im an aprentice and i fly a female harris hawk im 12 and she is absolutely amazing she is an amazing hunter and very good with people she knows she can be very mistrusting of people she hasnt met but is completly fine with me i am working on her trust of others so when we are out hunting she doesnt get spooked if she sees other people
Buddy.. I envy you flying at 12.. thats special.. my Dad flew many raptors and i always had an interest... At 45 i am just now entering apprenticeship... took me a life time to find that one passion that will now be with me till im hawk food.... good on you man!..
@@MarcoTangorraI absolutely envy you my friend. I discovered falconry at 13-14 and have been in love ever since. I'm 22 now and hope to begin my falconry journey soon. I hope falconry stays with you as you age, it truly is a miraculous thing. Best of wishes
Lanner. I loved the format for this video. As a suggestion for a further video, I'd like to see one in which the prey species is first considered, and the hawk/falcon/owl is identified that's most suited to it.
Another great video, Ben. I did not know that Harris hawks also commonly hunt birds in the wild! I'm glad to know this, since we have focused our female Harris on crows (we're in Germany). She's our first bird, and we actually wanted a male but from this line, and there turned out to only be one viable egg. We said we'd take it regardless of gender, and by now we can't imagine being happier. She is a fabulous bird and a great hunter! Most of our falconer colleagues & friends over here fly Harris hawks and some fly Saker falcons and goshawks. One is living his dream hunting with a golden eagle.
Ben dude this was one of your best if not the best video you have done! Very informative. Well done. Have you ever flown 2 extreme southern California birds- the Zone tailed and the little grey hawk?
I searched for years for a zone tail nest and finally found one near St George in Utah. But then some idiot shot the mom and the nest was abandoned. Haven’t done a gray, but I really want to. The other one that has obsessed me is a common black hawk. I did a ton of research and found several nests, and got them legally put on the list in Utah. I think Utah is the only state where we can legally pull one. But most of the nests are all in national parks. The one nest I was going to pull from, the year I went to do it, there was a flood, And I could no longer get across the river. The pair moved after that from the Cottonwood Grove, and I haven’t found them since.
Due to your videos Im really getting interested in falconry. Im so glad you are recovering from the stroke. I myself have had a traumatic brain injury and have anterograde amnesia so I feel for you immensely. I live in western Montana an I see everything from Bald Eagles to Kestrels. I want to start with Kestrels I think for the upcoming summer and am learning a lot from your videos bud. Keep em soaring!
Aplomado falcons: I've seen some videos of pest control, and also some "bird cam" video, and the Aplomados seem to be really a lot like a "goshawk" of falcons, just blasting along in tail chases, right through buildings, trees... And, in the bird-cam video, as a pair, they seem to really enjoy just hard play, chasing one another, aerobatic flight. In short, pretty exciting style of flight... And, they are also so lovely! Now, back to listen to your thoughts!
LANNER FALCON. Great work on another awesome video. We had just started training our first female golden. I wish our female golden is as predictable as you said. But she is very different every day. One day she will be very chilled but the next day she is as wild as she can be. Great Job Ben!!!
I love this species so much. In the background, I have been working for several years to try to put together a Lanner falcon video going in depth about all the different sub species. But I desperately need video clips of the other sub species that I have not worked with. But there really is no video out there like that at all.
Excellent video! Commenting now before I've watched the whole thing but fascinatingly Kookaburras (and kingfishers, hornbills, toucans and quetzals) are more closely related to the hawks and eagles than the hawks and eagles are with the falcons and caracaras - same with the falcons, parrots and songbirds!
Lanner Falcon I didn’t watch the whole thing tho lol less than half plus the end. You’re breadth of falconry knowledge is amazing btw. You’re presenting the content of what could perhaps be a separate booklet, seemingly from memory.
Here's another thing for Harris' Hawks - I'm preparing to get one for urban pest control and because of that I'll be getting a male. With urban falconry in general it's important to think about how your bird would react to a dog and even though 90% of females can be we worked with there's a 10% that'll always be unsafe around dogs, not a risk worth taking with pest control.
