I needed to pop in to ask JB a technical question and thought I'd take the opportunity to do a drive-by.

I've upgraded to master class now and the Harris Hawk twins are starting their seventh season now with 400+ kills to date.





Our latest project has been training a baby Ferruginous hawk , who is now about 22 weeks old and already has a dozen kills to her credit

In other related news, my 17YO son killed a B&C wild bison on the Book Cliffs last week:







Cheers!

Congrats on your falconry and that BISON!

I admire anyone that goes to such effort to raise and fly birds like that. It ain't no casual hobby.

Do you hunt the Harris hawks together so they can team up? That would be amazing to watch.

Happy chewing!

sure do! If you go the my website by clicking on any of the pics, there is a video gallery of them hunting together. there are a bunch of 2-3 minute videos

Hi Matt!

Thanks for stopping in.cool pics as always!

Amazing pics for sure.

Your Ferruginous looks like it might have killed a skunk, (pic 224, https://www.klarphotography.com/p30472897/h98F36147#hd4c17005). Is that what it is and how did it turn out for you? Never thought about one taking something I might not want them to take. Could be a surprise now and then.

Yes! I miss falconry Fridays...

and that is way too cool on the bison, tell him congrats! Jealous here...

Opening day of duck season we were surrounded by raptors... multiple merlins, sharp-shinned, a very pale goshawk, a couple falcon that almost for sure were peregrines, eagles... Lots of bird killers. It was very cool.

cool stuff...

Good to see your post.

Very cool.

+1

Welcome back!

Beautiful birds!

Mike Holmes

striped skunks are not protected in Utah, so no biggie. Other stuff that is protected has to be reported and is subject to the let it lay rule: you have to report to the state within 24 hours (just an email) and they'll cross reference that with your annual kill reports. Endangered animals or species of concern level II have to be reported to both the state and the USFWS (such as the burrowing owl the HAHAs killed a few years ago). I'm sure the system could be abused, but I've never gotten more than a "thanks for the report" response so far.

The let it lay rule means the bird can feed on the carcass, but it cannot be taken into possession -- it has to be left where it fell, which usually means burying it to get the bird to transfer off of it.

I do indeed remember. It’s good to see your smiling face here again. 😁

Hey Lefty,

So good to see pics of the birds again. Along with the Friday music threads your falconry posts made Friday a day of expectation.

Thanks for putting up the ferruginous pics, wonderful birds, and BIG when full grown.

Hope the rest of life is treating you well too,

Geno

And then some! Her post feeding weight is bigger than both the HAHAs put together. Most falconers believe ferrugis should be classified as booted eagles (Aquila sp) -- they have the temperament (and temper!) of an eagle and are nearly as strong. With the DNA testing being done now, that may well happen in the future -- they now know falcons are not related to hawks and eagles at all but rather in the parrot family. An interesting example of convergent evolution

Your photography has always been spectacular. Recently gained an interest in night sky pics. Ever done any?

Think I'm gonna buy a camera...

We all missed you, Matt. Very happy to see you here again. Say Hi to the family, willya?

Missed the hawk's presence.

will certainly do Rocky! thanks!

Great to see your post and the wonderful pictures. Have definitely missed your presence here!

That is surprising and amazing, thank you!

You have been sorely missed. 3 years already, holy cow we're getting old!

OP, your photography is exceptional.

Great Pictures

I'm not talking to you........I'm mad because you quit posting.

Awwww heck I'm over it!



Doesn't matter, If your Falcons start talking to you you still need meds............

Good to see you posting again UL, Those birds are awesome!!

Great to see you back Matt. I sure missed the pictures and your other posts.

Thanks for dropping in. Always enjoy seeing photos of your “killer birds” 😁

While watching you groom young birds to become efficient hunters I’ve come to realize that falconry is more of a way of life rather than a hobby and requires a huge investment in time and money.

beautiful birds !!!!

bet the Bison was a chore.........especially with the never ending summer heat this year

It certainly is, or is at least supposed to be, a major commitment. One of the biggest gripes us old timers have about the millenials is the lack of focus on hunting and the desire for some "arm candy". It's become too easy to get a falconry license with way too many peeps just posting pics of themselves on instagram and FB.






