Hello to all

[blackfalcon]

Hi to all on the forum. I am a game hawker and peregrine breeder, in that order.
Flying peregrines is my passion, flying peregrines I breed makes it even better.

Chris

[everetkhorton]

Chris: Welcome to the site. There are other breeder on the site. You might want to start useing your first letter of your last name because of other Chris on the site. Some of us have short memorys. Please post anytime and let us know about yourself. I am from Mi. and fly a Rt. mainly at Sqr. Again welcome.

[`Chris L.]

Hi to all on the forum. I am a game hawker and peregrine breeder, in that order.
Flying peregrines is my passion, flying peregrines I breed makes it even better.

Chris

Wow.. another Chris [smilie=BangHead.gif] .. great to have you here Chris. I how long have you been breeding peregrines? how has your breeding season been. I hope all is great.

I hope you enjoy NAFEX. I would enjoying hearing more about you and you breeding project.

Please let e know if you need anything

[blackfalcon]

Hi Ev and Chris L, many thanks for the warm wellcome, I will call back and give more details of my self soon.
Up to the eyeballs with eggs and chicks at the moment, hardly a moment to spare.

Chris S

[everetkhorton]

Chris S. That is the kind of thing you want to be up to your eyeball in [smilie=banana.gif]

[blackfalcon]

Hi Guys,

Well I began my falconry career at 12 with a kestrel, by 16 I had my first sparrow hawk and took my first quarry with her.
The following years were filled with Goss hawks, sparrow hawks and a male RT.
I always wanted to fly falcons and did have a short spell with a prairie and a lanner in the 80's, only problem was that telemetry was in its infancy and rubbish. With birds being hard to obtain and expensive, the risks were too great.

Then 15 years ago I got my chance to breed my own falcons, I chose imprints for my breeding project for many reasons but mostly because I like to be involved with every aspect of my falconry.
So now at 48 year old I supply my own peregrines for hawking and I spend my winters looking for game birds to put my falcon over, I will at some point go back and fly another Goss but for now I love game hawking my peregrine.

That pretty much tells the story so far, still lots to accomplish and the enthusiasm is still as keen as ever. (Even if the body isn’t) [smilie=eusa_doh.gif]

Cheers for now

Chris S

[chamokane]

Welcome Chris. Tell us more when you have time.

What type of Peregrines do you fly?
What kind of dog do you use?
What kinds of game birds do you hunt?
Where do you live?
My, I certainly am getting nosy in my old age.

I fly two Anatums. I guess they are pretty average birds but an average Peregrine can be pretty nice. The only thing I can see that is wrong with Peregrines is that it's hard to quit flying them long enough to try some of the other birds that I have not flown yet.

[outhawkn]

Hi Guys,

Well I began my falconry career at 12 with a kestrel, by 16 I had my first sparrow hawk and took my first quarry with her.
The following years were filled with Goss hawks, sparrow hawks and a male RT.
I always wanted to fly falcons and did have a short spell with a prairie and a lanner in the 80's, only problem was that telemetry was in its infancy and rubbish. With birds being hard to obtain and expensive, the risks were too great.

Then 15 years ago I got my chance to breed my own falcons, I chose imprints for my breeding project for many reasons but mostly because I like to be involved with every aspect of my falconry.
So now at 48 year old I supply my own peregrines for hawking and I spend my winters looking for game birds to put my falcon over, I will at some point go back and fly another Goss but for now I love game hawking my peregrine.

That pretty much tells the story so far, still lots to accomplish and the enthusiasm is still as keen as ever. (Even if the body isn’t) [smilie=eusa_doh.gif]

Cheers for now

Chris S

Funny how the mind says"I can do that" and then the body says"Oh no you cant!"

Welcome!

[blackfalcon]

Hello again,

I live in Yorkshire in the north of England, Very hilly with deep valleys.
I fly and breed pure f.peregrinus. peregrinus, I love them and think there is nothing to beat them as an all-round game hawk.
I did fly a male gyr x peregrine for 7 seasons before passing him on to a friend, this bird was awesome and brutal on game.

I fly from October to the 1st Feb each season at Grey Partridge, pheasant, Grouse and some ducks. Most weeks I will be out from 9.am till 2.pm 7 days, the only thing that stops me is the weather.
We have to travel for about 45 mins to our hawking ground and we are very fortunate in having several thousand acres of wide open arable land to fly over, and even more fortunately it holds a very healthy stock of Grey Partridge.