Top video and great topic! I haven't hunted with golden eagles but I have worked with them as breeding birds and as flying display birds and I've had the same experience as you with the trained golden eagles. The male was grumpy, and sometimes lashed out at myself and others but the female was an absolute dream bird that was nothing but polite and gentle even when at a low weight. However the breeding birds it was the opposite, nice male and a devil of a female. P.s Lanner falcon (also one of my favourite species to work with!)
Lanner falcon Speaking of, I fly a male lanner falcon and he is an amazing lure flying bird, but he isn't very gamey. He has stooped on pigeons and starlings when I've flushed them, but the concept doesn't seem to connect (could just be him, but it sounded familiar to your experience). Very fun to fly to the lure, and very dependable little bird though so we swapped him to educational lure displays and he's amazing at that. Hunting, not so much 😅 love him to bits though!
FYI Matt Mullenix has flown broad-winged hawks and used them to take small birds (successfully). If I remember correctly, he told me that he took more than 40 birds in a season with one, but let it go in favor of the Kestrel.
Thanks for your videos. What would stand a better chance on a rough grouse? A male or female Red Tail? I am above the boreal line in northernmost Maine. We do not have gray squirrels here or cotton tail. Only Snowshoe Hare, Rough Grouse, and Red Squirrel. Thinking the male might be a bit more maneuverable? No? I look forward to your feedback. Will be apprenticing 2025!
I think a male would give you a bit more speed and agility that would lend itself better to ruffed grouse. Any redtail with proper weight and conditioning has the speed to chase a grouse in the ground or from up in a tree. But that extra maneuverability of a male would probably give you an edge.
My dream bird is a wild-caught (family bird) Female Goshawk. My dream falcon would be a Female Gyr-Peregrine hybrid, just due to the health issues at lower latitudes. My first bird was a Male Red-tailed Hawk I flew at 740g. He was trapped late in a low-prey year, and very footy & aggressive. My current bird is a Female Red-tailed Hawk trapped two weeks ago at 1270g. P.S. Lanner Falcon!
Lots of extra red tape. All birds of prey here are protected by the migratory bird treaty act including eagles. But eagles also have the bald and golden eagle protection act which puts on more restrictions and makes it harder to acquire one
Ben, I was thinking that the males might be better, because, in the nesting period, they hunt, hunt, and hunt, for all 2 months straight, providing 90% of the food for both the chicks and female... Just a thought?
As a prospective falconer and ideally eagle falconer with a lifelong interest and love for golden eagles… I’m wondering if a case could be made to hunt with a female if one was specifically going to be targeting coyotes or other similarly formidable quarry. Obviously many/most males could/would do it but there’d be somewhat less risk to the eagle and more suitability in flying a female after such quarry, I would think. Thoughts?
I have caught three coyotes by accident with a male golden eagle. But if you intend to intentionally target coyotes and foxes, I would 100% go with a female golden eagle.
Lanner falcon! I put long videos like this up in the background to have something interesting to listen to when I'm doing paperwork, data entry, monotonous stuff
Love my male peales x prairie. Sweet despite his lineage and a very capable hunter. And started hunting right out of the box. If you know how to make a peales sweet, try one of these. You will not be disappointed if you know what you are doing.
Besides the status thing I think redtails and kestrels for the apprentice is a gate keeping thing. Don't want the apprentice having an easy bird to train.
That might be the case. I was always taught too that retails and kestrels are birds you probably don’t need telemetry with. But it is true that much easier birds like a Harris could make an impact. Some say having an easier bird is good because it helps a new apprentice have lots of success. Others argue that this can lead them to miss important lessons that a more difficult species would teach them
This may be a dumb question, but as a fisherman that has fished the shores of CT my whole life, I've always wondered if anyone has ever trained an Osprey to use for falconry? They are much more successful at catching fish than me haha. Guessing maybe that isn't legal? Thanks for your videos! Long time subscriber, although I am not a falconer, I am still fascinated by raptors and your knowledge is amazing! Lastly, you said your Golden Eagle got 3 coyotes?!?!? Are these like baby coyotes? How do they kill a coyote? My mind is blown right now, I just can't imagine an eagle killing an adult coyote. That's wild!
