NE,i heard sky's bells and emediately though f##K here we go again,in a nano second i realised the bells were going no where,i bolted from the disco to see NE,up the tree with sky by the jesses,we had'nt planned for the capture,so up the tree i whent i give NE mews jesses , swivel and leash he swaps the gear while perched on a twig(no mean feat)he passes sky to me and we descend,well i sort of just fell, now guy's here's the twist,in the disco and on the journey to collect my car,NE asks for his transmiter,to our complete suprise it had gone along with the bell and mount,we box sky and head off for her last location,NE tracks his miter perfectly and recovers it from the middle of the road after it had ben ran over a few times,the bell squashed but not a crack in the joint(peels bells..quality)the unbelievable fact is we had no idea she,d lost it if NE had'nt caught her that would of been that,HOW VERY LUCKY AND HAPPY AM I :D :D :D :D :D a quite eventfull couple of days i think you'll agree.
I MUST TAKE THIS CHANCE TO THANK NEHH FOR HIS HELP COMMITMENT AND CONFIDANCE WHICH WITHOUT IT I WOULD HAVE GIVEN UP,AND ESPECIALY FOR CATCHING SKY,I HAVE NEVER BEEN SO DOWN AND I'VE NEVER BEEN SO MADE UP. :wink: :D
NE'S tele system has been slated in the past,jerros i think they call it,well i'm going to tell you all, NE tracked my bird to the tree it was sat in every time,he even tracked his transmiter and found that,great stuff i'm getting one 300 quid cheap as chips.
Hawkmaster
22-10-2004, 10:29 PM
Well done guys on getting her back. I aslo want to say"Almost welcome to falconry!" Why do you feel this happend?
Kevin Massey
22-10-2004, 10:30 PM
well all i can say shag...is "im glad you got her back mate"
kev
simply too heavy,reacting to me on fermiliar ground,once she hit the trees you just knew she had too much on her mind and one of them was not food.we'r both on a learning curve!
Hawkmaster
22-10-2004, 10:39 PM
Yes BUT, I know NOW, you will succeed, because you know what your problem was, and of course of action you can now take to fix it. Good man, remember in time you will laugh and say what was all that about?
Kevin Massey
22-10-2004, 10:44 PM
what i did was to not feed them the night before but take them out early on the first free flight day.....
if nothing else it gives you a day to sort things out if the go wrong...
when getting them on the lamp i also pick the last two hours of darkness... this was only gives you a short while till light is up if summut goes wrong there
kev
cheers HM i've had her sat in with me tonight,just looking at her and wondering how much game she'll take(eventually)i put her back in took one last look and thaught this is what it's about. :wink:
Adam Barrett
22-10-2004, 10:50 PM
yea thats exactly what iv been doing all night im going out hunting with my girl tommorow so fingers crossed-by the way great name
North East Harris Hawker
23-10-2004, 10:59 PM
i wonder how many cars went over my transmitter? pmsl :lol: it still works! just needs a new battery cap! yep, sky had us both fooled, came instant on the creance then did one when she was let off! women!
Hoodwink
25-10-2004, 08:20 PM
Jiff im full of envy, it's been great reading about the progress you and sky are making, I don't plan on getting my HH till at least next August, but i am seriously thinking about the Jeross after reading about sky's little jaunt. For £300 I dont think you can go wrong. Great stuf m8!
hi guy's
havnt posted for a day or two,i'm still a bit shell shocked from sky's escape attempt. anyway she seems quite settled again but doesnt whant to know on the creance even over a very short distance,she is very distracted and drawn to the trees i expect it was alot more fun doing her own thing than the mundane chore of flying to the glove,so it's a time of settling down and man,man,man either infront of the telly or walking arround the local park,but manning it is,untill that friendly look,and cheeky glint returns to her eye's, when i recieved sky i had a plan in my head,this latest escapade is testamony to the fact that all birds have different carachters and the game should be played at a day to day pace and no rigid regime can be put in place,goals can be achieved but should not be expected in any time scale,i always let sky dictate the pace but she dicked me into thinking she was ready when realy she wasnt.another point for the newbies,i used the same park for my creance work,she was happy and would come extreme distances for the smallest reward,she was comfortable this was her place where every thing was ok,when i tried her free and she caught a bit of wind and hit the trees you could see the confusion in her face,she's now 30ft up with no real idea how to hit the glove from theire even if she wanted to,a lot of leasons were learnt,and i just hope it leaves no scars in sky's memory,i'm 100% that we can get over this and charge onward and upward and leave it all behind us .i've forgiven her and i think i'm almost forgiven for putting her through it.
for now it's back to basics,with more emphasis on manning as apposed to training ,i'll let you know how it pans out. JIFF
Darren
26-10-2004, 04:54 PM
iam just glad you got her back mate.....just take it easy, i cant imagine what you went through when she done a runner.
Wightwings
26-10-2004, 07:52 PM
chin up Jiffster, it will all be good in the end. i really feel for you mate nohing worse than that.
good luck
well guy's not much to report, i've made one rather radical change to the regime,as you may know i posted a concern about sky never realy settling on her bow perch prefering to roost on the foot of the perch,over the last couple of days i've free lofted sky,however ive removed the perches from the mew except the full length top perch,this has made some differance in the way sky behaves (for the better) sky is easily approached and just drops down onto the glove,the whole atmosphere in the mew is better by far much more relaxed,i've kept up a quite intence manning process going,so intence that tonight i had sky and the wifes yorki eating off the same hand with not a feather raised,(serious) ,one other rather currious trate to come out of this new free lofting,rather ironicly if i bow sky out in the garden while i'm bussy clearing leaves and tidying up she just sits one leg raised and relaxed(show me a man that understands women and i'll show you a liar) well guy's i'll let you know of any developments or changes along the way, best wishes to you all
Johnny
27-10-2004, 09:40 PM
Best wishes to you jiff your doing a great job .
all the best m8
johnny
well guy's again a couple of days have past since my last post about our progress,well i can truely say i'm glad i lost sky last week,since then i've adopted a different approach,with the emphasis on manning.what a different creature i have sat with me tonight,and suddenly for me anyway and i'm fairly shure by sky,s attitude for her too there's a bond or atleast somthing that just was'nt there before,i can onlycompare it to a puppy type thing,she's sat on my hand now,her head twitching and turning checking out every little thing with the scrutiny i've only seen in the wife before,she's been inside numerous times but untill now has behaved differently,she now has a currious head on and it's plain to see,where as before i'm sure, although confident,she was worried as apposed to currious,sky's weight is 2lb 4oz, now for any newbies and or wannabies this weight thing is the be all and end all,sky has performed great for me since about day three,i deliberately kept her weight on the high side during manning,gradualy lowering it(and i mean gradualy)from 2lb 8oz to 2lb 4oz in 25 days, granted she tricked me through my inexperience that she was ready,however i now see the responce that i thought i had before and what a responce,still i'm in no hurry this time, and untill my telle kit arrives flying free aint an option,with that in mind i've got to think of stimulating things for her to do,just sitting on the fist aint much fun,at the minute she's bussy killing a tea towel that is hanging on the back of the chair,she will gladly pull and tug at anything i offer her,the dogs toys, which the dog gladly brings expecting some interaction,but as you know it's early day's and could be our last if i let sky interact fully with the yorki,
anyway by and large i'm over the moon with the situation,but i wish i had'nt had to go through what i did to get here,HAWK MASTER advises man,man,man other people advise different methods,now i'm going to put my kneck on the line and say man,man,man i have at the minute a completely different bird,but i must add it should be done sensitively,i realy can't see the advantage of having the bird on the fist for twelve hours just sat,although technicaly manning it aint much fun,once the birds weight drops as mine has they need some sort of stimulation,i made a cupper earlier and while i waited for the kettle,i had her jumping from the chair for tit bits,some times to the glove some times to the floor then the glove,but most importantly there is now a click of some sort happening,that was'nt there before all this manning,my bird is completely silent,and extemely keen for my attention,and will literaly at the moment do anything regardless if theres a tit bit or not,if she could talk i'm sure she'd start very shortly. best wishes guy's and i'll update you soon. :D :D :D :D :D :D
Johnny
30-10-2004, 09:09 PM
jiff i had the same feeling m8 ,you know when your getting the bond together ,you best not have your first kill before me ,lol
If she does start talking to you tell your doctors he can advize from there ,lol
All the best
Johnny
Wightwings
30-10-2004, 11:13 PM
aaaaah Jiffs in love.
