Luscian The Harris Hawk: Luscian's First Hunt!

Wednesday, September 9, 2009

Luscian's First Hunt!

9/9/09 : 594 Grams

Activity :
4:54 PM 594 Grams
8:38 PM 618 Grams fed 24 grams

Today was more fun than I could have imagined! Our first hunt was in the evening after 530pm. We spent the last 2 hours of daylight flying, chasing and coming back home together.

First Ill start at the beginning. We got to the field and the anxioty of the first flight was really getting to my head. We did a couple flights to the fist on the creance and I decided I was going to GO FOR IT!. We put on the new flight Jesses and did a couple flights to the fist and I was ready to get knee deep in it. As we walked to the field Luscian couldnt resist the urge to go catch some grass hoppers that where jumping all over the place. A couple bouts at that and back to the fist we went. Then He took off after a butterfly and caught it and ate it quickly. First Catch? Ill count that as a MISC. Once we got into the part of the field that I wanted to be in Luscian noticed that there where little sparrows and that he wanted a go at them. He flew a good 40 yards for them. Not getting them after he crashed the bush he flew back to the fist without being called or offered a tidbit. Couple more sparrow chases incured before we got our first Chase at a Mourning Dove. Luscian flew for a good 60 yards before giving up on that and when I saw him turn off the burners I whistled and he started towards me. Well he was coming with the wind and ended up coming at me at MACH 1 so he overshot me and turned around without touching the ground and came to the fist. The first Bout with Scaled Quail was pretty fun. I busted a covey and Luscian took off after them right away. He chased one to a sage bush and crashed the bush in almost redtail style. I cant believe how hard he crashes on his first time out! Anyhow, I didnt see the quail come out so I came over for a reflush. Luscian got to the fist instantly and I hit the bush for the flush. Quail bailing at a blur of a speed, Luscian chased only to be burned in the long run. Im not to worried though as he doesnt have the muscle or lungs to deal with that yet. But he will soon enough. Our second bout with quail was when I was walking and noticed Luscian bend over straight and start cocking his head. I looked to see what he was looking at and noticed a covey running and jumping up into a cholla cactus. Luscian left the fist and gained speed. Now I watched him hit the sage a few times earlier but I was not ready to see him crash a huge cactus. It was just the right shape as Luscian busted through the other side of the bush he hit it so hard. His footing will eventually get better and his cordination will grow but I was scared about how much Cactus I was going to have to pull out of him. Ended up not finding any. So whew.. The third covey of quail just took off and left Luscian in thier dust. He was deffinatly working for his money today.

Now Rabbits. 30 minutes before dark the rabbits started to come out. Luscian saw a Jack that I flushed but didnt go after it, Im glad for that. The first cotton tail that he saw he didnt go after either and it really wasnt that big. The third one though was interesting. When this rabbit flushed it ran pretty quick but stopped as luscian wasnt in tow. Well luscian watched it as it took off the second time and went into a small pile of broked up tumble weed. Off the fist and cruising pretty quickly he Slammed into the brush. I heard a scream from the rabbit and it feels like just as I took my first step to run to them the rabbit busted out the other side and Luscian was empty handed. I say he grabbed but not good enough. WOW!

Walking back to the truck I decided that we would do a small lure. I flicked out a piece of meat and Luscian was off to get it. While he was doing that I pulled the lure and walked back 15 or so feet. For the first time when I swung the lure Luscian came in Hot and took the Lure in the air. He got to eat his 4 day old quail and came to the fist for his tidbit.

Now the scary part. Not 20 feet from there I take the wrong step and I hear Rattle snake! I jumped back and instantly grabbed Luscians Jesses. Good thing as he bated towards the snakes. There ended up being 2. I took a photo just after the first one went into a hole not 10 inches away. The flash must have freaked the other one and he was aggressive as hell and we will leave what happened to him at that.

Put Luscian back in the truck and off to Home Sweet Home.

The Diversity of things chased to day was so much fun. Who could have asked for a better first free flight!

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Lee Slikkers

Breeder Bio

Luscian is the first Harris Hawk produced out of my breeding project…
I am fairly new to the Raptor Propagation arena having just secured a Federal Permit in the Spring of 2008. Currently my focus is on 3 breeding pair of HH’s. I am working towards putting together a pair of North American Goshawks and currently have one mature female imprint NA Goshawk who will stand for AI but am still growing and developing a tiercel for donation purposes. I am also just putting together my first pair of Peregrine Falcons and these will be setup as a natural pair with no current AI intentions with the Falcon side of the Project at this time. My love for the Falconry Sport inspired a natural transition into the desire to produce my own raptors and hopefully produce quality raptors for others to fly as well. I currently have no designs on becoming a large or full time Raptor Breeder, just one that enjoys working closely with my birds and gaining an added bit of pleasure and knowledge from doing so…

I am pleased and honored in having Chuck become the first recipient of my breeding project efforts. I look forward to seeing this tiercel develop into a terrific game hawk under Chuck’s guidance. Lee Slikkers 616.318.7366