Kennen McClendon has pioneered their use. Here is a review of his book and explaining his process ua-cam.com/video/NsPdB1N2GzQ/v-deo.htmlsi=uuuPgTlipnPl004a
Male are usually easier across the board. The reason why the eastern USA has such large RTH is because squirrels make up a large part of their diet plus we have fox squirrels which are huge and incredibly strong.
A few caracara species have been trained, mostly for education. I desperately wanted to train one. Had an opportunity lined up one time. But Utah requires a health certificate for a bird to enter the state. The caracara was taken to a vet to get the health certificate. The vet techs were holding her and not holding onto the jesses. She got spooked and flew into a wall and broke her neck and died. So I lost out on the one chance I had. Sadly so. Maybe someday
Hey Ben! Regarding falcons (not eagles), would you say males are usually better for education (non-hunting) because they're smarter/easier to train? Or would you go with the same logic you used for eagles, that the females are better for education too because BIG? :p I know it's a case to case question but you only mention the education topic in the Eagles section :(
With large falcons, if I am doing flighted presentations I typically prefer males. They are usually more reliable and loyal and willing to stick around and not wander off. If I am just doing on the fist presentations, I prefer females because they are bigger and more impactful. My general rule is, I want to show how big a bird is. I always hate showing a bird, and saying, of course, if it is a female, it would be this much bigger. And the opposite is true. If it is a small species like a small type of owl, I like having a male to show just how small the smallest of something can be. But as you said, of course, each bird is an individual and it is a case by case basis. But in general, with large falcons, I prefer males for flighted shows, and females for showing on the fist up close.
@@benwoodrufffalconry your channel is a godsend- Of course we all must listen to our sponsors first and foremost- but im getting such a great education from you here. Thanks.
im an aprentice and i fly a female harris hawk im 12 and she is absolutely amazing she is an amazing hunter and very good with people she knows she can be very mistrusting of people she hasnt met but is completly fine with me i am working on her trust of others so when we are out hunting she doesnt get spooked if she sees other people
Buddy.. I envy you flying at 12.. thats special.. my Dad flew many raptors and i always had an interest... At 45 i am just now entering apprenticeship... took me a life time to find that one passion that will now be with me till im hawk food.... good on you man!..
@@ryanahlgren ik im so lucky to have this opportunity I love every moment im so glad you've been able to become a falconer!!
@@MarcoTangorraI absolutely envy you my friend. I discovered falconry at 13-14 and have been in love ever since. I'm 22 now and hope to begin my falconry journey soon. I hope falconry stays with you as you age, it truly is a miraculous thing. Best of wishes
Lanner Falcon. Amazing video & information as usual. So glad I ever found this channel.
Lanner falcon. I love the long form content. Thank you for the video! It’s nice to have such a broad amount of information compiled into one place.
Lanner. I loved the format for this video. As a suggestion for a further video, I'd like to see one in which the prey species is first considered, and the hawk/falcon/owl is identified that's most suited to it.
That is a very good idea! I will work to make it happen
Lanner Falcon! I love all your videos and podcasts. The longer the better. Thank you for your passion for wildlife education!
Thank you for your support!
Lanner Falcon! I have loved this channel going on a year. So much great info. Thx Ben!
Another great video, Ben. I did not know that Harris hawks also commonly hunt birds in the wild! I'm glad to know this, since we have focused our female Harris on crows (we're in Germany). She's our first bird, and we actually wanted a male but from this line, and there turned out to only be one viable egg. We said we'd take it regardless of gender, and by now we can't imagine being happier. She is a fabulous bird and a great hunter! Most of our falconer colleagues & friends over here fly Harris hawks and some fly Saker falcons and goshawks. One is living his dream hunting with a golden eagle.
That is so wonderful. Fascinating that Harris hawks have become so popular around the world
Ben dude this was one of your best if not the best video you have done! Very informative. Well done. Have you ever flown 2 extreme southern California birds- the Zone tailed and the little grey hawk?
I searched for years for a zone tail nest and finally found one near St George in Utah. But then some idiot shot the mom and the nest was abandoned. Haven’t done a gray, but I really want to. The other one that has obsessed me is a common black hawk. I did a ton of research and found several nests, and got them legally put on the list in Utah. I think Utah is the only state where we can legally pull one. But most of the nests are all in national parks. The one nest I was going to pull from, the year I went to do it, there was a flood, And I could no longer get across the river. The pair moved after that from the Cottonwood Grove, and I haven’t found them since.
