Harris' Hawk blog: Thinking of Fall

Tuesday, August 3, 2010

Thinking of Fall

2 comments:

Albert A Rasch said...: Hey Doug,

Is that the jesses dangling from your bird's ankles?

The previous post is really neat too! your dog is really getting the hang of it!

Best regards,
Albert
Catching Rats, Human Rats!; August 3, 2010 at 10:07 AM
Doug said...: Yes those are jesses. There are two schools of thought when it comes to hunting with jesses. I belong to the camp that lets their bird wear them as long as they are designed for hunting. Most of the folks I have hunted with belong tot he same camp.

There are others that would never let their bird fly with jesses. it is just not done. I understand and appreciate the reasoning behind this decision. Different strokes and all that.

Gordon is getting there. I need to get him facing off against larger quarry in there. It'll happen soon.; August 3, 2010 at 4:16 PM

Who Are the Birds

Tess and Gonzo are both 5 year old Harris' Hawks.

I've had Gonzo since he was a young hawk and he came to me from Dave Mancini. He is a great bird who has been car hawked at different birds, flown from trees at squirrel and rabbit, and flown from a T-perch. He is a wonderfully efficient hunter that hunts in the 650 gram range.

Tess came to me by way of Wes Collins breeding project. She is a direct descendant of the Coulsins' famous White wing. I just acquired her for the 2008-09 hunting season. Her previous owner flew her extensively from the car at starlings, geese, and crows. She has been great at squirrels and has a ridiculously calm disposition. She flies between 900 - 950 grams.