Training a wild caught sparrowhawk

A video of the training of a wild caught sparrow hawk, probably the last one taken under license issued by The Scottish Office over 25 years ago. Sparrowhawks were quite rare back then and very shy. The video was shot on heavy obsolete equipment used by the BBC with a two man crew. But I was the cameraman and star as well, so excuse the mistakes! All birds of prey were protected by the 1954 Birds Protection Act, except for the sparrow hawk which was not protected until 1962. They are my favourite birds for falconry, except perhaps for the merlin. 25 years ago I made all my own equipment, the aim being kit that worked and was comfortable for the bird. I even made the bells buying sheet brass from Jardine Matheson and using equipment bought from Hatton Garden. Otherwise, bells had to be imported from Lahore!

[@Getep]

Once in a blue moon, KZbin throws up something worth watching. Thankyou so much. This is a beautiful short film. Pete 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

[@dga3240]

Thank you.

[@RSR423]

I loved this film. I was reared this way, my father had hawks and falcons of all types, almost all were caught or taken as chicks, even after the law changed he had a couple of wild caught Goshawks. Myself to have kept Kestrels, Buzzards, Sparrow hawks, and a Peregrine Falcon. We use to call it "manning! them down, getting them use to noise and folk and the like. I also use to keep all the British finches and breed them, Goldfinches and Linnets etc. I've seen a lot of change in the U.K. where wildlife is concerned over my lifetime, very little of it for the good. Most laws and rules are made by people who never even spent a day in the country. When I was a boy nearly all lads had a pet hawk, or a fox, crow or magpie. I wonder how many lads have such a rich childhood today growing up in this joke of a free country, most don't even know what flies in the sky above their own heads, too busy looking at those crappy phones to notice.

[@George-gg1ny]

I lived 12 yrs in that wonderful generation and half self reliant growing food, hunting and fishing before it started disappearing ! It was certainly still under tyrants whom theived the land by purchasing ( land is NOT for Sale, it's God's REALM given to the people and wealthy tyrants will not see eternal life ), hiring repressors such as game keepers , gillies who had you imprisoned or fined ( All murderers in Lord Gods eyes ) for excercising there God given rights. POACHER they branded the people of the land but we know who the real poachers are , and is it not true a narcissistic Socialpath lusts on power and control, always points the finger what the accuser is himself. Lord Saith: TO THE WEALTHY, IT WILL BE EASIER FOR CAMMEL TO SLIP THROUGH A PIN HOLE, BEFORE YOU WILL SEE MY FATHERS KINGDOM. BE DAMMED THE WHOLE ROTTEN FRUITS THEY ARE TO HELL 🔥

[@OldSkoolWax]

There's reasons you're not allowed to catch wild animals. They're not pets, they deserve their freedom.

[@RSR423]

@@OldSkoolWax Strange that, if I agree to pay someone some money that I don't believe they deserve, I get a license to keep all the wildlife I want. You see, just like everything else in this world, money talks. So your reasons why its not allowed come down to money.

[@Justright2]

@@OldSkoolWax 80% of them die by their 3rd year due to parasites. You would be giving them a better life

[@bastogne315]

I just take drugs...less effort than catchin pidgin for a sparrow awk!

[@rookbirdblues]

I have been obsessed with sparrowhawks since my childhood, and there's a good chance it was the chosen falconry bird of my ancestors, on both sides of my family. I hope it'll be years before I have a sparrowhawk of my own, but until then I'll watch this video. I feel like there's so much anyone who wants to practice falconry can learn from it, thank you for sharing it for free.

[@OldSkoolWax]

Not saying no, but probably not, Sparrowhawks are notoriously difficult to train, they're too free spirited. Was usually Gyrfalcons, peregrines etc. Wasn't unheard of to train sparrowhawks but the others were much more reliable to train.

[@justincreasy2058]

Phenomenal, these old country skills are being lost and it is so amazing to see this partnership developing- the patience and skill of a bygone generation- thank you for sharing!

[@serbinator8529]

Best video I've seen in a long time, brought a lot of joy and peace

[@trevorclarey3336]

I use to have I male sparrowhawk that come in my garden most days I put I perch under a tree & he would sit on it for hours inbetween he would catch a bird on one of my bird feeders & go & sit back on his perch this went on for nearly 10 years , I learned I lot watching him what a beautiful bird .

[@rogerdarbyshire5664]

A female spar nailed a blackbird right outside my kitchen window last year. She was huge, but most notable was her condition, every feather looked as though it'd been lacquered and polished. Superb sight.

[@shaneemmerson4658]

The ancient art of Falconry is a beautiful thing.

