Falconry: When to trap passage birds

This falconry video discusses passage birds of prey and describes how different months are better for trapping certain species in order to prevent aggression and have success in training and hunting.

[@Invincibleayachi]

My favorite thing about these videos is that Ben is humble. He always says it's suggestions and guidelines instead as opposed making it like its his way or the highway like many do

[@mikedun8882]

Any one who's has watched Ben's videos should have noticed this by now that his camera angle always makes his arm and hands look disproportionate to his body which enables ben to make his signature impersonation of aggressive birds of prey gestures.the best impersonations ever.i always get a kick out of it.almost as much as his great knowledge.ben is a true master falconer.

[@jakethebirdnerd5411]

As a person who is hoping to become a falconer your videos are great and informative thanks Ben

[@jakethebirdnerd5411]

I’m from Ohio btw

[@Toothandtalon]

Dang that’s probably why my red tail was so easy to train last year. I caught him on October 5th

[@AboveTheBigSky]

“Monkeyman”... LOL. Great video Ben.

[@dirtygnome]

Thanks for the informative lesson. You answered questions I might not have thought to ask on my own.

[@JERFALCON]

Love your tips and advise! Gold!

[@jantirpak7902]

Good evening, Ben. Great video, you're absolutely right. Birds of prey can be trained at almost any age, but sometimes they are easier to train. It is the optimal age to get and start training. J

[@FalconsLedge]

100% agree with you Ben! Then again these things were ingrained in me since the beginning!

[@coffeehugger]

What an amazing video!!

[@MrBFvet]

Hi Ben. Congrats from Brazil. I like yours videos.

[@dakotaadra1044]

@Ben Woodruff I was watching your video on owl jesses and you gave me an interesting idea. I have no idea if it would actually work, I am not really involved in falconry yet (waiting to get my own house first) but I think about it a lot. In a similar fashion to chaps, could you use fur on an anklet to obscure the feet of a bird from a squirrel and therefore prevent bites? I have heard a lot of debate on chaps, I wonder how well it would work in comparison. Surely the squirrel would have more trouble latching on with a whole bunch of fur in the way. Do you have any experience that might indicate if this would work? Squirrels would be my game of choice, I have a lot a squirrels in my area and squirrel hawking looks like a ton of fun.

[@benwoodrufffalconry]

Dakota Adra it is definitely a great idea worth trying. Depending on what part of the skin you use and the angle you fold it over on the jess, you can get fur to lay flat or you can get fur to poof out or point at a specific angle. So if you did fur from the neck or shoulder area from something with longer fur, perhaps a coyote, and glue the fur opposite of what I show in my owl jess video, it might work well. But because that would make jesses that might impede feet and equipment in day to day use, I am thinking your idea would lend itself well with removable anklets. So in daily wear you have removable leather anklets, and then when you go after squirrels, you swap them out for removable fur anklets.

[@adhamabouwafia5089]

Very informative video. Thanks

[@guaranteedworstcardetailin6793]

Great video!

[@btakin8737]

Ben, of all the channels I mostly enjoy yours! What are your thoughts on Red Shouldered hawks? I see so many here in my area of Texas, in fact a pair nested near my brothers back yard and they have 2 passages should be close to leaving the nest. Just curious as to your thoughts my sponsor says catch one, can’t be any worse than a Coopers! Lol. Hope to hear from you.

[@benwoodrufffalconry]

BT Akin I have worked with them in education, but have yet to fly one in falconry. We don’t often have them in Utah, though I have encountered them twice. I think they offer huge potential. I would love to try them on quail and partridge and cottontails. I filmed one in Florida chasing jays. They don’t have the speed of an accipiter, but they are still very fast and agile. I fully support falconers exploring their potential and hope to get the chance myself at some point. They are amazing birds. They are also very closely related to grey hawks, which I would also love to fly. But between the two, I believe red shouldered hawks would prove to be more gamey and eager to pursue faster prey.

[@basilwaheed6055]

Great advice thank u

[@seansaylock3575]

Are there any current breeders doing imprint kestral for sale?

[@daesong1378]

I swear Im just here for the internal bird thoughts

[@ar21angler76]

sir is your goshawk the northamerican strain it is very beautiful i bet it is a hell of falconry hawk, my sponsor has one he got one as a eyass from montana i like them more then the larger european varieties

[@benwoodrufffalconry]

My current goshawk is a male Finnish goshawk. I have flown a number of North American goshawks as well. I find the old world goshawks to be a bit calmer and easier to work with, but I absolutely love flying North American goshawks.

[@ClosedOnSundays6]

I literally watched this the day before I trapped my new kestrel

[@andrewmilliken4315]

How’s it goin now?

[@kevinomara5030]

Hello Ben, It has been a while but I was an apprentice quite a few years back. I'm wanting to take it up again. I wondered if you knew anyone in Salt Lake area willing to meet and discuss possible sponsorship.