Brill mate i am soooooo pleased for you. i thought after your little episode you may get disheartened but you've proved me wrong. keep it up mate and well done :D
cheers andy, it's starting to be fun now mate!
white wings,at the time of trying to catch up sky,i would have given up,if we had'nt have succeeded that day i would have had to dig deep to come out another day to catch her up,i owe alot to NEHH for his confidance and determination,and his eventual re-capture of sky,i can only repay that by eventualy comming back with a second to none game hawk,i've almost ripped up the books and now going on instinct and my understanding of the natural way of things. :wink: watch this space :D
Wightwings
30-10-2004, 11:39 PM
fantastic Jiff nothing like the instinct thing. im really lookin forward to your next free flight. must be good having someone like Lee to hand, fair play i say its what this sport is all about. learning and sharing.
North East Harris Hawker
01-11-2004, 02:21 PM
if jiff blows any more hot air up my @rse i think the wife is gonna ride me round like a freekin space hopper!
the bird was retrieved because it was steady, thats down to jiff, he has a lovely bird, ok the training has taken a while but this is normal for a first bird. sky can be stroked anywhere and has impeccable manners, no doubt she will make an excellent game hawk.
cheers NE, well heres the latest
developments,i've droped sky's weight to a respectable 2lb 41/2oz yesterday she was so keen it was a trip over the park,not a bow perch in sight,plonked her into a climbable tree whent to walk away and she hit me in the head(bitch) no reward given,next time put her on the branch,took off the glove managed to get maybe 10 meters then heard her bells sliped on the glove sky hit it and got a morsel,this whent on for several short flights before i ran out of time and had to go to work.
today i was at the hospital to have a gremlin removed from my mouth,nothing sinister but never the less worring,i'm assured it's nothing to worry about,given most of the day was wasted at the butchers while they sliced lumps off me then left me in a room with 4 walls and a window for an hour to recover,i was watching the clock ticking down and trying to calculate mentaly what time it got dark,traveling time to the park ect. anyway with the final instructions of take it easy for the rest of the day,it was a swift thanks very much and away to collect sky,got to the park and found another tree with differant surroundings into it she whent and out again she came fantastic,tommorow is a carcas who knows thursday could be the real mc koy, o by the way i forgot to mention for the last 2 day's i left the creance at home, :D we'r free,we'r confidant,and we'r happy, there's no stoping us now guy's :wink:
Johnny
02-11-2004, 06:40 PM
Jiff i made up for you m8 isnt it good when they fly free ,lol
All the best
johnny
johnny mate if her weights right on thursday there'll be a bunny in the bag watch this space my mate,i'm going ferreting with a mate sky's comming too if she bates and it's favourable she'll be sliped and the bunny will be bagged,believe me aswell mate you can'nt go anywhere with more rabbits than there is at ravensworth. :wink:
Johnny
02-11-2004, 07:20 PM
lol you,ll have to get me a baggie and post it by tnt ,he he
Ill be out at the weekend m8 so i should get one myself ,i hope
Johnny
well guy's quick up date,took sky out this morning,a bit more free flying just to reashure my self but no probs,took my mates two border collies and she was rock solid even with the dogs at heal,anyway heres the fun bit,i phoned the farmer and aranged a recce visit pm today,it's just over an hours drive,but worth it to get the lay of the land,concentrations of rabbits ect,anyway its the first time i've walked this prticular piece of land its a strip about a mile and a bit long by 3/4 mile wide,theres two small woods on the land,i started walking the hedge rows looking for hot spots,nowt to right about there,walked the perimeter of the smallest wood which is still quite young,again evidance of rabbit occupation but not the numbers i'm looking for,anyway made my way along a hedge row to the bigger wood,now we'r getting to bussiness,the hedge row is a well worn avenue,i come to the wood and bingo,rabbit sets all over,now to find a spot to give sky a good chance of a score,anyway i've picked several spots for tommorow,i made my way arround the perimeter when i got to the lower end of the wood i walked up several rabbits which ran the wood edge trying to get into the wood but hitting rabbit proof netting in theire panic,these rabbits ran and hit the fence for a good 200 meters,before finding cover,in the morning i'm hoping for more of the same to start with and if sky only half tries she'll nail one,but as we all know you can draw it in you'r minds eye,the perfect start to her career but,if it can go wrong it probably will,i'll fill you all in tomorrow with the details,o one other thing this lower edge of the wood must of had double figures of cock phesant running arround like the proverbial headless chicken,good days ahead i feel :lol:
Johnny
03-11-2004, 09:31 PM
jiff have you found paradise there m8 ,lol
Hope it goes well m8 get the pics on for me to see ,ill be crying ,he he
Im going out 2moro m8 so we should be both ok i wish you luck
Johnny
johnny glad you reminded me about photo's,i don't have a didgy but i'll take along me good old 35mm and take some,i'll have em put on disc and up load em to the site,fingers crossed,it realy is a good spot mate,it all is arround there you cant count the rabbits at night,i used to lamp it years ago with me dog,got 21 rabbits in two fields,could'v had more but me dog was getting tired.
North East Harris Hawker
04-11-2004, 05:07 AM
if you get lucky jiff, remember to change your birds jess over once she tucks into her kill, get the swivel and leash on and tie her to your glove/bag/jacket and let her have a nice full crop of meat and blood! some good kill feeding with you helping her out with the bare hand will make the bond even better :wink:
ps did you get a transmitter?
Wightwings
04-11-2004, 06:07 PM
WELLLLLL how did you do?
Johnny
04-11-2004, 07:50 PM
Mine had 3 slips at 2 bunnies and a cock pheasant ,
Im going out 2moro with flame he should be down 1/2 oz .
Jiff if you come on here saying you got a kill ill never speak to you again,lol
Johnny
Shaun Byrne
05-11-2004, 07:28 AM
C'mon Jiff, well........................?
well guy's sorry for the delay,to start with i'm not going to pull the wool over you'r eye's and say we bagged,cos we did'nt and i'm not the type to say otherwise ,however to call it a blank would be a sin realy ,so here goes,thursday up early and ready to go,a phone call from my mate to say he can't make it puts the first damper on the day (he's the best ferret man i know,he can smell rabbits as good as any dog) anyway another cup of coffee to decide my next move,while drinking the coffee the wife is getting ready to open the caffe,
i make my choice load up the car,one hawk,one ferret,one spade,and me,
o and the wife,i drop off the wife and set off for the farm,one hour of constantly nagging myself,is it the right time should i wait,what if she goes awol again,will she kill,will she even chase anything,all the questions a first timer will always be asking i suppose,by the time we reached the farm it was 9.30 i got kitted up and took sky from her box,we headed off for the larger of the two woods,i was hoping to walk up a rabbit,every foot step was loaded with antisipation,every piece of dead ground a pot of expectation,but it wasnt to be,ok onto plan B we'll ferret the gits out,i was a bit deflated at not seeing a rabbit above ground,but time was getting on and realisticly i was hoping for a bit much,as i walked sky bated,then again,then again,infact she started to worry me,what if she's getting upset,now doupt started to creep into my mind about the whole episode maybe it was fate that we had'nt seen anything,and realy sky needed more time,as i rounded the corner of the wood all doubt was crushed as sky burst into life and launched herself forward,along this hedge were 3 cock phesants running in blind panic and hitting the fence wire as the rabbits did the previous day,sky closed in and i thought this is it a cock phesant on her debut,as the phesant dissapeared into a hollow i see sky gain some hight crank over like a real pro and dissapear after them,i'm running,ferrets on a white knuckle ride in his box,i arrive to find,,,,,,,,,you guessed it JACK NOTHING i listen and hear sky's bells high and to my left,she'd obviously missed and then taken stand,i call her to the fist and she comes,somwhat hesitantly,but she came,not for long though,before i could catch my breath away she whent again,ducking,diving,twisting and turning straight through the middle of the wood,her intended victim another cock phesant giving it legs,again she missed,this routine carried on for sometime short darting fights through the wood,the ground in the wood at the top end is a twisted mess of bramble and ferns which is where the flights ended,with sky taking stand over the point of entry by the phesants,it actualy started to annoy me as i wanted to play in the open with the rabbits,i called sky to the fist and hooded her,not easy i'll say,i got out of the wood,and made my way to a rabbit set in the corner of a field,i fitted the coller to the ferret removed sky's hood,she was at first a bit put out by the closeness of the ferret(it being in my right hand) i entered the ferret and 20 seconds later the game was on,the rabbit bolted from our blind side but as intisipated cut accross and made for the wood away she whent closed in gained some hight my heart stoped for a second but **** nothing,she made in and shy'd off,then a second time exactly the same,the rabbit hits cover and sky lands on the floor,and pears into the undergroath as if confused by the whole affair,this episode was repeated twice more,right! time to see whats what,i call her to the fist,fit her hood perch her on a large branch lying on the ground change her equipment and teather her,i walk 15 meters or so net up a small 4 hole set enter the ferret and bingo one in the bag,i despatch the rabbit,secure it to the lure line,place it in the grass beneath a dead tree,i take off sky's hood,refit her flying jesses put her on the branch and away i go with the lure stick,sure enough she reacts,but again even at my slow pace refuses to commit i stop and she lands next to the carcass eyeing it suspiciously,i move to within a meter and she looks up at me as if to say now what,out comes the knife and i open the carcass,then tug on the line,suddenly it dawns on her,and she slams into it,a couple more tugs and the head is clamped firmly,i moved in and assisted,helping her to gain access to the internals,i let her feed up,while she was occupied i palmed a bit of the good bit away for the pick up,once she was starting to pick at the much harder to gain flesh i showed her my bit,onto the fist she came,i blocked her view with my body and bagged the rabbit with my right hand,we made our way back to the car and although nothing was bagged by sky i couldnt help feeling what a good day,it'll come good eventualy novice hawk novice austringer,but it will come good.i'm out monday morning(hopefully)all day tuesday and wednesday,thursday morning and friday morning and i'll keep you all informed,
best wishes jiff
Wightwings
06-11-2004, 12:31 AM
well done Jiff mate, its just a fitness thing id say. not long at all to that first kill. (by Sky that is :roll: ). as she gets fitter you'll find she measures her own chases as she learns her own limitations.