[@huntingandfalconrybabak-pm9uu]

We still do it traditionally

[@gw624]

I really loved watching this film. Took me back to when i trained my sparrowhawk. Managed to get her to a stage where she was flying free and coming to the fist but was a long process over 3 weeks to trust to let her fly without a creance. These are my favourite birds of prey and i never get tired of watching documentaries/you tube videos about them thanks very much sharing.

[@WildWoodlandsSW]

A brilliant film on how to train a sparrow hawk. I learnt so much about the process,and this wonderful bird of prey. Occasionally i have seen a sparrow hawk swooping in on prey,once successfully on a pigeon in my garden. I will view them with greater knowledge and respect the next time i see one. Many thanks.

[@robertlawrence7958]

What an absolute gem of a video. A veritable mine of information presented in a no nonsense practical manner by someone who obviously knows his subject and can present it in a relaxed manner. Brilliant.

[@kevalbertmooka]

Excellent film, thank you

[@AlanScottProductions-tw5cv]

Excellent video Derry. Thank you for sharing...

[@tarzanb6092]

gotta thank the youtube algorithm for showing this one! very nice video.

[@freebirdofreason1994]

Im so glad this poped up on my feed. I have been wanting to train a captive bred but not got around to it. It was lovely to see how things were and can be done, I too make my own bells. This film is a gem, thank you for sharing it. Good luck and stay safe and well.

[@MrFdlemos]

A delightful short movie. I wish it was 3 hours instead of 36 minutes... I'm amazed by the quality of image & sound. Hats off to you Sir! That's a brilliant take into the training of this little species. Thank you for taking the time to share.

[@dga3240]

The old 3/4" BVU tape format was "broadcast" in its day. I transferred that to DVCAM, then into my Canon XA11. BVU tape cassettes were 20 minutes, now it is 2.5 hours in a tiny card the size of a postage stamp! But before that I used 16mm film with 100 foot tape holding 2.5 minutes in real time!

[@craigdawson3450]

Sparrowhawks look like tiny goshawks

[@janneskruger001]

Great video. A passage spar is a challenge. You clearly know what you are doing. Thank you for making the additional effort to share it with us.

[@davidsmith1066]

Fantastic to watch 👍❤️ a master at work amazing 👍

[@AdamPrue-de5tw]

Absolutely Lovely, Thank you for Shining.

[@kevinparker461]

25 odd years ago i was asked to remove a first year bird from a larsen, this was late November. I was going to release it straight away but, it was so laid back i thought it was ill. I took it home to moniter. I hooded, put jesses on her and feed her. It took 30 minutes to get her to feed, day four she jumped to the fist!. I had her loose within a month & over the next few months took a few head of small birds. A lot i would of not caught on purpose but most were released unharmed, including 3 Little Owls. One day i feed her up & released her in a wood a mile from home. She then followed me back home!!. I didn't take her up again, she would of been fine. An exceptional hawk. I had never bred a Spar that was so chilled, even the imprints i had flown could be "Scatty" on occassions.

[@dga3240]

I have had one jump to the fist the first night of capture! Love them!

[@Murf-cz1iv]

@@dga3240how long did you have it before you lost it

[@Murf-cz1iv]

⁠@@dga3240what is fair flight when it’s chasing prey great documentary absolutely brilliant

[@dga3240]

@@Murf-cz1iv A few weeks. The ideal country is small patches of cover with a few tall standard trees. The cover around here is really too thick, especially if you don't have telemetry (or I believe GPS these days?). It was all about sport back then!

[@Murf-cz1iv]

@@dga3240brilliant video have you got any more. Where in Scotland are you

[@bishfishinuk2676]

Simply stunning thank you for putting your content up. What an absolute credit to the old country ways.

[@petrokemikal]

Amazing.. I actually think id love this as a hobby... Yo obviously need great care and patience for this, but it looks very theraputic and rewarding to be able to get that close to a magnificent aerial predator..

[@dga3240]

It is anything but therapeutic! :). It's like having a new born 24/7 that will drop dead with the slightest neglect!

[@joshuahamblin537]

It isn't a hobby, it really is a way of life. But you are correct that the rewards from all the dedication make it all worth while.

[@dga3240]

@@joshuahamblin537 That's what I keep telling myself anyway!🙂

[@richardbest6588]

Wonderful film thank you. You've reminded me of my adventures with sparrowhawks years ago now. Thank goodness I had an experienced mentor guiding me...

[@davidburgess2354]

Wonderful film. Thank you.

[@Goshawks_Farm]

Amazing video as always Derry! Cheers Viktor

[@GraemeWight-wx3xz]

What an absolute gem of a video. I have subscribed and will enjoy watching the others. I wasnt perturbed at all by the camera work. I thought it was very good considering the challenges which were not insignificant.

[@russellnewsham]

Absolutely amazing ,thank you

[@ConnorT12T]

this is amazing !! great watch thank you very much for this video you put some serious work in mate !!