Agreed male kestrel definitely get up and running fast. I love them
Due to your videos Im really getting interested in falconry. Im so glad you are recovering from the stroke. I myself have had a traumatic brain injury and have anterograde amnesia so I feel for you immensely. I live in western Montana an I see everything from Bald Eagles to Kestrels. I want to start with Kestrels I think for the upcoming summer and am learning a lot from your videos bud. Keep em soaring!
Lanner Falcon...I have learned so much with all of your videos. I find falconry and all the various birds of prey fascinating!!!!
Thank you
Aplomado falcons: I've seen some videos of pest control, and also some "bird cam" video, and the Aplomados seem to be really a lot like a "goshawk" of falcons, just blasting along in tail chases, right through buildings, trees... And, in the bird-cam video, as a pair, they seem to really enjoy just hard play, chasing one another, aerobatic flight. In short, pretty exciting style of flight... And, they are also so lovely! Now, back to listen to your thoughts!
LANNER FALCON. Great work on another awesome video. We had just started training our first female golden. I wish our female golden is as predictable as you said. But she is very different every day. One day she will be very chilled but the next day she is as wild as she can be. Great Job Ben!!!
Good luck with her! Goldens are a long term relationship, more so than with other birds. Your hard work and patience will pay off
Great video Ben, very informative. I appreciate your insight on the different pros and cons of each type of bird!
Lanner! Very informative enjoy your opinions. Thanks for your time to educate myself and others!
Lanner falcon!
Always love watching your vids
Lanner Falcon - Great to hear your opinion about so many species Ben! Thanks so much!
I love this species so much. In the background, I have been working for several years to try to put together a Lanner falcon video going in depth about all the different sub species. But I desperately need video clips of the other sub species that I have not worked with. But there really is no video out there like that at all.
Lanner Falcon! Love the information Ben. Keep up the Amazing work.
Lanner! I watch every video to the end!! More of a RT and HH myself. I want to try a falcon but here in az it's limited.
Lanner Falcon, thanks for the great video. Learned a lot.
Excellent video! Commenting now before I've watched the whole thing but fascinatingly Kookaburras (and kingfishers, hornbills, toucans and quetzals) are more closely related to the hawks and eagles than the hawks and eagles are with the falcons and caracaras - same with the falcons, parrots and songbirds!
Lanner falcon. Always pleasure to watch your videos.
Lanner Falcon loved the information Ben
Lanner falcon (4 ever)
Lanner Falcon I watch them all!
Lanner falcon. I always watch your videos to the end.
Excellent video! I sure do enjoy all of your videos Ben. You're recovery seems to be Crusing right along. Very very well spoken.
Lannee falcon
Thank you so much!
Lanner Falcon
I didn’t watch the whole thing tho lol less than half plus the end.
You’re breadth of falconry knowledge is amazing btw. You’re presenting the content of what could perhaps be a separate booklet, seemingly from memory.
Love your videos, Ben. I'd like to see you make a video about falconry and breeding if you haven't already
Lanner Falcon. What an informative video! Much appreciated as a new apprentice! 🦅🦅
Glad you liked it. Good luck on your falconry journey
Lanner falcon
This was definitely my favorite video
Lanner falcon. I'd love to get into falconry some day, but I just can't afford it right now. In the meantime, your videos are tiding me over. :)
Haha same. My wife said I can get a Kestrel once we’ve had kids. Seems fair. 😅
Here's another thing for Harris' Hawks - I'm preparing to get one for urban pest control and because of that I'll be getting a male. With urban falconry in general it's important to think about how your bird would react to a dog and even though 90% of females can be we worked with there's a 10% that'll always be unsafe around dogs, not a risk worth taking with pest control.
Lanner Falcon. Great info.
Top video and great topic!
I haven't hunted with golden eagles but I have worked with them as breeding birds and as flying display birds and I've had the same experience as you with the trained golden eagles.
