The coopers hawk

[rt]

The coopers hawk is a crow sized hawk in the accipiter family. There attack style is blinding fast and most people think faster then that of a gos. They basically just find the prey they want and chase it untill it is caught no particular style just pursuit thru the trees,bushes grass, or thickets. They have been known to follow quail on the ground and stalk and kill them as they try to hide. They are used in falconry to hunt pheasants,ducks,dickey birds,pigeons, and quail along with outher avian prey. Quail is the most common game hunted for and the coopers is well matched for these speedy flights. The downside of this speed demon is he is flighty,delicate, and requires constant attention. If the training is done wrong they can become aggresive and dangerous to the falconer. It is my opion that they are the hardest accipiter to train and fly succesfully.

[Hosehead]

At the meet this weekend I witnessed a wild coop ambush a morning dove. It was a fifty yard glide with an incredible burst of speed for the last twenty five yards. One day I will fly one.Kurt

[bobdale]

I dream of the day when i fly my Gos. I'll start with a coop, though. They're cheaper and easy to find around here. I think they'll be a good introduction to accipiters.
Hey Kurt, PM me and tell me about the meet. As you see, i wasn't able to be there
I guess you could start a new thread if you wanted to

[rt]

Ive heard coopers are the hardest accipiter to train.

[Weasel]

As a general consensus, this what I hear too. But, I also hear of some folks who think they are easy to train and do it regularly. I think it has alot to do with your demeanor going into the training. After training and RT and then picking up a coops, then yes, it's like apples and oranges, but I think that once you have done it before and understand the bird species, then things will run smoother. This goes with just about any species as far as I am concerned....Just my opinion though.

[rt]

Hey weasel I had your passage coopers sitting in my yard eating one of my pigeons I watched it out the window for a long time. It was a big one too come and get it buddy.

[frootdog]

Hey Weasel here's a link to a Cooper's book if found. The desription is not real clear what it covers, but is darn near 500 pages and only like $25.

www.westernsporting.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=1111&Product_Code=FB2098&Category_Code=FB

[Weasel]

Oooo! I have to order that one!
Thanks for the link

[jondarp]

I've read that book and it's an excellent read. It touches a bit on falconry, but is for the most part, written in a journal format.

Vic McLeran is, in my opinion, a fantastic writer with an naturalist's eye for detail. I'd highly recommend this book to all.

- Jon D.

[Weasel]

I am still putting serious thought into trapping a passage coopers hawk.

[CHRIS]

You go for the coops and I'll try for a gos and then we can compare notes at Christmas. Thats if I actually can get one things are in the air right now.

[frootdog]

Hey Weasel, I was reading the Imprint book and MM recommends the passage coop over the eyas for the falconer dead set on a coops that has no prior accipiter experience. Just thought you might like to here that. We'll have to go to my family's ranch just outside big bend to hunt scaled quail with that one.

[kenbro77]

[demarest]

ok so I've never flown one, but frank beebe writes coops are immpossible to tame almost at all and hard to train as well, unless they are taken as eyas. How true is that really?

[Weasel]

I'll let you know soon if I decide to trp one....