Falconry: Rethinking Buzzard hawking

[@thecggames]

Yes! Finally the rough-legged hawk call-out. I've been waiting for that video for ages! Looking forward to it.

[@benwoodrufffalconry]

I will definitely be making some solid rough leg videos

[@benwoodrufffalconry]

I will definitely be making some solid rough leg videos

[@bsdoweidt]

I’m currently flying my first bird, a male RT. He is awesome. He has made my apprenticeship so much for so far.

[@viveviveka2651]

It's helpful hearing about redtails and their value. They've tended to be devalued and undervalued. I unconsciously absorbed that way of seeing them. It's very good finding better, more respectful and accurate ways of seeing them. Not just them, though - many things, animals and people deserve more respect and appreciation and accuracy than they are often given.

[@janicedeeter577]

Lovely comment; Many people that listen to Wild suffer. It's a hard world but a path leads a place of beauty🪶🦙💫🍀

[@davidirving2006]

Probably one of the most underrated raptors in modern falconry. Harris Hawks get all the attention. But with commitment and effort a Redtail can be a versatile effective choice for many Falconers.

[@LordDaymien]

True, but for most people you can get more out of Harris hawk with less effort. Depends on your time commitment

[@suarezci]

Many falconers just don't focus the aggression and commitment they can display hunting.

[@chuckr1951]

Underrated or not, RTs are the most widely flown falconry bird in the US.

[@pacodogtule]

IMHO Redtails are great at pounding heavy brush and crushing squirrels. The Harris does everything else better with less fuss.

[@pannacottacat7337]

I agree! The great thing about falconry is taking each bird to the best of *their* ability, which is different for each species and the goal is not necessarily the highest kill count! our mindset towards buzzards just keeps us from trying to seek for their potential! Thanks for the videos, you’re so open minded, there’s a lot of things the falconry community could reconsider!

[@leppeppel]

I've never encountered this channel before, but I'm seven minutes into the video and I am already enraptured. (no pun intended)

[@mymom1462]

Nice haircut Ben, loving your new look!

[@mrkus-nc7od]

I recommend 😁 Video - tube - California Hawking club , " Road to Bakersfield"" Some incredible Flights - Love the Dark RT looks like a mini me Golden .

[@benwoodrufffalconry]

Road to Bakersfield is such an incredible production! Definitely recommend it.

[@mrkus-nc7od]

@@benwoodrufffalconry yes it is ! Even the music is with the beat of the wings , great stuff ,makes me want to be a Austruger Falconer again - I even miss the smell of a clean Raptor ! Sounds crazy ? 😁

[@jshlyrad]

I love the channel! Been watching you for a minute. Thinking of finally getting into falconry. I love the tips and expertise.

[@thegg5097]

After watching these videos I've been trying to push my RT to get more variety of game. I never even considered duck until it was brought up on your channel. Thanks for the content Ben

[@benwoodrufffalconry]

You are very welcome! Best of luck to you with trying new game and scenarios

[@MrOiam]

When I was a child 1960s, there was a cartoon that showed a vulture and called it a buzzard, hard to shake.

[@JayWil771]

A Buzzard is a broad winged bird of prey. They belong to the Buteo family, very slow flying soaring birds and hunt from a perch.

[@johnlees8291]

Just trapped a passage red tail would love to see a video on training them to wait on or to hunt birds

[@markr1142]

I flew 2 common buzzards in the 80's. It didn't seem to matter what weight you flew them at... They would only chase things if they felt like it and were in the mood. Then they fly very similarly to red tails, smashing into and threw cover etc. They are very similar in size (slightly smaller for the most part) to red tails and just as easy to train. They are just far to intelligent to try if they can't be bothered, they know that are going to feed them whether they hunt or not :) It would take an extremely patient falconer to go out and fly one to chase quarry consistently, and then keep them doing that. They would rather be sat in a tree, killing a twig than chasing a rabbit for the most part. They have great characters and are a lot of fun to fly if you aren't bothered about catching much.

[@benwoodrufffalconry]

That is awesome insight! Thank you for sharing. I have heard that supposedly they have a slower metabolism than red tails and eat a surprisingly small amount of food. Was that your experience as well?