A bloody good start tho.
:D :D
Johnny
06-11-2004, 09:09 AM
Good work jiff ,i was thinking when i took flame out that it would be killing anything that moves ,its not the case for me ive been taking him out for a while now to build his fitness up ,hes chased a lot and only just missed his day will come soon if it happens it happens in the mean time ?
Skies got the idea it will come m8 .
All the best
Johnny
Hawkmaster
06-11-2004, 11:20 AM
Well done! One thing you can do that may help, is, once the bird puts a check in the tree above a pheasant, try to reflush under it.
cheers guy's, hm i did try the reflush the first time,but the undergrouth is so dence and covers a wide area,not easy on you'r tod,it's good ground though,and as the saying goes good ground makes good hawks.
Johnny
06-11-2004, 07:08 PM
jiff you should of rolled in it m8 your big enough ?
Im going out 2moro with with snipe i will find my kill before you ,lol
even if iot means snipes bird nails it first (IT WILL BE DONE ON EARTH )
Johnny
Only having the crack m8
the only kill you'll find my mate is road kill,,,,,,, :lol: best of look mate.
Johnny
06-11-2004, 07:34 PM
lol you swine ,i think your getting a bit below the belt ,he he
Who told you about that whos bee spying i bet you it was hawkmaster ?
We are both in the same boat m8 ,lol
We will have our day m8
All the best on your hunting
Johnny
cheers johnny, you too :wink:
Kevin Massey
07-11-2004, 06:50 PM
it wont be long now bud.......
"the force is strong in this one :lol:
kev
Shaun Byrne
07-11-2004, 08:20 PM
Keep at it Jiff, you already have the field craft so you're a good way there already. My mate got his first bird (FHH) at the start of last season. We were ferreting together at age 14 so like you he already knew his quarry. He worked really hard with her the first season, I was really impressed with his attitude, he was never afraid to feed his bird up and go home, rather than risk robbing her. To cut to the chase, we went out this morning and his bird took five good size rabbits in an hour and a half. She wacked every one so hard they were polaxed before they knew what hit them! I am flying a 5 year old FHH, she's taken most things Rabbit,pheasant,squirrel but my mates bird puts her to shame the way she deals with rabbits, and I dont mind admitting it. You seem to have the same sort of attitude towards your sport, keep at it mate I recon you'll do well. BTW his bird is also called Sky.
well guy's havnt been on for a couple of day's,been hard at it with sky,we've been out the last three day's,trying every trick in the book,now i'm not going to bore you with the goings on of the last two day's,needless to say,it was more of the same,good flights and near misses,usualy jiff goes into novel mode and post's every detail,but not this time,i'll just say that sky in the last few days has had a lot of exercise,
now today,i had things to take care of a.m but had a trip to the farm planed p.m. a friend called me,to ask if he could come along,(none falconer) of coarse i agree,and i pick him up,he turns out in his new looking jeans kagool and the business! well i just laugh open the boot and show him my boots, i said "thats how you'r going to come home mate" anyway we set off for the farm,on the way he starts opening the manny pockets on his high-tec kagool to reviel all kinds of gadgits,didgy cam corder,didgy camera ect,"can we get some footage" "be my guest" i reply, on the drive i started to thinking "what is this guy expecting" i started to explain that sky is young and inexperianced,we'r probably in for long periods of inactivity and short periods of near misses,he seams to grasp the general idea and we carry on,once at the parking spot,i kit myself up still looking at this figure,"straight from the newest hikeing magasine" we set off and sky leaves the fist and heads for the nearest tree,she sits and watches us go by,i whistle and she hits the glove,"magic he whispers" i remember thinking "you should have been with us two weeks ago mate" far from magic that was, he wants to get some video of sky farting about and returning to the glove,i tell him in no uncertain terms that this is serious and not some circus trick,and he'll wait untill the game is being played,50 meters from the car is a small set,i've ferreted it before and always bolted rabbits usualy the wrong side of the hedge or into a drainage ditch and out of sight,a good point to start and he may get some footage of the action,we stop 15 meters short,i take the ferret from the box,whisper to him the procedure,i walk forward enter the ferret,and retreat,20 seconds pass,like half an hour,sky fluffs out and lifts one leg(it was freezing)" ha! she's gone to sleep hasnt she" i did feel a tad embarrased, untill two rabbits bolted at the same time,sky came to life like a bolt of lightning picked her target and WELL AND TRUELY nailed it to the floor,i couldnt believe how easy she made it look after all the near misses over the last couple of days,i was buzzing(obviously) i made in and dispatched the rabbit,she had it solidly by the head,i opened it and let her eat,after a while i threw some rabbit lung to the floor and she left the kill and tucked in,i put the rabbit away,more juicy bits on the glove and up she came and home we whent.(photos to follow guy's,and if we can sus it the short video clip), johnny eat yer heart out kid there's no stopping us now. :lol: :D :D :D :D
Debbie
11-11-2004, 12:50 AM
Jiff as you say no stopping her now :D
Really great news.
Thanks for the giggle too :lol:
Debbs
Darren
11-11-2004, 08:56 AM
you both deserved a good day.......well chuffed for ya jiff
Daz
as promised guy's here's a couple of shots of our first kill,it's also the first time i've attempted this so it may or may not work, if we can sort it out there may be a short video clip on the way also(if it's possible that is)
North East Harris Hawker
11-11-2004, 10:55 AM
well done jiff, im really pleased for you. well, youve done it now, trained your bird and now youve caught your quarry. congratulations jiff :)
Shaun Byrne
11-11-2004, 11:20 AM
Nice one mate, a Falconer at last!
Shaun
Good stuff ! Been reading your diary as i'm hoping to get a bird for next season - busy picking up tips.
Well pleased for the both of you :)
lol i cant wait for johhnys comment
Johnny
11-11-2004, 08:34 PM
Jiff old tradition m8 ,you should of joined sky and fed on the rabbit ,lol tut tut
No im really made up for you m8
Can you send me a rabbit by tnt so flame can have an idea what to do ?
Do you want to swap birds (please please please ,lol
Ill have me day with flame
I wouldnt be bothered if he didnt havea kill im attached to him now
All the best m8
Johnny
johnny i realy believe that the trick is exposure to game,i'm fortunate to have secured a farm that is literaly over run with rabbits,monday and tuesday sky must have had 20 flights,granted some were no hopers,but some were very near misses,it was only a matter of time before she got sick of missing,but we the austringers must provide the opertunities,and the more the better,this is were other skills come in,stalking(not easy with two leg bells and a tail bell,but ferreting,thats the kiddy,at first sky would be taken by suprise at rabbits bolting,now when the ferret is entered she knows the score,best of luck mate and get out there and find em for ya bird to catch mate :wink:
as promised guy's here's a couple of shots of our first kill,it's also the first time i've attempted this so it may or may not work, if we can sort it out there may be a short video clip on the way also(if it's possible that is)
Well done mate,
Steve.
Kevin Massey
13-11-2004, 10:03 PM
well done sky !!!!
so u cant have been doing much wrong there m8y....well done u pair
kev
cheers every one for the warm words,nowt much going on at the mo,can't get out,i'll be out tuesday pm,wednesday all day and thursday maybe friday am so i'll keep you all informed :D
Sighthound
18-11-2004, 09:16 PM
Well done Jiff and Sky. I've been off line for a while (new computer) and was wondering if you had caught anything!
