newcomer in NC

Hi my name is Devon i live in Fayetteville NC. Im intrested in getting a merlin one day. Ive been reading up and studying what materials i can find and trying to find local groups unfortunately any sites i can find about local groups are acouple years old and the North Carolina Falconers Guild website lnk ncfg.org never seems to work. I'm hoping to find some locals that would be willing to talk with me answer some question maybe allow me to see their set-up or go out and watch them fly their birds. I'd really like to make sure falconry is for me before i jump to far into it

The NCFG website has been down for 2 days due to their host upgrading their servers and having a bit of problems. In the 2 years the current website has been up, these are the only 2 days it has been down. So your statement of it never seems to work is incorrect. The site is now back up.

I realize this is an old thread, but I just moved to the Raleigh-Durham RTP area and I'm having a hard time finding a red tail. There are a million Red shouldered hawks around, but coming here from DFW it's been really hard to adjust this year. The topography is totally different, and the abundance of trees gives the birds a whole lot more perching opportunities, so I don't see them sitting on light poles in parking lots like I'm used to. It also looks like Raleigh is a little west of the Atlantic fly-zone, and a little east of the Mississippi fly-way, so maybe it's a dead spot migration wise? Any tips any of the local NC falconers care to provide, I'd be much obliged! Also, any local hotspots in Raleigh for RTs?? And, yes, my NC permits (hunting and falconry) are in hand. Thanks

Gotta get out of town. You can find a few in town here and there, but out in the country is the best. Try Highway 70.

Having the same issue in Greensboro/Burlington area.

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Originally Posted by Jneumann57

Having the same issue in Greensboro/Burlington area.

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Hmmm, I saw 4 juvies this past weekend in Greensboro!

Where? I saw some before the season started but only 2 since. I have trapped a few that I thought were juveniles but they ended up being hags.

I think the easiest way to trap a bird, in North Carolina, is to get in Fred's good graces and an quickest way to do that is plying him with alcohol.

I used help others get birds all the time. But if Fredd found be a bird as big as his it would be worth a bribe. Haha

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Originally Posted by Jneumann57

I used help others get birds all the time. But if Fredd found be a bird as big as his it would be worth a bribe. Haha

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I can be bribed! :-)

What will it take fredd? I am in Greensboro now with trap a d money. Lol

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Originally Posted by Jneumann57

What will it take fredd? I am in Greensboro now with trap a d money. Lol

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Unfortunately, I have to work 10 hour days Monday thru Thursday so can't help right now. But drive around the airport and Old Oak Ridge Rd, Ballinger Rd, Market St out by the airport and any industrial park you see near the airport.

I check that area once a week. I did see a male that got bumped by a random guy who got dropped off like 30 ft from the trap then ended up catching a rabbit today.

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Originally Posted by Jneumann57

I check that area once a week. I did see a male that got bumped by a random guy who got dropped off like 30 ft from the trap then ended up catching a rabbit today.

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Thats trapping luck.. always a dude on some bicycle coming by as soon as the trap is set. Its even worse when they get off and want to inspect it (welc)

It took me like 6 weeks of weekend trapping to find a RT last year. It's REALLY hard here compared to other parts of the U.S. in my experience.

It used to be able to trap one whenever I needed one. The last few years my spots are having more red shoulders than red tails.

Hey James,

like fred said, try the airport and heading out of town too. If you have someone go with you to drive so you can spot and throw, highway trapping isn’t bad. It’s much tougher in NC than in a lot of other states but doable. Poles along side roads that run parallel to the highway and fields tend to be where you’ll see some too. Good luck!

Everyone keeps stating the obvious everyone in nc knows about the airport and where to look there. We have only seen one male there. We used to catch a dozen plus birds until we caught the one we wanted and still had birds by early october. Something has changed.

Redtail numbers in the East are pathetic this year. The weather has not been right, but if we don't start to see a lot of late ones then something is wrong.

The local numbers for red tails around me seemed to start dropping 4/5 years ago.

I live in downtown Greensboro and had a nice juvie female fly into the tree above my mews yesterday. She took off before I could even get to the equipment room to load the bc. Sorry!

Depending where in downtown you are we may have seen it too. There is one near friendly center.

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Originally Posted by Jneumann57

Depending where in downtown you are we may have seen it too. There is one near friendly center.

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I live on Fisher Avenue, just off Elm that runs through downtown. Friendly Center is a couple miles from downtown.

Might have to check the area out today.