[@nikkigraham7494]

Real wild men like yourself sre s dying breed , ive just adopted s harris hawk, your little tricks here will be much used and appreciated!

[@shable1436]

Have you been an apprentice

[@SubjectiveFunny]

Absolutely fascinating. Thank you for sharing this.

[@falconryandconservation9079]

Beautifully Narrated. Thank you for sharing! 🙏

[@user-ek2ui4sv9c]

Great video There’s something rather beautiful about a human and a bird of prey , thank you.

[@highgatehandyman6479]

This is a beautiful channel. Subscribed. This fellow is a rare breed

[@happy11111100]

I was getting into falconry and hawking having hunted rabbits with ferrets and nets all my life but my job is a demanding one and i would never like to be away from my animals for too long so in consideration to the animals and birds everything is delayed , they say the Sparrow hawk is the hardest to train and only masters of the game are capable and you made that look so straight forward I tip my hat to you sir

[@richardwilliams3096]

What a wonderful little film, I really enjoyed watching this. They seem to make better films years ago, and without today's modern technology! I highly recommend this short video.

[@joey4199]

Fantastic and beautiful video, thank you for sharing.

[@henrycastle1]

Sir, Thank you This is the best KZbin video I’ve ever seen I might have to make the best KZbin video in competition All the best Much obliged

[@memarccarnster3810]

Grait video , I have loads of respect for this generation of falconer. I watched this with my spar on my fist awaiting her to rouse. Amazing how times have changed but the Practice remains pretty much exactly the same.. 5stars from me

[@billy10100]

That was perfect! An old school lover of nature working with a wild caught Sparrowhawk. Reminds me of Jack Hargreaves series about nature in the "Old ways" I trained a female Sparrowhawk 45 years ago and it was difficult as they are so highly strung and of such nervous disposition. I loved your film...the old ways now sadly gone.

[@derryjones1029]

I absolutely love birds of prey

[@spencersanderson1894]

Amazing! I would love to do this one day, I’ve been thinking about it a lot lately but don’t know where I’d start haha. Great video, thank you!

[@davidmcgrath9581]

Absolutely Brilliant !☘

[@bernardedwards8461]

I've never trained a haggard spar, but Ive had great success with eyasses, one of which I succesfully flew for 6 successive seasons, during which I lost it for nearly a week and succssfully retreaved it. I found that it flew better as the years passed and it regularly took full grown partridges, both Grey and Red legged. My best kill was a drake Mallard taken on a slip of 300 yards as it fed with a flock in a cornfield. She took all sorts, magpies, wood pigeons, wild quail, a full grown hen pheasant as well as lots of small stuff like larks buntings and blackbirds. Pipits generally outflew her, and she only caught one. In her 6th season I lost her in a gale. I also trained a haggard Redhead, which was a grand performer at partridges, though it was only about the same size as a spar.

[@tonybuster]

Had a haggard red head myself from Croft Slater 1968. What a stunning bird.

[@bernardedwards8461]

@@tonybuster I love redheads. especially as they always kill their quarry quickly by biting it just behind the head, whereas spars often take a long time to kill large prey, though it all depends on where their talons go.They dont use their beaks.

[@nazuddin6346]

Thank you ❤

[@blondalstefan]

Always a joy seeing a Master Falconer in action, thank you!👌 That would be an impossible adventure in this country (Denmark🇩🇰), here we're only allowed to keep exotic, captive-bred birds of prey.

[@RSR423]

Its also against the law in the U.K., even though he kept it.

[@NorthernLoki]

i train and fly goshawks and sparrowhawks myself, mostly sparrow hawks as there small and more suitable for the prey and land im near. once you have the full trust of a sparrowhawk they are like nothing else .. they have a heart of a lion .... great video .. thanks for sharing

[@shable1436]

Do you use grass mats? Astroturf

[@fastbandit1250]

The bird would of been stressed and should of been released out of the quail penn straight away, but the way he trained it was amazing

[@dga3240]

You do realise the natural mortality of wild raptors is around 70% in their first year and of those that survive, 50% will die in their second year? Statistically, it is probable that the training saved this bird's life.

[@izitmepattavina8651]

speechless.

[@ronnie6579]

exellent work. Brought back memories of my childhood

[@kelebekartbytahirabbasi]

Excellent video ❤❤❤❤. Better than many Hollywood movies 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@alanbeaumont6997]

Fantastic! reminds me very much of 'The Goshawk' starring Duncan Carse based on the T H White book.

[@jonathanmawdesley-thomas1863]

Superb video , thank you

[@petergates8570]

Derry argue very clever man with English setters and wildlife read about him in a book hunters all..he also hand reared weasel.very patient clever man.great watch

[@ramjamfull5]

Great video thank you

[@alexbraun8875]

Lovely short film.. Thanks

[@lukethedrifter100]

Love it...thank you! 😉

[@stephenfoster4178]

Thankyou🙏✨🦋😇

[@Frank-r9i]

I'm glad the sparrow Hawk got away. But I want a bird of pray.