[@Truthhunter4life]

Thank you for your informative and well compiled videos. Please follow up on your statements on how Red Tailed Hawks are trained to be versatile hunters and, if possible, showing that in action. It would be great to see them taking something other than rabbits and squirrels. Thank you

[@janicedeeter577]

I guess that depends if your hungry...A bird should share eating with you... that's wisdom from my Ancestors.

[@bobgirvan6077]

I live in the UK and have been flying red-tails for 8 years. I agree with and support just about everything you have said. I am proud to call ,my bird a buzzard and explain to anyone who is interested that that is what she is. She suits my physical ability (I'm 73) and she suits the land and the quarry species that I can access. While she is generally well mannered and easy to manage, carelessness or complacency are quickly punished with a paralysing "handcuff". A red-tail was my first bird, and therefore a "beginner's bird" but it was always with the undersatanding that the relationship was for life (of course we cannot release them here). Thanks for the video; I look forward to seeing more.

[@johnstwistedego1]

Great video as always Ben! I am absolutely dying to learn more about the Chilean Blue Eagle Buzzard’s potential in falconry.

[@suarezci]

Hi Ben, I've been working with RTH in the Caribbean for almost a decade now, they take a lot of effort to pursue on the tail but as soon as they're fit enough, they can hunt for hours without slowing down. A single afternoon I hunted an adult bobwhite and two juvenile guineafowls, the bird was 3/4 of a crop and just stopped because it was too dark to continue. It was a 4 months old imprint male RTH. Right now working with a male Ridgway's hawk on bobwhite.

[@sinip.1261]

Thank you for very informative video. And nice new haircut 👍

[@kristensorensen2219]

#65👍👏👏Great talk Ben!! Love your work!! I live in NW Oregon with Red tail & Feruginous, also Bald Eagles & Cooper's. I once watched a falcon eating a robin. Love birds and flying aircraft too. ERAU 80 CFIA&I ret.

[@lohikarhu734]

sorry, I keep coming back to Kites, as we have them(Red-tailed) in my area, and they are real soaring birds, much more than the Common Buzzards, who we most often see in a tree, or eating something in the field...

[@johnabbott4424]

Very nice video and informative

[@ilanbergeron3932]

Do a red tail hawk/Ferruginous Hawk comparision video

[@benwoodrufffalconry]

Love this idea!!!! I’ll do this one soon

[@ilanbergeron3932]

@@benwoodrufffalconry Thanks, I'm not old enought to do falconry but i've been passionate about bird of prey for now 4 year. I will certainly practice falconry when i'm older. You have the best falconry channel, keep up the good work!!!

[@Parabueto]

I'd really like to fly a common buzzard one day- it was the first species I trained from scratch when I used to volunteer at a falconry centre. Although realistically I know my chances of catching rabbits with one are limited and even just flying it in a display style is going to be much less fun than flying a Harris'. I've heard of people who have had success with common buzzards but my experience was pretty much as you put with it- slow. It took nearly a month of hardcore manning to get her steady and then training to fly was tricky, probably on account of her metabolism. Unfortunately I had to leave to go to university for a year before she got going free and then when I was back she died (of natural causes, which was extremely unlucky for a still-juvenile buzzard) at the end of a moult. Generally people who want to hunt with buzzards here in the UK will go for Red Tails. Although Harris' are far more common. Funnily enough your point on "You should have a bird to suit your lifestyle" is really important. Which is why I fly a european kestrel at the moment. I don't have the time to fly her in the winter properly and she's not interested in hunting so fly her to the lure over summer and it's a lot of fun.

[@davidmclachlan6592]

The Common Buzzard ( Buteo Buteo ) that we see here in the UK is around the same size as a Red Tailed Buzzard. They usually prey on worms, mice, voles ,rats young rabbits, game bird chicks and are road kill scavengers. They are ideal for a first time falconer to learn how to handle birds of prey but they are not suitable for actual hunting from a falconry point of view because they are reluctant to chase after game.

[@danielsassus6489]

Exelente video,te descubri hace poco ,creo que los cetreros modernos se encuentran con un gran problema(falta de tiempo) muy buenas y al punto tus ideas muchas gracias desde Argentina!!!

[@davemyers7507]

Cool video I hunted a red shoulder hawk on cotton tail rabbits 🐇 when I was younger

[@markmoore4088]

Cool! How did it go?

[@nznaturephotography]

Great video. I appreciate your interest in a broad range of falconry. I successful hunt with harriers and find this kind of content very interesting. Looking forward to hearing about your experience with rough legged buzzards.

