Hello from the GREAT LAND, ALASKA

[arcticgoshawker]

My name is Gary Hampton, I love falconry, and love to talk hawks . I love goshawks and gyrs. We lived in Nome Alaska for several years and presently in Fairbanks. I presently fly female gyr pulled from an eyeire this year solely for flying Lesser Canada geese. My aims are to fly her this coming year plus a nice goshawk.

Happy NEW year to all and may this coming year be your best,

Gary, smiles

[tony123abc]

Welcome, and have some great hawking.

[Lowachi]

Hi Gary, see ya found yer way here. Enjoy and welcome aboard!

[thunderheartiii]

Hello and to NAFEX.

[Bryant Tarr]

Gary is here! Welcome aboard

[arcticgoshawker]

Welcome, and have some great hawking.

Thankyou Tony and the same to ya !

Gary, smiles

[arcticgoshawker]

Hi Gary, see ya found yer way here. Enjoy and welcome aboard!

Hi Rich ,

Glad to be here, its cold now , been that way for some time and I need to read some good stuff. I have been in migration and found my nest. smiles

Gary

[goshawks00]

Pastor Gary it's about time!!

[arcticgoshawker]

Hello and to NAFEX.

Hi Jim !!

How far is Hamilton from Stone Mountain ? I was raised down yon way then migrated to Texas.

Saw my first Coopers hawk in Stone Mountain just down from my grandmothers place back in 1960 !!!

Thanks for the welcome !!

best ,,Gary , smiles

[arcticgoshawker]

Gary is here! Welcome aboard

HOW DO BRYANT !!! Glad to see you here, all the best mang ,

Gary,smiles

[arcticgoshawker]

Pastor Gary it's about time!!

Howdy Barry,

got lost in migration , LOL !!

Best to ya,

Gary

[OATS]

Greetings Gary, welcome to NAFEX. Lot's of nice people and good information here. When it's 40 below there you can get some hawking in through other folks, gets you by.

[arcticgoshawker]

Greetings Gary, welcome to NAFEX. Lot's of nice people and good information here. When it's 40 below there you can get some hawking in through other folks, gets you by.

Thanks Eric,

This is a very nice place to be. Snowed an inch last evening, temps are warm at the house about 20 degrees !!! More snow to come,,, the wind was blowing a bit ago knocking all the snow off the trees, well some any way, smiles.

Grand hawkin to ya,

Gary, smiles

[Richard F, Hoyer]

Gary:
I was a USAF Air - Sea Rescue helicopter pilot stationed at Ladd AFB in Fairbanks during the winter of 1957 - 1958. I well remember when it got down to 40 - 42 below. I was the base basketball coach and during the cold spell, went on the base shuttle bus from the west to east side on a Sunday for a team basketball practice in a very large Quonset hut type building.

I had my parka on but only regular briefs and pants an no long johns. I was somewhat early and found the building locked. My upper legs began to get numb and I was worried but found an open building I was able to duck into and wait for the gym to be opened. Just a bit scary at the time. That cold spell only lasted a few days then all of the sudden, it warmed up to zero. I recall myself an a few other officers going outside in nothing but our tee shirts and throwing a football back and forth. It felt so warm and by then, I guess our systems had become accustomed to the cold temperatures. So I can imagine that when it went from -40 to a +20, you must have been sweating and panting from the heat.

I can still remember flying up and down the Chena River and over the Tanana River at times. Pretty bleak during the winter. Then there was the mosquitoes at a lake I believe was named something like Minchumina (Sp?) Had I not been weighted down, they would have carried me off while I was trying to fish for northern pike.

I am somewhat familiar with Alaska as when I was in college, I worked summer jobs two years in Southeast Alaska with the USF&WS out of Craig. Then after my stint in the USAF was over, I worked as a helicopter bush pilot for mining and oil exploration firms in the NW Territories NE of Aklavik and Inuvik in 1959, north of the Brooks Range in part of 1960 then near Ruby south of the Brooks later that summer/ Then in 1961, flew from Anchorage to Sand Point and Cold Bay.

