|
Joined: May 2011
Posts: 890
Campfire Regular
|
Campfire Regular
Joined: May 2011
Posts: 890 |
As always very cool to see the friday postings!
Are the HHs and RT scheduled for a molt in the near future? I remember you mentioned previously that their exposure to light is manipulated but can't remember the details.
|
|
|
|
Joined: Mar 2006
Posts: 22,690
Campfire Ranger
|
OP
Campfire Ranger
Joined: Mar 2006
Posts: 22,690 |
the harris hawks are well on their way -- they've each lost 5-6 primaries and their down now. they're on 15hours of daylight
the RT is about a month out, I'm thinking, and the first molt is usually late and incomplete. she's only up to 12 hours daylight now (don't increase more than 5% per week)
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jan 2015
Posts: 7,843
Campfire Outfitter
|
Campfire Outfitter
Joined: Jan 2015
Posts: 7,843 |
Lefty, I love the thread and the pics. Sorry to see the season come to an end. The birds are beautiful. Post some pics occasionally, thanks.
"Government is not the solution to our problem, government is the problem." Ronald Reagan
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 22,884
Campfire Ranger
|
Campfire Ranger
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 22,884 |
If I am understanding correctly, an adult redtail would need the equivalent of about 50 pheasants/year for survival?
|
|
|
|
Joined: Mar 2006
Posts: 22,690
Campfire Ranger
|
OP
Campfire Ranger
Joined: Mar 2006
Posts: 22,690 |
maybe a titch more.
in the wild, they don't specialize in large game like pheasants / jackrabbits (high risk-high reward) , the prefer lower risk prey like rodents.
a big part of the training of a youngster in peak learning mode is turning them onto bigger game
|
|
|
|
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 7,041
Campfire Tracker
|
Campfire Tracker
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 7,041 |
Sir:
Curious how the red tails capture a pheasant. Do they flush the pheasant and grab it mid-flight or do they take the pheasant on the ground? Impressive feat either way. A pheasant is a big, strong fast bird.
Thanks,
Jordan
Communists: I still hate them even after they changed their name to "liberals". ____________________
My boss asked why I wasn't working. I told him I was being a democrat for Halloween.
|
|
|
|
Joined: Mar 2006
Posts: 22,690
Campfire Ranger
|
OP
Campfire Ranger
Joined: Mar 2006
Posts: 22,690 |
they're not fast enough to outrun a pheasant (or duck for that matter) in a straight away tail chase. they are, however, more than strong enough to overpower one (they regularly take 6-7# jackrabbits = 3-4x their bodyweight). they are trained to follow and wait on. if you can reflush the pheasant, they will get it virtually 100% of the time -- usually on takeoff or on second landing
|
|
|
|
Joined: Sep 2011
Posts: 44,922
Campfire 'Bwana
|
Campfire 'Bwana
Joined: Sep 2011
Posts: 44,922 |
Way cool again Lefty.
I'll assume (as a biologist, of slimy scaly things) that your comment earlier in the thread about "hormones" has to do with your girl RT looking for a boy somewhere? Or is it just the urge to migrate N from Utah?
I hope they have a nice spring/summer. You and the family too.
Geno
PS, my wife, our resident dog trainer/agility handler, was quite impressed with the capacity of the "grazer's" stomach revealed by the pic of the contents you posted the other day.
The desert is a true treasure for him who seeks refuge from men and the evil of men. In it is contentment In it is death and all you seek (Quoted from "The Bleeding of the Stone" Ibrahim Al-Koni)
member of the cabal of dysfunctional squirrels?
|
|
|
|
Joined: Mar 2006
Posts: 22,690
Campfire Ranger
|
OP
Campfire Ranger
Joined: Mar 2006
Posts: 22,690 |
thanks Geno! "hormonal" at this age means urge to migrate. they don't reach sexual maturity until age four (if you thought puberty was rough with your kids, try to imagine them but with talons and 4x your grip strength!).
|
|
|
|
Joined: Sep 2011
Posts: 44,922
Campfire 'Bwana
|
Campfire 'Bwana
Joined: Sep 2011
Posts: 44,922 |
Gotcha, No recent experience with hawks, but years ago my Africa Grey (timneh) could sink his hooks pretty good when he wanted! Maybe he was "hormonal" Again, I sure appreciate the break from routine your birds provide. Geno PS. our 2.3 year old whippet doesn't seem to know how hard he's "playing" when he attempts to use his teeth. Of course, he sort of assumes I'm just another dog to play with. "Mom" is the boss.