Charlie Kaiser Note

While many claim the HH is "too easy" as a falconry bird, that's not reallythe case. While it is probably the easiest NA raptor to take game with,realizing the full potential of the HH requires discipline and attention todetail just as with any raptor.Weight control is critical for top performance, although many will ridiculethat statement. A tame HH will indeed hunt at a wide range of weights, butonce the true hunting weight is found, you begin to see the capabilities ofthis magnificent hawk.Jennifer Coulsen has written, IIRC, that many HHs are regularly flown at asmuch as 100 g above their true hunting weight, and the owners complain thatthe bird is lackadaisical. "Oh, it's at weight alright; it follows closely,begs for food, and chases "hard", but doesn't seem to catch anything."That's a typical fat HH. They learn the feeding game quickly. Cowboy, our 22year old, will still come instantly to the fist and beg for food at 780g,and his hunting weight is 610g. They learn the drill.Once the true hunting weight is found (or should I say hunting hungermanagement), the bird's hunting will become much different. Slips thatpreviously resulted in a chase but missed catch will result in a catch muchmore often than not. More challenging quarry can be taken. Longer slips willresult. The difference is stunning... Weight control cannot beoveremphasized with the HH. While it's definitely not the only factor, it'sa huge one...
As with any hawk, putting them over lots of game while at a good huntingweight breeds success. Nothing like early successes in the field to buildconfidence and ability. Especially if you can fly the young hawks with otherexperienced birds from the beginning, they will learn very fast. Earlysocialization with other hawks is important for long-term behaviorfoundations, too. Once properly socialized, they will retain it for a longtime, but a young hawk flown without others for the first season or two willhave trouble adjusting later on. It's worth the time to find other HHers tofly with for that first season. The cooperative behavior and hunting successisn't as important at that time as the socialization, IMO. The cooperativebehavior will come with time and experience; the socialization happens fromthe start. And the hunting party socialization is different from theparent/siblings socialization, IMO. Actual hunting seems to build differentsocial skills than the hawk learns at "home".
Over the years, I've practiced taking multiple kills as well as single killsper hunt. While I think that the choice is a personal issue, ifcircumstances allow for single kill hunts that provide adequate fun for thefalconer and exercise for the hawk, then the single kill style should bepracticed. I didn't always feel this way, but came around to this thinking afew years back. I spent a bunch of time with Jim Dawson and we talked aboutthe issue at length. We used to take 2-5 jacks per hunt with the two boys,and had a lot of fun doing it. Jim kept telling me that it wasn't the HH'snatural hunting style; that they eventually resent it and stop working sohard. Letting them feed on every kill was more natural and the birds wouldwork harder for the kills. At the time, I was driving >100 miles each way togo hawking and I wasn't about to get out of the truck, catch a jack in 2minutes, and go home. But I kept thinking about it. When we moved to AZ andthe first year was a down game year, we started the single kill hunts. Longstory short, I was stunned at how much harder the boys pursued game. Therewas no letting up on any slip. Previously, if a rabbit made a good move, thebirds just kinda went "Oh well, there'll be another one". But now they wentafter every rabbit like it was the only one in the field. The 500+ yardslips are normal now. If it moves in their vision, it gets pursuedrelentlessly. I've seen them reflush a bunny by themselves as many as 8times before we could get to them to help.We still go after multiples at times, but the birds always get to eat a biton the kill. My recommendation to people now is go for single hunts untilthe bird has solidified the whole experience and understands what is goingto happen. Then, if multiples are appropriate, have fun with them, but ifsingle kill hunts work for you, you'll see more relentless pursuit than youwill on multiples.
Operant conditioning works wonders, too. HHs think a bit more than manyraptors, so you really have to be on your toes in regards to timing and whatbehavior you are trying to reinforce. If you're off a little bit, it can beconfusing to them. Also, every interaction with the hawk is a trainingsession, no matter how short it is. HHs are not as reactive as accips tooperant conditioning, but with proper thought and awareness, the methodworks just as well.
I've learned over the years to read my hawk and others. HHs can get just asinsulted as an accipiter about things, but they don't show it the same way.They will internalize rather than display, and the result can be loweredperformance without an obvious resentment. But if you learn to read them,you will be able to tell when they've been insulted and what bugs them, andavoid it at all costs (or train them out of the resentment).
Create a strong family group. You and the hawks are the pack. For Pam and I,it's the two of us and the two birds (adding the third one this year). Keepthings consistent and become a hunting pack. The birds love having thatsense of place. While you will be able to fly them with other HHs, you'llsee that their peak performance is when flown as "the group". Make sure theyrealize that you (and any other humans with you) are the biggest, baddestHHs in the group. You are the alpha female and they have to defer to you.This allows you to jump in on a kill and take it away without excessiveresentment. They're used to that in the pack. As long as they get some of it(an adequate amount), they're usually OK with getting "robbed" if necessaryand if done right.

Wednesday, September 9, 2009

Luscian's First Hunt!

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