Falconry: Training your hawk to follow you 

I'm studying for my falconry exam and might be bingeing your videos! Some things I'd love to see in the future: You mentioned keeping Kestrels indoors. What kind of mews set up would that look like? I'd love to see a video on common diseases, how to identify and treat them. Maybe a little picture quiz video for aspiring apprentices on IDing similar species (Coopers v Sharpies, Roughlegged v Redtails, etc). Just some ideas! Keep up the great work!

"Not like hippie energy, not like crystal energy" LOL

I love your enthusiasm and emphasis on the psychology of the birds and the practice. Thank you for continuing to provide your knowledge and insight despite your personal hardships. We appreciate you!

I flew Harris Hawks for many years. Absolutely loved every minute.

Thanks for doing this video. This is a topic I have been wanting to understand more fully. Great job explaining the principle.

Not like that hippie energy 🤣 don’t own a bird and never will, but I’ve been watching your videos for 3 hours now. You’re an excellent teacher bro!!

Always good informational videos. Keep the 🔥 coming.

Oh wow I have hundreds where I live in Montana. I would be willing to figure out how to legally trap and transfer one to you, I appreciate your videos so much. The redtails migrate away from here im winter so it's just rough legs, golden eagles, and merlins/prairies mostly this time of year, I've caught a few gyrs, my latest time of year catch of a gyr here was March 17. But I'm certain I could get you a rough leg and would love to hear all you know about flying one, I've been told they're "no good" but I was told that about ferruginous and it was my apprentice bird and your video on them was everything I knew to be true, so I became an avid followers because everyone said they were worthless for falconry.

As usual, very detailed and easy listening, 👌 Thanks, Ben

I'm high asf and just wondered out the blue. How do hawks get trained?🤔 Then BOOM! here i am 😂

My RT usually gets bored if I don't flush something every 10 min or so. In that case he turns and will fly off to a tree away from me. He just never really got the whole follow thing, but we did all the training techniques and I've flushed tons of rabbits with him. My sponsor thinks it's a personality thing with the bird. He is way more aloof towards humans than the average RT and even gets nervous if another Falconer is in the field.

Great video Ben, I would really love to see one of these training type vids on soar hawking red tails. Thanks again

Good idea, Excellent video.

Your videos are so well done!

Great video as always Ben! I’m curious about the whole squirrel hawking thing, and was wondering if you could shed some light on it as it sounds interesting and if I ever got into falconry, my favorite bird, the red shouldered hawk, sounds like it would do fairly well at it!

INVALUABLE INFORMATION HERE! 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👍

Hey Ben! Hope you are doing well. Did you ever get a chance to get more footage for training haws to follow? I am eagerly waiting!

How about a video on ornate hawk eagles for falconry and the prey they would or should hunt.

Thank you for yr vids and as they are most helpful. i am just trying to learn what kind of hawks are in my yard.

I’ve just been getting into this and I hope I can do it when I get older. I doubt I will but I’m going to keep working at it. I hope some day I could have the opportunity to work with a gyrfalcon. They are the most amazing birds I have ever seen. I’m not sure if it would be appropriate to falcon one in northern Illinois though but we will see.

😎

Excellent Ben,this video helped me alot being a beginner and I hope you will read my comment and will response by making a video on it that I always see goshawks in pakistan doesnt chase its prey for long distance when falconer throw it eigther it cathes nearly or changes its direction and sits on tree.

Hey, sorry to hear that you're having problems !! I have my own, but that doesn't mean that I don't care... I wish that I could reach out and help, at least offer to help, but this YT thing is a kind of 'buffer' (good/bad?) try to keep well, and I think that most of us who 'know you' are quite OK if you need some time away, or can't make instantaneous responses!! Look after yourself!!

The top image in this video was a harrisis hawk (not a hawk but a buzzard).

I think my yard is a density of opportunity for the hawks, chipmuncks, birds, raccoons, ground hogs, squirels, turkeys etc and now they all follow me around or come to the windows to look inside at me to beg for food. It's like they are saying, hey,where are you,you are late feeding us today so come outside.

Where can I purchase these birds brother?

Do you think you would be able to train a raven or a crow to follow you

You don't need to train a Harris to follow you, they do it naturally because they are gregarious. But with most people i have seen with a Harris the Harris has "Trained" them!

Some one interested ... doesn't wanna hear about you overwhelmed with help request and that you lost a bird ... :( it wasn't long into the video that I was like yep this isn't the dude I wanna learn from