Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Falconry Friday! More thoughts on Ferrugis

As I alluded to last time, most falconers think Ferruginous Hawks should actually be classified as booted eagles (Aquila sp.). This is partly due to their size, strength, intelligence, and temper (!). It's also partly due to their general behavior , both in the field and at home. The USFWS at least partly agrees, as those interested in acquiring what's known as an eagle endorsement are required to have experience with a Ferruginous hawk (among others) as a pre-requisite.


Ferrugis evolved largely in open country from about Kansas west and are comfortable nesting on the ground when necessary. Indeed, they'd rather perch on flat ground than any branch or bow perch. They are also prairie dog hunters supreme, having relatively small feet and the patience to play whack-a-mole. They also have the largest mouth (gape) of any raptor and can swallow an adult prairie dog whole (which is really quite the thing to see!)

When they're not sitting in wait at a prairie dog town, they are as strong a flier as a golden eagle, if not quite as fast. Way, way faster than a red tail though, and will chase as long as they can maintain a visual. You have to have a pretty big area to fly them and be pretty confident in radio tracking as she'll go a half mile or more on a chase.

Factiod of the day: In Kansas there is an ongoing experiment on two large ranches re: prairie dog control. Ferrugies came back in these areas once they stopped poisoning prairie dog towns and through about year 5, the ferrugies have been more effective at controlling prairie dog populations than the poisoning program was.

fair warning if you want to try this yourself though: there are occupational hazzards!

Great pics and thanks for the info.

Was that a beak or talon injury? Did you have glasses deflect the hit?

What's wingspread, weight? Do they take jackrabbits, fawns, piglets,..?

What's ferruginous mean?

I think it's from that one book about all that sex stuff.

Talon - one in the temple, one in the medial corner of my eye, one lacerating underneath...


Wingspan is a little over 5 feet, weight is generally 1400-1800 grams for a female with males a third smaller.

They naturally focus on ground rodents - they can lay up to six eggs but will vary that based on the current rodent population.

They are more than capable of taking jackrabbit sized prey but it's not something they'd naturally focus on and thus it takes a bit to build up confidence.

Luna has killed about a dozen rodents, two pheasants, a young skunk but not jacks yet. She's come close, but is still a little intimidated by them

oh, and ferruginous comes from ferrous or iron colored. Adults are mostly white with red head and wings

Ferruginous gumbo would be on the menu if the bird was mine.

Darn, his wife coulda put his eye out with that book, Fb.

Thanks Lefty,
they definitely are impressive birds. Saw my first on up on the Palouse in E WA. Dark morph, when I saw it I thought that's an awfully large hawk.

Supposed to be in their range here in NE Cali, but I haven't noticed one yet.

Cool that you get to work them.

Geno

Ok. Thanks.

Hey Barry, my truck is ferruginous.

Good deal. Thanks. I raised a cripple red tail as a big kid. The crush power is unreal. As an eye doc I guess you know with a medial orbital talon penetration you're lucky it didnt squeeze real hard or you would have lost an eye. Darn.

Ferocious looking bird, looks like it carries a little attitude too.


Glad she missed the eyeball, I see she got the hair though........

What did you do to get it to let go?

she just panicked and used my face as a push off point. it wasn't malicious, she just spooked (at about 14wks old). those talons are razor sharp though and eye skin is paper thin -- it doesn't take much!

Sounds like you've had some experience, Paul. Did it taste like chicken?

Good deal. That was close. Are those what is often referred to as chicken hawks? Are they indigenous through Texas, east to west?

Thank, Utah.

utah-colorado-nevada- NM & AZ is the heart of their year round range. western kansas, oklahoma, and texas are in their winter range (nearly exactly the western half of each state)

summer range extends north to the US border


http://www.prairiewildlife.org/hawk.html

Thanks. It seems I see very few of the huge hawks here in Texas like I did 50 years ago.