[@benwoodrufffalconry]

Thanks for pioneering falconry in New Zealand!!! So awesome! Harrier falconry is such a cool branch of the sport. I’ll hopefully have rough leg videos up in the next month

[@quint3570]

I'm thinking of getting in to falconry, i've been advised to start with a common buzzard I'm in UK

[@keerthivasannambiraju955]

The name buzzard comes from the French word meaning hawk and buteo is the Latin word meaning buzzard so it comes round and goes round but in Britain the word buzzard is also used to describe an old man who walks round aimlessly outside a club.

[@filipgm6046]

Hey Ben! Great video as always, I have worked with 3 common buzzards all were show birds and they were very different both in personality and food drive, the first one was an older female of about 25 years, she was calm and easy going she didnt even need to drop weight to fly she just went and did her thing for some tid bits on the glove, rarely ever footed but was quite pecky depending on her mood. The second was a big male he was a real pain, scared of everything mainly wheeled objects, no amount of manning got that out of him, when it came to flying he took some time before take off and tried to cover as much distance on foot as he could, really liked to foot especially with food on the glove but didnt peck at all, and the final one is a young male (this years chick) he flies better than most harrises i have seen, is keen to fly to the glove or to the lure, doesnt have a problem soaring around and coming back but he is real picky when it comes to people, he is my friends bird and i got to work with him for a few weeks because of my friends schoolwork, i got pecked and footed every other day, i tried to teach him not to foot and peck with no results but when my friend came back he instantly became the biggest sugarpie, he could be eating and my friend could take the meat away and hed be like "well okay" with no consequences,also my mentor has had a female like 15 years ago that he used to hunt voles with, she was a real killer from what i heard when it came to hunting but was quite chill to fly on the glove, he likes to tell a story of how he forgot the meat for her and while he worked on a castle in Slovakia he just let her fly for a few hours and he had a full bag of voles for her afterwards. Also common buzzards are generally harder to get used to the hood than say harrises or red tails-it takes some time, also i have heard they have been tried in the UK as a duck huntng bird with succes,if you have any questions about buzzards im here to answer them

[@benwoodrufffalconry]

That is absolutely fascinating. Especially the extreme differences between the individuals. Thank you so much for sharing your experiences!

[@wintermoon424]

Not flown a common buzzard of my own but I've manned one, done voluntary work and visits to falconry centres in UK, and met many falconers, also read a lot of literature from the likes of British falconers such as Jemima Parry-Jones etc, so I will tell you everything I know. The Common or Eurasian Buzzard is often given a reputation of being useless even worse than I would say Red tails in the states seem to get. Arguably MUCH worse, with those wanting to fly buzzard species defaulting to red tails or harrises. Many wild common buzzards here live solely off of road kill, and also sometimes walk along fields eating earthworms, they're definitely opportunistic and low in intake needs. Many people will comment and say like "Bet hes looking for a nice carcass" if they see them doing the classic soaring/circling. I think the wild common buzzard soars much more frequently than the wild red tail from what I can gather. Some falconers train their buzzards to do the soar here not for hunting purposes but just to get them to do a natural behaviour/for fun. Anyway yes, a lot of why they seem to be scorned is due to their lower motivation/metabolism but also the idea that their feet are too small to effectively hold down larger quarry. If you look at pictures of them this does have merit, their feet seem pretty small in relation to the body and compared to a red tail or harris. For this reason, many books advise taking smaller stuff than say, hares like people do here with redtails, such as rats and rabbits which are not fully mature. I believe many who fly buzzards also take wood pigeon with them. Funnily enough, because the use of the word buzzard here does not mean vulture, our books also often refer to the red tail as "Red tailed buzzard" not hawk and make many comparisons to the native buzzard, often saying the red tail is more of a proper hunting bird. Red tails have some very loyal fans here, a lot of them appreciate the drive/aggression red tails seem to have. Which is a bit ironic given they're often seen as just lazy by some in the states, but they seem to be more "brave" if you've got experience with a common buzzard to compare to/its the only other bird you have flown. Common buzzards are more cautious, which if you factor the feet in, is honestly fair/not the birds fault, the bird is trying to keep itself safe by only tackling whats within its means to hold down. Common buzzards are also interestingly sometimes seen as being better than harrises for beginners because they're harder but still easy going compared to an accipiter, so they test the skills and make sure the beginner fully masters them. Some also say they're better than red tails for a beginner because of how they're seen as less aggressive by comparison. Many books draw comparisons to American falconers with notes that American falconers take passage birds which tend to be better mannered than captive raised birds, since captive bred birds are all that is available here. Common buzzards are also known to be footy during manning and training, and I would have to agree with this assessment - from experience! Though it was easy to still adore the one I manned even after he did it to me, haha. Oh! And as a last bit of info, escaped harris hawks have actually been recorded to have cross bred with wild common buzzards here, because harrises are just so popular in the UK. Hope some of this information may be of value or interest to you Ben, and cheers for the content as always! I was very excited to see this video, I adore all the buteos and especially common buzzards. They have a beautiful call that always makes me smile when I hear if from wild ones out and about over sheep pastures.