I live to see my 2nd season falcon climb to her pitch, then walk steadily out to the concealed covey or Pheasant giving no signal or indication of when the flush will come until it happens.
One of my pet hates is falconers’ who constantly wave their glove or blow whistles to try keeping their falcon over head, if the hawk knows the job she should stay there anyway waiting for the inevitable flush.

I have found that for me it is best to do nothing, telegraph no message to the falcon, this way she cannot anticipate the flush and has no option but to keep position and keep working until it happens.
I also try to constantly vary the scenario of the flight. I use Brittany’s to find some game but don’t always take the dog in for the flush, I will take a short walk in, then the next flight will take a 150 yard trek to the quarry.
Again I have found that this promotes fast mounting on pumping wings and patient waiting on from my falcon, and of course the most important part is the constant flushing of strong wild game birds under her.

That’s enough of my ranting, I hope I have given a snap shot of my self and my endeavours to fulfil my falconry ambitions.
I look forward to discussing all aspects of our hawking with many of you in the future.

Chris S p.s. I will come back to the breeding project later Chris.L

[chamokane]

Thanks Chris S.

I think a law should be passed allowing all falconers to hunt all day 7 days a week. [smilie=eusa_clap.gif]

I agree with you about the value of not letting the falcon know when or where the flush will occur. They are smart and will learn the value of taking a high pitch and staying upwind of the falconer and dog.

I enjoy hunting the Grey Partridge also. They are pretty fast; they flush as a covey so the falcon has to make a choice; they can take a good punch for their size; and if the falcon is not high enough, the partridge just makes it look foolish by diving into the snow or brush.

[Jimmy]

I live in Yorkshire in the north of England,

I have a mate in Yorkshire named Dale Johnson. Do you know him?
We're supposed to be taking a trip over there later this year. Will spend a few days in Yorkshire, then down to Bristol to visit some other mates.

[blackfalcon]

I live in Yorkshire in the north of England,

I have a mate in Yorkshire named Dale Johnson. Do you know him?
We're supposed to be taking a trip over there later this year. Will spend a few days in Yorkshire, then down to Bristol to visit some other mates.

Hi Jimmy, Not sure if I know your mate or not, I'm terrible with names but never forget a face.
If you are near Halifax, call in for a chat and a cup of tea. (every body gets a cup of tea) [smilie=eusa_clap.gif]

Chris S

[Jimmy]

He's either the secretary or the treasurer of the Yorkshire falconry club, if that helps to ring any bells? Good chap if you ever get the chance to meet him. Flies a male redtail.

[wesleyc6]

You guys keep chatting like that and I am going to puchase a smoking jacket and lots of tweed. [smilie=smileys13.gif] [smilie=eusa_think.gif]

[manok]

Don't you mean, a smoking jacket & lots of weed [smilie=eusa_think.gif] [smilie=smileys13.gif] ?

[blackfalcon]

He's either the secretary or the treasurer of the Yorkshire falconry club, if that helps to ring any bells? Good chap if you ever get the chance to meet him. Flies a male redtail.

Hi Jimmy, I have a good friend who is on the commitee of the Yorkshire falcon club, I shall ask him about your mate.


Cheers

Chris S p.s dont break out the smoking jackets yet guys [smilie=eusa_naughty.gif]

[blackfalcon]

Thanks Chris S.

I think a law should be passed allowing all falconers to hunt all day 7 days a week. [smilie=eusa_clap.gif]

I agree with you about the value of not letting the falcon know when or where the flush will occur. They are smart and will learn the value of taking a high pitch and staying upwind of the falconer and dog.

I enjoy hunting the Grey Partridge also. They are pretty fast; they flush as a covey so the falcon has to make a choice; they can take a good punch for their size; and if the falcon is not high enough, the partridge just makes it look foolish by diving into the snow or brush.


