So you want to see the birds?

wccmog10

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Georgia
As @Tom mentioned in my intro thread- I am also a falconer. I have been in falconry for about 8 or 9 seasons. I started with red tailed hawks, which are great here in the Southeast. We hunt mostly squirrels, and red tails are the perfect tool. More recently my wife, who is also a falconer, and I have gotten a cast (team) of harris hawks to fly. A few years after I started falconry I also got state and federal education permits. The birds held on education permits are non-releasable and have some sort of debilitating injury. I take the birds and assorted reptiles to schools, boy scouts, summer camps, birthday parties, earth day events, etc. and teach about these awesome animals, where they live, what they eat, how I train them, etc.

Photos of everyone below. All together we have 6 birds of prey at the house. Feel free to ask questions- I could go on and on about it all.

educationanimals-5587.jpg
Grey phase Eastern Screech Owl "Grumpy"- education bird. This guy was actually bred in captivity in a research project, but he was also born with his right eye malformed- you can see the funky pupil in the photo.
educationanimals-5580.jpg
Mississippi Kite "Pippy"- education bird- he is currently molting his juvenile feathers, you can see a few of the brown feathers that remain- the grey color is adult plumage. You can see a wing droop with his right wing. These guys do something cool called "eating on the wing" which means that they eat while they are flying. While this guy can sort of fly- it is severely handicapped and he would surely not make it in the wild.
educationanimals-5572.jpg
Male Great Horned Owl- education bird. You wouldn't know it from the photo, but he has some level of vision loss in his right eye.
educationanimals-5541.jpg
Female Red tailed hawk "Astrid"- falconry bird- she will be going into her 4th season.
educationanimals-5515.jpg
Male Harris Hawk "Hiccup"- falconry bird- Tom and Jennifer Coulson bred harris hawk
educationanimals-5472.jpg
Female Harris Hawk "Toothless"- falconry bird- clutch mate to Hiccup. The two harris hawks fly together in what we call a cast. Which means they hunt together- usually birds of prey are solitary animals and do not hunt in groups- harris hawks are one of the exceptions.
 

Moozillion

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As @Tom mentioned in my intro thread- I am also a falconer. I have been in falconry for about 8 or 9 seasons. I started with red tailed hawks, which are great here in the Southeast. We hunt mostly squirrels, and red tails are the perfect tool. More recently my wife, who is also a falconer, and I have gotten a cast (team) of harris hawks to fly. A few years after I started falconry I also got state and federal education permits. The birds held on education permits are non-releasable and have some sort of debilitating injury. I take the birds and assorted reptiles to schools, boy scouts, summer camps, birthday parties, earth day events, etc. and teach about these awesome animals, where they live, what they eat, how I train them, etc.

Photos of everyone below. All together we have 6 birds of prey at the house. Feel free to ask questions- I could go on and on about it all.

View attachment 250471
Grey phase Eastern Screech Owl "Grumpy"- education bird. This guy was actually bred in captivity in a research project, but he was also born with his right eye malformed- you can see the funky pupil in the photo.
View attachment 250472
Mississippi Kite "Pippy"- education bird- he is currently molting his juvenile feathers, you can see a few of the brown feathers that remain- the grey color is adult plumage. You can see a wing droop with his right wing. These guys do something cool called "eating on the wing" which means that they eat while they are flying. While this guy can sort of fly- it is severely handicapped and he would surely not make it in the wild.
View attachment 250473
Male Great Horned Owl- education bird. You wouldn't know it from the photo, but he has some level of vision loss in his right eye.
View attachment 250474
Female Red tailed hawk "Astrid"- falconry bird- she will be going into her 4th season.
View attachment 250475
Male Harris Hawk "Hiccup"- falconry bird- Tom and Jennifer Coulson bred harris hawk
View attachment 250476
Female Harris Hawk "Toothless"- falconry bird- clutch mate to Hiccup. The two harris hawks fly together in what we call a cast. Which means they hunt together- usually birds of prey are solitary animals and do not hunt in groups- harris hawks are one of the exceptions.
Absolutely STUNNING birds!!!!! :):<3::<3::<3:
...and one look at :eek: those talons makes me glad I'm a lot bigger than they are!
 

wccmog10

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May 6, 2018
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209
Location (City and/or State)
Georgia
Absolutely STUNNING birds!!!!! :):<3::<3::<3:
...and one look at :eek: those talons makes me glad I'm a lot bigger than they are!