Only a year to go and hopefully I will be be telling a similar story.
The springer is coming on fine just hope it takes, or the hawk takes, to each other.
hi guy's,again never had time to update our progress,as you'll see in this brief post,well moday a.m was spent fittness training with the lure,which is becomming a pain,as sky refuses to give it back(just a plain horse shoe leather lure) but she loves it,tuesday we were up at the farm,there was a shoot on at my favourite spot so i was restricted to some unfammiliar ground,we had some good flights at rabbit but failed to nail one,mainly down to not being able to accurately set up position for the bolting rabbits,wednesday is when the nightmare began,set off for the farm,this time to hunt the fermiliar ground and nail another rabbit,we had some very easy flights which sky seamed to enjoy but would she heck nail em,never the less the sun was out and she took on some prety long slips,a couple through the wood which are always good to watch,just as it was almost becomming frustrating(some 5 hours of hunting) she nails one in a dreaded drainage ditch which is dence with bramble,i find her and do my best to make in,using my gloved hand to clear a path,sky has the rabbit by the head,as i get to within inches she moves the rabbit kicks and it's away,right! home we go,on the way home i was mulling over the events of the day,last week at the same weight she hunted like a women possesed,next thing i was woken from my daydreaming by a bang and a cloud of smoke and steam,onto the hard shoulder and broken down,on the fone i contact a friend who comes to recover me,i get home to find the fire and heating system has packed up aswell,again i contact a friend who can't do anything untill thursday a.m. i get a portable heater from up stairs plug it in and find that don't work either :evil: a taxi ride to b.n.q to buy a heater and the house is warm and er indoors is off me case,hunting thursday is out of the question (or is it) jiff being jiff soon gets his priorities in order,bring in the gas technitian,show him the fire and where the kettle is,to the shop buy auto trader,taxi to thornaby(next town)spend our holiday cash on a cheap 4x4 on the strict understanding i must have it by lunch time,taxi back home pay the man for making me heating work a quick bite to eat,sort out some insurance,pick up the car,pick up the ferret and sky at the farm for 2.30 pm whent to the nearest hedge row worked a few sets and sky nailed her second rabbit,what an achievement,
it just shows you what can be achieved with total dissregard of the wife and fammilly in prefferance to falconry............the wife!.....she'll get over it,in the mean time me and sky will keep a low profile :lol:
Darren
19-11-2004, 10:53 AM
sounds like a ver eventful adventure
Shaun Byrne
19-11-2004, 11:23 AM
You've had it mate, they always find a way to make you pay, big style!!!
LOL!!!
Wightwings
19-11-2004, 12:57 PM
they always doooooooooooooooooooooooooooo :twisted:
North East Harris Hawker
20-11-2004, 10:07 AM
,taxi to thornaby(next town)spend our holiday cash on a cheap 4x4 on the strict understanding i must have it by lunch time,taxi back home pay the man for making me heating work a quick bite to eat,sort out some insurance,pick up the car,pick up the ferret and sky at the farm for 2.30 pm whent to the nearest hedge row worked a few sets and sky nailed her second rabbit,what an achievement,
it just shows you what can be achieved with total dissregard of the wife and fammilly in prefferance to falconry............the wife!.....she'll get over it,in the mean time me and sky will keep a low profile :lol:
fantastic jiff :lol: now thats what i call dedication! you really have got the bug big time! what sort of truck have you bought?
i bought a sanyoung musso......WHAT i hear you say,looks simlar to a frontera,an oversized fammily car with four wheel capability,merc engine and running gear,on an "R"plate 12 months RAC warranty,6 months tax,full tank of PETROL,yes petrol but still 30 mile to the gallon,how much!
4k cheap as chips,looks more like 10k :D
North East Harris Hawker
21-11-2004, 08:54 AM
youll have to take me out for a spin in it (next time you take me onto this land of yours thats wick with rabbits :wink:
my mate you'r more than welcome,i'm out this week,i'll p.m you with the details if you'r free i'll pick you up,bare in mind the ferrets will be working mate.
well guy's out with sky today,started as usual with sky just missing rabbits,however she is a bit on the high side at 2lb 4 3/4 oz.anyway for the first time i met the farmers son who was about to start a gassing sesion on the rabbits,i managed to talk him out of it by prommising to long net the place over a couple of sessions,to reduce the numbers without the use of nasties,anyway we had quite a chat and i think he took to me,but it was starting to drag on a bit,he realised i was getting itchy feet and he made his goodbey and left me to it, i decided to push on to some ground i'd been ignoreing for a while,i put sky up a tree and entered the ferret,a second later sky shot off,where the heck she off to,i spin round and get the biggest rush of my life for ages,there it is,the one,the only,you guessed it mr big brown hare with sky closing fast,i must admit to getting quite excited and vocal,"go on sky nail it babe"like a loony im running accross the field ranting and raving,the hare dissapears through a hedge,sky goes over the top,i crash through to see the hare hit the wood,sky had put a couple of half hits in on the hare but in the end her young and not quite fit enough wings fold and she lands to watch frustrated as the hare makes it's get away through the woods,but she did fly it with quite alot of enthusiasm,the flight was over two fields a distance of some 4-5 hundred meters up an incline and over the top,i was happy with sky up to this point,now this is where i need some advice,once i got sky back on the fist,i set off to ferret some small sets on the hedge row ,on the way over the field sky blasts off again and cranks over my head i spin round to see her slam into a dried ancient carcass, i was,nt worried there was no food to be had from it,so i slowly made my way into her with some food on the fist,sky had different ideas,and takes off carrying her prize,i persued her,each time i got close she would take off again,eventualy she made it into a wood,now time was getting on,i could do without this,i go into the wood and after some time locate her high up a tree coveting this piece of ****,which she obviously loved,i coaxed her down with a chick on the recall lure,i caught her up and teathered her,i know she's young,what can i do to combat this behaviour,i never rob her of food,and untill now she's never tried this before,is it down to her inexperience? all feed back will be appreciated.
Shaun Byrne
23-11-2004, 08:06 AM
You'll never stop her trying to get an easy meal mate, they all do it.
Next time if there isn't a meal to be had walk away about 20 yds and call her to the fist with a decent offering and switch it for a smaller one as she hits the glove. She may bate back at the manky carcass but at least you have her under control.
OH and dont forget to hide the carcass when she's not looking, I've had birds fly back a couple of fields to drag them back out of hedges!