I Could not agree more with you Dave, although 7 days a week still seems too few.
The greys I flew last season were amazing, some of the stunts they pulled leaving my falcon grasping thin air had to be seen to be believed.
She made a few look too easy from time to time, looking as if she had missed them completely but with the game bird break dancing on the ground in it’s last throws.
We have a very healthy population of greys on our ground and the tally of kills for the season reflects this. 21 grey partridge, 5 red led partridge, 5 pheasant, 1 grouse and two ducks. 34 in total.
I would love to fly more duck but the chance rarely arrives, we have a good friend in the north who has access to ponds with 100’s of ducks on them so we try to get up there a few times a season.
I am willing my falcon to drop feathers and get ready for her 3rd season, way too early to think about that though as the breeding season is still less than half way through.
This year I am going to have a go with an imprint gykin along side my falcon, it should prove interesting.
I would be interested in hearing about the flight style of your Anatums, i have seen a few over here but none flown.

Cheers for now

Chris S

[blackfalcon]

Hi to all on the forum. I am a game hawker and peregrine breeder, in that order.
Flying peregrines is my passion, flying peregrines I breed makes it even better.

Chris

Wow.. another Chris [smilie=BangHead.gif] .. great to have you here Chris. I how long have you been breeding peregrines? how has your breeding season been. I hope all is great.

I hope you enjoy NAFEX. I would enjoying hearing more about you and you breeding project.

Please let e know if you need anything

Hi Chris L and others.
I have been breeding peregrines for 15 years now, seems an awful lot longer though. [smilie=eusa_boohoo.gif]
I breed from imprints using A.I techniques, I chose this method because I had seen so many guys struggle for year after year with natural pairs, lots of eggs but few fertile.
Also I like the chance to switch tiercels from one falcon to another to see how the various combinations work out, with a pair you get what you get.
Too early to say how this year has been yet, I have 4 falcons out, 2 more waiting to hatch and a good few eggs running so we will see.
I am trying to breed from particular lines of peregrine with proven track records, so far we have 3 good lines of game hawks in the mix but want more.
I also try to reproduce a certain conformation and type in the falcons produced, I love peregrines with thick short tarsus, broad chest, short tail and small head. Top this off with a lovely dark mask and colouration and it is my perfect falcon.
We are also doing studies on the ancestries of all peregrines in the UK using the government’s records, every peregrine has had to be registered since 1981.
My other pet project is incubation, I am trying to emulate what the falcon does with her eggs as closely as possible, so far the results are good. 1st 4 eggs of the season all out and healthy with no natural incubation, it is a fascinating subject.
Maybe we can talk more in depth about this later if anyone is interested.

Cheers for now

Chris S

[chamokane]

I would be interested in hearing about the flight style of your Anatums, i have seen a few over here but none flown.

Cheers for now

Chris S

Both of my birds are the rocky mountain type of Anatum. About the only thing they have in common is that they are pretty aggressive hunters and they both seem to hit pretty hard.

I have to fly the male several times a day at least 5 days a week to keep him motivated, but when he is in really good condition, he gives a nice classic style flight, waiting on for a long time anywhere from 400 feet to out of sight right overhead. He has taken a lot of different kinds of ducks as well as partridge, pheasant and quail. I try not to fly him at Mallards because he hits them so hard, he is sore for a couple of days. Maybe someday he will learn to take only head shots on the bigger ducks. He's not as fast as the female but one time, when the dog was pointing a covey of partridge, the male Peregrine saw a flock of pigeons flying about 1/4 mile away. He was able to climb up above them and stoop and kill one. I have seen him do that type of thing with flocks of different kinds of birds.

The female always tries hard no matter what condition she is in. On ducks, she waits on very well but on game birds, where she can't see the game, she wanders around the sky, even with a dog on point. She has been lost twice; once for 2 months and once for 5 months. On the 2 month trip, she was picked up over 1,000 miles away. On the 5 month trip, she was picked up 700 miles away. Since her last time in the wild, she seems much more focused and skillful and her average pitch seems to be about 600 to 800 feet. She seems to be pretty fast. One time when I released her to hunt ducks, she took off climbing straight away. I had to watch her with binos. She flew out and rounded up two small flocks of Canada Geese, herded them together and chased them back to the small lake where the ducks were and intimidated them into the water right in front of me. Then she took a pitch and when I flushed the geese she tagged one in the head but not hard enough to make it fall all the way to the ground. She had never bothered geese before and I think she was just feeling them out.