Cooling down a 1900# carcass in 90*F heat was one of the biggest logistical challenges I've faced! All worked out though -- I brought a 20 cu ft freezer and propane generator and it worked perfectly!

Glad to see you back. Please keep up the Friday posts!

Matt,
Your posts and pictures were always one of the most positive features of the Campfire forum. Thanks for sharing these new pictures. Glad to see that you and the birds are doing well.

I knew something was missing around here. Come back soon.
Great pictures.

Very cool!
Those birds have always fascinated me. Thanks.

Matt, You and your posts are sorely missed around here, but it's understandable.

Good to see quality posts like this again. Don't be such a stranger.

Always enjoyed your post s and the birds,please stop back more often,it's very interesting.

Yes, I remember them. They were always a highlight. Wish you would start them up again.

Wow! Just wow! 😎

And congrats to your son, lots of folks wait their whole lives to take a buffalo 😎

Please come back and post pics of your birds, Iv also missed them. and would like to see more of your new bird!

I’ve missed your Falconry Friday post. Keep them coming.

John

Thanks for the response. I figured it was something like that, but was wondering more what it would be like if the skunk sprayed. Had not thought of the ESA issue.

The worst kill we ever had to deal with was a long-tailed weasel the HAHAs killed their first year. They're mustelids and the hahas were not very efficient killers at the time. There was stink everywhere. My daughter (the other falconer) was there and was dry heaving for about a half hour. We had to throw both gloves away....

Very nice to see you posting again..... How did the custom rifle you were building turn out?

I'm also interested in more details about :

"Cooling down a 1900# carcass in 90*F heat was one of the biggest logistical challenges I've faced! All worked out though -- I brought a 20 cu ft freezer and propane generator and it worked perfectly!"

Did you have to debone it all first to make it fit? I think buffalo steak is the best red meat I've ever eaten.... congratulations.

Missed these posts. Thanks for stopping in!

2ndwind,

I used to have a custom made 4x4x3' cooler that I used for warm weather hunts. It finally fell apart and in looking for a replacement of similar size, it became apparent that it'd be cheaper to just buy a 20 cu ft freezer and a generator so that's what I did.

I pre-filled the freezer with eight 6-gallon water jugs and froze them to -16*F, which had to have been about 500# of ice.





We took four legs in game bags plus 3 bags of deboned meat back to camp. Once there we layered the four legs and ice jugs in the freezer with one bag on top . The two additional bags didn't fit and we put them it traditional coolers using the leftover frozen 6-gal jugs. We turned the freezer on and it kept the meat at 35* for 3 days on my flatbed trailer.






For smaller hunts (like antelope season coming up on Tuesday) we'll not take the trailer or the generator as they'll be day trips. The freezer fits in the truck and should function fine as a big "cooler" with the pre-frozen ice jugs.

BTW, the finished deboned and wrapped meat came to about 14 cu ft -- we could fit an antelope on top of it in our 15 cu ft basement freezer but that's about it. Good thing we have more than one freezer!

This

UtahLefty, My wife and I went deer hunting for our honeymoon and it was her idea to do so.... While we dated I had prepared a wide variety of venison dishes for her and being a former farmgirl she thought the concept of "free meat" was just great.

We are coming up on our 22 nd hunting season together. We do all the processing field to fork..... We don't have a walk in cooler to age the meat (yet) but run an extra refrigerator to keep the meat cool for at least a week before we cut wrap and freeze it. We think of ourselves as "trophy meat hunters".... Always interested to see how others go the extra mile to properly care for game meat.

We got a Sous-vide machine last year and can't say enough about how well it works on lean game meat.

Remember, and frankly one of the real highlights of this board. Thanks for sharing again.

Falconry Friday was for the birds...

welcome back UL...been a while

I remember and miss FF! Thanks for the post, keep them coming!

Welcome back!