HTH
Shaun
Wightwings
23-11-2004, 05:52 PM
ye so have I http://yelims.free.fr/Groumph/Colere05.gif She may just have had the grump at missing the hare and opted for the easy option. :roll:
well guy's enough of that,today found me with my brother in law,and ferreter extrodiare,pluss NEHH,we set off for the farm,we parked up,got kitted up,and away we whent,now paul the ferreter,didnt realy know what to make of the procedings,he's never ferreted with hawks before,but he soon realised if me and NE were in position A net the outlets to osition B,coditions we'rnt great for ferreting it was very still,damp,and misty,we entered the ferret on the first set,and sure enough,,,,,because i'd told my guests how good it was,we had a problem,a rabbit squeels just inside an exit hole paul goes to make a move but in an instant changes his mind,the rabbit is back down to the set,now we DO! have a problem,a rabbit in the set a ferret hunting the rabbit ,and the rabbit knows all aint well above ground,next ! sky does one on a glimps of a cony a mile away,i leave the procedings to see whats going on,i find her taking stand over some market garden area,doesnt take a genius to work this one out,(why have they got such good eyesight)probably just to get our backs up.anyway i make my way back i realise things are,nt well,i reach into my bag for the reciever at the same time holds out his hand to recieve it,are we tellopathic,no, we just know,paul locates the ferret,for a moment STILL,he decides to take action,he indicates to me that there isnt a kill,the rabbit is still mobile,but unwilling!in the process,NE,and i hope he doesnt mind me saying this,but it's true,i could see him getting itchy feet,all this land to explore,and we'r stuck waiting for a naffing ferret,eventualy NE walks on,we carry on at the set,i move to the blind side(at this point the side with least activity,after a minute or two,a rabbit shows,in the under growth,covertly trying to make it's exit,i startle it,it makes it's move sky's on it's case and duely misses by a whisker,paul is impressed,we both thaught that sky nailed her target but it was'nt to be,we make our way up the field and once again meet NE.now i must point out at this point,FERRETING,aint every ones cup of tea,and i think north east was very unimpressed with the procedings,anyway i'm sure he was happy,he wanders off yet again with he's dog whistle and bird(pacience is a vertue)lets face it he had miles of stuff to discover,anyway me and paul pressed on with the fereting,keeping one eye open for NE through binos at this point(he was so fer away),i asked paul to half net a realy big set,to big for one ferret,especialy a young ferret,he agrees, the ferret is entered sky takes a perch in the tree above,and the wait is on,an eternaty passed,with paul indicating rabbit movement,a rabbit bolts from an un-neted hole sky's away the rabbit goes straight cross country,some 300 meters to the next hedge,she closes in and does jack,she worries the rabbit for fifty meters or so,i'm thinking another nearly,a wing beat later she lifts, cranks over and nails it to the ground,i look at paul at the instant he looks at me,we both have the same childish grin,then it's off accross the field,i make in and again sky almost lets go,fortunately i got a hand to this one.despatched it,in it's finale throughs i teased sky with it,and she slammed right back in there,we sat and enjoyed a sublime 15 minutes while i opened the kill gave her access and helped her to enjoy the fruits of the sport,after a while i opened up the abdomin area,reached in and palmed the liver away(sky's favourite) i let her enjoy a few more minutes,covered the kill with the bag,covered the access point with my gloved hand bareing the liver,let her take a couple of big mouth fulls,cast the rest to my blind side,she ammediately leaves the kill to take it,the kill is in the bag,sky's 3'rd rabbit,she still aint best behaved when out,but 3 rabbits we'r well under way,now when i come down from my cloud,paul is waiting,i make my way back accross,and so as not to let him down(which i later found out would have been impossible,after he seen sky chase and nail a rabbit,he's only seen dogs in action before)i teathered sky and told him to carry on ferreting with nets,after all we still had to locate NE who by this time was without doubt on neighbouring land,paul carries on,i scan the place for NE eventualy he shows up with a hen phesant in the bag,paul nailed another three rabbits with the nets,so a good day was had by all,...........johnny thats theree now mate,
hi guy's, as sky doesnt exactly behave her self while out,i decided to spend all day wednesday manning her in the field,i took her a short way to the old wynyard estate,once "game heaven" now almost baron especialy during the day,but it's very nice surroundings with a good sized decideous wood,i kept her on the glove for a good two hours walking,giving her titbits every now and again(for being a good girl) next it was to the wood edge,i let her off and walked on,she followed on like a veteran,occasionaly calling her back to the fist for a titbit,she bahaved very well and i can't fault her,she got a chick on the fist as we returned to the car,tommorow would tell!
today sky weighed in at 2lb 41/2 oz,so it was in the box, and it was back to the farm,now as we'd ferreted monday,pluss the fact i'd payed quite a bit of attention to the land in the past few weeks,i decided to take quite a hike,and try a new section,there's a stream that runs through this land which is lined with warrens,some the biggest i've seen,a deffinate no go area with only one young ferret,i kept sky on the fist for the first 3/4 of an hour which she didnt seam to mind,then i stumbled on a peach,5 holes in the corner of a field,sky sits on the wall while i sort my self out,i enter the ferret and within seconds two rabbits bolt at the same time,sky picks her target,closes in and whoooosh over it's head(she does this to wind me up) the rabbit turns and heads for a sparce hedge row,sky slams in,but misses,she then procedes through the hedge on foot looking like something from a walt disney cartoon,i just shake my head a laugh,she eventualy gives up the antics and returns to me,i box the ferret and we'r away again,i find a raised hedge row with some small sets in,but holes were on both sides,so we might miss some but what the heck it's a nice day(it's been very mild lately eh) the first set produces another flight this time as expected on the wrong side of the hedge,so we don't see the rabbit till late heading up a hill to some gorse,but give her credit she took it on with alot of effort and was again very unlucky not to nail it,and! she returned to the fist without the usual bad mood,the next set was another peach,no cover just grass bank,in goes the ferret and out pops a turbo charged bundle of fun,
sky's on it's case immediately,it charges through a hedge row but this time sky goes over it(maybe she's catching on) she cranks over from about 12 feet and slams into it,this time i know she's scored,i run over squeeze through the hedge(which drew blood the git) and there she was with the rabbit securly griped by the head,i move in despatch the thing open it let her start feeding,i help her out at the same time swapping her furniture,i teather her to the bag and go back for the ferret,which by this time is sat just outside the set wondering where everyone has gone,i'm absolutely over the moon with sky,to spite her mood swings at times,a novice couldnt of hoped for a better bird to get him going,thats number four in the bag and i'm buzzing. :D :D :D :D :D tried to post a picy but failed misserably :oops:
Steve L
26-11-2004, 11:10 PM
sounds like your having good fun now m8 , well chuffed for you m8 keep us posted
steve
North East Harris Hawker
29-11-2004, 01:16 AM
werll done there jiff, but it was a long walk for me to the butchers to buy that pheasant! boots are still soaking! oh well, all in the name of falconry!
cheers guy's and NE anytime mate, i'll teach you the art of pactience,not easily aquired without guidance! :wink: ten minutes seems like half an hour,
p.s. paul said he wouldnt like to take you on a proper ferreting session,if you want to bag game you need a bag full off patcience as bait! :wink:
North East Harris Hawker
29-11-2004, 05:25 AM
:oops:
hi guy's, well couldnt get out yesterday,due to sky not reproducing the jesses that she ate,this morning took the wife to work,checked on sky and there were the offending items on the mew floor,excerlent now we'r on for a days hunting,sky is down to 2lb 3 oz,which is the lowest she's ever been,she still looks great and is full of beans so not a worry,anyway we got our selves organised and headed off,we got to the farm at arround 10:30,i set off for the wood in the hope of a phesant,with sky been lower than normal she might have a new found interest in feather,and sure enough we spent a good hour chasing backward and forward in the wood,flushing and reflushing but without success,to be fair it is difficult for heras the floor area is tightly covered with every plant that has thorns,there is clear areas which is where the chase usualy starts but they all end the same way,in the thick rough (can't wait for my spaniel,then nowhere will be safe) anyway the time came to call a halt to this frustrating game and head out for rabbits,20 meters out of the wood is the first set,i knew of its existance but never ferreted it before,so put sky up the tree and enter the ferret,a few minutes later 3 rabbits bolt almost simultaniously for a second sky just looked(a second that seamed a lifetime) WHAT THE! is my imediate thaught,she eventualy makes her move (probably checking her nails or her look,you know women) to save her reputation she hits one of the rabbits some 50 meters down a slope,away i go and thats one in the bag,i had the intention of going for a double today,a bit early you's experienced guy's may think,but here are my reasons,sky gets rabbit liver as a trade off from the kill,just lately when she hits the rabbits and i move in to despatch,and open the kill she takes mouthfulls but i've noticed on the last two kills she always keeps her eyes on my pocket waiting for the liver,she seams to be more interested in that than the kill,pluss the fact she realy takes em confidantly by the head,so she ate her bit then as expected gave it up for a nice sized lump of liver,and before long we were away again,the next set was in the corner of the next field i entered both ferrets as it was quite some size,a rabbit bolts and sky never made a move,has she seen it! only she knows that one,i'm thinking that going for the double was a mistake,i'm just thinking of getting the ferrets back and heading home when a second cony bolts this time sky's on it,she just droped out of the tree onto it,i move in and dispatch the rabbit,i lean forward to open it and sky go's for my pocket,i fear a bad habbit creeping in here,i twist away from her and open the chest cavity of the rabbit and her attention changed back to where it should be,i leave her to it and collect the ferrets,thats two in the bag,NOW, as she didnt realy work for the second should i go for a third,with this going through my mind,i go back and trade sky off for the kill,this is the plan i came up with,we have a mile or so to walk back to the car,on route is a small set along side a dry stone wall,i'll walk back and observe sky's behaviour,if by the time i reach the set,i feel she'll have a go,then i'll give it a go,sky was on and off the the fist,she followed on and at one point droped onto a stone that i had kicked along, right that settles it,i got to the set entered a ferret and waited some 10 minutes before a rabbit bolted,sky was after it and moved in quickly,it hits the heavy cover against the wall and sky crashes in,i run over and make in but sky has nothing only fur in her tallons,i move in and the rabbit bolts from the undergrowth a yard further up,sky's off after it through a gate way and across to the corner off the next field sky goes into it as it enters a thistle patch and nails it,WHAT A DAY! 3 in the bag and a grand total of seven so far fantastic,young ferrets,young hawk and new austringer,some going i'll think you'll agree,depending on her weight we'll be out tommorrow afternoon for more fun i hope. :D :D :D .my pictures are too big to be attached can they be resized?
