On The Wings Of An Eagle... (Sort Of)

    I grew up hunting and fishing. If it has to do with those things, I've probably at least tried it. Archery, rifles, hand guns, and wrist rockets. Fly fishing, ice fishing, deep-sea fishing, trolling, trot lines, and everything in between. Hiking, camping, boating, and so much more.
   But I have to say one of the coolest things I've ever done out in, and with nature, is the few opportunities I've had to go out with my falconer friends to hunt with their birds.
   I don't really hunt anymore. Hunting was something I did with my dad, and I valued the time spent with him, and the knowledge that he passed on to me. I love the thrill of the hunt. Sneaking and tracking, making a strategy to outsmart your prey. It's a thrill when you are successful at getting close enough to a wild animal to reach out and touch it. I never liked the killing though. So when I moved out of my dad's house, my hunting pretty much stopped.
   When I discovered photography my love of the hunt was renewed. The things I like to take pictures of, and the modest equipment that I have, still require all the same skills as hunting only when you pull the "trigger" you get a photo to take home with you instead of meat. And I can go to the grocery store to get that. I'm not anti-hunting by any means. I think ethical hunting is necessary to the balance of nature.

   I'm getting away from my topic though. This first set of pictures is of my friend Scott and his Red-tail Hawk Chloe. Scott has invited me to go out with him and his birds a few times. Chloe is the first hawk I "met" up close. And I was very impressed.
   The first time Scott invited me out, I really had no idea what to expect. I hadn't ever done anything like it. But I was not going to miss the opportunity to interact with these awesome birds. I figured we would walk some open fields, he would carry the bird on his arm and if we kicked something up the bird would go for it. Wrong.
   The first thing we did that I wasn't expecting was going to a little patch of woods in Ann Arbor, that sits between a Meijer Department Store and a townhouse community. No more than a couple acres of trees, if that. Definitely not the open fields I was expecting. Then we got out of the car, he got Chloe out, checked her over, lifted his arm and she took off... I was stunned. I don't know why I thought the hawk was going to hunt from his arm, but I did. I guess I figured if she flew free she just wouldn't come back. She flew quite a ways off and perched in the top of a tall Oak tree near the Meijer. Then the really cool stuff started happening.

   Scott mentioned that wasn't really the direction he had hoped she would fly, I was thinking to myself "no kidding..." We walked a short distance towards her, he lifted his arm again, and blew a little toot on a whistle. He had to whistle a couple of times, but she flew right back to his arm. He gave her a little tid-bit of meat, turned her towards the woods we were going to hunt, and off she went again. This time to a tree on the edge of the woods.
   I was already impressed, and surprised by the way it looked like this was going to work. It was already not what I was expecting at all. But I thought I had it figured out now. The bird would hold it's perch in the tree, and we would probably circle around the side of the woods and push back through, to try to drive whatever critters we could towards her. Wrong again.
   Scott pointed a couple of directions, said you go that way and I'll go this way, and told me if I kicked up a rabbit to yell "Ho Ho"... Alrighty then, we headed straight into the woods and started walking away from the bird. I was confused again, I wondered how the bird would get the rabbit if we were pushing away from the bird. We only got a short distance into the woods when I heard the wing beats and turned to see Chloe take a new perch, right between Scott and I. A little further... The bird did the same thing. Wow! That was so cool... I was awe struck.

   That may not be so impressive to some, but let me explain. Chloe is not tame. She wasn't even born in captivity. In Michigan if the raptor a falconer chooses to fly is a native species, you have to capture your bird from the wild. (With proper licences and permits.) I think this is to insure survival rates of lost birds and fly-aways. Chloe is a wild animal.
   When I realized that she was just going to follow along with us like that, I really got into it. I got myself a nice hefty stick, and went to work. I walked over brush piles and dead-falls, poked and prodded into them with the stick. I turned things over. I looked in, and prodded inside hollow logs. I stomped and crashed brush trying to get anything to flush and run.
   Then it happened. I jumped a rabbit... The words came out of my mouth as if I had said them a thousand times before. It was almost an instinctual reaction. "Ho! Ho!" The rabbit ran, I called out, and Chloe flew into action it seemed almost simultaneously. Time seemed to slow down, as the bird's speed increased. It flew easily around trees as it's dive homed in on the rabbit. Chloe made her strike, the rabbit shot to the side at the very last second, and Chloe missed her mark. I didn't care. That was one of the most incredible things I had ever seen. Afterwards, she got a bit of food for her efforts, we hunted our way back to the car and headed home.
   Here is this wild bird. Flying completely free, able to fly off and go wherever it wants. And yet, it chose to follow two men into the woods. For me that was the most surprising part of the whole experience. It really impressed on me the intelligence of a hawk. It knew that we were working for it. It knew if it followed us we would give it an opportunity to eat. It knew we were a team. Not only that, but it used strategy by continuously placing itself directly between the two of us. Two species working together for a common goal. A true symbiotic relationship.

   This next set of pictures is Scott and Shakespeare. Shakespeare is a male Red-tail hawk. Males are typically smaller than the females, and Shakespeare is a much smaller, more streamline animal than Chloe. He also had a much different disposition. He was a little more leery of strange people, a little more skittish on the arm. He didn't like me getting in his face with the camera.
   Every bird of Scott's I've had the opportunity to interact with has taught me something I hadn't realized before. There is no "love" from hawk to man. There is no compassion, or loyalty. These birds are not pets. They are food driven, and smart enough to capitalize on opportunity. Shakespeare obviously did not like people. It was obvious he did'n even like to be handled by Scott. And yet, he still was willing to work with us to increase his chance of making a kill and and getting a meal.

   It's been a while since I have gone out with Scott and his birds.  We worked  together at one time, and now we just don't cross paths as often. But I know more opportunities will come. And when they do I won't miss the chance to learn more about this unique lifestyle, and these incredible birds.
   Scott recently obtained his first American Kestrel. The bird is still not ready to hunt. But he did invite me to just come take some pictures of the bird. So I did. I've included some of those pictures here as well. And I am looking forward to hunting with this bird when it's ready too.
   The final pictures are of my friend Harold and a Red-tail Hawk. I don't know Harold as well, we worked together at the same place with Scott. He was only there for a short period of time. He and Scott were friends previously. I have only been hunting with Harold once. But I definitely wanted to give him a mention, as he is a part of the awesome experiences with these birds. He usually flies Harris Hawks. I hope to be able to get some good pictures of them one of these days, but that chance hasn't come yet. Just one more experience to look forward to in my future...

 
 

 

   I shared with you some of my feelings about hunting, and one of  my experiences with falconry. How do you feel about hunting? Would you like to go hunt with these majestic birds? Just to have that experience, to be able to say "I did that". Or do you think it is wrong, or even cruel? I'd like to hear what you think. Please, take just a minute to leave a comment and share your view, or your experience. And thanks for reading my story.