[@benwoodrufffalconry]

Thank you thank you so much for that wealth of information! I appreciate it so much! Sounds like common buzzards are in many ways similar to our native Swainsons hawks, with smaller feet, gentler disposition, and even willing to go after insects. But Swainsons rarely take roadkill. That was very interesting to learn about your common buzzards.

[@ramsayward]

As a UK falconer who has flown a Redtailed Hawk for over 15 years, I couldn't have said that better. Thank you.

[@wintermoon424]

@@benwoodrufffalconry You are most welcome! I love your channel because I get to see all about American falconry and the native species there. Swainsons do sound like a very similar bird. In the UK we do not have vultures so our primary bird scavengers are usually common buzzards, red kites, and corvids. Sometimes buzzards will actually aid the other birds because they break open a tough carcass, allowing the weaker red kite and birds such as magpies to get into them and feed too.

[@alkonost8459]

Common buzzard is considered mainly joung beginer birds. They are slow and "lazy" flying. They are also weak in grasp in comparsion to other aviable birds this size, due to absolute lack of tiny "game" like guails or rabbits here in central Europe are mostly targeted hares and pheasants. Common buzzards just cant catch up to them, so most of people who start hunting choose diferent bird.

[@vick101max9]

Love the thumbnail 👍🏾

[@JayFitzsimmons1]

I love your impression of a buzzard chillaxing while you're traveling. That buzzard has smoked something! 16:44 😆

[@umarxonamriyev3244]

Please, make video about rough-legg buzzard becouse in my nation, Uzbakistan, i know some people keep this bird just for flying with and hunting some birds like crows. They are amazing birds and i think easy-going as well.

[@maryamorales1409]

This has been incredibly inspiring to watch. Thankyou. I have my general falconry license this year and so far yes, I have flown Redtails- buzzards so far. And I was feeling that feeling of well what do I move onto now? Where considering more high energy- high maintenance birds was crossing my mind but I am also very busy with three kids and work so you helped me reconsider and reevaluate the worth I was assigning to buteos. I had been considering trying out a ferruginous hawk as they are close by and allowed in my area here in NM. I imagine they would be different but hopefully not as intense as an going for an accipiter. Most folks I’ve met so far don’t seem to think highly of flying them though. I would love to hear more tips on identifying them as passage birds and working with them Thanks

[@finnl6887]

Awesome video! Started watching your videos about a month ago and discovered a love for falconry and raptors in general I had no idea I had. I can't really get into falconry myself atm due to not really having the space (in an apartment) to own a raptor, but own day when I've got my own place I would like to get into it. I am particularly interested in Wolf Hawks (mainly because of their pack hunting virtues, and my buddy and I want to do it together so having birds that will work together make that more doable), but I'm not sure that they'd be good for beginners, or Northern Illinois for that matter

[@massmanute]

Acknowledging that it's not the ideal bird for this, how hard is it to hunt ducks or pheasants with a red tailed hawk? How about chukars or California quail?

[@anthonycapuano8554]

Unrelated but I’d love to see a video on falconry with the hawk-eagles. I know many species are favoured by East Asian austringers, but rarely hear about them in the west.

[@toomignon]

I feel this very personally. My maiden name is Buzard.

[@larrydotson2625]

Is the red shouldered hawk an oscipator?

