please explain

[KevGem1]

could anybody please explain why they bring their falcons out of the aviarys coming up to summer and fly them through the summer months? and put them up for winter for moulting?,and dont they have problems with the crops being up everywhere?I am obtaining a falcon for this season coming and wanted to fly it at corvids all through the winter months ,am i going about it all wrong?or is it just some peoples preferance and if so is there a reason for this?. i am trying to obtain as much info as i can for this coming season cos i will be training a young bird.any advice welcome.thanks KEV.

[OhMyGod]

Best to get a first clutch falcon for corvids. That way you can get it going well on the young rooks. You would struggle to get any falcon going well on rooks if you take up from the moult and get it fit and try to enter on hardcore winter rooks.

Get it as early as poss (but never before 80 days!!) leave hooded for 48 hours then start the manning and basics. You should be aiming to have it reasonably fit and coming a good distance to a dead crow within 3 - 4 weeks. Try and get it entered within 4 - 5 weeks. Then fly it most days until march. Then good moult out. Should be ready again aug. and so on

Mostly people will do it the other way round for some display purposes.

[Varmint]

I will be taking my Intermewed hybrid up by the start of May to start the totally legal activity of Rook frightening ( :lol:) normally she will fly corvids thru till Oct when i put her down again.

She norm keeps in good feather but still manages a moult as soon as i put her down, and this has been the case for the past 4 seasons.

Summer crops can be a problem if you are flying in large arable area's but im affraid it's all smash and grab stuff up here mostly over moorland.

Pls rem that all corvids are now on the protected list and an exemption license is now required to kill them, and that will only be granted if you can prove that they pose seriouse risk to human health and that all other possible forms of detterant have been exhausted? even then there are at present no guarentee's that an exemtion will be granted!

This is the legal situation as of Wed 2nd March 2005.

[OhMyGod]

Yes varmint, it's a bit silly really.

I have been led to believe rooks are rare in your part of the country, hear they are everywhere!! Do you find many crows?

You are right, summer crops are too common hear. It's hard somtimes

[Varmint]

Few Rooks, Lots of Crows both Carrion and Hoodie but the best fun we used to have was Jack Daws, but sadly not any more...... :cry: :( :shock:

[Shaun Byrne]

Maybe you are talking about display or recreation birds Kev?? I'm taking my longwings out of their moulting aviaries now, ready for the display season starting Easter Weekend.

[KevGem1]

Hi there it was just in response to a thread i had read i cant even remember where it was now. I just remember them saying that thier about to take thier birds out of the aviary to train as I'm putting mine up to moult. And i wandered why they where getting ready to train there birds for hunting when all the crops are on the way up?.and how they get there birds to moult out through the winter?. At the moment I'm a little bit more concerned about the information that varmint has just told me about not being able to hunt corvids without a license. where is this going to leave everybody that have crow falcons?. And them that have farmers that are not prepared to go through all the messing about with the Powers that be to get you your license?. waiting to here peoples thoughts on this cheers KEV.

[OhMyGod]

I keep telling her not to

[Goldie]

I keep telling her not to, but she never bloody listens!!

If you want to chase rooks all season you will have to learn to be sneaky anyway.
Tut Tut OMG give yourself a slap on the wrist :wink:

[KevGem1]

that was my thoughts on the matter and as i come from a dogging back ground of many years, old habits die hard if you know what i mean. just a little bit harder making your self inconspicous in day light rather than night time. :wink: cheers KEV.

[OhMyGod]

I usually enter my falcons on a landfill. If your rook hawk is above the rooks (espesially young ones) you will find that she seems very dominant from the start and can easily take them.

Landfills are excellent in my opinion as the rooks will go into the hole when everyone (and bird control) goes home at 4:30. And I believe it is important to catch at least 10 rooks before she misses a slip which is hard otherwise.

When you have her entered and coming on well and getting super fit you can try (if you like) slipping from a car sunroof or window as the rooks soon get used to you (and your vehicle). They call to each other telling their mates you are approaching and can give the signal from afar.

I think its best to only go to each place no more than twice per month, this way you have more of a chance to get a slip.

I know more than enough farmers hear now and I can slip a young hawk from the country lanes (in the open of course) and give them a good chance. I'm sure nobody ever sees me as I speak to farmers who constantly tell me they never see me on their land. I'm saying I do use it honest!

[Bill]

Good News

News Release
Release: Immediate
Date: 9th March 2005

DEFRA bows to rural lobbying


The Countryside Alliance has brought about a major policy climb-down from DEFRA on Open General Licences.

DEFRA had, without properly consulting key shooting organisations, changed the Open General Licence procedure. This made the Open General Licence confusing and unclear and required shooters to demonstrate that non-lethal methods of pest control, such as scaring, were unsuccessful. Only then could they undertake lethal methods of control.

The Countryside Alliance, working closely with the National Gamekeepers Organisation (NGO) and the Country Land and Business Group (CLA), lobbied DEFRA and asked them not only to clarify the law but also explain why they had not followed their own consultation code of conduct. DEFRA has now climbed down from its original position and tacitly admitted its error. Shooters must now have to satisfy themselves, rather than demonstrate, that non-lethal methods of control were ineffective.

Alliance Chief Executive Simon Hart commented: “DEFRA back-tracking on its position is an important victory for the Alliance, the NGO and the CLA. We have jointly lobbied hard on this issue seeking to clarify a requirement that would have had a serious negative impact on shooting. We knew we were right and stuck to our guns - this is the right result”.

Ends…



For more information contact the press office on 0207 840 9220

or 07775 938792

[OhMyGod]

I always believed that rooks were protected, and could not be killed for sport, and could only be killed for pest controll purposes.

I thought this was law for a long time now.

[Gordon]

could anybody please explain why they bring their falcons out of the aviarys coming up to summer and fly them through the summer months? and put them up for winter for moulting?,and dont they have problems with the crops being up everywhere?I am obtaining a falcon for this season coming and wanted to fly it at corvids all through the winter months ,am i going about it all wrong?or is it just some peoples preferance and if so is there a reason for this?. i am trying to obtain as much info as i can for this coming season cos i will be training a young bird.any advice welcome.thanks KEV. no im not weedy kev, fit though, thing is it dosent matter so much cos falcons dont really land in trees to hunt so you cant loose them in the greenery, lot of falconers fly hawks in winter cos they do hunt from trees and then fly longwings in the summer, helps to be fit,different hunting statagies, that was the point of the thread, i did come across bias, been taking more **** again today by word of mouth, nothing personal just a little pay backto someone. gordon