Few questions

[Roo]

Hello, would like to get into Falconry with either a Harris hawk or a common buzzard, I've looked through some old topics and theres a few things I would like to know and can't find.

Firstly I've seen topics on screaming Harris hawks, do buzzards do this as well/are they more or less likely to do it?

Also for the next two years I will be in full time education doing a course in photography, over the summer I imagine this wouldn't be a problem but with the winter being the hunting season and there being shorter days obviously getting out in daylight to hunt/fly would be pretty restricted. I would obviously want to fly a bird as much as possible so want to know what it would be like in the winter. The course I'm doing is 9:30 to 5 every day except weekends and Thursdays although, of course there are a number of Holidays!

At worst it I guess I would have to leave getting a bird until after the course or do people reckon there would be plenty of time?

This is all research, so any info is gratefully received! If anyone has been in a similar situation it would be good to hear what you did.

Cheers,

Roo

[Jiff]

Roo, first of all a common buzzard will not fit the bill as a hunting companion so opt for the harris' hawk, secondly we would all like to be out seven days a week but as most of us are not privilaged enough to not have to work we find ourselves in a catch 22,we don't work we can't afford to be involved in falconry we do work we can't afford the time to find the true potential of our birds, as this is the case for a high percentage of us,it means you need a bit more commitment at times, if you do decide to take on a bird,try and time you're collection of the bird with a holiday period,this way atleast you'll have some un-broken time to get the essenctial early tamming and manning underway,then after this innitial stage further manning can be done indoors, you could even start the flying to the glove off indoors if realy neccessary but only as a last resort, you're problems will come when the bird becomes ready for the creance at this point things can realy move on quite quickly and you don't realy whant to hold the bird back, so a good spell of spare time is the order of the day,once the bird is flying free you're next problem with limited time is getting the bird to enter and take it's first kill, if you can get the bird to enter on rabbit with the time you have to spare,then theres no reason why you can't enjoy falconry as the rest of us do. fitness is of coarse going to be a problem with limited time but i'll say with tounge in cheek that a high level of fitness is not realy required if you have ground with ample rabbits, i'm not suggesting for one minute that you can leave the bird to sit in a weathering for 5 days and then expect to hunt with it, that just wouldnt be acceptible, but if you can build a sizeable avery where the bird can enjoy atleast some sort of exercise then get out and fly the bird when ever you have time, which is where the extra commitment comes in, whenever the bird can be flown it should be flown weather it be at game or a mate pulling a lure, sometimes you'll feel the soffa pulling you towards it but you must fly the bird mate.

[BrianM]

i strive to fly my birds 5 days out of 7,,,,,,,at least

[Roo]

I'm lucky to have quite a large garden where I could at least give the bird some exercise which would help, but I rekon only in the darkest days of winter I would not be able to go out properly every day, but I would still have three days free to get out.

Just reading through loads of topics at the moment and it does seem a common buzzard is the best bet.

[Shaun Byrne]

If you plan to fly a bird and are not really going to hunt it regularly I would suggest a CB or an owl. A Harris that is not hunted regularly, apart from being a waste, will sooner or later get vocal.