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Cobra

Cobra

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I was sat in the garden last evening, as a feral pigeon was flying above a musket.
The musket was only on a prospecting flight ( I'm not really hungry but if an easy kill turns up, I'll take a shot)

Birds as you probably know will try and get above a predator to try and force in down where it poses little risk.
However some birds of prey are pretty good at flipping over mid flight and pulling a bird out of the air.

As before though, it was only prospecting, ( wings set and gliding on the breeze) besides a little male v large feral, wouldn't have been an easy kill.
 
Had to Google 'musket' as did not know that it is a alternative name for a sparrow hawk! Well embarrassed I am. :confused::rolleyes:
 
Giblets said:
Had to Google 'musket' as did not know that it is a alternative name for a sparrow hawk! Well embarrassed I am. :confused::rolleyes:
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TBH probably my bad, being a falconer its a commonly used term for a male sparrowhawk, Spar being the female
 
Well, another example of every day is a school day :)
 
We have a male that hits our feeders about once a week. But they are so close to an 8ft hedge that he has to be really lucky that the prey shoot off across the garden and into open space. I've seen him hit the feeder, and bundle into our apple tree in the past. They take a lot of risk for a kill sometimes.
 
Jelster said:
They take a lot of risk for a kill sometimes.
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Absolutely, they do!
It depends on how hungry they are and how late in the day it is,
Especially in the winter, as they have such a high metabolic rate, it can be a case of feed or die.
As an example. Training a 9-10oz female, she'll eat 3 day old chicks, per session.
Training a circa 24oz Pere x Saker ( Male) for example. he'll eat a 3 or 4day old chicks, per session.
 
I found a dead sparrowhawk next to the bird table when my wife lived in a rural area. It's neck was broken, no other obvious injuries, and I think it probably collided with the bird table during a tussle with something that didn't want to be eaten ... beautiful little bird, but peregrines are my favourite. I read about a pair that have been seen mating on a ledge on Salisbury Crags, the cliffs in Holyrood Park in Edinburgh. They're not far away so we'll walk over there with binoculars one of these days.
 
Cobra said:
Absolutely, they do!
It depends on how hungry they are and how late in the day it is,
Especially in the winter, as they have such a high metabolic rate, it can be a case of feed or die.
As an example. Training a 9-10oz female, she'll eat 3 day old chicks, per session.
Training a circa 24oz Pere x Saker ( Male) for example. he'll eat a 3 or 4day old chicks, per session.
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Chris, is a Peregrine x Saker fertile? I'm curious.
 
MartynK said:
Chris, is a Peregrine x Saker fertile? I'm curious.
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Luck of the draw Martyn. some are some aren't.
It does tend to be the females that are receptive though.
Hence the tri-brids ie gyr x pere x saker
That is Male Gyr into female Pere saker
3/4 pere x sakers etc.
That is male peregrine into female pere x saker
edited for a bit more detail
 
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Cobra said:
I was sat in the garden last evening, as a feral pigeon was flying above a musket.
The musket was only on a prospecting flight ( I'm not really hungry but if an easy kill turns up, I'll take a shot)

Birds as you probably know will try and get above a predator to try and force in down where it poses little risk.
However some birds of prey are pretty good at flipping over mid flight and pulling a bird out of the air.

As before though, it was only prospecting, ( wings set and gliding on the breeze) besides a little male v large feral, wouldn't have been an easy kill.
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I was totally confused with the Musket thing Chris :)

jMKNfEZ.jpg


Les :)
 
Lez325 said:
I was totally confused with the Musket thing Chris :)
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In case no one made the connection, in ancient times, the male was named after the gun,.
The speed it leaves the fist was compared to the speed the "round" leaves the barrel.
It all came about as shooting rather than falconry was the preferred hunting method.
 
A friend shot a video of a feral pigeon sat on the screen of Kings College Cambridge, seemingly oblivious to one of Cambridge's Peregrine Falcons sat on Kings College Chapel. Just as he was thinking "that's either a brave or very stupid pigeon" BAM! Peregrine took it in the blink of an eye.
 
Musket....ouch soddin 'eck that hurts !!:LOL:

Chris these crosses,..................... thoughts please....... how do you feel? . How much of this is now, AI? I know complex Q's asked very brief with a fair degree of ignorance it's fair to say, forgive me . but a genuine interest all the same

Les (y):ROFLMAO: I think the dapper guy is gonna go hungry. well ok fella probably has some sausages, but he won't be eating a Trafalgar and probably all the better for it !
 
