this post was submitted on 31 Dec 2023
183 points (97.4% liked)
[Outdated, please look at pinned post] Casual Conversation
6590 readers
1 users here now
Share a story, ask a question, or start a conversation about (almost) anything you desire. Maybe you'll make some friends in the process.
RULES
- Be respectful: no harassment, hate speech, bigotry, and/or trolling
- Encourage conversation in your post
- Avoid controversial topics such as politics or societal debates
- Keep it clean and SFW: No illegal content or anything gross and inappropriate
- No solicitation such as ads, promotional content, spam, surveys etc.
- Respect privacy: Don’t ask for or share any personal information
Related discussion-focused communities
- !actual_discussion@lemmy.ca
- !askmenover30@lemm.ee
- !dads@feddit.uk
- !letstalkaboutgames@feddit.uk
- !movies@lemm.ee
founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
view the rest of the comments
Falconry. It's really more of a lifestyle than a hobby now though. I've been doing it for a little over 10 years now and am currently flying a cast (group of birds flown together) of 3 Harris's Hawks.
Quick faqs:
Birbs:
Look at dose birbs!!
Do you like owls? How smart are the birds? Are they as smart as a talking raven?
I like owls but they are not used for Falconry because they have poor lateral thinking (Owl knows how to jump to the glove inside, take them outside owl knows nothing) and because we have to follow all hunting laws (can't hunt after dark). But for people who can hunt after dark, using an owl sucks because it's dark and you can't see anything that happens. Most falconers just love to watch their birds fly and it's hard to see them fly in the dark!
Harris's hawks are one of the smartest hawk species but I'm sure ravens are smarter. I think they've gotten HHs to use a simple tool but they are not as proficient as ravens. But in my observations it only takes one single bad experience for most raptors to never want that experience to happen again. And on the flip side, if they get rewarded doing something once they will remember that for a long time
Owls sound a bit dumb. Though they're still cute. I plan on training a local starling population to fetch me money and attack my enemies. I'm training them with Gregg's. They're already taking food from my hands.
You may like c/superbowl
Who owns the birds? Are you tired of eating rabbit? It's a really cool hobby!
Technically the US government owns the birds, but two of these are mine and one is my wife's who is also a licensed falconer. We purchased them from licensed breeders. They are from, left to right, Nevada, Washington, Louisiana. They were shipped to us on an airplane and we picked them up at the airport.
Most of the rabbit goes back into feeding them over the summer when they are molting their feathers. I do make 2-3 rabbit dishes a year though. Last year I made sausage which was pretty good.
Does the government own ALL raptors, or are yours part of something like an airport bird removal project?
Idk if own is the correct term but the US regulates most native birds through the Migratory Bird Treaty Act and Falconry has a special exclusion from that act. But it's along the same lines as just because a deer is in your yard it doesn't mean you own that deer. You need permission from the government to take it.
Thanks for paying the bird tax!
Looked into this for a hobby. Was amazed at how well regulated it is and such a big commitment.
Amazing!!!