I drove up to south central Kansas last weekend to finish my hawking season on pheasants. After an unsuccessful pheasant chase, my bird returned and was circling me, waiting for me to call her down. I took one extra step and a covey of quail I didn't know about flushed under my feet. Totally accidental, but welcome. It's not the trophy a rooster pheasant is, but a male bobwhite is a pretty cool consolation prize. A female prairie falcon on quail is definitely overkill, but it's game in the bag.

I saw a wild hawk catch a quail once. It was something to see.

That's pretty cool. I'd love to see one of those birds work in person.

I saw a hawk pick up a bird after it was shot. Guy that shot it got his bird back. The hawk dropped it

Seeing hawks and falcons chase quarry is exactly why I do falconry. It's up close birdwatching.

I have had several Hawks go after birds as I am planting them for a hunt.

We welcome hawks and falcons owners to use our club with live quail.

I've seen them picked up at several NSTRA trials near Katy.

It seems we trained a hawk to keep an eye on us this year. I witnessed a hawk beat a hunter to a dead bird and as he flew off with his lunch the cussing he got from the man was pretty amusing. The next time we hunted the area a hawk was stationed nearby and when the shooting started the bird left his perch and came toward the action. Pretty interesting to me.

Those aren't falconry birds. Those are either northern harriers or Cooper's hawks that have learned that humans walking around in orange with sticks that go bang mean dead quail on the ground they can pirate. I've had harriers do it with ducks that have floated to the opposite side of a tank. Pretty amazing they can figure it out.

We have a pair of Cooper's hawks that nest near our house.....raised two chicks last year. They hunted Eurasian doves and squirrels in our back yard.....we have about 10 feeders out....love watching them.

I love watching raptors and am excited to see this years batch.....

EDIT: About four years ago I was setting in a deer stand with my youngest son....little box stand sitting under a big dead oak tree...a red tail swept out of a tall tree behind the feeder (85 yds away) gliding over the top of the feeder then about 4' off the ground directly towards us in the stand....we thought it was going to come in the window until at the last second went up into the tree behind us....had to be within a foot of the deer stand roof as he went over....about 20 mins later he returned towards the feeder about 2' off the ground...just above the grass and nailed a squirrel under the feeder....tree rat never had a chance.....very kool to watch.....

Beautiful bird

Wow,,, I thought all that was only on TV.

x2 Great shot of her with her kill

good thing you are not there this week

Yes, a friend has been staying in a hotel for three days. Thankfully his house has not burned.