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FeatheredSamurai β Deuce
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Published: 2014-01-23 03:49:30 +0000 UTC; Views: 996; Favourites: 59; Downloads: 0
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One of my friends new passage red tailed hawks, he's only recently trapped and still a bit scared. Beautiful creatures!Related content
Comments: 29
Β This shot is AMAZING. I wish I could see it in color though... or at least the hawk in color. I'd love to see it's eyes. 
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Oh my god! What a beautiful shot! So much emotion in his eyes! So much connection.Β
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I liked her hand 
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...recently trapped? Why would anyone want to trap him? No wonder he's scared. Beautiful picture, though.
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For Falconry, its an ancient sport that's actually very beneficial. Falconers can use their birds to get rid of pests like mice, rabbits, rats, sparrows, waterfowl, etc. And they can also be apart of a group of Falconers where they can take their birds out and just sit with them to scare away things like seagulls, crows, etc. To make it a more pleasurable place for everyone. (Falconers in my area do this to help get rid of Seagulls) For a few days the birds are scared after trapping, but after a process called manning they actually learn to trust you and even in some cases they start to love you and would prefer to be with you. You train them to come back then you let them hunt and you just help. A lot of Falconers actually then release their birds after a year of flying them to help with the wild population, that's why we still have peregrines. So no harm comes to the birds c:
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Yes, they may learn to trust and love you, but it comes to a great cost. You really want to cause so much pain for such small benefits?
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Bringing back Bald Eagles and Peregrines is not a "Small Benifit" without Falconers those species and many more would be lost to the world. 50% of birds don't make it to their first year, 90% don't make it to year 5, while they can live 40 years+ As I said, Falconers tend to fly birds for a year so they become very good at hunting, then release them back into the breeding stock. And there isn't really any pain involved. When you bring home a puppy or a kitten, their scared of you for a day or two! Its the same with hamsters, rats, mice, parrots, ferrets, gerbils, horses, mules, donkeys, cows, sheep, etc. They are scared of you for a day or two. Its the same with a hawk. They go, "Woah wait, what are you doing?" For a couple days, but then they prefer to ride along on your shoulder in the field and cuddle up next to you, rather than to screech and fly away.
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Lol, you kinda make it sound like PokΓ©mon ^^
I think it's something different with domestic animals, they already know the human interaction from birth, whereas raptors usually stay away from humans and only see them from far. And I think one cannot say that there isn't any pain involved. Physically pain probabely not (I hope so at least!), but no human can say how it looks on the inside. We can only assume. But I think I understand the points that you're trying to tell me, I see that there may come something good out of it.
Anyway, I don't think we can reach something with future discussions, so I say we should stop here. Is this okay for you?
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Just to make you feel a bit better, because I can completely understand your point of view, many falconers release their first birds back to the wild. People also breed raptors specifically for falconry, so many of the birds used after that first bird will not be wild caught. Many of the native species are also illegal to be trapped, for example peregrines can only be obtained through a breeder.
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in falconry you have to start with a wild caught first year bird, a red tailed hawk or American kestrel. It is a bit sad to capture a wild bird. As a parrot owner I know of how hard this was on parrots. But falconers do a lot of amazing things for the community, they can help farmers to not use pesticides by flying birds over head to scare off wildlife. They can also fly birds at air ports to scare away lethally dangerous flocks of birds. if they get sucked into a engine the plane is likely to crash! Also educating the newer generations by allowing them to see these incredible birds up close. And remember, people can't just go out and catch a bird whenever they want. They need to first be licensed, get some one to train them, and trapping techniques aren't often shared with non falconers to protect the wild birds.
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Β I think it is not only a bit sad. I think that's one of the worst things you could do to a bird. How could you steal the freedom from a symbol that represents it? I think all those "good" things you mentioned can't ever justify that fact.Β
Aren't there enough individuals bred in captivity?Β I've seen so many raptors held all day in cages no bigger than an appartment. Why can't aren't those trained and used for falconry?
