Shropshire Falconry Club

Falconry is “the taking of wild quarry in its natural state and habitat by means of a trained raptor”. There are two traditional terms used to describe a person involved in falconry: a falconer flies a falcon an austringer flies a Hawk and some buteos and similar or an Eagle or similar.

In modern falconry the Peregrine Falcon is the most popular Falcon flown,  and  the Harris Hawk the mostly common Hawk .  The words Hawking and Hawker have become used so much to mean petty traveling traders, that the terms “falconer” and “falconry” now apply to all use of trained birds of prey to catch game. In early English falconry literature, the word Falcon referred to a female falcon only, while the word Hawk or “hawke” referred to a female hawk only.

A male hawk or falcon was referred to as a Tiercel (sometimes spelled “tercel”) as it was roughly one third less than the female in size. Many contemporary practitioners still use these words in their original meaning. The practice of hunting a trained falconry bird is also called “hawking” or “gamehawking

Birds used for Falconry

The Harris Hawk, (Parabuteo unicinctus)

formerly known as the Bay-winged Hawk or Dusky Hawk, is a medium-large Bird of Prey

which breeds from the South Western United States south to Chile and central Argentina. Birds are sometimes reported at large in Western Europe, especially here in Britain, but it is a popular species in Falconry and these records almost certainly all refer to escapes from captivity. It is the only member of the genus Parabuteo. The name is derived from the Greek para, meaning beside, near or like, and the Latin buteo, referring to a kind of buzzard; uni meaning once; and cinctus meaning girdled, referring to the white band at the tip of the tail. John James Audobon gave this bird its English name in honor of his ornithological companion, financial supporter, and friend Edward Harris. The Harris Hawk is famous for its remarkable behavior of hunting cooperatively in Packs, consisting of family groups. (Most raptors are solitary hunters.) Hunting While most raptors are solitary, only coming together for breeding and migration,

Harris’s Hawks will hunt in co-operative groups of two to six. This is believed to be an adaptation to the desert climate in which they live. In one hunting technique, a small group flies ahead and scouts, then another group member flies ahead and scouts, and this continues until prey is bagged and shared. In another, all the hawks spread around the prey and one individual flushes it.

The wild Harris’s Hawk population is declining due to Habitat Loss however, under some circumstances, Harris’s Hawks have been known to move into developed areas. Falconry Since about 1980, Harris’s Hawks have been increasingly used in falconry and are now the most popular hawks in the West (outside of Asia) for that purpose, as they are the easiest to train and the most sociable Size Individuals range in length from 46 to 76 cm (18 to 30 in) and generally have a wingspan of 1.1 m (3.6 ft) They exhibit sexual Dimorpism with the females being larger by about 40%. In the United States, the average weight for males is about 710 g (25 oz), while the female average is 1,020 g (36 oz). They have dark brown plumage with chestnut shoulders, wing linings, and thighs, white on the base a tip of the tail, long, yellow legs and a yellow cere.

The juveniles are mostly streaked with buff, and appear much lighter than the dark adults. When in flight, the undersides of their wings are buff-colored with brown streaking.  They can look surprisingly unlike adults at first glance, but the identical chestnut plumage is a giveaway.

 

Goshawk (Accipiter gentilis)

The name “goshawk” is a traditional name from Anglo Saxon gōshafoc, literally “goose hawk”. The name implies prowess against larger quarry such as geese, but were also flown against crane species and other large waterbirds. The name “goose hawk” is somewhat of a misnomer however, as the traditional quarry for goshawks in ancient andcontemporary falconry has been rabbits, pheasants, partridge, and medium sized waterfowl. A notable exception is in records of traditional Japanese falconry, where goshawks were used more regularly on goose and crane species. In ancient European falconry literature, goshawks were often referred to as a yeoman’s bird or the “cooks bird” due to theirutility as a hunting partner as opposed to the peregrine falcon, also a prized falconry bird, but more associated with nobleman and less adapted to a variety of hunting techniquesand prey types found in wooded areas.

The Northern Goshawk has remained equal to the peregrine falcon in its stature and popularity in modern falcon. Goshawk hunting flights in falconry typically begin from the falconer’s gloved hand, where the fleeing bird or rabbit is pursued in a horizontal chase. The goshawk’s flight in pursuit of prey is characterized by an intense burst of speed often followed by a binding maneuver, where the goshawk seizes its prey in an inverted position below its winged quarry. The goshawk,  like other accipiters, shows a marked willingness to follow prey into thick vegetation, even pursuing prey on foot through brush

This species hunts birds and mammals in a variety of woodland habitats, often utilizing a combination of speed and obstructing cover to ambush birds and mammals. Goshawks are often seen flying along adjoining habitat types, such as the edge of a forest and meadow; flying low and fast hoping to surprise unsuspecting prey. They are usually opportunistic predators, as are most Birds of Prey. The most important prey species are small mammals and birds found in forest habitats, especially the Grouse, Snow shoe Hare, and Red Squirrel in North America. Prey species may be quite diverse, including pigeons and doves, woodpeckers andCorvids (species vary by region).

Mammal prey includes rabbits andnumerous tree squirrel and ground squirrel species. Waterfowl up to the size of the Mallard are sometimes preyed on. Prey is often smaller than the hunting hawk, but these birdswill also occasionally kill much larger animals, up to the size of Jack rabbits; prey also include the small raptor, the American Kestrel

 

Red Tailed Hawk (buteo jamaicensis)

 

The Redtailed Hawk is much bigger than our Common Buzzard originates from the United States of America where it’s widely distributed fron Alaska down to Florida and the West Indies. They have an excellent temperament and respond well to training. They are more than capable of catching Rabbits, Squirrels, Pheasant, Moorhens & various Ducks. A trained and experienced Female will also fly hares well. Because they are so common and easily trained as capable hunters, the majority of hawks captured for falconry in the United States are Red-tails. Falconers are permitted to take only passage hawks (which have left the nest, are on their own, but are less than a year old) so as to not affect the breeding population. Adults, which may be breeding or rearing chicks, may not be taken for falconry purposes and it is illegal to do so.

Passage red-tailed hawks are also preferred by falconers because these younger birds have not yet developed adult behaviors, which can make training substantially more challenging. Most birds in this country being flown today are the captive bred progeny of birds imported from America 20 years ago. They are preffered over our common buzzard due to their bigger foot size and greater tenacity in the field. Most of the older falconers of today will be able to recount with fondness a few hunting tails from their days out flying a Red!