11 replies to this topic

[raptrlvr]

Here are some pictures of my male Harris Hawk stooping {falling} to a leather lure on the ground. This bird loves to soar and will go up anywhere from 800 to 2000 feet above me. Yesterday, he was totally out of sight even with a 300mm lens on the camera. While he is up there, he is watching every move I make and as soon as I swing the lure, he tucks his wings and falls toward the ground at great speed ,adjusting as he gets closer to the lure. He lands right at your feet on the lure. You can see the small feathers on each wing {alula} that act as air brakes to slow him down a little.
Swallow checking out the Harris Hawk


Keeping an eye on me

Stooping towards the lure

[JimBob]

Awesome!

[Clip]

Awesome seconded!

[raptrlvr]

Thanks.
In the last picture, you can see the telemetry antenna {between his legs} that he wears on his back.

[hawkhenries]

Awesome pictures WOW!!!!

[canon eos]

My goodness!
thanks for sharing

[ginspin16]

i agree with wow!

[johnd]

know you know what the mouse sees.

[Liam]

Love this! Do you ever get worried you'll lose him? Or does the antenna enable you to track him?

[Bird Brain]

Great shots, raptrlvr!

[David Case]

Incredible shots! Thanks for posting these.

[raptrlvr]

If you do your homework, Harris Hawks are pretty hard to lose. Most of the Harris Hawks sit on the glove as you walk through the field and when the rabbit takes off, the bird leaves the glove and chases the rabbit down. They don't always catch the rabbit, but, most times they do. This particular bird doesn't sit on the glove and just goes up into a soar every time I take him out. The transmitter is good for 5 miles line of sight. It takes the Harris Hawk a while before he will ever fly 5 miles because he is hungry and looking for food. So, in most cases, you can track him easily. If by chance, I can't find him, I go to a falconry web page and put the frequency on the web page and some times other falconers find the bird and contact me. If your flying falcons, they can be easier to lose because they can cover that 5 miles quickly.