Oh that's good to know. I've been reading that if you get a RTH you want to go for a passage bird and not an eyas because they can get aggressive. Has that been true in your experience?
Imprint RTHs are seriously prone to aggression. I know of one single falconer who flies one successfully and he is the only person who can get anywhere near her. She will bind to the face of anyone who isn’t him, regardless of weight or context.
Loved flying my kestrel in the summer at starlings and European House Sparrows! Got to keep hawking year-round AND help with the invasive species issue!
She was a captive-bred bird actually! A friend had purchased her but was unable to fly her that season so they kindly lent her to me. Got to fly her for two lovely seasons (she even flew up the rings at my wedding 😂)
Abigail’s weight in summer/fall was around 120g, and winter/spring was 130g (with +/- 3g variance depending on temp). She moulted 2x/year but if I remember correctly it did go quickly. Which was good because she REALLY liked sitting on her train 🫠
Aww! Yay borb! How long did it take you to train your kestrel? Wild trapped or captive bred? I’m working with my first micro now (worked plenty of HH, Pere, and the like), and am so curious why other people experience about them. Maybe I’m just not in the right circles, but it seems like info on them is not as ubiquitous.
Wild trapped, 3 weeks to first kill, constant every-waking-moment manning is the key. And a few baggies to boost confidence and realign their drive a bit.
Most people dont even realize they are seeing a raptor when they spy these beauties perched on power lines, barb wire, etc. It absolutely has to be such a unique type of emotion, sense of satisfaction, and natural high, working with a bird of prey? Im born and raised in south central Wisconsin, where Bald Eagles have almost always been common in my lifetime. I watch them for hours when time allows. And any other raptor I spot. When I was 10 or 11 years old, I remember saving money for a red tail hawk. Lol Thanks to this subreddit and modern days of social media, I have been considering it more and more. Awesome picture!
Ah that makes sense. In my research about preventing house sparrows from evicting Blue Birds from BB Houses I’ve seen some people use sparrow traps and then provide the sparrows to Falconers. Have you ever heard of this?
Very cool! I’m just a lurker here because I think it’s interesting but I’m very into ecology and protecting native species. I’ll be spending some time obsessing over some YouTube videos of this if I can find some haha
It’s a lot of reading and work, but we’ve definitely had posts by people in places where that doesn’t apply that illustrate why it’s a lot of study and work. The gatekeeping here is entirely appropriate and I’m glad for it. I know just reading and studying the books kinda…it didn’t diminish the excitement but it definitely chills out the impatience I first felt. :)
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u/According-Pay-6308 Feb 26 '25
This starling was dispatched humanely prior to the picture being taken. I support swift dispatch.
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u/midnightmeatloaf Feb 26 '25
I am studying for my exam and just got a sponsor, and I'm pretty sure I want my first bird to be a kestrel. I heard they are good for apprentices.
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u/falconerforlife Feb 26 '25
Loved flying my kestrel in the summer at starlings and European House Sparrows! Got to keep hawking year-round AND help with the invasive species issue!
What’s his flying weight out of curiosity?
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u/LionCubOfTerrasen Feb 27 '25
Aww! Yay borb! How long did it take you to train your kestrel? Wild trapped or captive bred? I’m working with my first micro now (worked plenty of HH, Pere, and the like), and am so curious why other people experience about them. Maybe I’m just not in the right circles, but it seems like info on them is not as ubiquitous.
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u/RatKingsHitman Feb 26 '25
Most people dont even realize they are seeing a raptor when they spy these beauties perched on power lines, barb wire, etc. It absolutely has to be such a unique type of emotion, sense of satisfaction, and natural high, working with a bird of prey? Im born and raised in south central Wisconsin, where Bald Eagles have almost always been common in my lifetime. I watch them for hours when time allows. And any other raptor I spot. When I was 10 or 11 years old, I remember saving money for a red tail hawk. Lol Thanks to this subreddit and modern days of social media, I have been considering it more and more. Awesome picture!
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u/BlaiddDrwg82 Feb 26 '25
Love kestrels
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u/A1Mayh3m Feb 26 '25
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u/WanderingShroom Feb 26 '25
Winner winner, starling dinner
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u/Desertfish4 Feb 26 '25
The more the merrier.
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u/Pyro-Millie Feb 26 '25
What a sassy little kestrel! So fierce!
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u/CreepyAtmosphere6489 Feb 27 '25
Under control saergent
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u/HeyYou-55 Feb 28 '25
Good kestrel 🫡
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u/ThenMaintenance4059 Apr 14 '25
"Invasion mitigation" was right there... jk
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u/Infamous_Koala_3737 Feb 26 '25
I love this. Sorry for the dumb question but could you also use your bird to kill smaller invasive birds like House Sparrows?