Another time when she impressed me with her speed and endurance was when I was using her at my job at the air base. There is a ditch right next to the runway that never freezes and when it is really cold, a lot of northern Mallards congregate on it. One morning, the temperature was about 0 degrees F and the wind was blowing about 15 mph and there were about 100 ducks on the ditch. The falcon had killed some of the ducks in that flock before and they didn't want to leave the ditch. They would just fly down the ditch and when the falcon would start to stoop, they would dive back into the water. The falcon finally got tired of this and came down to about 15 feet and circled off downwind. When the ducks felt safe, they took off upwind. When the ducks were up about 100 feet, the falcon went after them. I thought she was goofy but she caught up with them and worked her way up into the flock, selected a duck and grabbed it by the foot. Since she wasn't going much faster than the duck, she couldn't flip it to hang below her and they just tumbled all the way to the ground and really made the snow fly when they hit. She had tried things my way and when that didn't work, she did it her way. That type of flight isn't good for a falcon's pitch but I was being payed to get rid of the ducks.

Neither bird is perfect, but they are Peregrines.

[blackfalcon]

I would be interested in hearing about the flight style of your Anatums, i have seen a few over here but none flown.

Cheers for now

Chris S

Both of my birds are the rocky mountain type of Anatum. About the only thing they have in common is that they are pretty aggressive hunters and they both seem to hit pretty hard.

I have to fly the male several times a day at least 5 days a week to keep him motivated, but when he is in really good condition, he gives a nice classic style flight, waiting on for a long time anywhere from 400 feet to out of sight right overhead. He has taken a lot of different kinds of ducks as well as partridge, pheasant and quail. I try not to fly him at Mallards because he hits them so hard, he is sore for a couple of days. Maybe someday he will learn to take only head shots on the bigger ducks. He's not as fast as the female but one time, when the dog was pointing a covey of partridge, the male Peregrine saw a flock of pigeons flying about 1/4 mile away. He was able to climb up above them and stoop and kill one. I have seen him do that type of thing with flocks of different kinds of birds.

The female always tries hard no matter what condition she is in. On ducks, she waits on very well but on game birds, where she can't see the game, she wanders around the sky, even with a dog on point. She has been lost twice; once for 2 months and once for 5 months. On the 2 month trip, she was picked up over 1,000 miles away. On the 5 month trip, she was picked up 700 miles away. Since her last time in the wild, she seems much more focused and skillful and her average pitch seems to be about 600 to 800 feet. She seems to be pretty fast. One time when I released her to hunt ducks, she took off climbing straight away. I had to watch her with binos. She flew out and rounded up two small flocks of Canada Geese, herded them together and chased them back to the small lake where the ducks were and intimidated them into the water right in front of me. Then she took a pitch and when I flushed the geese she tagged one in the head but not hard enough to make it fall all the way to the ground. She had never bothered geese before and I think she was just feeling them out.

Another time when she impressed me with her speed and endurance was when I was using her at my job at the air base. There is a ditch right next to the runway that never freezes and when it is really cold, a lot of northern Mallards congregate on it. One morning, the temperature was about 0 degrees F and the wind was blowing about 15 mph and there were about 100 ducks on the ditch. The falcon had killed some of the ducks in that flock before and they didn't want to leave the ditch. They would just fly down the ditch and when the falcon would start to stoop, they would dive back into the water. The falcon finally got tired of this and came down to about 15 feet and circled off downwind. When the ducks felt safe, they took off upwind. When the ducks were up about 100 feet, the falcon went after them. I thought she was goofy but she caught up with them and worked her way up into the flock, selected a duck and grabbed it by the foot. Since she wasn't going much faster than the duck, she couldn't flip it to hang below her and they just tumbled all the way to the ground and really made the snow fly when they hit. She had tried things my way and when that didn't work, she did it her way. That type of flight isn't good for a falcon's pitch but I was being payed to get rid of the ducks.

Neither bird is perfect, but they are Peregrines.

Hi Dave, thanks for that, very interesting. I would like to see some Anatums fly to see the difference between them and our peregrinus, in particular the wing loading and style of flight.
I worked for a guy with 2 pairs of Anatums and so only saw them in the aviary, but from what I could see they appeared to have quite long slender wings and a longer tail than our falcons.
I am sure you have excellent sport and your falcons are very capable, we all try for perfection but that would be asking too much. [smilie=eusa_pray.gif]

Many thanks

Chris S