[@MegaTerryNutkins]

It would be interesting to see a more experienced falconer dedicate a few seasons to a Common Buzzard, they require a lot of work to get going but they successfully hunt rabbits, pigeons and a whole host of prey in the wild. The lazy reputation can in part be put down to their intelligence, always looking to put the least amount of work in for the most food so are not an easy bird for a beginner, there's no reason a fit and trained CB couldn't be successful to some degree. There also seems to be a lot of variation in foot size, many years ago I saw a large female (breeder bird, not hunted) with very sturdy feet but most demonstration birds you see being flown have spindly legs and short toes which seems to be much more commonplace. Back when taking birds from nests was the done thing and way before imported CB birds like the Harris or Red Tail were available the Common Buzzard was considered a useful precursor bird if you wanted to fly a Gos later down the line. Now that niche is taken by the Red Tail which is readily available and very cheap to acquire, the Common Buzzard in comparison is difficult to find CB and requires specific paperwork all the while being a much less useful bird for falconry. They are beautiful birds though and I'm fortunate to see them hunting regularly right near my house. Watching them hunt in the wild definitely reminds you they are related to Red Tails!

[@TheUltraBeast1]

I found a species I'm really interested in knowing more about and I think would be awesome in falconry if ever tried. The red goshawk from Australia. Seems to be built pretty different than any other accipiter.

[@edwardandercheck]

Ben, you are awesome, keep this channel going. I am a long time falconer and love flying red-tailed hawks. Redtails are faithful rugged and all around great hunting partners, my 3 year old Redtail has better manners than any of my Harris's Hawks! I am an American and I do not like the word buzzard, maybe too many TV westerns as a kid. The common buzzard is (Buteo buteo), The red-tailed hawk is (Buteo jamaicensis)! (scientifically not a buzzard, a Buteo) Buzzard is the common name of several species of birds of prey. I think local non-scientific names, are common names and not very important, and wish you would not give the word buzzard greater merit, vis a vis accuracy, as it is just a euro non-scientific label. Redtails are certainly not accipitrine (true hawks) in flight or build, they are Buteos. I like RedTail as a common name, hawk is ok as a suffix, in its broadest application taking my Peregrine out hawking is cool phraseology, albeit erroneous. Buzzard is not a scientific name, Buteo is!!! I'm a huge fan, Sorry to complain. Love your videos.

[@garethshaw-bd6kt]

Flown a male common buzzard ,buteo buteo for 41 years !

[@yourenough3]

This is so cool 😍

[@sinep6060]

why are there so many buzzard species called hawks like the harris hawk or red tailed hawk

[@ThatOneSnake]

What Accipiter is pictured at 3:14?

[@benwoodrufffalconry]

That is an African black sparrowhawk

[@dougoneill9937]

I notice you didn't talk about Harris hawks. I would like to here your take on Harris hawk vrs redtail hawk.

[@benwoodrufffalconry]

I should probably do a video on that specifically. I don’t normally think of harris hawks in the buzzard mindset. They came from a line of tropical eagles. Even though they have similarities to both buteos and accipiters, they are very much their own category. Yet in practice they line right up with the rest. I absolutely love flying them. Maybe I can do a red tail vs Harris comparison video.

[@frigginchi]

Nice haircut

[@janicedeeter577]

Your site... giving freely your knowledge... RedTail is my favorite raptor. And then Osprey; thank you for sharing. Your videos keep me sane in this crazy world. Sending prayers from my home to yours🪶🪶🪶🪶I love your Lama's, my other favorite wild critter.

[@janicedeeter577]

RedTail hawk... they bond easily. Haha, learned that early in childhood. So intelligence are they. I loved one as a child. I used to take baby chickens and walk though the woods. A most lovely RTH followed me. That most beautiful lady waited for me. Her cry brought me to my knees. My reward was her cry which woke me up in early morning. Thanks Ben 🪶🌍

[@benwoodrufffalconry]

Going to get some fun falconry footage and llama packing in red rock country this week. So hopefully I can have more llama content for you soon.

[@janicedeeter577]

@@benwoodrufffalconry That will be my Christmas present🔥 Sending prayers from my home to yours.

[@anthonycapuano8554]

I’d also love to hear your thoughts on what birds of prey work best for abatement. Harris hawks are a go to in the industry and sometimes Gyr/ peregrine hybrids but I’m sure there’s other potentials.

[@anthonycapuano8554]

Sorry meant to post that in the main thread