Introducing Torin

[Stuart]

As some of you already know I have been training a young Harris hawk named Torin.

well he's now fully trained and slowly becoming a proficient hunter, so I thought it would be a good time to introduce him to the you all.

 

[leon-1]

Your freind is a most beatifull creature Stuart :biggthump

 

[hobbitboy]

Awesome! Would love get into falconry but really don't know were to start! Help?

is it possible to hunt with Torin? Am I right in thinking Harris Hawks hunt in "packs" (family groups)?

oh, once again, awesome creature!

 

[tomtom]

i've been looking forward to seeing him Stuart!

He Looks AMAZING! your a luck fellow! :biggthump

 

[TheViking]

Welcome Torin. :wave: That's an awesome bird you got there Stuart. ack: :biggthump

 

[JakeR]

Woah! That must have been some challenge stu. Most impressive! and what a creature :biggthump

 

[Tvividr]

Beautiful !

 

[arctic hobo]

Wonderful and beautiful. How did you get into it?

 

[Snufkin]

Beautiful bird and great pics too

 

[Kath]

He's fantastic Stuart! Well done!! :biggthump :biggthump :biggthump

 

[Stuart]

Awesome! Would love get into falconry but really don't know were to start! Help?

is it possible to hunt with Torin? Am I right in thinking Harris Hawks hunt in "packs" (family groups)?

oh, once again, awesome creature!

acquiring a hawk as not as difficult as I first imagined.

I went to my local hawking center and took lessons on handling and training hawks and found someone who would be happy to help me though the process and answer my endless questions.

I then built an enclosure based on the ones used at the center and put a deposit down on an egg.

the egg hatched and we waited for him to become developed enough to me moved to his new home and I paid 150 pound for him.

the training however is long, exhausting and easy to get wrong.

Harris hawks are indeed pack hunters which makes them considerably easier to train than most other hawks as they begin to see you as the head of the pack.

this pack mentality means that taking torin out is akin to walking a dog, torin simply flies free and follows me closely as I walk returning to the glove only when called.

more and more now he is making kills, so far only Pheasant and a wood pidgion his vision is quite amazing and the first you know of a potential prey is torin hurtling though the trees or across the fields.

When this happens you (as a member of the pack) are expected to keep up, because of the way he is trained and his pack mentality he will attack animals larger than he himself would be able to easily kill (like a fully grown male pheasant or rabbit) he will hold the struggling creature down with great effort waiting for you to arrive and dispatch it.

you also have to have the free time to fly him for 2-3 hours a day, some people claim once or twice a week is fine but I personally feel that this is intolerable, so torin fly’s every single day for 2-3 hours If you do not have the time to allow this then please do don’t take on a hawk.

so its hard work to train them and takes up a lot of time to fly them, but as you can probably see from the photographs it is incredibly rewarding

 

[jdlenton]

wow he's beautiful): I am another wanabee falconer the explanation answered a lot of my questions thanks stuart

 

[tomtom]

I have been wanting to get a bird for ages but think it best to wait untill i am done with Uni etc..

where do harris hawks come from?

 

[Stuart]

I have been wanting to get a bird for ages but think it best to wait untill i am done with Uni etc..

where do harris hawks come from?

they are native to south america

 

[boaty]

you also have to have the free time to fly him for 2-3 hours a day, some people claim once or twice a week is fine but I personally feel that this is intolerable, so torin fly’s every single day for 2-3 hours If you do not have the time to allow this then please do don’t take on a hawk.

I've been wondering about this - how does Torin cope when you're away on expedition?

 

[Stuart]

My family fly him, aware of the fact that there would be long periods of time where I wouldnt home torins encloser was built behind my parents house (just down the road) so that the could care for him whilst I was away.

torin will fly happily with just about anyone, the only people he dosent seem to like are children and bald people.

 

[jakunen]

Beautiful bird mate.

You must talk to Taz, E-spy's kid brother about Harrises. He used to fly them too. Has a great story about a show his old clubs hawks did. Had me snorting beer! :rolmao: :rolmao: :rolmao:

 

[martin]

The guy that taught me about falconry had a Harris. He was out hunting with it and lost it down a disused factory chimney. It took 2 days to get it out, he had to knock a 3ft by 3ft hole in the brick work at the bottom of the chimney :yikes:
Another guy that we hunted with lost his Lanner Falcon up here in North Lincolnshire and it was recaptured near Ipswich

 

[ESpy]

You must talk to Taz, E-spy's kid brother about Harrises. He used to fly them too. Has a great story about a show his old clubs hawks did. Had me snorting beer! :rolmao: :rolmao: :rolmao:

Not the one involving 3 harris hawks and a muntjac?

Or the "I'm not sitting on the fist so I'll dangle upside down from my jesses like a dead parrot"?

 

[jakunen]

He didn't tell me about the Monty Python bit...Must have words with the man...