Hello From South Africa

[Aman]

Just wanted to introduce myself
I am an Austringer from Gauteng South Africa and i am currently flying an imprinted Female Black Sparrowhawk called Lucy, I hunt her with 2 GSP's Hexie and Sigi, i have flown various other longwings and shortwings but as far as quarry and flying areas go, shortwings particularly the smaller ones are far more suited to my location as their is an abundance of quarry for them. I am also a member of the UK's international falconry forum but have come across to many armchair falconers and way to many arguments, i hope the grass is greener on the otherside. I hope to learn heaps on this forum particularly in the methods of imprinting accipiters. I applied the Mcdermott Recipie to my latest bird and am pleased with the results, i made a couple of errors along the way and hope to fix them in the near future.

Thanks look forward to meeting you all
Alec

[Raptorick]

(welc) post some pictures when you can. Very interested in your hunts.

[everetkhorton]

Alec:
Welcome, it will be interesting to hear some of your hunting stories. I am flying an im. Cooper's Hawk at this time. Her name is CJ. She is my fist Cooper's Hawk. Please post often and pictures would be nice.

[kimmerar]

(welc) Alec. We really love pics here so yes - please show us Lucy.

What would you do differently with your next imprint. I haven't had the nerve to try it yet - but I will and I would love to here what people would change with their next bird. BTW - the grass is greener here - lots of nice folks and not alot of bickering.

[Roper]

grass being greener on the other side,, mine is white..white white..
grass being greener on the other side just kidding.
welcome....

[Aman]

I used the lure far to much in the early stages and she has inturn become very possesive, the other side of the coin is she comes miles for it. Next time more baggies and small feeds on the lure, i also dropped her weight to slowly, she gave a false sense of security, she flew well and gave a good response at 750 approx 2 weeks ago, i now fly her at 725 and she is a machine, at her previous weight she wouldnt bind to a guinifowl and at her new weight she caught her 1st one 3 days ago after an epic struggle that went through countless thorn bushes, i have some nice pics will post them this afternoon

[Aman]

Alec:
Welcome, it will be interesting to hear some of your hunting stories. I am flying an im. Cooper's Hawk at this time. Her name is CJ. She is my fist Cooper's Hawk. Please post often and pictures would be nice.

Coopers sound great our equivelent is the ovambo spar a smaller and some believe the faster relative to the black spar, i would like to try and imprint an ovambo someday and fly it on indian mynahs in the same fashon Mcdermott flys his coopers on starlings at night, what do you plan to hunt with her?

[Aman]

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3505/3211723843_c1f4156397.jpg?v=0

[Aman]

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3373/3211723077_c8a4c0d725.jpg?v=0

[Raptorick]

rockonvery cool. Are the black sparrow hawks common there? Like our coopers hawks are common here?

Can you find nests regular?

keep the pictures coming from your kills.

[everetkhorton]

Alec:
Yes, your Black Sparrow Hawk looks a great deal like our Cooper's Hawk.
CJ flying wt. is around 420g. I hunt Crow, Pigeon, Starling and Sparrow. Plus anything else she may think she can take. She has show a real interest in Squirrels but I will not let her go after them.
Alec, we like to have everyone sign there post. This can be done automatically by going to the tool bar above and use the User CP. Is there a band on your birds right leg? Thanks for posting the pictures of your bird.

[Aman]

Yes their is a ring, a freind of mine just down the road breeds them, i incubated his 1st clutch and was left with her, she is number nine.They are fairly common around here, definatly far more common than people think, i know of 1/2 a dozen or so nests and have freinds that pull almost annualy.The next pic is of a wild Menalistic (almost entirely black) Haggard Musket. The guinifowl in the first pic weighed 1.5 Kg's This gives you an idea of what they are capable of.http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3327/3212569482_7e61486569.jpg?v=0

Here is a pic of a freinds haggard imprint female( the sister of my bird)
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3133/3212570320_20fd5b7029.jpg?v=0

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3075/2553631620_1e1918c740.jpg?v=0

[Chris L.]

Alec,
welcome to NAFEX. Looking forward to more pictures and reading some of your posts. Great to have you here

post often and have fun

Chris

[Raptorick]

I can't help but to keep staring at this bird. Very sharp looking. I have never seen one in real life. Just pictures.

Wonder if any falconers hunt one in the united states?

I have a million questions, but won't do that to you.

