Rehi all! Hopefully your weather hasn't been as bad as ours -- we now have 22-26" of snow on the ground even in places that rarely get more than a dusting. It's stayed cold too, so no crusting or subsidence. We've been on snowshoes since before turkey day and it's getting really difficult to get around. Add in non-plowed seasonal roads and sheesh!

We're right at 40 kills, which would make a decidedly mediocre year after a run of 6-7 years with 100+ kills. Rabbits are at the bottom of their cycle too and it's been tough sledding this year!

That looks mighty dark and cold. What have your raptors killed besides rabbits this year?

As always, thanks for the great photos.

RS

Beautiful photos, as always. Thanks for posting.

incredible pics...........

kool sport !!!!!

Rip,

lots of rodents , a weasel, maybe a dozen pheasants, one chukar

Very Nice! Way to stay after it.

Thank you for bringing this back. Unique, enjoyable, and something we'd never get to see without your posting it. Bravo!!

Beautiful birds. Very majestic. Thanks for posting. What species are they?

the darker ones are Harris Hawks, native to the Sonoran desert. This is their seventh season.The bigger one is a Ferruginous hawk and she's just a baby at about 6 months old.

Thank you. That’s nice!

Thanks Lefty,

and again, as others mentioned, glad to have you back on Fridays.

Rabbit cycle really low here in NE Cali too. Western edge of the Great Basin. Had some good tracking snow the other day but would have felt guilty going after the bunnies there's so few.

Geno

Great pics!! Thank you for sharing.

You take some real BA pictures. Thanks for sharing. Would love to watch you work your birds.

Really enjoy your posts! Quick question, will hawks kill mink? Found a dead mink out pheasant hunting and can’t imagine much that would go after one.

Excellent work. Know anyone who uses owls?

As always UL, it's a pleasure to open one of your threads. Thanks for taking the time to post here.

we haven't run across mink in our travels, but they surely would. they've killed 2-3 long tailed weasels over the years (think half sized mink).

as for owls, great horned and eagle owls are species most often tried. we had a GHO for 2 years. He was probably the nicest owl I've ever handled but we utterly failed at hunting him. they're dumb as rocks.

I hate to hear owls are on the avian short bus... always been fascinated by them. I was night hiking with my English setter when we came across 2 screech owls roosted about 6 feet off the ground. Gracie smelled bird and was turning herself inside out trying to figure out where they were... The owls just sat there calm as could be with a kind of "dogs just don't get the concept of up" kind of look

What can you tell us about hawk migration? Do yours not feel the urge to fly way South because they understand there is a freezer full of game back at the house?

owls are unfortunately on the more reptilian side of the evolutionary scale. they're very good at what they do, but it's mostly instinct rather than smarts....


we usually (when the weather permits) stop hunting by the end of January. After that, there is a very real risk of the birds taking off -- they have a strong migratory / breeding hormone surge as the daylight starts to increase again (most mate Jan-Mar)

ttt