Shaun Byrne
01-12-2004, 08:13 PM
Jiff, get some new jesses asap, I made that mistake once. The juices inside Sky will have rotted those ones, you'll be able to snap them in a couple of days no matter how good they look. I lost a MHH for 2 days by doing the same thing.
thanks for you'r concern mate but i've no intention of using the jesses again mate,unless as a warning poster in the shed,to remind me what harris' will eat for a laugh,
Shaun Byrne
01-12-2004, 08:55 PM
Sorry mate, the way it was written I thought you were waiting for them to re use them pmsl, now I read it again I guess you were just waiting for her to cast lmfao!!
I'll just crawl back under my stone lol!!
when i looked back at my post i knew what you were thinking! :lol:
I also thought that lol,
nice going jiff :D
Shaun Byrne
01-12-2004, 09:21 PM
I've stopped laughing now mate!
Sounds like you have the makings of a real top class bird there.
Keep it up mate.
Shaun
she realy is somthing else,she has attitude at times,she's funny as hell sometimes,and rabbits don't stand much of a chance with her,she's a pleasure to own mate :wink:
i think sky's diary has died a death,no responce for the last week,i'll just add that sky has added another two rabbits taking her total to 9,it's not our fault we have access to prime rabbit country,and it's not our fault that we're good at what we do,i'm starting to feel exiled on our diary so i would appreciate it if one of you moderators would lock it down and i'll post our progress on other topics,....cheers :wink:
Shaun Byrne
05-12-2004, 08:45 AM
Still reading mate, Keep it going as a record for yourself if no one else!
Hawkmaster
05-12-2004, 12:32 PM
We ar ehere Jiff, just look at the eye thing bottom right between the envelope and floppy disk to see who has been and when.
Wightwings
05-12-2004, 05:29 PM
yep still here Jiff and reading your posts just not a lot to say in return at the mo you seem to hav it all in hand ahd going well :D
well cheers guy's glad about that as me and sky have a problem developing which i need help with,sky is becomming quite aggresssive at home and acting the bitch again,in the field this week she's acting strange not comming to the fist,not following on correctly always staying behind,but chasing game when flushed,on tuesday she had 9 flights at rabbit which she normaly would have nailed anyone of them,she never took a single,we deffinately have a breakdown of some sort accuring, my routine is as it has always been,her weight is always arround the 2lb 4oz area which it always has been,should i put some time into manning as apposed to hunting,i think i might have got carried away with whole thing and forgot just how old she is,i have to admit that our manning and quality time has deminished slightly,and long hunting sesions taken over,could this be the start of some sort of self dependancy on her part.
anyhelp would be greatly appreciated. :?
North East Harris Hawker
09-12-2004, 03:08 AM
i recon your bird is as manned as it need to be jiff, sky is a nice big bird, but just try bringing her down half an ounce :wink:
if she is hanging around behind you and not following on well, take the dummy rabbit with you and quickly throw it out when she is hanging back, once she has seen it and takes off, drag it back in quickly and put it away. once she arrives on site start beating the bushes and looking into them. She will think she has missed an opportunity and will start to work closer :wink: mine was the same :roll:
Shaun Byrne
09-12-2004, 07:36 PM
Jiff, just a thought mate, I know she is really successful in the field but when they're young its sometimes not a good idea to go for multiple kills. With them being so intelligent she might start to resent being "robbed" so often and see you as a threat to her grub. It can cause aggression and self hunting. I mormally only go for single kills for the whole of the first season and really take my time with the making in process. Its mainly because I rushed my first couple of birds and paid the price, good hunters but possessive on kills.
HTH
Shaun
shaun i think you'v a good point there,and its the softly-softly approach from now on,i was gettimg carried away with the whole thing,again as NE says the weight thing,although she has performed well at higher wieghts,maybe me rushing things has set us back,all points are duely noted and appreciated :wink:
Still reading here as well, valuable stuff from my perspective, so keep writing mate.
hi guy's,i havnt posted for a while,as i said sky's behaviour is up and down at the minute,i started putting more quality time sesions in,when ever i had spare time i'd take her indoors and just sit as we did in the start,she's still skitish at times,we we'r out tuesday but the wind was strong to gail force,she did attempt a couple of bunnies but into the wind the poor lass tried hard but had no chance,with the wind she was traveling so fast she couldnt judge the strike,usualy hitting the ground ahead of the rabbit,(while it doubled back and she was then into the wind)
a frustrating day for us both but i'm sure she's alot fitter after slogging against the wind most of the day,anyway to save the day i employed an old trick of mine,maybe a bit odd but it's worked for me lots of times,having no nets with me,but needing a rabbit i find a small set against a wall before i enter the ferret i walk about arround it whistle sky talk to her,all the time knowing if any rabbits are home they know i'm there,then i enter the ferret and wait real close,sure enough i hear the thump of a rabbit on the move,the rabbit is going to be very reluctant to bolt and usualy comes up and sits just inside a hole,closely followed by the ferret,the ferret is on it's back the rabbit pannics and lets out a screem
now this is where experiance comes in,within a second you locate the hole shove you'r hand down grab you'r rabbit and retrieve you'r ferret all in one! a quick tap on the nose and the ferrets off a quick despatch and thats-that, this trick works for me on a regular basis,not quite orthodox i know but it will get you a rabbit. anyway off back towards the car trying to use any available cover to get away from the strongest of the wind,once i was almost there i tied the rabbit to my lure line and chucked it out for sky,in she came and walloped it,i gave her a bit of a struggle on it then opened it for her,she had her fill and i fitted her leash and away we whent (the wind at this point got so bad that i had sky under my arm most of the way to the car as she couldnt hold her stance on the glove)
wednesday was spent shopping a.m and with sky p.m now another thing with sky is that she is reluctant to box when we go out,she's ok comming home but she refuses the box to start the day,so on wed i started to re-introduce the box as you would in early manning,show her the open box allow her to take tit bits from it eventually got her to box a few times gradualy increasing the ammount of time she was boxed,(i thaught i'd cracked it)
thursday we were going out again i pick sky up show her the box and she bates away emediately (frustrations creeping in now) i calm the situation with a walk arround the garden we go back to the box and i put a tit bit ibside she takes it but again bates off eventualy she enters the box and we get away,once at the farm i let her off and i'm watching her mannors and she seems quite good,i've decided to employ the old possitive reinforcement tequniques,show the glove with a tit bit no imediate responce no tit bit,we done this all morning and i was quite supprised how quickly she started comming back to her old self and a degree of discipline was returning to our routine,with her behaviour picking up i headed for some rabbits, sky is lagging behind slighly again,i go to a corner field set with stone walls surrounding it no real vantage points,i take out the ferret wave my glove in the air and sky comes in and settles on the wall near me i walk forward and enter the ferret as itgoes to ground sky moves forward to the wall right above the set (great) a rabbit bolts and she's after it she misses and takes stand in a tree,another rabbit bolts i give her a whistle and she's after that she misses again (o well you can't bag em all) as i boxed the ferret and made my way down the field i found the winter sun absolutely blinding,maybe this is why she never put into any of the two rabbits,with this in mind i whent in a rather large arc probably a mile or so and worked the farm with the sun in our backs the next set was along the stream edge not easy to work over grown with bramble,sky takes a perch in the tree above and i enter the ferret,a rabbit bolts and cuts uder the stream bank i can see sky has seen it but she made no move she just sat as tence as a coiled spring then a moment later the rabbit shows again and heads into the bramble sky leaves the tree like a heat seeking missile but slightly faster she hits the bramble with a sickening crash and my heart stoped for a second,i dive in through the under growth and bramble again drawing blood from every exposed piece of me body,(god ive lost some blood since taking sky) anyway i reach sky who's none the worse for ware but without a bunny,never mind things are looking good once again,we work our way along the stream bank to the next set,these sets are a bit tricky as theres plenty of cover on the stream bank but if you get one to bolt into the field it's one in the bag,i put sky on the handle of the spade while i get the ferret, i make my way down the bank to enter the ferret and guess what! a rabbit bolts from under foot heads into the field sky nails it in 20 yds get in, the ferret goes straight back in the box(wondering whats going on) and i make in to despatch the rabbit we feed up and away home with number 10 under our belt, a word to other newbees, i put alot of time in with sky to try and make things just right,once she started to hunt and hunt well,i got a bit carried away and took too much for granted,i lost my discipline and as a result so did sky,i wish they could talk but they can't so we have to always be aware in these early day's,and no matter how well our birds are doing we shouldnt ever forget that they'r still very young and can easily be put back abit.
Shaun Byrne
17-12-2004, 11:15 AM
Nice one Jiff, there's nothing wrong with making any number of mistakes as long as we learn from them! Keep it up mate.
Good write up i'd say !
Edit: Just made it to chick status ! :) cool.
