2105 Little Banded Goshawk Imprint

[PeteJ]

For quarries such as the Myna (and Starlings for that matter), they both fight hard with beak and feet and can put off a young inexperienced bird. Often when using them as a bags it can be prudent to tape their beak shut and some even tape the feet a little to make sure that the first few are not traumatizing too much. Young hawks and falcons are usually very naive and sensitive about those early attempts and quarry, and it is not unusual for them to be put off by certain quarry if they are too traumatized at the right time. Surprisingly, even ducks such as Mallard can be very aggressive and intimidating to a young Peregrine female, striking at her with its wings and beak when they are both on the ground, lots of hissing by the duck. I have heard a couple of guys say that when that happened their birds never wanted Mallards again.
So be cautious if you can. Something like a sparrow might be a little easier for him to deal with right now.

[bami]

When you actually hunt myna, it might be a good idea to run quickly to assist your hawk when he catches his first few myna because the myna fight as a team. They usually come to help friends who are in trouble. Some will even attack the falconers, at least I have been attacked a few times by the mama myna.

[falcon3d]

Thanks Pete and Bami. I did tape the beak. I am glad this is a somewhat common occurrence with you hawks. I chose to enter him on somewhat larger quarry (avoid carrying etc.) but maybe I will start with a sparrow as suggested and try again at a later date on the Myna.

[PeteJ]

If you do use a sparrow, make sure you have it well secured so that you can control his carrying attempt. I know how this can go, they are quite adept at trying to carry off small stuff, like chunks of meat that they steal off the lure, etc.. Most Accipiters do not want to eat in the open, so they always try to take it to thicker cover, even if they have to drag it there. Its just their survival strategy...get out of the view of other larger raptors that want to pirate their food.
And yes, using larger prey is helpful in curbing the desire to carry. But, it doesn't really change the fact that when they catch something smaller that they will still attempt to carry it. I would target prey that is just beyond their ability to carry well. So Mynahs might be the best choice long term. But initially, until he/she is feeling successful, the first few should be something not too tough to handle.

[falcon3d]

Day 44

Entered the hawk today on a tethered sparrow about 7 yards away. Flight was instant and the hawk allowed me to dispatch the sparrow without much drama. Overall went very well. However, he was screaming while on the fist before flight, screaming while eating the sparrow (particularly when I move away from him) and screaming after finishing the meal which later subsided then started again as soon as he saw me several hours later.

Frankly, the screaming is starting to become rather annoying especially since I have him on a perch in the in the living room. It went from a 1-2 hours before meal times, to ALL the time (despite his weight being raised a little)

[PeteJ]

For a time it will be part of his existence. He can't help it much, they are birds of the trees and to keep in contact with each other they call out. As his weight and confidence increase he should back off to where it is prevalent briefly for an hour before hunting/feeding time. It may disappear altogether but it is unlikely. It could be worse...it could be a falcon food begging call, which is much more annoying.:-)

[falcon3d]

Haha. I heard friend's falcons vocalizing. All my falcons have been completely silent so the first time I am hear a sound out of a bird of prey. The occasional chittering is not annoying at all, but the food screams seem to resonate at a pitch that can be heard everywhere in the house . Soon enough he will go to the mews in in 3 weeks or so.

[falcon3d]

Day 49-52

After a weight reduction, coming instant to lure and entering on sparrows/mynas in the garden, I figured the bird was ready to hunt. I took him to the field, plenty of sparrows flushing but not response. Took him home then fed him on lure. Next day, same deal, but this time I fed him in the field (he was instant when I threw out the lure in front him). Lastly, today, with weight reduced a little, again no response to wild quarry, took him home and fed him.

When flying to lure, he appears hungry and keen. In the field, I attempted to throw him from the glove towards quarry and he just butterflies back to me and lands on my shoulder. It's funny, he is showing all signs of being at weight but the switch for wild quarry is just not on. I will reduce him some more. His heaviest recently has been at 137, he is down to 130. The first time he was responsive to lure he was at 120 (but them I brought him back up). Maybe that is what it will take. When eating in the field he is relaxed and does not exhibit fear of surroundings. When on the fist with birds flush, just looks like he is enjoying the view. Very frustrating.

Should I just keep taking him to field everyday and hope he makes the connection as he gets hungrier. Also, I have run out of baggies and frankly just don't feel he needs them anymore. He has killed tethered sparrow, myna and dove (albeit all in the garden). I tried a hampered myna in the field thrown from bag but no response.