[@benwoodrufffalconry]

Best thing to do is to contact the Utah Falconers Association and have them help coordinate. They can get you in contact with the best sponsor in your area with experience in the species you want to fly 👍

[@kevinomara5030]

@@benwoodrufffalconry I'm waiting to hear from them for their next event. You probably don't remember, it's been almost 20 years. But I hunted with you and your male imprint coops and you made a hood for a kestrel I flew.

[@GURWINDER_RAI]

Hi Ben....my Shikra is is just to her flying weight but she ignores the food still wants to fly away..

[@benwoodrufffalconry]

On an accipiter as small as a Shikra, weight management in the level of just 5-10 grams can make all the difference. But sometimes it can also be because they need more social time to feel safe. But I would start with dropping a few grams and see if that improves the behavior.

[@2devious724]

Any suggestions on when the best time to catch a prairie falcon would be?

[@benwoodrufffalconry]

I am a big fan of October prairies. They seem to train up the best. But I have trapped them as late as the begging of January and still had them train up okay. But October prairies are magical 😁😁😁

[@2devious724]

Ben Woodruff thank you!

[@newfalconer6075]

Great information for new Falconers.

[@benwoodrufffalconry]

Very similar yes. The younger you can get a Euro kestrel wedded on birds, the more success they will have. I like to get them on feathers before they are even fully hard penned

[@newfalconer6075]

Thank you

[@DanielCastillo911]

Hi Ben, does that apply to euroasian kestrels?

[@benwoodrufffalconry]

Daniel Castillo I am not sure with Eurasian kestrels. I have flown several of them, but they were all captive bred. What I have found is that American kestrels seem to have a bit different mindset then all other kestrels. They branches off of the world kestrel family tree far earlier than all other kestrels. In the coming weeks I will be doing a video comparing both species.

[@DanielCastillo911]

@@benwoodrufffalconry thanks Ben, i will appreciate that, i trying to find as much info as i can about euroasian kestrels to help me understand better the mindset of my female, but all i have been able to find is info about falco sparverius, but... I don't know that seems to be, as you say, very different than tinnunculus. This one is not captive breed, she hit a wall of glass and i found her and took her home (many cats lurking in that area), i have experience with harris and i love to work with them, and yes i knew since the beggining that a falcon is quite different than the harris

[@jantirpak7902]

@@DanielCastillo911 Good evening, Tinnunculus is very well trainable, but it depends on the age of acquisition. At the time of independence, they are excellent. How can you train it for other prey than it was used to in nature. I've never had an American kestrel, so I can't compare them. J

[@DanielCastillo911]

@@jantirpak7902 thanks!, So the ideal age would be about 4 weeks, right?

[@jantirpak7902]

@@DanielCastillo911 Yes, the ideal age for tinunculus would be 4 weeks. Before they leave the nest.

[@adityanair6540]

Ia a watching from India

[@batchelerjr]

You could be watching this in Tennessee?

[@fasialsubtian6403]

Sir can falcon to train to hunt black kit plz till mee if you Mack some video to its help me I now saker falcon hunt black kit too

[@pakfloormaintenance.6428]

Helo sir

[@briansmith9734]

WA is still those two birds

[@fasialsubtian6403]

Who to tren the falcon to hunt the black kite

[@GURWINDER_RAI]

Try bagging kites to your saker..

[@fasialsubtian6403]

@@GURWINDER_RAI sir can you don before to saker falcon kindky reply

[@GURWINDER_RAI]

@@fasialsubtian6403 sorry brother...I have just read in literature. But you can try to your saker falcon because saker can take eagles tooo.

[@fasialsubtian6403]

I have offer the job to airport they what to too clear the airport too black kite or other bird plz till me saker falcon or pargreen falcon hunt the black kite

[@benwoodrufffalconry]

Peregrines are better suited to circle from above and dive down on prey, while sakers are better at direct pursuit in level flight. Sakers also have broader wings and don’t have to flap as hard to stay in the air. So if your job is to scare birds from an airport continually, I would probably choose a Saker falcon over a peregrine falcon.

[@fasialsubtian6403]

Thanks sir but my question is that can saker falcon eit black shoulder kit or pargreen falcon plz sir answer me

[@benwoodrufffalconry]

Fasial Subtian both species are capable of catching a kite. In America we don’t hunt kites with our birds. But I still think overall if the airport wants you to clear out kites from the area, I think a Saker is a better choice for the job simply because they have broader wings and can chase longer. But if your goal is simply to catch a kite, then a peregrine is much faster and more agile and hits harder. I hope that explanation makes sense. So if you are doing contract work for an airport and are trying to catch black kites, I recommend a Saker falcon. But if you are just hunting on your own or only have to catch one or two a day, then a peregrine is a better choice.

[@fasialsubtian6403]

@@benwoodrufffalconry thanks ban

[@fasialsubtian6403]

@@benwoodrufffalconry I like you sir yous videos Ben its help to new falconers like me