Adam Barrett
17-12-2004, 07:01 PM
hi jiff,
im in pretty much the same boat as you now my girl has had her first few kills her disciplin in the field is becomin poor she is ok at soaring around and she allways stays pretty close but now her response to the glove has gotten very poor-is this the same sort of thing you were experiancing-iv never done any multiple kills.
all suggestions are welcome as she is being a little cow latley
cheers
adam
adam sounds very much the same,but at the same time i keep trying to convince my self that she knows best in the field,and i'm sure a high branch is much more use as a look out post than my fist,but i get frustrated when i want to move on to a new area and i can't get the responce i want,i'm sure it will come in time,i think i just got a bit carried away. i'm going to bring sky's weight down slightly to see if things improve,but the way i see it, i could make things worse, if we asume that glove discepline is being lost because sky is looking for game,if i drop her weight, surely she will look even harder,to alot of falconers free flying is part of theire game,as i rely on my ferrets i require some degree of discepline,i'm sure if we work at it things will come together.
How's it going at the moment ?
hi ed and hi guy's, to be honnest,we aint been out hunting for comming up 3 weeks,i've been down with this cold/flu epidemic,the plan was to get out this week,but with the winds as they are thats looking douptfull,don't get me wrong sky hasnt just been stagnating in her mews,i have a local school field almost on the door step and when ever we got chance we would do some flying to the lure,we,ve also spent alot of time relaxing indoors and getting to know each other a little better,with being too ill to get out i've had chance to sit back and observe just how far we,ve come since october,i was reading through my notes the other day with her sat on my hand and it realy gave me a lift, another thing which i'd almost taken for granted is just how well sky has done,i was at our club meet on sunday and listening to the storries from the guy's trying to get theire birds going i suddenly realised how fortunate i was to have sky as my first bird,she realy hasnt needed showing what to do and if im honnest she's trained me to be a falconer. i'm now 80% recovered from this awfull bug thats going arround and i hope to get atleast one hunting session in this week if so the resulting day out will be posted,i appologise to anyone following our progress for not updating lately but we'll be back in full swing shortly.
best wishes to all
JIFF
hi guy's, well as i've mentioned we aint been out for a couple of weeks,today saw the wind drop to a light breeze,i had some fence repairs to take care of before i could go anywhere,so out with the nails and the fence was sured up,now the daughter had to be droped off at colledge so away we whent then the wife wanted to go shopping so away we whent,i was pretty frustrated by this point and just about bit the wifes head off for taking her time over the shopping,anyway we finaly got away but by now it was after 2 o'clock but we were'nt bothered so away we whent,sky weighed in at 2lb 3 3/4 oz so i was looking forward to our session,we arrived at the land at 3.15 pm no margin for error so we headed off for a small wood which holds a good head of rabbits as sky followed on my worst nightmare recured she slamed into an old carcass,god we aint got time for this i thought,i checked it out and it appeared to have little or no food value so i decided to head off and ignore her,sure enough when she'd had enough of pulling at it she caught up with me,problem was she had braught part of it with her,again i let her get on with it and set off for the rabbits,once in place i waved my glove and over she came and took stand in a tree above me,i entered the ferret a few seconds later and a supper charged bunny exits sky drops like a brick but misses it,she picks herself up and persues the bunny through the wood she puts in another strike but again misses, the rabbit makes good it's escape and we return to collect the ferret,i pick him up and walk the few yards to the next set,sky needs no promting and takes stand above us i enter the ferret and wait,a minute or two pass and then all hell brakes loose,a rabbit starts to squeel just inside the set i rush over shove my hand in and secure the rabbit,at that 3 rabbits exit other holes almost simmultaniously sky nails one before it's got 10 yds now ive one in a hole which im trying hard to extract and skys on one,i eventualy secure my bunny and despatch it,then rush over to despatch sky's bunny i leave her to it while i collect the ferret i box him up,and make into sky with the liver of the other rabbit we make an exchange and before long we'r off again,we'r loosing the light now so i opted to get away from the wood,i made my way to a fairly bussy hedgeback,i go to the corner where theres quite a large warren,sky follows and takes a nice high perch,i enter 2 ferrets this time in the hope of speeding things up a bit,sure enough a bunny exits and heads up the hedge skys after it with a vengeance the rabbit hits the hedge row and sky slams in on it's tail but fails to make contact,i rush over and beat the ditch and the chase is back on sky was inches from it when it jinks into the hedge again sky goes up and over it then dissapears the squeeling of the rabbit was music to my ears i rushed over despatched it,opened it,and cliped sky's leash on and tied her to the bag while i whent back to collect the ferrets,which were still bellow ground,after a few minutes i took out the locator,i located the ferret with the coller on but he wasnt still,i suspected he was being dragged about by a rabbit as he wernt moving that fast,i listened at the nearest hole and sure enough i could hear a commotion,i reached in as a rabbit showed itself with the ferret securely fastened,i despatched it,and the second ferret showed as if on cue,i boxed em both, and whent back for sky who by this time was full to bursting point,i traded her for the rabbit and we made our way back to the car,on the way back i recalled what a great flight the second rabbit was and after almost three weeks we'r back in bussiness GREAT ! :D thats thirteen now, :D
Leeds Newby
13-01-2005, 11:20 PM
great news jiff and great read! thirteen and counting
hi guy's
well again it's been two weeks since our last update,again this is mainly due to weather conditions,yesterday i checked the forcast every hour or so,the frustration of not getting out was pushing me to the brink of taking half chances on the weather,the forcast was unsettled but the wind speeds were down,the problem i have is my hunting ground is on the foot hills of the east penines and them hills there care not for what the weather man says,but the decision was made to get there at first light,then it suddenly dawned on me i'd better weigh sky,funny how some things slip your mind,she weighed in tuesday evening at 2lb 4 oz i fed her a de-yolked chick and she gave me a look to kill,after a cold night she weighed in this morning at the same weight(good enough for me) i box her up grab the ferrets fit a collar to my alpha male and away we go,we get there just before 8 am which would have been just after first light,if you could see any light the fog was thick as pea soup,what the heck i though "this'll stop her chasing far off phesants with no chance of a kill" i got me self sorted and the sesion was on,the first couple of sets produced nothing and i started to get a bit worried,i like to give her an early flight regardless weather or not she catches it,it seams to lift her a gear or two,anyway things were looking bleak and as if on cue the drizzle started,you know the stuff! you can hardly see it but it soaks you through,
i headed for the wood to give us some cover,by the time we got there me and sky were pretty wet and i was starting to have doupts,being a novice i wasnt sure of what was extreme and what wasnt,sky still seamed pretty switched on so we pushed on,i entered a ferret in the well used set at the corner of the wood and as every time before it wasnt long before a bunny exits sky hits it realy hard,im not one for being vocal in the field but given the cicumstances an involuntary "GET UP" came out of my mouth,just in time to see it escape from the grip,now other involuntary exclamations hit the still air(which can't be posted) anyway i know the game well enough to know these things happen,so it was back for the ferret and the next set,being some what larger both ferrets were entered, again a bunny exits,stops to think about it and doubles back to be met by the ferret,i make a dive that david james would be chuffed with and secure a back leg,i extract the rabbit and disspatch it,i start to back off when a rabbit exits another hole but this time with a rocket up its jacksy,skys off after it twisting and jinking through the trees and the she makes in,and you guessed it misses,she missed another two in simmler sircumstances and again although we were enjoying our selves we were both wet and i for one was starting to feel the cold,i didnt want to reduce the day to a dragged bunny,it just wouldnt have been fair or justifiable on sky after she'd tried hard in this very tight wood,we pressed on but i couldnt think of a way to give her the edge in the wood,by the time we reach the next formation of sets i was realy feeling it,sky was getting tired,i could tell by her attitude,by chance as sky follows me up she takes what can only be described as the perfect perch,with a view of the hole area,again i enter both ferrets,after a few seconds one ferret shows but excitedly darts back bellow ground,seconds later and a bunny exits sky drops,jinks through the trees and wham,"DON'T LET GO-DONT LET GO-DONT LET GO" is screeming in my head but no worries this time she has it securely by the head,i make in and despatch this pure gift from gods larder,i leave her with it and go back for the ferrets,one shows i box him and wait,next thing as many times before a screem from just inside the set,in goes the hand and out comes the rabbit with the ferret attached,dispatch the rabbit box the ferret go back to sky,open her rabbit wide and sit and reflect while she takes her fill,after this sublime moment with every thing tidied up and sky on the fist i suddenly realised what a mess we both were,i was soaked and covered in mud,sky was soaked and looked as though she'd been dragged through a bramble bush backwards,"THE WIFE IS GOING TO KILL US" fourteen rabbits,she still shows little or no interest in phesants unless there 3/4 of a mile away.not to worry i think she's great,and today soaked through she showed some bottle to carry on the hunt.
