I’ve got a little falcon. He’s a gyr/saker/American kes. About the size of a aplomado and he’s a lovely little bird. Had him for 13 weeks and he’s just started flying last week because he’s been moulting. Even though he’s only been flying for a bit, I’ve never experienced anything close to him. He’s like a kestrel with the stamina of a saker and the speed of a gyr, but he’s also very good at stooping, hovering and he’s as agile as a hobby. I’ve had him fly off once, which is where I’d observed most of this. I swung the lure to get him back and he was very keen to stoop long distances, he was flying through a woods dodging trees and he was very capable of tight turns. Obviously I got him back, but seeing him in the air free like that has me desperate to get him flying after starling. I think micro falconry is super underrated.
Absolutely loved the video, though I was really hoping you'd have mentioned shrikes, especially on the idea of thinking outside the box. Hunting quarry with a non raptor bird. Is it falconry? By definition I'm not sure but I sure do believe It was something worth a mention. Anyhow, I really enjoyed this video especially as that I myself will soon be hunting a falconet along with hunting my shrike.
I hunted with northern shrikes when I was a teenager. Now it would be illegal in my state. If my life ever settles down, I have thought of trying to tackle the legal system and trying to get provisions to let us legally hunt with shrikes in the state. They are awesome. Like crossing a mini falcon with a mini accipiter. I should do a video on them.
@@benwoodrufffalconry A shrike video would be really interesting! I have to figure their hunting style and their instinct to cache food would make them a unique hunting partner.
@@benwoodrufffalconry I agree, theyre like mini accipiters to me, definitely super cool. Hopefully It would be legal to hunt shrikes in your state! Definitely looking forward to a shrike video😁
Hi Ben, I am 16 and out of Colorado. I have wanted to be a falconer ever since I saw your first video but never got the chance until the beginning of this summer. I had a sponsor and I had the funds so I was ready, but to my dismay I was told by many people I wouldn't pass the test my first time. Well I studied hard reading as many books and watching as many of your videos as I could. I actually passed and after a couple months had my license. I built some traps that now looking back were horrible, so I bought your book. It blew my mind with everything in it and I actually had a passage red-tail fly and land close to the trap I built out of your book but a car a few roads over spooked it. I haven't had much other luck and was wondering if you have any ideas.
The colder it is, the more luck you will have. Trapping this time of year can always be rough. They don’t feel the pressure to eat with intensity like they will in the coming months. That intensity helps them overcome any hesitation to come down to the trap. Also good to be sure you have active bait, and if they are just sitting there motionless, maybe get different bait. Part of training though is just putting the miles in. Don’t loose hope! Keep at it and you will get your bird!
Thank you Ben for your fascinating evaluation of raptors and their different hunting styles. I live in the south east of England where Eurasian Hobbies are frequent migrants to our hedge/meadow/downland countryside and so have had the opportunity to observe them many times and have always wondered why these gorgeous little falcons have not been flown more often. They stoop like peregrines, and are the only birds that I have ever seen with the speed and agility to hunt our swallows (your barn swallows). On more than one occasion I have seen Hobbies circling at 1000 feet. One one occasion the bird was harried even higher by gulls.Her reaction was to rise higher, and then superbly to stoop,in the August sunshine, her breast feathers shining as she turned into her stoop. I don't know if the small size of these falcons make a difference, but they seem to be extremely fast. If you unlock these abilities in the trained bird, that would be falconry - as you say - 'of the very highest order'.
Quite apart from falconry with Hobby's I have been lucky for the last 8 years to be able to observe them from my back garden and on locals walks - simply put on the most amazing show as they 'hawk' after dragon flies and the like
Hi Ben. I live in the UK and flew a hobby for a few months. He would chase sparrows but never caught one. I was not experienced with small falcons but had success with Peregrines. I heard of other more experienced people who had a similar experience.
Hi Ben; is Eleonora's Falcon "micro", or just. "Smallish". I was reading about European bird migration patterns, and happened onto a couple of articles about these "insectivorous" Falcons. They recorded one of them flying over 3,000 km non-stop between Cyprus and Africa! But, interestingy, they have keyed their breeding season to small bird migration periods, when they shift from insectivorous to catching birds on the wing, and "store" the birds in little clefts, to eat later...they do this by plucking just the flight feathers off the birds, on-the-wing, so that they can't easily escape; they then use the stored live birds to feed their chicks on a more "regular schedule" than they could by by feeding as-caught prey. Absolutely beautiful birds, and unique behaviour!
Hello Ben.. I’m mark a Filipino falconer in Saudi Arabia.. I have been flying Eurasian hobby and they are excellent in hunting sparrows and even rock pigeons.. by the way.. I loved watching your videos.. 🤗🤗
The range of sizes in the Falconidae family - from Gyrfalcons to Black Falconets is the only thing that has come close from a morphological perspective to explain how Falcons are more related to Parrots than other Hawks as Parrots range in size like that as well.
