How well does a male harris do on avian prey?

[sean]

Ill be getting a male harris soon and im hoping to fly it at things like rooks,gulls,sparrows,starlings and the odd duck. I will really only be flying it at weekends. do u think it will have a good chance of catching any of these birds in flight? Also how long would flights last?

[Weasel]

Absolutely! From what I have seen, they are quite capable at catching just about anything you listed. As for the length of flight....Depends on several things such as the type of slip, distance from the quarry etc.... Since you mentioned rooks, I assume your from Britain.
Cheers M8,
The Weasel

[sean]

Im from Ireland ;D

[Weasel]

Oops....wrong island ;D

[Minca]

I have heard of harris's being hawked on quail around here, which are a pretty quick little bird. And have heard a number of times of harris's being carhawked on crows in mall parking lots and college campuses. I think I've even heard something about harris's on ringneck pheasant! Are gulls legal to hunt there? They aren't here that I know of.

Also, you might want to make sure you can set up good ambush flights. My impression is that harris's are better off the fist like an accipiter and don't do as well in long tail chases....

[Ooby]

if you mean seagulls, good luck. They are protected in the states so who knows if you can catch em or not, but i don't think it will be easy.

Also your bird is going to suffer for only being out on weekends.

[chris]

If you want a good idea of what a harris's can do look into on of Emma Fords books. Remember to size your bird to if's prey. Harris's will take ringnecks to a terceil and a cock are not a good match. Slips are the secret every advantage is welcome.

[Pogo]

I have heard that in flight a male Harris acts much like and accip except without the speed. The can manuveur in dense cover if needed and have the balls to flat out tail chase for quite a while. I don't think you'll have a problem in the world flying at avian quarry.

[sean]

Thanks for all the replys.
Gulls are considered a pest here and therefore are legal.
And i will be flying nearly everyday but really only hunting at weekends

[austringer84]

Hi Sean, good luck with a male harris, myn catches all sorts of things, from pigeons, a crow, rats, rabbits, a squirrel, a woodcock, various song birds, two ducks (and other water birds), loads of cocks and hen pheasants, in flight, ambush, both from the fist and follwoing on. I've seen them flown from cars successfully at crows, and I've seen female harris's at gulls, i will try them some time soon myself... good luck, and if your eva in South england and wana try it here, let me know!

(just so you also realise the variety of game a male harris will go for, mine also caught a pine cone, horse poo and corn from a farmers field!all add to the amusement!)

[topaz]

What exactly did he do with pine cone, corn and horse poo? Not much fun to chase, any of them. And not terribly edible.

Does anybody here know what a Harris's sparrow and starling ability is like? Just looking at a Harris, you'd think it'd be too big and clumsy, but you hear stories...

[austringer84]

My male harris showed quick reactions in terms of catching a wren, fly catcher and a sparrow, but he has never show an inclination to starlings, neither does he spend much time considering small birds, if your going to go for such small birds why not try a musket (male sparrow hawk) or a kestrel, but that is only really a good idea for an experienced falconer, as they are easy to kill due to their little weight.

Isn't there any other quarries near u that u fancy goin for, a male harris is very durable...

(in reply to the pine cone etc, i think my hawk was merely using it as a training aid, in much the same way wild falcons and sparrow hawks will hit falling leaves and take them off trees, one assumes to practice thei foot eye coordination...

[Sparkly]

I read a book by a falconer a while back with a harris, basically a hunting log + thoughts. He took lots of little birds (the hawk got to eat them, thus being overweight most of the season). Don't know if it was the particular bird, the falconer's infulence, or a common trait for harris's, but whatever it was, there were lots of little birds being caught. So is it possible? Yes. Common? Not a clue.

[Falcon Boy]

I know of lots of people who supposedly have started their tiercel harris's on sparrows/starlings.

[bewit]

If you try flying a Harris at small birds you're going to spend a lot of
time sitting under trees & waiting for your hawk to come down.
It'll sit up there & eat them,then wait till it's sharp enough to return.
HH's will take a variety of quarry but I would venture they will be over matched against Gulls in fair flight. A lot of birds don't like the
soft downey feathers that stick to their beak & face, refusing to fly them.Having said this there is always the exception & the list of
quarry for a Harris is a long one, especially the one marked various!.