I saw a lot of wildlife including a fair number of raptor nests / eyries. Recall about 7 Gyr eyries north of the Brooks Range, a number of Roughleg nests, one Snowy Owl and one Golden Eagle nest, and quite a few Arctic Peregrine nests along rivers many of which were on the sandy bluffs in amongst tuffs of grass.

Clearly a good number of individuals become habituated to Alaska type of climate as I have done with the type of wet climate we have in western Oregon. But for falconry purposes, you and others are at a disadvantage so my hats of to all of you that tough it out in Alaska.

Richard F. Hoyer

[arcticgoshawker]

Gary:
I was a USAF Air - Sea Rescue helicopter pilot stationed at Ladd AFB in Fairbanks during the winter of 1957 - 1958. I well remember when it got down to 40 - 42 below. I was the base basketball coach and during the cold spell, went on the base shuttle bus from the west to east side on a Sunday for a team basketball practice in a very large Quonset hut type building.

I had my parka on but only regular briefs and pants an no long johns. I was somewhat early and found the building locked. My upper legs began to get numb and I was worried but found an open building I was able to duck into and wait for the gym to be opened. Just a bit scary at the time. That cold spell only lasted a few days then all of the sudden, it warmed up to zero. I recall myself an a few other officers going outside in nothing but our tee shirts and throwing a football back and forth. It felt so warm and by then, I guess our systems had become accustomed to the cold temperatures. So I can imagine that when it went from -40 to a +20, you must have been sweating and panting from the heat.

I can still remember flying up and down the Chena River and over the Tanana River at times. Pretty bleak during the winter. Then there was the mosquitoes at a lake I believe was named something like Minchumina (Sp?) Had I not been weighted down, they would have carried me off while I was trying to fish for northern pike.

I am somewhat familiar with Alaska as when I was in college, I worked summer jobs two years in Southeast Alaska with the USF&WS out of Craig. Then after my stint in the USAF was over, I worked as a helicopter bush pilot for mining and oil exploration firms in the NW Territories NE of Aklavik and Inuvik in 1959, north of the Brooks Range in part of 1960 then near Ruby south of the Brooks later that summer/ Then in 1961, flew from Anchorage to Sand Point and Cold Bay.

I saw a lot of wildlife including a fair number of raptor nests / eyries. Recall about 7 Gyr eyries north of the Brooks Range, a number of Roughleg nests, one Snowy Owl and one Golden Eagle nest, and quite a few Arctic Peregrine nests along rivers many of which were on the sandy bluffs in amongst tuffs of grass.

Clearly a good number of individuals become habituated to Alaska type of climate as I have done with the type of wet climate we have in western Oregon. But for falconry purposes, you and others are at a disadvantage so my hats of to all of you that tough it out in Alaska.

Richard F. Hoyer

Richard !!

Thanks for this post !! You had some great experiences sir !! Did you get your fill of Alaska ? Smiles,,, how could you leave , haha

What state are you in and what are you flying.

I hesitate to tell tales because they will seem too far fetched but you will understand. Eric Fontaine does as well.

I will tell one on myself. When young and brash as a 29 year old, bullet proof, one that tests himself against the wiles of the NORTH, we lived in NORTH POLE AK. We used a wood stove to heat the house. I always brought wood in from the wood pile at night and loaded the stove before climbing in the sack. If I didn't it was real bad in the morning and trying to get the house heated back up was a chore. OH but when I got up early and saw that glowing ember when I opened the door just tickled me and it wasn't nothing to get a good roaring fire going again, making a happy day. One particular nite, it was 20 below zero, I climbed into bed and said rats, no wood, I had to get up and sometimes we just don't like getting all dressed out to get the wood. I just had briefs on , I thought, this ain't bad, it wasn't 60 feet to the wood pile, no one can see me,,,,,,,, with just my underware on I walked outside no shoes or boots and calmly walked in two foot snow to the wood pile ,,gathered up the wood and about ten feet from the door I hot footed it up quickly , hahaha Sometimes the young can be crazy.

Alaska , sweet Alaska !!!!!!!!! I just walked outside at 6:40 am it was 32 degrees , had my tee shirt on and it felt WARM !!! smiles

best to you,

Gary