The desert is a true treasure for him who seeks refuge from men and the evil of men. In it is contentment In it is death and all you seek (Quoted from "The Bleeding of the Stone" Ibrahim Al-Koni)
member of the cabal of dysfunctional squirrels?
|
|
|
|
Joined: May 2006
Posts: 649
Campfire Regular
|
Campfire Regular
Joined: May 2006
Posts: 649 |
Love seeing these threads, thanks for sharing!
|
|
|
|
Joined: Dec 2011
Posts: 2,909
Campfire Regular
|
Campfire Regular
Joined: Dec 2011
Posts: 2,909 |
As always, fantastic post. Thanks again.
|
|
|
|
Joined: Apr 2008
Posts: 10,946
Campfire Outfitter
|
Campfire Outfitter
Joined: Apr 2008
Posts: 10,946 |
Very cool, thank you for sharing.
|
|
|
|
Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 46,238
Campfire 'Bwana
|
Campfire 'Bwana
Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 46,238 |
they're not fast enough to outrun a pheasant (or duck for that matter) in a straight away tail chase. they are, however, more than strong enough to overpower one (they regularly take 6-7# jackrabbits = 3-4x their bodyweight). they are trained to follow and wait on. if you can reflush the pheasant, they will get it virtually 100% of the time -- usually on takeoff or on second landing Raptor delivered pheasant dinner, that's cooler than the other side of the pillow.
Trump Won!
|
|
|
|
Joined: Feb 2009
Posts: 10,931
Campfire Outfitter
|
Campfire Outfitter
Joined: Feb 2009
Posts: 10,931 |
Matt this past week my wife and I watched a demonstration at the Harrisburg outdoors show where the guy had both Redtails and Harris Hawks. I was surprised at the difference in size even though he said his redtail was unusually large (56+ ounces?). I'm just wondering what your birds hunting weights are?
They say everything happens for a reason. For me that reason is usually because I've made some bad decisions that I need to pay for.
|
|
|
|
Joined: Mar 2006
Posts: 22,690
Campfire Ranger
|
OP
Campfire Ranger
Joined: Mar 2006
Posts: 22,690 |
56oz (1500g) would indeed be a ginormous RT.
All three of my birds are females (1/3 larger than males) and all three fly at 980g (34oz), and molt at 1150g (40oz).
My Harris Hawks are on the large end of the scale - average is about 750- 800g for a female -and my RT is average for a western RT (eastern ones are more like 1200g flying weight)
RTs "look" larger both because they have shorter legs and tail making them look more compact. They also have twice the number of body feathers the HH have
|
|
|
|
Joined: Mar 2006
Posts: 22,690
Campfire Ranger
|
OP
Campfire Ranger
Joined: Mar 2006
Posts: 22,690 |
|
|
|
|
Joined: May 2006
Posts: 649
Campfire Regular
|
Campfire Regular
Joined: May 2006
Posts: 649 |
Thanks for sharing again this year!
|
|
|
|
Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 46,238
Campfire 'Bwana
|
Campfire 'Bwana
Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 46,238 |
Da-YUUMMMM!
Trump Won!
|
|
|
|
565 members (1eyedmule, 007FJ, 12344mag, 10Glocks, 1234, 1beaver_shooter, 52 invisible),
2,690
guests, and
1,226
robots. |
Key:
Admin,
Global Mod,
Mod
|
|
Forums81
Topics1,190,566
Posts18,453,797
Members73,908
|
Most Online11,491 Jul 7th, 2023
|
|
|
|