Β I think they would like it very much if they could get out sometimes, and fly around a bit. (I know that there are some cases, where they'd actually do that, but it's a small minority, in my experience.)
Yes, I'm aware that there are certain conditions to catch a bird, but still... I think you understand it. I really love those birds, and to see them is truly astonishing. But if the bird has to pay the price with it's loss to go wherever it wishes, I refuse. This is where I draw the line, I'm afraid.
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Not to keep on the argument, but as a pre-apprentice I feel as though I need to make a point too.
I do understand your opinion; many non-falconers would never understand. But the raptor has more freedom than you think. It can fly away at any given time it wants to. The raptor just chooses not to.
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I do not want to start an arguement here, but I think saying the raptor does not choose to fly away is very similar to say people from cults like scientology could easily walk away, if they want to...
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I see your point, haha. But they do come back for food, which is the main goal pretty much. Plus, it is the most amazing thing for a bird of prey to have so much trust in you. Well, it is for me anyway. I'm a bird nerd.
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Yes, I give you that. It is really amazing. Once I was in London in some park (can't remember which one), and fed the pidgeons. And those little fellas were so hungry/trusting that they even landed on my hand. I know that you should feed pidgeons, especially in big cities like London, but it was one of my most memorable memories, so I regret nothing and I'd do it again. I guess I'm a bird nerd too. A good friend of mine tells me over and over as a joke, that one day, when I'm old, I'll live in a small house somewhere off and I'll go feed the birds in my garden everyday, Snow White Style... xD
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My friends like to say that my house will be a giant nest in a tree one day, hahaha XD
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In my opinion...
A lot of beautiful birds (California Condor, Peregrine Falcon, Bald/golden eagle) Are all being brought back because of breeding/falconry.Β
As for falconry practiced independently, there are strict regulations for it. You have to be certain ages, and it's usually an older age.Β
You can set the bird free, it will still have the same wildness it did before you trapped it. It actually saves 90% of all passage red tail's from dying in the first year, (can't go over a year as an apprentice) You usually free it after a year or two.Β
As for the birds in captivity, they usually have an injury that permits them from being released
But that is your opinion and I respect that
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"A lot of beautiful birds (California Condor, Peregrine Falcon, Bald/golden eagle) Are all being brought back because of breeding/falconry."
Yes. But as far as I know that's possible without catching wild individuals. In my country, they succeded to bring back the bearded vultures with breeding. But as far as I'm concerned they used parents that have been their whole life in human custody, like zoos.Β
"You can set the bird free, it will still have the same wildness it did before you trapped it."
Would setting it free not mean that it could probably carry disease from human civilization out to the other wild birds? But I guess the release of a bird must be controlled and approved too.
If you set it free, isn't there a chance that it seeks human attention in places where it shouldn't, and get in danger because of it?Β
And if it saves so many birds from one year, wouldn't that increase the chance of overpopulation? Or is the successful breeding rate in nature so low that it doesn't really make a difference? (I'm asking out of curiousity)
Well the raptors I've seen in zoos did not show any sign of injuries (but I'm no expert) and neither there was ever mentioned something, not even in guided tours. The only birds that were not released because of injuries were in collection points for wild animals.Β
"they usually have an injury that permits them from being released"
Do you mean by this released into the wild? Because if so, why aren't those introduced into falconery? I mean those, that are still available to fly but not to survive on their own in the wilderness.
I have to say, it is great to hear that you can fully tolerate my opinion, because I really dislike to see that people sometimes get offending during a discussion just because they're not willing to understand someone else's view. So thank you for the respect.
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Haha! Just remember, for each stroke and cute moment, the bird will bite, talon or poop on you.Β
That is my hand in the picture, and I promise you I've been bitten, taloned and pooped on more times than I can count.
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Ok, that's not exactly ideal lol. Red-tails are still my favorite Bird of Prey. I'm actually making a model of a Red-tail, and when I tried the same hand position on my model's skull, it seems to be the right length. Here's my model so far: Htaqresu650.deviantart.com/art/β¦
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Awesome! Great work with that!
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lol totally true!
I
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