Hello! I really appreciate your content and as a wildlife rehabber in training, your videos have really opened my eyes up to falconry. I know in some of your videos you have mentioned your experience with training birds for education. I would love to see a video about training raptors who are generally non-flighted and non-releasable, to become manned and how to get them comfortable for public presentations. Thank you!

Awesome video! Just the topic I was looking for! Keep going with the accipiter videos.

Nicely done Ben. Great information and presents falconry in a positive manner. Thanks for posting it.

Thank you for making videos like this that are very informative about falconry. Recently I've been getting very interested in falconry and am considering if that's something I would like to in the future.

Awesome video Ben. Answered a ton of my questions.

Another great video Ben! Keep up the good work.

Your content is amazing 😉 🕊

Ben .. very good subject right here . Thank you

Hi Ben, I’ve been watching your videos for quite a while now. Really enjoy your outlook and approach to working with these amazing animals. I’ve noticed that you have been focused on accipiters and love the content. Do you think at some point you might do a video on Harris’s hawks and their abilities in falconry? Thanks, Garrett

@benwoodrufffalconry

4 жыл бұрын

Definitely will be soon. Where we are starting the molt right now it will mostly be a history and intro and a little bit of a “how to” video, and then in the fall, I will do more hunting videos.

@grrrit1

4 жыл бұрын

Ben Woodruff awesome, looking forward to it!

Love your channel man thanks !

Just saw my first Sharp-shinned hawk yesterday and I really want one now. I better start studying and getting plugged in with falconers in my state. I really wanna try to see if falconry is for me

Hey Ben, entirely off-topic, but we've been watching the fledging of four Peregrines on the Wakefield Cathedral's channel, which i start to understand better from your channel. E.g., today, the male brought a live sparrow, or similar size, which one chick grabbed, ran into a corner of the nest, and mantled over ... he had to figure out how to stop the struggles of the prey, but managed it in 30 seconds, or so. I'm guessing that that is the beginning of the live prey training phase that the parents do, seemingly starting just before they fledge. Pretty exciting seeing them flapping away, and, suddenly, stepping off, entering their huge 3D world!

Ben, I have noticed on some of the falconry videos (especially using hawks) that the prey is sometimes not dead, when the falconer arrives to the bird. What is the best way to dispatch the prey, without interfering with the bird mantling over it?

Apreciatte! I miss the harris hawk but I under stand that this was respecting your area and preys available. Nevertheless could you say that in order of size, does accipiter share some of their behavior? For example in the acciptir bicolor could be similar to the cooper?

Great videos! Hey Ben, I’m super interested flying a Cooper’s hawk. My sponsor has a fair amount of experience with a Cooper’s. This is going to be my first year as a general but I have a close working relationship with him. Most of his experience is with imprint males. I want to try a female and hunt quail and try to hunt eastern cottontails. I’ve witnessed a female taking cottontails in the wild. Any suggestions and tips on training a female versus a male? Just wondering if there was much difference in attitude and style. Looking forward to your training videos on Cooper’s hawks. I’m not sure if this will be the year that I get one but I’m definitely interested in trying one. I want to hunt a “brancher” or “family” bird. I want to get a goshawk one day but their not native so I want to try trading an accipiter that can be eventually released. Thanks for any information you can provide and keep up the good work!

@benwoodrufffalconry

4 жыл бұрын

Not a huge difference between male and female on training, but I think the males are a bit more forgiving. But I still prefer the females.just be patient, and watch the “switches” between aggression and calmness. I’ll definitely get more content in the coming months on training coopers.

@matthewstarnes2237

4 жыл бұрын

Ben Woodruff thanks for the response! While I’m waiting I’ll just be training my jump dog! I’ve got a puppy ( a miniature dachshund) that I’m trying to get started good with rabbits so when I get that Cooper’s I’ll be more productive! Can’t wait to see the new videos!