The male was grumpy, and sometimes lashed out at myself and others but the female was an absolute dream bird that was nothing but polite and gentle even when at a low weight.
However the breeding birds it was the opposite, nice male and a devil of a female.
P.s Lanner falcon (also one of my favourite species to work with!)
Lanner falcon
Speaking of, I fly a male lanner falcon and he is an amazing lure flying bird, but he isn't very gamey. He has stooped on pigeons and starlings when I've flushed them, but the concept doesn't seem to connect (could just be him, but it sounded familiar to your experience). Very fun to fly to the lure, and very dependable little bird though so we swapped him to educational lure displays and he's amazing at that. Hunting, not so much 😅 love him to bits though!
Worth the time Lanner falcon!
lanner!! Great video!!
Lanner falcon
Great as always! Keep it up
FYI Matt Mullenix has flown broad-winged hawks and used them to take small birds (successfully). If I remember correctly, he told me that he took more than 40 birds in a season with one, but let it go in favor of the Kestrel.
That is awesome!!!!!
Lanner Falcon, I love your channel Ben!
Thank you so much!
Thanks for your videos. What would stand a better chance on a rough grouse? A male or female Red Tail? I am above the boreal line in northernmost Maine. We do not have gray squirrels here or cotton tail. Only Snowshoe Hare, Rough Grouse, and Red Squirrel. Thinking the male might be a bit more maneuverable? No? I look forward to your feedback. Will be apprenticing 2025!
I think a male would give you a bit more speed and agility that would lend itself better to ruffed grouse. Any redtail with proper weight and conditioning has the speed to chase a grouse in the ground or from up in a tree. But that extra maneuverability of a male would probably give you an edge.
@@benwoodrufffalconry thats what I was thinking too- so I think I will keep the first healthy RT I catch, regardless of sex. Thank you!
Lanier falcon. Thx for the video!
My dream bird is a wild-caught (family bird) Female Goshawk. My dream falcon would be a Female Gyr-Peregrine hybrid, just due to the health issues at lower latitudes. My first bird was a Male Red-tailed Hawk I flew at 740g. He was trapped late in a low-prey year, and very footy & aggressive. My current bird is a Female Red-tailed Hawk trapped two weeks ago at 1270g.
P.S. Lanner Falcon!
Planner Falcon. Thanks for the video 😊
Loved the info on so many birds at once! Super informative! Why are Goldens so hard to get in America?
PS: Lanner Falcon
Lots of extra red tape. All birds of prey here are protected by the migratory bird treaty act including eagles. But eagles also have the bald and golden eagle protection act which puts on more restrictions and makes it harder to acquire one
Ben, I was thinking that the males might be better, because, in the nesting period, they hunt, hunt, and hunt, for all 2 months straight, providing 90% of the food for both the chicks and female... Just a thought?
As a prospective falconer and ideally eagle falconer with a lifelong interest and love for golden eagles… I’m wondering if a case could be made to hunt with a female if one was specifically going to be targeting coyotes or other similarly formidable quarry. Obviously many/most males could/would do it but there’d be somewhat less risk to the eagle and more suitability in flying a female after such quarry, I would think. Thoughts?
I have caught three coyotes by accident with a male golden eagle. But if you intend to intentionally target coyotes and foxes, I would 100% go with a female golden eagle.
Lanner falcon! I put long videos like this up in the background to have something interesting to listen to when I'm doing paperwork, data entry, monotonous stuff
Falco biarmicus! 😉😄
Lanner Falcon!
LAN-UR FAL-KUN 😎👍
Lanner falcon.
Love my male peales x prairie. Sweet despite his lineage and a very capable hunter. And started hunting right out of the box. If you know how to make a peales sweet, try one of these. You will not be disappointed if you know what you are doing.
Please do owls male/females . Thank you .
Lanner. Very cool Ben! Hope you are doing well.
Thank you! I have been improving and therapy has made good progress
Besides the status thing I think redtails and kestrels for the apprentice is a gate keeping thing. Don't want the apprentice having an easy bird to train.
