This past saturday I got to do something that I have wanted to do for a long time. I have always thought it was cool to call in hawks and owls at night. I also watch them during the day when I get the chance. well we were making 750lbs of sausage on saturday and after we were done the one fella had not one but two red tailed hawks he flys and hunts small game with. The sport is called falconry (wiki link ->
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Falconry)
well we went out behind the shop and went hunting with one of his red tailed hawks. as we walked along in the woods looking for either squirrels or rabbits the hawk would sit perched on a tree. after we moved so far he would fly up to us. we finally came across some fresh tracks in the snow from a squirrel and looked up sure nuff the hawk was already in the tree with the squirrel cornered. he was glued to the bottom of the branch. I believe he already had played this game once before with other redtails. it was a game of cat and mouse or hawk and tree rat for a while till he made the decision to jump from tree to tree. as soon as he jumped that hawk was diving out of the tree to hit him in mid air. after grabbing the squirrel in mid air he cupped his wings and parachuted to the ground. The whole time down he was working on him trying to kill it. as soon as it hit the snow though the squirrel must have bit him because the hawk jumped off and he took off running.
we kept walking and the bird flew a different direction then where we were heading. here he seen the squirrel in the tree and flew to him. we walked under the tree and could see the squirrel. again a game of hawk and tree rat went on but after 20mins of it the hawk decided it was enough and flew off. The fella was worried that would happen because the hawk was not hungry enough yet. he called him back by swinging a leather bag in the air and then placed it on the ground with a piece of meat on it. the hawk flew down and ate. after he was done he flew up to his owners hand and he placed the tether on his legs. and that was the end of the hunt.
it was awesome seeing the hawk work the squirrel the way he did and I came away with a cool experience. Now the fella lives very close to me. I have his phone number as well. the great thing about this type of hunting is the fact that a bunch of kids does not bother the hawk. it actually helps because it flush's game for the hawk to find. so if anyone on here wants their children or grand children to experience this type of hunting we will set up a date and go do it. It is definitely something that not many kids will see in their lives. sometimes it is things that adults won't ever see. so if you guys are interested post up and we will set up a date. he said the end of feb is the best.
