No rabbits first season

[taalberg]

Anybody not take any rabbits their first season with a Red Tail? I seem to be headed that way. I trapped him 12/31, and he has not got a bunny yet. He just can't seem to do it. I've got a month to go. I'll keep tyring..........

[john]

My first bird, a redtail, only caught 5 bunnies all season, and she was trapped in October and I flew her about 4 times a week till the end of February. Most of that was a combination of my own inexperience, and her dull talons.

I wouldn't feel bad though. Your bird was trapped very late and you have to consider that by now a lot of game you're chasing is very experienced in evading predators. If you like her attitude, and she moults well, just plan on getting an early start in the fall and she'll should turn out fine. She is very cool looking from that picture you posted.

[ccrobbins]

I am going through the same thing.......Trapped on 12/27 and chases great, but has yet to connect. I have caught a snake and some lizards though.........not that those count......

[taalberg]

I think my bird needs to go down in weight some, but I'm gun shy of getting him too low. He's flying at bunnies, but not with much gusto!!!

[Riker]

tealberg it does sound like you need to drop your bird some. Have you asked others including your sposer to feal her keel? You dont have to be too scared to drop a red tail. they are very hardy and can go lower than most people think. I am not saying just blindly drop you bird alot (so dont anyone get pissed and tell me so) im just saying if your bird is chasing but not really going balls to the way you can drop her some. If it gets to where she wont fly, or stays on the ground or gets tired very quickly you have gone too far. try to take some weight off and look for more intrest in rabbits.

[ccrobbins]

I had my bird...named Gusto weirdly enough too low. He would fly half way to my glove then walk the rest. If your bird will fly all the way to you he is o.k. high enough as far as I can tell. You can really tell a difference in their mood if you will when they are low.

[colohen]

Taalberg
If your bird is giving chase , thats great ;D!! Rabbits are not the easiest of pray for a hawk ! So watch how your bird is doing on the chase be for you start dropping her weight .
If she is giving good chase and ends up on the ground with a miss in thick brushy areas , then I don't think you have a problem . Hunting the thicket's you have about a 1 in 30 chance of a kill . If she is giving chase and ends up on the ground with a miss in a open run then may be you need to work on her strength ! ?? Try jump-ups !
BUT if she is braking off for the chase just before the hit , then you may have a problem ! I would look for her weight being to high , wonting only easy meals , she will fly , usually , to a perch near where she lost the pray or back to a perch near you .
If she is only flying half way to the intended pray an dropping to the ground , I would look for her weight being to low , be careful not to confuse the two !

[Joby]

I have yet to catch any rabbits or squirrels with my first bird. According to my sponsor, she's been kind of an "odd bird". We trapped Catcher on 11/13/05 and she was a whopping 53 oz bird. It took me way too long to get her into the field due to me overfeeding her for the first 1 - 1 1/2 weeks, plus she would only drop like 10 G per night even on the cold nights. The worst part was that we had to drop her down sooo much just to get a response. Her "hop weight" should have been around 46-47 oz, but she didn't make the jump until she was down to 39 oz. Then she didn't fly well enough on the creance to warrant a free flight until she was almost at 35.5 oz (which is her "nearly dead" weight). I hunt her at about 36-37.5 oz and she has had instant fist response all the way up to about 38 oz, as long as no one else is within 50' of me.

So, it took me 8 weeks to get her flying, and on her first hunt, she chased 2 rabbits (one a 200 yard chase where she crashed hard 2x and got up to continue the chase each time) and one squirrel. Yet, even though I take her out 3-4x each week, none of my spots have yielded more than 1-3 slips per hour. She has pulled fur once and caught 3 field voles, but no bunnies yet. My sponsor says I need to find some better fields, which I am doing now.