That might be the case. I was always taught too that retails and kestrels are birds you probably don’t need telemetry with. But it is true that much easier birds like a Harris could make an impact. Some say having an easier bird is good because it helps a new apprentice have lots of success. Others argue that this can lead them to miss important lessons that a more difficult species would teach them
This may be a dumb question, but as a fisherman that has fished the shores of CT my whole life, I've always wondered if anyone has ever trained an Osprey to use for falconry? They are much more successful at catching fish than me haha. Guessing maybe that isn't legal? Thanks for your videos! Long time subscriber, although I am not a falconer, I am still fascinated by raptors and your knowledge is amazing! Lastly, you said your Golden Eagle got 3 coyotes?!?!? Are these like baby coyotes? How do they kill a coyote? My mind is blown right now, I just can't imagine an eagle killing an adult coyote. That's wild!
Kennen McClendon has pioneered their use. Here is a review of his book and explaining his process ua-cam.com/video/NsPdB1N2GzQ/v-deo.htmlsi=uuuPgTlipnPl004a
@@benwoodrufffalconry Thanks! And about the coyotes?
Lanner Falcon I am at work with five Wedge tailed Eagles today.
Two release three display.
That is fantastic! I am so thrilled you get to work with them!
How would you feel about car hawking a male rough legged hawk? Do you think it could be done?
Lanner falcon
I think they would be too sluggish on the initial takeoff. But it would definitely be worth trying.
@benwoodrufffalconry I think they're a really cool species. They're just slightly difficult to get here in South Texas.
Lanner Falcon
Lanner Falcon 😂
Anyone who doesn't watch your videos all the way through is just doing themselves a major disservice
Lanner Falcon ❤
Male are usually easier across the board. The reason why the eastern USA has such large RTH is because squirrels make up a large part of their diet plus we have fox squirrels which are huge and incredibly strong.
What is standing in the way of you getting a Wedge Tailed Eagle ? My guess is the governments of Australia and US and restrictive laws .
There are a few in breeding projects here in the states, but I don’t have the money to purchase one even if it was available.
LANNER FALCON !
Lanner falcon
Anyone has experience about Caracara or Secretary bird?
Ps. Lanner
A few caracara species have been trained, mostly for education. I desperately wanted to train one. Had an opportunity lined up one time. But Utah requires a health certificate for a bird to enter the state. The caracara was taken to a vet to get the health certificate. The vet techs were holding her and not holding onto the jesses. She got spooked and flew into a wall and broke her neck and died. So I lost out on the one chance I had. Sadly so. Maybe someday
Shikra female over a male
Hey Ben! Regarding falcons (not eagles), would you say males are usually better for education (non-hunting) because they're smarter/easier to train? Or would you go with the same logic you used for eagles, that the females are better for education too because BIG? :p
I know it's a case to case question but you only mention the education topic in the Eagles section :(
With large falcons, if I am doing flighted presentations I typically prefer males. They are usually more reliable and loyal and willing to stick around and not wander off. If I am just doing on the fist presentations, I prefer females because they are bigger and more impactful. My general rule is, I want to show how big a bird is. I always hate showing a bird, and saying, of course, if it is a female, it would be this much bigger. And the opposite is true. If it is a small species like a small type of owl, I like having a male to show just how small the smallest of something can be. But as you said, of course, each bird is an individual and it is a case by case basis. But in general, with large falcons, I prefer males for flighted shows, and females for showing on the fist up close.
Still laughing over “ butt fluff .”
Planner falcon
Lander Falcons🎉
Lanter falcon from George Falconer
I loved flying male gyr peregrine hybrid with dad... if you know my last name then you know who my father was... Baptiste
Laner falcon
Lanier falcon
it took me three seperate viewings but I got through it all.
Thanks for sticking through it all!
@@benwoodrufffalconry your channel is a godsend- Of course we all must listen to our sponsors first and foremost- but im getting such a great education from you here. Thanks.
Lanner falcon
So that explains all the comments 😂
Lanner falcon😅
Lanner falcon!
Lanner falcon
Lanner Falcon.
Lanner Falcon
Lanner falcon
Lanner Falcon.
Lanner Falcon
Lanner falcon
Lanner falcon
Lanner falcon
Lanner
Lanner falcon
Lanner falcon
Lanner falcon
Lanner falcon
Lanner
Lanner falcon
Lanner