Hello Ben. Good job. I like your videos very much. I had imprint goshawk, female, but she was so vocal I had to give her back because of neighbors complaints. It was big mishap for me. I am now considering bird reared by parents or social imprint. Problem is that I don't know how to make social imprint and what are benefits of imprint vs bird reared by parents? Is it better to take bird reared by parents and not bother with making social imprint. Sorry about my English it is not my native tongue.

Can we get some videos every now and you of hunting with the raptors?

Do you breed (AI) your imprints? I'd like to know more on this. Thanks Beb.

How to get the raptor ?? In the wild or breeding project ?

When falconers use Accipiters do they usually keep them until they die or release them after a couple years? For Red-tails my impression is that they're usually released after a year for example.

the coopers hawk is exactly half way in between a goshawk and a sparrow hawk

I live in Oklahoma City I am wanting to get into falconry. How do I start? Thank you for your videos they are very informative plus you hold the attention.

@grrrit1

4 жыл бұрын

Jack McKee best way to do so is find your local falconry club/association, go to field meets/ picnics and meet falconers. Ask to join them on hunts and make some friends. If you still are interested in pursuing falconry, join the club and stay active with them. It will all fall into place.

@jackmckee8491

4 жыл бұрын

garrett dittmer Thank you very much.

I was thinking that it might make sense to build a scale into the base of a perch, or design a base, with a scale, that you can use to attach different perches, a kind of "modular" perch/base/scale system...just thinking, as digital scales, with tare ability, are sub-$20. Sure wish that I could be falconing, but, time passes us by...

I've contemplated choosing a peregrine as my first bird because they're local where I am; I want to hunt waterfowl,quail, and doves specifically; and I feel like it would be less likely to go after my 13 lb dog who I want to use for hunting as well. Is this a good idea?

@benwoodrufffalconry

4 жыл бұрын

2 Devious peregrines are actually the easiest big falcon to train, and usually the most loyal. You definitely need radio telemetry or gps telemetry and so good help from a sponsor or friend with falcon experience to give you pointers to get them up and running, but as long as you have those things and are religious about your weight management, a peregrine is actually a great bird to start with. Because of the structure of the old laws and availability, people often think that a prairie is a better falcon to start with. But genuinely if you want to hunt with a big falcon, a peregrine is about as forgiving as you can hope for.

@2devious724

4 жыл бұрын

@@benwoodrufffalconry Thank you so much for your advice. I'll do some more research on prairie falcons too though and see if they would be a better fit. Thanks again!

what's better for a beginner, Grey faced or a Brahminy kite? Edit: I found a Kestrel like bird called Besra sparrowhawk

Rascally as being aggressive in its issues is really well put

I have pheasant, some quail, ducks, dove etc

Hi Ben or anyone else who can answer quick question could a falcon live on a perch if it is flown at least once a day and would be out in the sun with a bath during the day with someone home to watch for its safety and brought inside the house in a dark room at night to sleep because it gets very cold outside in the UK

@ClosedOnSundays6

4 жыл бұрын

yes

Ben, finally got my dream accipitor ...a female Coopers hawk. She hunts around 570gr. They sure are challenging, I've found out that with these birds darkness is your freind. When they are ready to hunt they are all about killing. Are you going to make anymore Coopers training videos ?

@benwoodrufffalconry

3 жыл бұрын

That’s awesome! Congratulations! She’s a big girl! I will have more accipiter videos in the coming months. Just swamped with so many things.

Southern Idaho here. Not a falconer yet. Im exploring the idea. It was my impression that apprentice falconers could only use red tails. However there is a lot of partridges, grouse, and pheasants where I live, and not many rabbits unless I make a 2 hour trip west, so a goshawk would be more up my alley. Could an apprentice buy an old world gos?