Unfortunately, our season here ends on March 10th, so I've got maybe 4 more times out with her to decide if I am going to keep her or not. I'll probably cut her loose and start again next fall, but unfortunately, any time without a bird will count against me for my apprenticeship. Also, my sponsor refuses to start trapping until all the leaves are off the trees which occurs here in central Ohio around the end of October. Our trapping season runs from August 1 through December 31st, so I could technically get a bird much earlier.

[ccrobbins]

Why does he/she wait so long?

[taalberg]

COLOHEN,
Thanks for the feedback. I think he may be high because checks off just before a hit, as you say. He also doess not key on me as I would think a hungry bird would do, when I first put him up. He kind of drifts off to a tree of his liking, stoops on a rabbit or two (half heartedly) on his own. I usually have to foloow him out to where ever he is, and get him to come down to the lure. Then it's usually end of story for the day......

[Joby]

Its not just him, but a lot of the guys around here wait until the leaves fall off of the trees, so that it is easier to spot the birds. I'd really like to start trapping around early to mid September, but I think the earliest we'll start is around mid October.
-Joe

[colohen]

Taalberg
Thanks ! I thought it mite be the case , but it is hard to say with out seeing the bird and how she reacts in person

Joby
The kill is not every thing !! Its the attempt made by you and the reward is the effort made by your bird as a result of your training and team work of both .
For example : My Lasair flew from 6:30 am till 4:30 pm Saturday , with a 2 hour brake for lunch .
With after noon winds gusting up to 30mph . She had 19 plus chases , with 3 long chases of around 50 yards and one chase through the woods of 150 +/- yards . But she only had one kill !
I , however , have nothing but praise for her ;D !! The winds were high , the terrain ruff and the brush was thick . We had two dogs and they didn't have as many chases as Lasair 19 of 24 rabbits flushed . She got fur several times but under the conditions I dough I would have gotten more the 10 kills if I had been using a shot gun and I don't miss ! (point > last 3 squirrel hunts (gun) I killed 24 squirrel and fired 23 shots .
What I am getting at , if she is flying with her heart don't give up on her so soon !! If she is not , then you may need to reevaluate what you are doing or not doing ?
Don't misunderstand me , I am not saying your doing something wrong , only that you may need to re-enforce one or more parts of your training / work-outs or try and find better areas or areas with more game . May be your bird is not wedded to the game your trying to hunt her on ?
One more thing I don't wont to create a problem between you and your sponsor , especially if he/she is a good sponsor but you said your trapping season starts in August but your sponsor wont trap till mid to late October , when all the leaves are off the trees . My Question ? Do you have to have your sponsor to trap in that state ?? If not , why don't you trap your own ?

[BlueTiercel]

Joby,
The experienced falconers i kknow personally in Maine feel the same way when it comes to trapping redtails. It has nothing to do with being able to find them easily, its that they do not want a young inexperienced bird. If you wait a little while longer you are going to get a bird that has been out there hunting and living on its own. Also, you wont get a bird that is going to be screaming and all that crap.
there is some other stuff included too i think, i can't recall it right now, but I am pretty sure they have good reasons. Good luck!

[colohen]

Blue
I have raised quit a few birds (falconry & rehab) and the only screamers I have had , have been eyassas . In 10 years of working with RT's , falconry and rehab , I have had birds of every age and from every month of the year and I have yet to get a screaming RT . Not that its not possible , but the only ones I have ever seen scream were taken from the nest before they branched .
The RT I have right now was taken September 1 or so and I don't recall her making any noise . As for as experience she has plenty enough .
As for having been on there on longer , only makes them harder to handle , more stubborn in training , have to drop there weight lower to get proper response , you never can trust them , if they ever get on a limb with a full crop , good luck !!
As for unexperienced , you can train a brancher to take elephants if you wont ;D! But you'll play H*// trying to get a older more experienced wild hacked passager to do the same !
No offense but every one has a opinion ! That's what makes life interesting !!

[colohen]

Blue
If any of my post seem , in any way , unfriendly I apologize !! I am not trying to offend any one , only express my opinion based on experience !