Hi from AC

[musketdaft]

Keen shortwing hawker nice to be here. AC.

[KidK]

Morning AC!

Nice to have another UK shortwinger here on NAFEX! Please tell us more about yourself and what you fly.

BTW, we LOVE pictures of birds, so if you have any to share, please do.

If there is anything we ca help you with, please don't hesitate to ask!

Best Regards,

[musketdaft]

Been hunting hawks for a while now, concentrating on imprint spars these past several years my hawk of choice. AC.

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f177/goshawk4/IMG_0377.jpg



Morning AC!

Nice to have another UK shortwinger here on NAFEX! Please tell us more about yourself and what you fly.

BTW, we LOVE pictures of birds, so if you have any to share, please do.

If there is anything we ca help you with, please don't hesitate to ask!

Best Regards,

[musketdaft]

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f177/goshawk4/IMG_1614.jpg

[musketdaft]

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f177/goshawk4/IMG_0319.jpg

[Bryant Tarr]

Nice! (welc) And thanks for the pics!

[KidK]

AC,

Great photos mate! Thanks for posting them.:D

What flight weights do you see with your imprint female Spars? surprising to see a spar on a rooster pheasant! Wow!:eek:haill:eek:haill

Our imprint female Coopers average between 375 and 475 grams (from what I can gather) and would have a hard time with pheasants, but it can be done.

Are you imprint anything this summer?

[musketdaft]

Imprint females start off around 8 ½ oz for entering rising to 9 oz 250 grams as they go into the season.
I flew a musket last year but he’s now giving semen so he’s grounded for a while for fear of loss.
I more than likely will be picking up a young 10 day old female in a couple of weeks
to start the imprinting training. AC.



AC,

Great photos mate! Thanks for posting them.:D

What flight weights do you see with your imprint female Spars? surprising to see a spar on a rooster pheasant! Wow!:eek:haill:eek:haill

Our imprint female Coopers average between 375 and 475 grams (from what I can gather) and would have a hard time with pheasants, but it can be done.

Are you imprint anything this summer?

[KidK]

Glad to hear you will have a new charge shortly. Please send photos when you get the bird and keep us posted as to your imprinting progress.

[musketdaft]

Will do! Alf.



Glad to hear you will have a new charge shortly. Please send photos when you get the bird and keep us posted as to your imprinting progress.

[Katgirl]

Welcome to the forum! Thanks for the pictures!

[threetoe]

(welc)

[musketdaft]

Thanks for the welcome. AC .



Welcome to the forum! Thanks for the pictures!

[musketdaft]

Thanks Bill. AC

[musketdaft]

Cheers and thanks for the welcome. AC.



Nice! (welc) And thanks for the pics!

[Bodarc]

Welcome AC. Glad to meet you. Do you catch pheasant on a routine basis with your sparrow hawks or is it a rare occurrence?

[musketdaft]

In the early days a spar will try and latch on to anything that moves and you will be surprised at what they can pull down but realistically once or if you slip a spar at a full grown cock or hen pheasant they are just to powerful for the spars to hold onto pretty soon they realise this and most will give up on a flight.
The photo of the young rooster weighed 2lb minus a leg when I got home and put it on the scales.
Pheasants don’t score highly on your game chart hunting spars but you do catch the odd one its hard not to slip them when your after grey partridge you have to be lightning fast with your reflexes and sometimes you make a mistake and its fun to watch a young female spar ride a full grown rooster across a field holding on to it neck. AC.



Welcome AC. Glad to meet you. Do you catch pheasant on a routine basis with your sparrow hawks or is it a rare occurrence?

[Bodarc]

I you have to be lightning fast with your reflexes and sometimes you make a mistake and its fun to watch a young female spar ride a full grown rooster across a field holding on to it neck. AC.

I'll bet that is a sight LOL

Thanks AC

[KidK]

Pheasants don’t score highly on your game chart hunting spars but you do catch the odd one its hard not to slip them when your after grey partridge you have to be lightning fast with your reflexes and sometimes you make a mistake and its fun to watch a young female spar ride a full grown rooster across a field holding on to it neck. AC.

Hey AC,

I (we) would love to hear about hawking Grey's with your Spars. That has to be some CLASSY falconry.

Do you get many flights on woodcock in the fall?

[musketdaft]

Kory we have a lot of wild greys where I live but hardly any woodcock the closet things are snipe and I do fly these only never brought one to the bag had some fantastic flights at snipe been close real close to killing one but unfortunately they have alluded me. AC.



Hey AC,

I (we) would love to hear about hawking Grey's with your Spars. That has to be some CLASSY falconry.

Do you get many flights on woodcock in the fall?

[KidK]

Kory we have a lot of wild greys where I live but hardly any woodcock the closet things are snipe and I do fly these only never brought one to the bag had some fantastic flights at snipe been close real close to killing one but unfortunately they have alluded me. AC.

AC,
Fantastic that you have hawkable numbers of Grey's.. Great sport I am sure. How do they hold for your dog? I have read many accounts of long wingers flying Grey's and redleggs in the UK (particularly from Gerry Plant) but heard little from short wingers. I would enjoy hearing of some flights.

I have only had a handful of snipe flights here as well, but enjoyed them greatly. We have had chases with imprint tercil goshawk the last few years in the early season from around drainages and small pond. They surely fly at a different speed when being chased by a hawk!:D

I can find pretty good numbers of woodcock here in the fall but have to share the woods with many archers (bow hunters) in October. They get quite upset when your dog runs through the woods and scares the deer away.:eek:

I have caught three woodcock (all with goshawks) while hawking rabbits (incidentals) and never when purposely hawking woodcock with Cooper's hawks! Go figure.;)

[musketdaft]

Wild greys will hold well to the dog when hunting spars through September October, depending on how hard they have been pushed will dictate whether or not there going to bump as soon as you enter the field.
It’s my own experience that a wild grey hen will shift her covey as soon as there strong on the wing if you put one foot in the field if they have had a hawk press them on more than one occasion.
There are a few variables hunting greys with spars and a lot depends on how hard they have been hunted.
AC.

[threetoe]

I'm darn good with a shotgun but Wilsons Snipe kick my fanny. It's no wonder your hawk has a time catching one. They dart and weave like no other bird.

I'd dearly love to watch that.
:eek:

[FredFogg]

Hey Alf,

Glad to see you on here! I can't get used to that AC stuff, so just going to call you Alf! LOL Welcome to NAFEX and look forward to your input.

[musketdaft]

Fred I was looking for some aminimity like that was ever going to happen!
Thanks for the welcome mate. Alf.



Hey Alf,

Glad to see you on here! I can't get used to that AC stuff, so just going to call you Alf! LOL Welcome to NAFEX and look forward to your input.

[hcf]

Fred I was looking for some aminimity like that was ever going to happen!
Thanks for the welcome mate. Alf.
nah, not now alf. and welcome to nafex
andy