@benwoodrufffalconry

3 жыл бұрын

A few years ago the federal government updated their rules and states had to comply. States could be stricter, but I think Idaho is generally pretty open. With the new laws, an apprentice is not just limited to a red tail or a kestrel. The red tail is still a great bird to learn with. In many states, probably Idaho as well, and apprentice can get a parent raised goshawk or a passage goshawk as long as the bird itself is not an imprint. But a goshawk is a tricky bird. You want to check out the Idaho legalities for sure, but also would want to find a sponsor experienced with accipiters that could really offer help. And yes if it is your first gos, I would recommend an old world gos like a Finnish gos if you can make that happen, because they are more forgiving of mistakes than American gos.

@ClayCB

3 жыл бұрын

Thank you for the reply Ben. I do understand that goshawk are challenging. I watched a video you dedicated to them. Very helpful. I'll be looking to join our state falconry association, and get to know people who have experience with them. Hopefully I can find a sponsor. I agree that a red tail would be an ideal beginning bird. Could a Red Tail Hawk be an effective hunter for pheasants when hunted over a pointing dog, and the hawk perched up high over the point? Thanks again, and keep up the great content on youtube.

@benwoodrufffalconry

3 жыл бұрын

@@ClayCB red tails technically can sometimes take a pheasant, but it is rare, they don’t have quite the explosive power off the fist of a gos. Harris hawks are a good in between bird. With a lot of exercise, they can be trained to catch upland game and waterfowl. I love to hunt canal ducks with my Harris

Thanks for all your videos. I am building my first mew, planning on a red tail this summer, as long as I can find a sponsor in northern utah. as an apprentice without a sponsor I dont feel like I have enough direction on how to correctly build it. Could you put out a video to help those of us without a sponsor know what we need to consider in building a mew?

Have you ever heard of people creating hybrids among these three birds or is the size difference too big between them?

@benwoodrufffalconry

4 жыл бұрын

In most European countries, falconry laws and raptor breeding laws are much less strict than in the USA. so more hawk hybrids have been attempted in Europe. I don't know if anyone has ever crossed a sharp-shin with anything, but I know that cooper's hawks have been crossed both with American goshawks and European goshawks. The hybrid is a beautiful cross and hunts very well. In addition to this, bird banders in the US have trapped wild coopers X goshawk hybrids in the eastern states with some frequency. I wish I could fly one. They would be absolutely amazing! And the perfect size for going after partridge.

@JosephCartertheMinkMan

4 жыл бұрын

My buddy Dave Dixon is wanting to cross a white Siberian goshawk with a sharp-shinned hawk. The hope is to create a Cooper's Hawk sized bird with a remarkably better temperament. Also the females should have the cool white color to go with it. We will see if he gets the semen on time to attempt to this cross this year.

Wow

Can sharp-shin hawks catch squirrels

@benwoodrufffalconry

3 жыл бұрын

They can technically catch them meaning they can catch up to them and bind to them. But they cannot overpower one at all. A squirrel could easily kill a sharp shin with a bite and definitely has more mass to overpower the sharp shin. They are really only built to go after small birds. I hunt quail with the females, but even then they have a very hard time holding on to them. Cooper’s hawks do something’s hunt squirrels and ground squirrels in the wild, but it is rare and dangerous. There is one Cooper’s hawk nest near my house where they, rather surprisingly, almost exclusively hunted chipmunks. Very strange. Now gos hawks definitely do hunt squirrels, especially ground squirrels, and that is a risk as well. I know a few people who have intentionally pursued squirrels with goshawks in the eastern USA. But I wouldn’t intentionally do it personally. Sharp shins, Cooper’s and Gos are all quite delicate compared to other hawks of similar dimensions. Red tails are arguably the ultimate squirrel hawk. Goshawks could catch them easier, but red tails are tough enough, heavy enough, and have thick enough toes to withstand a battle on a tree squirrel. I have been out squirrel Hawking with Harris Hawks with some Falconers in Canada. They did extremely well. But the harris hawks knew what they were doing. If you are serious about doing tree squirrels, my personal recommendation would be a red tail. And for sharp shins, go after sparrows starlings and quail.

I always told myself if I became a falconer my goal would be to get to an experience level where I could train a goshawk

My choice is a Bicoloured Hawk🤣👍

First