Greetings from Alaska!

[idbirdman]

Thank you guys for the warm welcome!



There are quite a lot of RT's actually, especially the closer you get to Canada it seems. The Harlan's morph is supposed to be fairly prevalent here as well (I've never seen one though). I mostly only see Longwings in my area...

Aside from Bald Eagles (which are crawling all over the place!) I have never personally seen any other raptors during the winters here, but of course that doesn't mean some don't stay! I would imagine it's more common for birds to winter over in the warmer areas. I'll have to ask my sponsor and see what she says about that.

I'm in Trapper Creek (aka middle of nowhere!). It's near Talkeetna...about halfway between Anchorage and Fairbanks

Welcom, You will enjoy it here. There a lot of real nice people that are willing to help about anyone. What kinds of falcons is it that you see up there? Thanks Stephen

[akbuteo]

Welcom, You will enjoy it here. There a lot of real nice people that are willing to help about anyone. What kinds of falcons is it that you see up there? Thanks Stephen

The community here seems great , I'm really enjoying it so far!

Mostly Peregrines, some Kestrels and Merlins. Had some interesting experiences with all three species hunting near my home...several Peregrines after ducks (the stoop is amazing!), a Merlin after some kind of songbird..can't remember! It was a long time ago. One of my favourite times was when I found a chickadee my cat had gotten a hold of and left to die. I set the bird outside, figuring something would eat it...circle of life thing, and it had only hopped maybe three feet from me when a male Kestrel came down on it and carried it off. I still can't believe how fast it was! Seeing raptors hunt in the wild is part of what has inspired me to become a falconer.

We bale our own hay for our livestock and my father says that every year when he's on the tractor a raptor follows along, waiting for the little critters to be stirred up. I've never seem to be around when the bird shows up though so I still have no idea what species it is. And my father is useless when it comes to indentification..."What did it look like?" "Ummm...feathery!"

[everetkhorton]

Tiffany:
Alway remember, there is more that one way to skin a Salmon. What works for one my not work or another.

[AKFalconer78]

Best of luck to ya. I'm an apprentice in Anch. and was unable to trap a RT last year and this, so I had to make a trip to OR. to get one. It was worth it, but a lot of work to aquire a bird, not to mention the quarintine. I'm hoping to get the results of the W.N.Virus test today so we can go hunting!!!

Welcome aboard.

[akbuteo]

Best of luck to ya. I'm an apprentice in Anch. and was unable to trap a RT last year and this, so I had to make a trip to OR. to get one. It was worth it, but a lot of work to aquire a bird, not to mention the quarintine. I'm hoping to get the results of the W.N.Virus test today so we can go hunting!!!

Welcome aboard.

Nice to see another Alaskan ! Hope those results come in fast! How long did the quarintine take?

Where were you trying to trap? My sponsor said she typically trapped RT's around Delta Junction. I heard from a friend that there's a good population around Fairbanks as well. I don't know that for sure though, as the person I heard that from is not a falconer, there's tons of hare up there to support them though.

[AKFalconer78]

Nice to see another Alaskan ! Hope those results come in fast! How long did the quarintine take?

Where were you trying to trap? My sponsor said she typically trapped RT's around Delta Junction. I heard from a friend that there's a good population around Fairbanks as well. I don't know that for sure though, as the person I heard that from is not a falconer, there's tons of hare up there to support them though.

Got the results yesterday. Negative for WNV. The quarintine is 30 days+ the WNV test results. For me that has taken just under 40 days.

I mainly trapped around Palmer/Wasilla, but took a trip last year to Delta; we saw a lot of RT's, but it was still early and they were not hunting, just screaming. Had one come to the trap 4 or 5 times and look at it, but she wouldn't commit.

[Jack]

Hi Tiffany. One of Alaska's falconers is down here in Texas for the winter. Medical reasons for his wife. He lives north of Fairbanks. He and an apprentice tried to trap a RT last year and had no luck at it. The RT's he would see were smallish and not what they wanted. He trapped one while down here for himself though. Costly girl too. He is probably the first falconer to come to Texas to trap a RT ever. 360 bucks for the permit, another 125 bucks for a small game hunting license. And while here he is flying ducks with his jerkin, and that is another 25 bucks or so.
He wanted the biggest dump truck of a RT that we could find. I made a hood to fit a big hawk too. 52 MM hood. I can hold it in the palm of my hand with the fingers spread out wide. Looks like it might fit a small male eagle. We went right up to 2 days before the permit ran out before finding her too. We managed to find 2 females but they were not big and they were not really where we could get a trap set for them properly. The girl he managed to trap was not real fat, had a nice bony keel, and slammed the scales down hard with 50 ounces of counterweight. She filled the hood nicely. It was a good fit. We really don't know her weight exactly because on empty she maxed the scales out with a good bit to go. I can only weigh up to 50 ounces. This birds feet are absolutely terrifying to look at. She has already pierced 2 layers of thick leather and punctured several of his fingers. She is the largest RT I have ever seen to date. Well, that I have had my hands on anyway. Showshoe hare and possibly the arctic hare. The plan is to have this bird slaying for a couple of months before he has to return to Alaska. In the meantime, we are also flying ducks with longwings. Everyone knows that all the ducks come down to Texas as winter sets in.
Tiffany, I would refrain from reading too much except maybe some of the noise on the forum before taking any kind of falconry test. The state usually gives the test from either the New York study guide or the California guide, or both. That is all you want to study so that you don't get confused with too much tripe. Once you pass the test you are done with that part forever and the learning can really start then. From there you can read all you want to. Another tip, Don't go asking guidance from others. Stick close to your sponsor and assume that her opinions are the only ones. Others can only lead you astray, or at best cause you to become confused. Good luck in the future.

Jack

Jack

[tescobedo]

Tiffany,

Welcome!

I enjoy seeing post from folks in Alaska. I was married next to Exit Glacier and have bowhunted AK three times. Most recently in 2006 when the rain in late August flooded a good portion of the road near Fairbanks. I have a friend that owns a lot on Wolf Trail in Trapper Creek.

You have a wonderful place to practice falconry. I look forward to stories and photos. The same goes for you, Mike!