Hunting story

by Luke
(manchester)

I just have to relate a great hunting trip that I had a few months ago out with my friend and his two male harris hawks.

I always knew that harris hawks were great at hunting together in a cast but to watch these two together was amazing!..

It was a great slip, we popped the jill down a rabbit hole in a hedge, for a while we didnt think she had found anything. Suddenly a rabbit bolted straight parallel to the hedge,

I was on one side of the hedge and my friend was on the other side. The rabbit bolted my side..:)

I had the older and more experienced hawk as well, the way in which the two hawks then coordinated with each other was as if they had pre planned the whole attack.

My harris shot off my fist but immediately it seemed to realise it did not have the best angle of attack.
My hawk also knew that the younger harris was silently flying parallel on the other side of the hedge (unbeknown to the the rabbit)

My hawk made a bluff stoop towards the rabbit which made the rabbit immediately bolt through the hedge straight towards the other hawk. The crafty little bird (hunting weight 1 lb 5 3/4) then pulled up out of the stoop, winged over the hedge in true spar fashion to rejoin the attack.

Meanwhile, the juvenile hawk managed to grab the unfortunate bunny by the rear end...(I guess he hasnt learnt to grab the head yet) just as the bunny made cover into a thick holly bush..good on him for hanging on though!
My hawk then landed on the other side of the holly bush, ran in and put an end to it.

My friend then had the awkward job of crawling in to a prickly holly bush and trying to trade two even more prickly indignant harris hawks from their kill.

This is normally not a difficult task but whilst under a bush it went a little wrong...the juvenile harris, being the clever little thing he is managed to see my mate put the rabbit in his falconry waistcoat...the next scene was hilarious...my friend waltzing round a wood with an angry harris stuck to his rear!

I chucked out a load of chick legs and the harris let go..

well done to the hawks and it was a really great day, I will always remember it!