The Second Season (2002/2003)

. Skeeter: Tiercel American Kestrel This season I will be hunting with an American Kestrel [Falco sparverius]. Kestrels are small falcons that are used to take other birds in a vairiety of hunting methods As of yesterday (17 january 2003) my sporty little tiercel Skeeter has taken over 30 starlings and house sparrows. This kind of falconry referred to as micro falconry, but is NOT micro in its capacity to satisfy the hunter in me! I have found that the epic struggle between predator and prey is alive and well in small hawk falconry. I have found the kestrel to be a bird very worthy of one's time. I will say that in my opinion a kestrel should be flown in fairly urbanized areas to really see their ability to catch large amounts of game. I caught birds with my kestrel in short flights of 10 feet and in long slips across field that totaled more than 150 yards. I also have caught a sparrow off of the t-perch. I have seen my bird hover in the hunt and even do a short waiting on type flight a couple of times with no training from me. In short I have seen some nifty flights from the tiny male I flew. He is adding new tricks to his attack style every time we go out. One of the main reasons for trying a kestel was the contagious enthusiasm of Matt Mullenix. He has taught me a great deal and I am forever in his debt. The other reasons for trying a kestrel was so I could learn small bird management and work on my squirrel dogs. I have definitely learned a great deal about small bird management and most importantly how to catch game with a small bird. I have not however worked on my squirrel dogs. I will be dedicating the rest of these cooler months to them. If you would like a bird that has heart and grit and will teach you to be a better falconer, and if you have game for it, I give you the kestrel and urge you to give one a season of your time. EXPECT them to catch game and you will not be disappointed! I had a great opportunity to try a male Harris' Hawk out this year. I got him from another falconer that had taken no game with him. We hunted from the tperch, trees and the carperch. Chance was a tremendous bird. We caught over 80 birds in less than a month and a half. I sold Chance for a few reasons. One is the lack of legal birds in my neck of the woods. The other is the too strong temptation of hawking squirrels. The last reason was my inability to find rabbits for him. I only caught one with him. I am training a rabbit dog now and hopefully in the future I will be able to fly another male HH again AFTER I learn how to find the elusive cotton tail.