I think youll be interested to know I believe I have seen hobby falcons/hawks in Hobbs new Mexico. I remember I started looking at your videos because of this particular bird. Kuz it was strange. I didnt know what it was . it small and greyish. I thought maybe a peregrine. But other birds actually never got spooked by it. And I know if a bird of prey shows up or is in the vicinity. Every bird will flee the scene. But no and there were groups of them together. Ive learned about birds of prey my whole life nd never seen anything like it. Nd i searched and i think i even thought it looks like a falcon but doesnt have that great of talons that i could see. And the only thing it would eat. Kuz id wait days i go out nd wait nd watch for them to turn on a bird. Every day never happened but it did fly around and catch the butterflys and grasshoppers. And it just blew my mind. I know these had to be a raptor it just is you coudnt convince me different. And sure enough slowly but surely after watching video after video. I got my answer. From you. But it looks nothing like the American kestrels. But it only migrates here in the spring. Then it leaves nd wont come back til next spring. I want to be a falconer nd am looking fot a sponsor in my area. And i think i wanted a red tail hawk for my first bird but now i think my calling is to these special birds its like nature found a way to reach out to me nd i never thought id be pursuing this. But you inspired me to go along with it nd more and more ive become. 100% sure im going to become a falconer
I hunt shrikes but haven't had much luck with small birds as of yet. Where I'm from, you cant get within 10 feet of a sparrow without it jetting away. Most of the quarry we go for are mice, geckos, and ground lizards. Definitely great fun, mini falconry I'd say, others may not. Just thought I'd share my two cents.
Old Falcon trappers ; sitting in a dug out blind , placed a shrike out side the blind on Jesses and a dug out hole to hide in in case the Falcon comes after the Shrike instead of the bait pigeon. The reason for the tethered Shrike was that he let the Falconer know with alarming call that there is a Raptor near by and the Falconer would start playing the pigeon on the line ,and a nother line to a bow net to capture .
Eurasian hobbies were rarely used in India but they were trained on drongos and hoopoes ; and also on larks with a Merlin in cast. The most famous micro hawk is the Shikra it can catch anything from a sparrow to a vultures and anything in between. The red headed Merlin (Falco chicquera) was also train to take big game upto black kites... Here a pair is trained take down kites , partridge and crows. Old Indian falconry was something everyone wants to witness once in whole life. ❤️❤️❤️
I have seen a couple of amazing bird hunts by Hobbys in the wild in Norway. They're blazing fast! Once the prey was a swift (Apus apus) which it stroke down in mid air! In the breeding season they need to do bird hunting due to the nutrion needs of the chicks. At least in summer they are highly motivated to go after birds. Among their favorite prey are swallows, which confirms their tremendous abilities as bird hunters. I don't know why they don't care so much for bird hunting in captivity.
Australian Hobbys are much more spirited bird hunters in the wild and will follow Sparrow Hawks to pursue flushed doves. More like a long winged smaller Peregrine.
@@benwoodrufffalconry I saw one shadowing a Gos hawk for the first time yesterday. I saw a dog fight between a sparrow hawk and one as a teenager and a pair dive bombed me in the bush during a courtship flight from behind sounding like a jet landing on my head.
Have you ever heard of shrikes being used similarly? Where I used to live there were many lizards, so there were many shrikes, and I’ve always wondered if they could be hunted with. They’re very small but have a big presence
In other countries people do train and hunt with them. When I was a clueless teenager I did train and hunt with both a loggerhead shrike and a few northern shrikes. Very similar actually to the falconette flight styles I have seen online
Drought and RHV have decimated my rabbit numbers, and now AI is taking ducks out of my prey base, so it looks like Micros might turn out to be my only option. I have lots of agriculture in my state, so i always have invasive birds.
My first Falcon was an female American Kestrel and than I flown two female Hobby Falcons (here in Germany we call them Baumfalke, Baum=Tree) I flown the Hobby's only on Lure and the Kestrel on Sparrow, black Birds and it was more Fun.
@@jankool01 That older female was the Mother of the younger. The Mother was in an Breeding Project for 8 Years by an Friend and he ask me if I would train her because he was to busy. I trained her till she was confident on the Lure and my Friend take her back. With the younger Female I go to hunt Pigeons, Magpies and Doves but she was not as successful(few Catches but hard to handle) so I decided to Fly her on Lure to keep her fit. I don't want do hunt Singingbirds
Ben could you post a link or give me the title of the vid of the person doing the micro micro hawking letting the falconette catch the butterfly’s please? I cant seem to find it. Thanks Ben
Hobbies in Australia kill Swifts and a huge range of other birds. I have seen them chase starlings and a friend of mine had a rehab bird take a feral Collared dove. They do also eat insects, as you say Ben. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-3txXwIkFgPI.html
Here is a video I did on the subject a year or two ago. I will probably be doing an updated one in a few months. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-w8lPcb3z8H8.html