[PeteJ]

Sometimes it becomes necessary to do the up and down on the weight to overcome particular issues. So when you had dropped him 120 that time to get him to do the lure I think it was, then you were able to raise him and he retained his eagerness for it. But they can get complacent when kept at an exact weight at this stage, and it isn't natural for them. In the wild they are spending a lot of energy right now, even perhaps catching some prey here and there. They are also being supplemented by the adult probably even at this stage. Their weight though is going up and down over the course of days based on whether they score something and what the parents offer them if they don't score. So let's say in the wild he catches a lizard early in the day. Later in the morning the parents offer food, but because he's had something to eat he may not react in time and his sibling, who is more hungry, gets that small bird they offered. Later in the day the adults maybe have something to share but he was busy getting assaulted by the local crows or mynahs, so he missed dinner. The next day he is really hungry because it rained overnight, and he's ravenous. The adults are wet, so he makes attempts to catch things himself, burning off more weight. By noon he's in yarak and those Mynahs have picked on him for the last time as he takes one that is trying to beat on him. He gets an excellent feed and is much higher again the following day. This continues for the next few weeks.
So with your bird, if you need to give him a nudge in the field then that's what it takes. They are famous for having a 'yard weight' and a 'field weight'. At home they act much more hungry than when you take them to the field where they may say to you "Sorry, I lied" as they snub you from a tree or refuse your bags.
If you can get a bag again, I would set it up, in a field with enough prey that if he refuses those slips that you can walk over and slip him on this set up one. I would tie to a light creance and maybe hide it under a board or under a can or however to keep it calm until you can expose it to the open when you get about 10 feet away. If you can control the playing out of the line in such a way that the bag struggles somewhat to make any real height or distance, he should take it. Give him a very good feed on it and perhaps do not go to the field the next day, but instead the day after, when he's back to the exact weight he was again. If you can set up another as a backup and then go and work the local prey and if he makes some attempts, but fails, then head directly to the bag and do as before. That should be enough to get him on track. Then you just have to find slips that will provide him with the best opportunity.

[bami]

From my experience, it takes quite sometime for shikra to start chasing in the field. I am talking about 2 weeks+ here. I even had a male that took nearly 4 weeks to start doing that and his weight had to go down very low, approximately 110 g. His fat weight was 145 g. He regularly hunted with me at 115 after catching a few sparrow.

[falcon3d]

From my experience, it takes quite sometime for shikra to start chasing in the field. I am talking about 2 weeks+ here. I even had a male that took nearly 4 weeks to start doing that and his weight had to go down very low, approximately 110 g. His fat weight was 145 g. He regularly hunted with me at 115 after catching a few sparrow.

That's comforting Bami. It has been 1 week now, and no respond in the field. He will chase tethered baggies on the ground but not thrown ones. He did chase a tethered Myna that manage to get lose from the tether after being on the ground then gave up after 10 meters. My bird's fat weight is probably around 137g. I brought him down on 123g (lowest in the field) and still.


So my questions is. what do I do during the 2 weeks + when he is not chasing. Taking him to the field everyday and hope the switch comes on? Do I feed him on the lure in the field after he does not chase or bring him home for a feed on the lure? Skip feeding a day?

[bami]

I usually just keep going to the field and if he doesn't chase I just come back to my Mr. Frosty routine. I don't use a lot of baggy, but I am sure that a very clever set up baggy will be a great help. I just wonder which part of the world do you live. I live in Thailand and it is very warm so take my bird weight down quite low is not a problem. For a young tropical bird of prey like a shikra or a crested goshawk, one start to click when the weight sometimes goes down lower more than 20% of the fat weight.

[falcon3d]

DAY 109

it's been a while since I posted in this journal. My male Shikra was doing great up to the point of entering. Had a lot trouble getting him to go after wild quarry. In any case, I had to leave him with my falconry mentor for 1 month (due to work travel). He sat on a perch in an indoor mews (with other birds but separate via side shelving). He is at 156g with furniture - as heavy as he has ever been. Looks healthy but has clearly gone wild. He bated away when I picked him up. He sits on the fist, but very worried (those big wide eyes). I am going start reducing some weight and start the process of reclaiming him. I will attempt to simply carry him on the fist and some indoor manning until he starts taming down again. Then will attempt to get him going after some wild game once he has built up some fitness. One of the good things that happened during my 1 month away, is he stopped food screaming - which could simply be due to the fact that he is really fat. But I am hope stays quiet. He will stay in an outdoor mews for the rest of the season.