Just keep posting pictures and hunting stories and my questions will be automatically answered.;)

[Tom Smith]

Beautiful birds they seem to have some healthy looking feet for their weight. Very impressive. I'm curious about your terminlogy you say your friend's bird is a "haggard imprint" do you mean "adult imprint". Here only a bird taken as and adult can be called a haggard. It is really of no importance other than definitions but before you call me snivelous, what ever you call it it one gorgeous bird. Thanks for posting the pictures and welcome.

Tom Smith

[Kenn Filkins]

Alec,

Great looking bird, especially the feet and the mature feathers!

Thanks for joining NAFEX... You'll enjoy it here so much more.

I look forward hearing more about Lucy.

Best Regards,

[Aman]

Beautiful birds they seem to have some healthy looking feet for their weight. Very impressive. I'm curious about your terminlogy you say your friend's bird is a "haggard imprint" do you mean "adult imprint". Here only a bird taken as and adult can be called a haggard. It is really of no importance other than definitions but before you call me snivelous, what ever you call it it one gorgeous bird. Thanks for posting the pictures and welcome.

Tom Smith

I tried to change it to twice intermewed but it wouldnt change, haggard meaning mature or adult anyway

[Aman]

Should i start a new thread on her and title it differently or just keep rolling with this one. Yesterday she caught her 2nd guini ,it was on the 2nd phase as on the 1st one it immeadiatly bombed into some thicket, the flight was about 200m long and went over a small rise where i missed the end of it. By the time i had the telemetry out i found her on top of it already plucking away, she has only caught about 20% of her kills in the air the rest she chases and as they put in she bombs in and grabs them on the ground, do coopers and some of your other hawks also employ the same tactics when they are still learning, i say when they are still learning as this is only her 11th kill and shes approx 110 days old?

[Raptorick]

My coopers have caught several quail/birds/rodents on the ground and usually deep in some thicket that was a pain to get too.
Coopers are very athletic and can run like a game bird. I have read articles on the black sparrow hawk in my magazines and they remind me of a big coops. Coopers body structure is smaller yet similar.

http://i432.photobucket.com/albums/qq45/Raptorick/IMG_4685.jpg?t=1232536346

http://i432.photobucket.com/albums/qq45/Raptorick/IMG_4684.jpg?t=1232536454 (http://javascript<b></b>:void(0);)

[Agapeace]

Welcome to NAFEX. I love the pics.... and the stories.

[Aman]

That coopers looks awesome i think they would do great on our side of the world. She caught zip today. She put in a good 1st phase chase on a francolin and when i went to asist her i found her under a bush in a deep riverine and in the process of trying to get her out i got stung twice on the face by a swarm of wasps and in all the swearing and confusion she grabed my foot and was left with one of my slops (never hawk in slip slops unless you are in the desert), with a bit more swearing i robbed her of my slop and quickly exited the hole without her to avoid futher injury (she has made just over 10 kills now i was hopeing to begin multiples and just then i was wandering to myself if slops actualy count) when out flying these tepramental creatures things seldom go to plan ,i suppose that is what ultimately makes it intrestingamennn

[Minkenry]

I can't help but to keep staring at this bird. Very sharp looking. I have never seen one in real life. Just pictures.

Wonder if any falconers hunt one in the united states?



I've seen one in the snow!!! :eek: Talk about GORGEOUS!!!!!!! I don't think there can be another bird as BEAUTIFUL as an african black sparrow hawk in the snow!!!!!!!!! It was many years ago, and it was from Dave Dixon's breeding project. He had a couple breeding pairs (here in Utah) but I don't know how his breeding project went with them. Dave's pretty much out of breeding now, and all he has is a pair of SUPER DARK red tails he's breeding. To this day I still wonder where those birds went and if someone is still trying to produce them here in the United States. I will never forget how gorgeous those black and white hawks looked against the pure white snow in Dave's breeding chamber!!!

[Maverick1]

Just wanted to introduce myself
I am an Austringer from Gauteng South Africa and i am currently flying an imprinted Female Black Sparrowhawk called Lucy, I hunt her with 2 GSP's Hexie and Sigi, i have flown various other longwings and shortwings but as far as quarry and flying areas go, shortwings particularly the smaller ones are far more suited to my location as their is an abundance of quarry for them. I am also a member of the UK's international falconry forum but have come across to many armchair falconers and way to many arguments, i hope the grass is greener on the otherside. I hope to learn heaps on this forum particularly in the methods of imprinting accipiters. I applied the Mcdermott Recipie to my latest bird and am pleased with the results, i made a couple of errors along the way and hope to fix them in the near future.

Thanks look forward to meeting you all
Alec
Welcome Alec
Kevin(dog)