Carhawking kestrel

Kill 9-21 for Arya in 2019. I even remembered to upload a tradeoff for the folks who've asked. And the release of the robin I didn't mean for her to catch.

[@stampboi]

That little falcon is on fire!!! So impressed with how aggressive she is! Amazing work!!

[@territerbilcox7534]

I can watch these all day

[@Sam11747]

0:54 - I love how your kestrel clearly sees her prey and turns her head and extends her neck. Her reaction is like, "IT'S GO TIME!"

[@Hokiesnumber1]

Great video and thanks for showing the trade off!

[@johnthomas460]

New definition of drive-by.

[@Kapok6]

Nice! And yes, thanks for showing the trade-off.

[@KitisTheMandalorian]

do you kill the starlings, or does she?

[@skyking6989]

Way way way cool man. Like i said before AKs are amazing!

[@oldschoolhawking8191]

I remember watching your videos with your tailless Kestrel, she was still a killer.

[@smithfalconry8050]

Don't know how I missed this for two years. That's the same bird. I flew her for 4 seasons. Thankfully, only ever broke one tail feather in that time. She came to me with it destroyed.

[@johnthomas460]

Sorry, Mr. Robin, mistaken identity

[@mixedup72]

I currently field hawk sparrows with an American Kestrel, but I'm thinking about trying car hawking due to close encounters with Cooper hawks. I was wondering what areas or locations you are successful car hawking starlings at? The starlings in my area like to hang around busy public roads. Any advice would be appreciated.

[@smithfalconry8050]

Industrial parks, schools and parking lots are my bread and butter.

[@mixedup72]

Smithfalconry Thanks for the advice! He already chases starling. I’ll give car hawking a try this weekend.

[@rxreyn3]

Thanks for showing how you trade off. Is there a better time then others you hunt her during the day?

[@smithfalconry8050]

If I can mornings are better, but work makes me hunt afternoons during the week.

[@rxreyn3]

Smithfalconry thanks for answering. Do you hood her? If so, or even if not, what’s your opinion and experience?

[@smithfalconry8050]

@@rxreyn3 I've never tried to hood her to be honest. He travel box is so small I just take it with me. I've only ever hooded 2 of my birds, a rt and Harris. Even then I very rarely used it. My accipiters are imprints and hooding is just a bad idea with them

[@rxreyn3]

Smithfalconry thanks for the information. I work from home and have never had a need to hood my RT outside of the giant hood for transport. Just wondering if I can treat the Kestrel the same. So have you ever had to imp her? If so, what did you use instead of a hood?

[@smithfalconry8050]

@@rxreyn3 the goat hood (travel box) if I needed. Most of the time she just rides with me. You can also set a small perch in the car and teather them.

[@johnthomas460]

Death from above!

[@killyhawkaan2076]

What was the flight weight?

[@smithfalconry8050]

She's an imprint, so she got a pretty big window. I start her ar 92.5 grams and work her up to 98. Any higher and she'll kill, but her recall gets pretty sluggish

[@Kapok6]

Is this a passage bird, or a imprint?

[@smithfalconry8050]

Soft imprint. She went into a rehab center after being caught by a cat as a brancher. That why she doesn't have a tail in older videos.

[@Kapok6]

@@smithfalconry8050 Thanks for the info! With being a soft imprint, how do you think she'd fare in the wild? (Forgive the ignorant questions. I'm an early general and still have a lot of learning to accomplish.)

[@smithfalconry8050]

@@Kapok6 She would do fine. She would revert to being wild pretty quickly.

[@featherspreaderinc3146]

micro mastet

[@josephking1947]

Have you ever thought about slipping at quarry that has the opportunity to actually fly ?