Leeds Newby
26-01-2005, 04:16 PM
great read mate
14 and climbing
spot on sky!!!!!!!
Shaun Byrne
26-01-2005, 04:22 PM
Nice one Jiff, keep banging away at em!!
well guys,a quick update on our progress,last week,tuesday we did 2 hours lure training just to boost her fittness,wednesday we hunted,sky took 2 rabbits nothing spectacular i fed her right up off the second and gave her thursday morning off,thursday p.m we done more lure work,employing my daughters boyfriends young legs to good effect,friday morning we whent to the farm in search of a hare but no look i'm affraid, she took another rabbit in good style hitting it solidly in the head and bowling it over,i fed her right up from it and headed home,sat and sun we did very little appart from sit in and watch t.v after work,monday morning more fittness with the lure and tuesday back out looking for a hare,again without any luck,again to save the day i ferreted a couple of rabbits for her to chase she eventualy nailed one i let her take a half crop and traded her some liver which i'd sneakily removed without her seeing,wednesday was the day to end my rabbit season,the day started as usual ferreting some easy sets in a hedge row rabbits were bolting but sticking to the hedge row and realy testing sky's abbility they all made it to the same corner of the field and into a set in a huge tree,sky took stand in the tree and i ferreted the next set,a rabbit bolts and in the same fasion as the others from the previous set heads for the tree,unluckily for the rabbit sky drops on it like a sledge hamer,i ran up the field but when i got there i couldnt find her or hear her,sudenly i heard a splashing,theres a ditch running up the field boundry in this corner it was thick with bramble sky had crashed through and nailed the rabbit but was now in the water,thankfully it wasnt that deep but i still had to break in to the bramble myself to dispatch the bunny,as i broke through sky tries to pull away and looses her grip,i grabed the rabbits back leg just intime to secure it,i dispatched it,now i have a dilema the fact that sky let go and the position i was in, i infact have robbed her of her kill,i decided to get myself out into the field and wait for sky to re-apear i then draged the bunny on a lure line and whent through the motions of dispatching the kill and feeding her,she still didnt seem to happy about the situation so i decided to go for a second and hope things would run smoothly and i could feed her right up and put the smile back on her face,anyway away we go to ferret the next lot of sets,i call sky up and she takes a nice high perch in a tree about 10 meters up from the set,in goes the ferret and seconds later sky dives out of the tree and literaly thumps into the ground on the opposite side of the hedge to me,i hear the sound of the rabbit and im away round,i go to move in but can see nothing,as i closed in i can see her prize,a rabbit about 4 or 5 weeks old,dear me what to do now,i go in the bag for the first rabbit but before i can get it out sky's off with her snack sized prize,up,up and away over the brow of the hill and gone,i'm off after her trying to secure the rabbit to the lure line at the same time,sky's sat in the middle of the next field,i moved in a large arc so that i could approach from the front and swing the rabbit,i gradualy make in and drag the bunny infront of her sure enough she latches on to it and i make in and secure her leash,what a relief if she'd have done one and eaten the youngster i would of had big problems catching her up i would think,anyway seeing this little ball of fluff and mulling over the fact that if we hadnt nailed a fully grown one before hand what could i have done to tempt her back not alot me thinks,which is why i've decided to call it a day on rabbits for this season. i havnt decided yet what our next move will be,i may keep up the fittness lure work and keep looking for a hare or maybe call it a day and put her up to moult after all i think we'v had a good season for our first,19 and a bit rabbits,bundles of fun hundreds of flights as many misshaps,we'v been covered in mud,soaked through,exhausted,up,down and everything midway,but above all we've had great time together in the field.
Shaun Byrne
10-02-2005, 08:56 PM
Good read Jiff, you sound like a propper falconer!! lol!!
ok..... i've decided to call an end to our season after the near fiasco with the very young rabbit and my feeling that we'v done good for our first efort.doesnt mean the work stops,i've still got to get her through a good moult,and i've every intention of carrying on our manning and watching t.v nights,i've ordered some quail and rat and other bits and bobs and hopefully we can get through the moult both healthy and fit,i am planning getting a dog so i can fill me quiet hours,i've just got to add this pic,which is tipical of sky,fully in control and no worries,no mantling and no bad habbits,i go in un gloved do what needs to be done and thats that,she is a complete bitch at home on her own turf but thats how i set out,give her, her dependancy so that she doesnt depend on me,i'm merely one of the team who go and catch rabbits.
ChicM
13-02-2005, 12:14 AM
Cracking looking bird mate. Good luck in the moult.
cheers for that chic' i think i'll spend the next few months trying to gain some sort of obediance,at home she's a git , in the field, even as a novice i'll have to say she's better at catching rabbits than any dog i've ever owned(an i've had some good ones) but i must admit there isnt that thing you have with a dog..........or maybe it's just me and we'll have to wait and see......i'll keep you posted ! :wink:
Shaun Byrne
13-02-2005, 07:55 PM
She's got some chunky feet on her Jiff!! Good luck with the moult. You free lofting her?
hi h4wka yes mate she's free lofted,when i first got her she was realy agressive and wouldnt stay on a bow perch prefering instead to roost on the foot of the perch,she never realy settled down as i was expecting so i free lofted her very early on,as a result she soon settled,however she does get a bit stropy at home,but in the field she's a diamond,she don't like ridding the glove tho,but having said that,i would say 70% of her kills have came while she was up a tree, she picks the highest perch possible,problem is if theres no tree in the area she sometimes goes well off to get up one,i cant complain tho she rarely misses rabbits,and if they make the mistake of crossing open ground they'r nailed for sure,as i said she aint no lady or the pushover that some harris' are,probably a result of free lofting early but she has the aggresion of a pit bull so i'll put up with her behaviour.
3Kids-0Hawks
15-02-2005, 11:35 AM
Wow, I just read your posts from start to finish and I think I've just learned more from following your season than any book(and being an armchair falconer for 12years or so I've read a few). Brilliant stuff Thanks for sticking at it(the diary) Cheers
well thank you sir,some posts were long winded but i tried to put a full day of antics into a few paragraphs,again thanks for the warm words.
her parents are imported birds illedgedly,going on her agresion and her size i have no need to doupt that,she just hit the scales at 3lb 1 oz after stuffing herself for the last couple of days,as you say her feet compared to other harris' are something else.
Just a quick note to add...enjoyed reading about your first season, learned a lot.
cheers
Ed
North East Harris Hawker
14-03-2005, 10:36 PM
good read that jiff, im surprised you are putting her away, she has done really well for her first season, im thinking about ordering a nice male from the same breeder to keep poppy occupied in the near future :wink: just got to run it by the mrs :cry:
she is lovely stock, i recon she will be hunting round the 2lb 7 mark by the end of next season and maybe higher 8)
ScarletFever
22-03-2005, 08:07 PM
Hi Jiff.
Just wanted to say that reading your diary of your exploits with Sky was one of the most enjoyable reads I have for ages. :)
Great step by step summary of the early days/weeks of manning and getting your bird up to speed. It sounds like the 2 of you have struck up a great partnership mate.
Regards
Best of luck next season.
Dan
Boggy
06-04-2005, 02:18 PM
Hi jiff, just started on my mission to learn, and I thought the best place to start would be the diaries. I was so right! :D
Thanks Jiff great diary.
Boggy.
hi huys and thanks for all the warm words,
although i've put sky upto moult i've kept up daily contact,and as i've mentioned before she's a complete glutten so she'll happily come to the glove if she thinks theres food on the cards,so i man her indoors from time to time,i must admit that the moult bussiness is getting to me a bit as activity is limmited and inactivity doesnt please me,i still dont have a dog yet,as i've had some missfortune lately but things will pick up and hopefully i'll get a dog soon and begin our training. people said ferreting alone with a hawk was going to be difficult and it was to start with but once a routine was astablished and my experience with sky picked up, it got very normal,now its time to throw the dog into the equation and this season it will be me,sky,2 ferrets and a dog that should make for some interesting reading i would think, i'll post my dogs progress as and when or even IF it happens. cheers for looking in guys.
Boggy
07-04-2005, 09:45 PM
Am waiting with baited breath to hear how you introduce that dog to the equasion? Like I say, can't wait to hear. Hope you get one soon.
Boggy.
EddieT
21-04-2005, 11:54 AM
Jiff,
I have just read your diaries right through and it was a cracking read. I think that it is brave of someone to post their diary warts and all and it reminded me a lot of my first season with my first bird (HH). You are doing really well and I wish you and Sky even more success next year as you learn together and just plain enjoy yourselves!
hey jiff, hows sky doing in her second season?
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