Just because we are bigger than they are- doesn’t mean they can’t put a hurting on you. It is the talons you need to worry about though- people usually ask if I am worried about getting bit- and I’m like “nope, the feet is the part they kill with”
 

Tom

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I can't wait to see Astrid, Toothless and Hiccup in action!

We only have ground squirrels out here and we avoid them like the plague. You'll have to school me on tree squirrel hunting.
 

Pearly

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I can't wait to see Astrid, Toothless and Hiccup in action!

We only have ground squirrels out here and we avoid them like the plague. You'll have to school me on tree squirrel hunting.

May I ask why? I love squirrels of all sorts. They are adorable.
 

wccmog10

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Messages
209
Location (City and/or State)
Georgia
I can't wait to see Astrid, Toothless and Hiccup in action!

We only have ground squirrels out here and we avoid them like the plague. You'll have to school me on tree squirrel hunting.

Squirrel hawking is awesome.
 

wccmog10

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Messages
209
Location (City and/or State)
Georgia
May I ask why? I love squirrels of all sorts. They are adorable.

Of the birds I posted photos- the harris hawks and red tailed hawk are falconry birds. Their main job is to hunt. With these three birds my wife (who is also a falconer) and I pursue wild game. Our main quarry is eastern grey squirrels. Falconers also hunt rabbits with these species of raptor, but it is very hard to find rabbit hunting spots these days. Falconers also use other species of raptor such as peregrine falcons, Merlin’s, american kestrels, Cooper’s hawks, goshawks, etc. to peruse other prey species. The key is to match your raptor to the prey that you have available.

-Wade
 

Tom

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May I ask why? I love squirrels of all sorts. They are adorable.
Ground squirrels where I live are a terrible invasive destructive nuisance. They colonize and over populate areas where natural predators fear to tread and they wreak havoc. Their number must be reduced and controlled.

I can't speak to other types of squirrels in other parts of the country, but many populations of all many species of animals now need human help to maintain balance because their has been so much previous human interference with natural predation and processes. Look at deer for example. Without our help, bad things happen. Over population followed by disease epidemics and die offs are a terrible thing to witness. I've witnessed this on a small scale and now I work to keep local populations healthier.

Your questions and comments are welcome. This is a good discussion to have.
 

CarolM

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Oct 30, 2017
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19,492
Location (City and/or State)
South Africa - Cape Town
As @Tom mentioned in my intro thread- I am also a falconer. I have been in falconry for about 8 or 9 seasons. I started with red tailed hawks, which are great here in the Southeast. We hunt mostly squirrels, and red tails are the perfect tool. More recently my wife, who is also a falconer, and I have gotten a cast (team) of harris hawks to fly. A few years after I started falconry I also got state and federal education permits. The birds held on education permits are non-releasable and have some sort of debilitating injury. I take the birds and assorted reptiles to schools, boy scouts, summer camps, birthday parties, earth day events, etc. and teach about these awesome animals, where they live, what they eat, how I train them, etc.

Photos of everyone below. All together we have 6 birds of prey at the house. Feel free to ask questions- I could go on and on about it all.

View attachment 250471
Grey phase Eastern Screech Owl "Grumpy"- education bird. This guy was actually bred in captivity in a research project, but he was also born with his right eye malformed- you can see the funky pupil in the photo.
View attachment 250472
Mississippi Kite "Pippy"- education bird- he is currently molting his juvenile feathers, you can see a few of the brown feathers that remain- the grey color is adult plumage. You can see a wing droop with his right wing. These guys do something cool called "eating on the wing" which means that they eat while they are flying. While this guy can sort of fly- it is severely handicapped and he would surely not make it in the wild.
View attachment 250473
Male Great Horned Owl- education bird. You wouldn't know it from the photo, but he has some level of vision loss in his right eye.
View attachment 250474
Female Red tailed hawk "Astrid"- falconry bird- she will be going into her 4th season.
View attachment 250475
Male Harris Hawk "Hiccup"- falconry bird- Tom and Jennifer Coulson bred harris hawk
View attachment 250476
Female Harris Hawk "Toothless"- falconry bird- clutch mate to Hiccup. The two harris hawks fly together in what we call a cast. Which means they hunt together- usually birds of prey are solitary animals and do not hunt in groups- harris hawks are one of the exceptions.
Stunning Birds. Love seeing them.
 

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