Hunting with birds

jap gt

Hi lads

Im nearly stopped completely with shooting, lost my good dog to cancer earlier this year, im thinking of going with something different.

I love the idea of hunting a bird, more so a harris hawk, iv read uo a lot but what lads opinion on it, how much time ye give it a week etc

tac foley

How much time do you give hunting USING a bird. I take it?

Apart from 24/7/365?

Hunting with birds is not a part-time job, Sir.

tac

Grizzly 45

How much time do you dedicate to a bird?How about most of your day 7days a week?Of the three animals used by man to hunt[horse, dog and bird.The bird is the most difficult and longest.Or so I am told.You never really own or tame a bird of prey, you have to make a "deal" with it to come back to you, because once it flies, there is nothing you can do to stop it departing the scene forever more. Or so I'm told by those who do engage in this part of hunting.

jap gt

I understand its a massive amount of work, like training a dog ftom scratch but more detail on weighing anf feeding etc, just looking for someone with a bird to give sn example of a week with a bird of prey

allan450

iv two mates that done it my advice is dont you might have an itch for one but dont.you will still need a hpr to hunt with your hawk on most outings.needless to say my mates still have dogs but no birds.you will need an inspection from the nwps also

Gonehawking

First you will need to obtain a possession & falconry license from the NPWS (€12.50 each license), to be granted the licenses you will need all the relevant equipment and accommodation for the hawk as well as a licensed falconer to sign off on your application and to mentor you along the way. With regards to Harris Hawks they are the easiest to train of all the beginners birds as well as being the easiest to maintain, that being said they are still a bit daunting when you have no experience, they are a long term commitment as they have very long lifespans in captivity up to 25 yrs. With regards to dogs you would need a spaniel if you were looking to hunt pheasants with a Harris Hawk and if you have access to rabbit burrows a ferret will provide you with some really good sport, my advice is to seek out a falconer that lives close to you and see if you can go out with him for a day or two so you can get an insight as to what is involved. There are now many places around the country that are offering hunting days, falconry courses etc but if you go down that road be careful which establishment you go to as in my opinion there are a lot of unqualified people running them. Hope this helps a bit.

dodderangler

tac foley wrote: »

How much time do you give hunting USING a bird. I take it?

Apart from 24/7/365?

Hunting with birds is not a part-time job, Sir.

tac

I know it's five months ago but well said. Falconry is not for someone who works full time. It's mainly done during autumn after the birds moult and ends about April for them to be put away to moult again. Harris hawks can be flown 3 days a week the least. Accipters like sparrowhawk and goshawks have t be flown nearly everyday give or take a day to rest up. And read all you want but you need to have a sponsor aswell. Someone who will bring you out and learn before getting a bird and will continue even when you get your bird aswell. It's not easy and I admit I failed on my first Harris hawk but second I gave 100% of time to it. It's also expensive. The bird is possibly the cheapest part of it. You need a telemetry, housing ( mews) food gloves, vest bow perch etc. Start out with a Harris first or red tail. Don't jump into deep end with any breed of falcon or any accipters like sparrowhawk or goshawk. Trust me.