GOSHAWKS

[rt]

Goshawks are the largest hawks we have. They are in the family accipiter and are another well developed killing machine. They hunt a wide range of prey such as hares,pheasants,ducks,grouse,red squirrels and lots lots more. There hunting style is a sneaky approach followed by a flash attack. They use stealth in most of their flights and like to get as close as possible to prey before attacking it, but when they do look out. They have the reputation for being flighty, hard to man, and delicate but if imprinted these flaws are reduced and some stopped completly. The goshawk is a ultimate hunting partner if some one has the time to train and fly one. The goshawk is another bird I wish to fly when I have more time, from the ones I have seen flown you get to witness some exciting flights and great hunts. ;D

[Dodes]

The largest hawk we have? In the traditional sense? Like accipiters are the "true hawks", and buteos are buzzards?

[Jay]

NAFA President Mr. Perkins with first year Gos "Grady" on a bunnie at one of our mini meets earlier this year.



My sponsors 5th year Gos on a bunnie at the same meet.

[Yarak]

They are impressive birds no doubt. They are the largest accipiter in the US but fall way short of being the largest in the world. Even the biggest NA hens do not get RT size or Ferruge size. Where you live also plays a part in keeping one of these great game birds.
Yarak

[rt]

hawks=accipiters

[Tiercel78]

Anyone know of anybody who flies a Finnish Gos? I would really like to get more info on this bird. If I move out of Florida and move to a place that is more Gos friendly. I would'nt mind flying one of these larger Gos's. From what I found as far as prices the tiercels are going for 1500.00 and hens for 2500.00.

[Ooby]

One of my better local falconry friends flys a female finnish gos, and my sponsor flys a tiercel european gos.

What questions do you have? Ill answer them the best i can.

[Tiercel78]

How much diffrence in behavior between the Northren and the Finnish. Just in case I do get one and have to move again how do they do in warmer climates. Any personal opinions on them would be great. Still waiting on the accipitrine behavior book I ordered. Waiting on Mr. Perkins book to come out as well. Really want to fly one but got some time before I commit.

[Ooby]

I havn't noticed any differences in the actual behaviour between north american and finnish. They are both goshawks, as far as i know they act very similar. The main reason my friends got them were because they were bigger, and better suited to taking larger ducks like pintail and mallard.

As far as warm weather goes, well San Diego is a hot and humid climate, at least as far as accipiters are concerned. Both the brids i know were imprinted and handle the hot weather fine as long as there is a bathpan near by and they are imprinted and manned correctly from a young age.

My sponsors european gos lives 5 miles from me in sunny So Cal. The Finnish lives about 50 miles north of me in the low desert. Both do fine, and in fact my friend with the Finnish gos also has a NA american gos, and they both do well.

Only difference that i have heard or seen regarding performance is the NA gos is a bit quicker, but not by much, mainly due to it being smaller.

Hope that helps. I don't know much, but my sponsor and all his buddies fly Euro, Finnish, NA, and don't have any health problems due to the heat, and So Cal is pretty hot

[Tiercel78]

Thats good to hear! I still have a lot of time and don't plan on getting one till later. I might try a coopers first since they are so plentiful here. I just recieved the book from Micheal McDermott. I'll give my opinions of it when I'm done reading my other book. I will say that it looks like it's going to be good and has lots of cool pics

[Ooby]

Ya, i still gotta order that book from him. The main big thing that i picked up from my sponsor and his friends who fly accipiters is this:

When you raise the eyas, you basically have to spend a month taking it everywhere with you. I know guys who took it to class in its nest box. School, work, friends, girlfriends, grocery store, EVERYWHERE. Hell im having problems taking my d**n puppy with me, and i can leave him alone for a few hours and he is fine, an eyas requires constant care.

The other big thing i learned was where a Red Tail durring training won't really mind if you miss a day of hunting, an accipiter will make you pay for it. You can't skip a day and expect it not to show. Training will regress. The guys i know basically plan out a couple of months where the bird is thier main priority.

Im sure im over dramatizing this, but thats how it was given to me hehe. Once you actually start learning it, im sure there will be short cuts and things that a bit easier than i have described, but go into it expecting to spend that much time on the bird. They didn't make up the name austringer for nothing. I've heard it used to "describe those psycho falconers who have more balls than brains that fly accipiters." And anyone who says someone who flys harris' is an austringer too is a pansy. haha

Hope that helps, just what was given to me by the austringers i know

[Tiercel78]

Yeah, I figured that much from what I've heard also.
Thats why I won't be getting a Gos till I move from North Florida. The rabbit and duck populations suck to say the least. The coopers would be better to start of with since there is lots of dove,snipe,starling and some quail around my area. If I do have the time to take one it will probally be a brancher.

[bobdale]

I have always wanted a gos b/c of their versatility. They can hunt everything from big ducks to squirrels. One of the men in our club flies a finnish gos and he says that it's almost unfair to slip them on rabbits.
I talked with Mike McDermott about the difference between the various gos subspecies. He was pretty adamant that there wasn't that much difference in the birds, only the price.
I have been told by several people that Fin/gos are less susceptible to Asper than NA/gos. That's why my friend opted for a fin.

[Austin]

How about a white Siberan Gos $$$$$$$$$ Think I spelled that right

[Ooby]

/shrug

i dunno anything about it, but if its from siberia, its gonna be used to extreme cold. Probably not gonna do as well in the warm weather as other birds.