Stuart Philpott said:
Chris these crosses,..................... thoughts please....... how do you feel?
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I have an open mind, Stu.
They are great for what they are designed for, deterrent birds.
Having said that, Sakers can be lazy, add a tad of peregrine, and that peps them up.
They can make great little corvid hawks.

And of course the hybrids are much cheaper than the pures, a decent Gyr will fetch upwards of £10k
A gyr x saker can or at least could be had for under £1K.
Sakers less ££. but I am out of touch with the prices, these day's so neither maybe accurate now.


The best pit bird I ever had ( trained) was a female Gyr x Saker. ( bred for size)
( it was a company bird, I was the keeper not the owner and had to hand it back when I left that company,
the guy that took over was a twatt and last I heard he lost her very quickly :( but I digress )

She was huge, once she matured, she was working hard @ 2lb 8z ( what ever that is in new money)
The landfill I was working at the time was being slaughtered by Black-backed gulls 1000-2000 persistently, daily.( both fair game at the time)
As you know, both large birds, and once I got her switched on, she was killing 2 or 3 a day.
It didn't take them long to realise, it was a hostile environment.

A smaller BoP wouldn't have been anywhere near as effective, The guy I replaced was flying pure peregrines,
( males about 1lb 6oz females around 2lb) and these, despite the speed, they were nowhere near as effective, due to the size and weight.
What I'm getting at is, horses for courses.

Stuart Philpott said:
How much of this is now, AI?
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As the technique has become more refined over the years, quite a bit.

Stuart Philpott said:
but a genuine interest all the same
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No worries (y)
 
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Chris thanks loads for the informative reply I only understand a tiny bit of what falconers do , I wanted to fly BOP as a child ......I do have a very base understanding of weights

I also have an open mind wasn't trying to put you on the spot just know how have knowledge and experience I don't.

I worked with a falconer at one of the bird collections think he had a tie in to Newent, JPJ ha ha Chris he tried to send me home with a harris ( sure it was called Fred) , I was almost mortified ya know jaw dropped to the floor. The AI Q came from him sort of as he told me about all this.

Mate i'm so sorry about the " work bird "., I'm so placid folks think I'm dead, but I'd of been raging at the loss you experienced god that must have been hard

Buddy a very simple Q what's "a pit bird" ?

Ta muchly :)
 
Cobra said:
No comment that I could post here about JPJ, all I'll say is her dad (Phillip Glasier) was a real gent.
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I think you did in 'The steely eyed gaze of a killer' thread though ... :)
 
Thanks for the come back I know nothing of them Chris cool to hear Dad is a gent.................... I won't ask more feel like I'm opening a can of worms with no intention too. :LOL: I seem to have a gift for that :banghead:

Re pit bird :cool: never hear the term cheers for that
 
MartynK said:
I think you did in 'The steely eyed gaze of a killer' thread though ... :)
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Ah yes I'd forgotten about that :D

Stuart Philpott said:
Thanks for the come back I know nothing of them Chris cool to hear Dad is a gent.................... I won't ask more feel like I'm opening a can of worms with no intention too. :LOL: I seem to have a gift for that :banghead:

Re pit bird :cool: never hear the term cheers for that
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No can of worms Stu, no problem
The name "pit bird" is used by people that fly them, as to opposed to a hunting bird that people fly for fun.
To put it bluntly, Pit birds are tools, hunting birds are toys , rarely are they used for the other use.
 
Stuart Philpott said:
Thanks for the come back I know nothing of them Chris cool to hear Dad is a gent.................... I won't ask more feel like I'm opening a can of worms with no intention too. :LOL: I seem to have a gift for that :banghead:

Re pit bird :cool: never hear the term cheers for that
Click to expand...

You might enjoy Phillip Glasier's book 'As The Falcon Her Bells' which is about his own experience with hawks and falcons. I bought my copy donkey's years ago when I was still at school, but it's available from Amazon.
 
Tools and toys, yup that's blunt get's the point over but blunt :LOL:
 
Martyn thank you TBF virtually the only reading I do now is here, hopefully one day that might change, ha ha one day in my dreams !! But I've logged that title thank you:)
 
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