Duck hawking videos

Some of y'all have asked to see videos of duck hawking. Here are two that I finally got around to uploading.

In the first video, my friend's peregrine stoops at a flock of mallards and barely hits one. If you listen closely you can hear the falcon impact the duck. Mallards are very cagey, so the duck sideslipped and gave the falcon only a glancing blow. Mallards are tied with pintails for the most difficult ducks to take in falconry.

In the second video, there are mostly teal and a few gadwalls. My gyrfalcon/peregrine hybrid stoops them repeatedly. As you can see, the teal keep dumping into the grass at the instant before they get hit. They also do their best to absolutely stay on the water. Eventually he hits one away from the pond and lands on it to finish it off. The younger dog in the second video is still learning good falconry manners so he starts to crowd the bird on the ground a little bit. Thankfully the falcon is tolerant.

The numbers of ducks we bag don't fill up the tailgate or side of the boat, but when our little side of the hunting world goes right, few things match the spectacle.

https://vimeo.com/114731894

https://vimeo.com/114732428

Do you need a dog when hunting with a falcon? Poor dog wants to fetch a duck.

We don't need a dog. When I hunt by myself I don't have a dog. There are advantages and disadvantages to hunting with them. The main advantage is that they help get ducks off the water, which as you can see can be tough with a falcon in the air. The main disadvantage is that once you release the dogs, all the control of when the ducks flush goes out the window. With just people, you have some control over when the birds flush. Overall, a well trained dog helps more often than not. One of the dogs in the videos is an incredible falconry and just general upland bird/waterfowl dog. The other is only two and just starting to really learn the game.

You need ducks off the water? I would think falcon could snag a duck on the water.

I'm watching on iPhone, I could not see the falcon hit the duck, but would like to see some more this action, pretty cool.

They can't pick them up off the water. Even teal are too heavy. If they were to try, the duck would just dive as they get close.

I have had a hawk swoop down and hit one of my decoys, I guess it's claws did not sink into the plastic decoy, heck it might have been an eagle, it was in west Texas.

If a falcon in a full dive hits water it won't be good.

Nice videos UT!!! If you're ever in west Texas give me a shout. Got a flooded field loaded with ducks and no trees or obstructions near by.

Guy, redtails and owls will hit decoys. They could pick a small duck off the water far enough to get it to land. They will try this on wild ducks but quit pretty quickly as they realize the ducks keep diving. I think they rationalize that the decoys look "unaware" so they try it.

Yeah, I bet it was a redtail.

Hands down the coolest thing ever. How did you even get into this?

Did it get a mallard in the first video?

DuckCoach, nearly anyone can be a falconer. You need a lot of time, patience, and some money. If you're interested, PM me. You can also check out the Texas Hawking Association website.

Dfwguy, no the mallard shrugged off the hit and kept flying.

Man that is cool! How much time and money exactly does this take? I'm assuming you need some kind of permit or such to own/use a bird like that?

Yeah it takes a lot of commitment so I have heard. Since technically the hawk belongs to the state so it is all regulated. Definitely not a pet.

So cool

You have to find someone to sponsor you through your two year apprenticeship, then take a test, then build a facility, and then you can trap a bird and start hunting. It's a big time commitment. You can clean a gun and put it in a safe. The bird has to be flown. They are not pets. If I had a pet bird I would not choose a mean, messy falcon.

It's a lot of work, but also a lot of fun.

Great video.

very cool, I think it'd be fun to train a falcon, but I have a hard enough time training my lab, let alone a bird!

Thanks for the info. Checked out their site and did a little research. The money and time are both issues for me.. as much as I'd like to give it a shot, there's no way! Awesome sport though.. I'd love to see this first hand one day!

I can't believe how hard it is to get those birds off the water with a bird in the air. Dogs and people flushed them numerous times and they kept landing again.

The ducks will absolutely fly right by you to get back on the water. Big, strong flying ducks will get up and try to beat the falcon over small water. On big water they will just swim in circles away from the dog. Even on small water, slower ducks will turn back to the pond every time the falcon even tips a wing at them. It's very clear which predator they are most concerned with.

Blows my mind. Coolest thing EVER!

Which is the seasoned dog? The solid brown GSP?

It was fun watching the dogs work the birds in the video, and how the birds didn't want to leave the water. It would be a lot of fun to watch this all in person. We need more vids! lol

Great Video

Imagine the swattage that could occur if I added a bird to the team.

Alexrex, yes, the very well trained, experienced dog is the eleven year old German shorthair. The young dog is an English setter. Virtually any dog will work for this type of endeavor. One thing a trained retrieving dog can do is find birds that dump into cover, like the rat of the duck world, the teal.

Fooshman, yep, you could swat as many as you want!

That's awesome