[@shable1436]

In my area in Virginia USA, Appalachians, the birds of prey species has almost quadrupled in past 50 years, the conservation efforts have been successful here, i have hawks on my land now, of course they love steep mountains, with water at bottom, like the river below my house. They nest high up like eagles sometimes in certain types of pines like Alpine. I always walk around the ground looking for eggs or babies that may have fell out, and its rare, but peregrine falcon is the most abundant here, coopers hawks, red tails, golden eagles, i really see them on a consistent basis.

[@johnabbott4424]

Fantastic film thank you

[@jamesredmond9677]

I can't remember enjoying a a you tube video as much as I enjoyed this one. Your patience and respect for this hawk is quite wonderful to experience. I am totally in awe of youre expertise. It is certainly true that the saying " you learn something new every day "is quite apt for me watching you enjoyed your work with the hawk..definitely a "school day for me" as i enjoyed this video emensely.thank you so much for this and i am about to subscribe to your chanel and am looking forward to more of your videos..

[@dga3240]

Thank you. It is not difficult to love sparrowhawks once you get to know them. They have more spirit than any other animal or bird I know. If you can put your fist through a thorn bush, they will close their wings and fly through the same hole at full speed!

[@robinbeavan5152]

They must be the commonest bird of prey now in summer you just need to listern to the swallow for its alarm call and in winter listern for starlings alarm call and they wont be far away.

[@leeoconnor2998]

Great watch, I have kept finches for years but would love to train a hawk, maybe one day

[@ds9012002]

Thanks for sharing this Derry. Lovely little hawks. Been watching a local brood nearby. They are now just dispersing.

[@dga3240]

When I. was ringing/banding for the BTO, I used to enjoy calling them by imittating the call they use soon after leaving the nest/eyrie.

[@user-gu1ld3nb3y]

What a lovely video, I enjoyed watching it.

[@oliverwilkinson4367]

Brilliant video you did very well

[@rockers2rockers616]

Great video and very interesting

[@user-nh3ob4so4w]

fantastic,, hope the pigeon is ok,,,,

[@everlast2658]

Brilliant,patience is a virtue

[@jimsmith3971]

This is a great video.

[@stephenhartnell4628]

Excellent well done you

[@colintraveller]

Fantastic Video ..

[@twinpotracer]

what a wonderful watch and inspiring

[@adrianforrester325]

Thank you for that amazing film i wish we still had wild take here in the uk , i have goy one of your books as well cracking read

[@ontheroids]

Fascinating film that. Beautiful.

[@mariumrajah]

Excellent video Really enjoyed watching Thank you 😊

[@alanarmer8069]

Great video 🦅🦅🦅🦅

[@williampinchers]

Beautiful vid it is said that many just often observe nature , but for some of us , nature demands we take part.Falconry the most noble field sport ever, it is also said that man appeared out of antiquity with a falcon on his fist My 50 season this Autumn.

[@ade725]

incredible, thank you

[@Brian-kr1pt]

Mastery.

[@nillzero]

wonderful stuff. thank you

[@johnwilkes7190]

Thank you for uploading this Mr Argue . Did you make any other Falconry films?

[@dga3240]

I did one called 'Grouse Hawking' but owning to the heavy equipment, it wasn't that good. Maybe I should re-edit it....

[@Murf-cz1iv]

@@dga3240 yes put it back up brilliant

[@MudMaxMetalDetecting]

Absolutely brilliant. Thank you. ATB MMMD

[@user-nh6fh5mk9o]

This bird is called a Cooper's hawk in the US . Our sparrow hawk is a American kestrel and it is a falcon

[@Peter-tj4rz]

nope sparrowhawks and coopers hawks two different birds.

[@johnmoulton-zh9rm]

Top guy superb.

[@flyrosstafari]

Kes is a grate film this should be a film called sparrow

[@robertlawrence7958]

As a point of interest, when the hawk was eventually lost what effect, if any, would the jesses and bell have on the birds ability to fend for itself in the wild?

[@dga3240]

Not a lot. There are reports of falconer's birds successfully breeding in the wild. In fact, in the Middle Ages they would be deliberately liberated to nest in the wild. Leather rots when exposed to the weather.

[@douglassutherland4646]

I had a 42 x 24 ft poly tunnel for many years and produced strawberries and rasps for sale locally. Certain birds helped themselves to my crop and destroyed more than they ate by breaking the trusses off. One afternoon while standing outside one of the large double doors a male blackbird dived between me and the poly tunnel , it was followed to my surprise by a perigrene tercell which lndrd😢on our barn roof and watched for along time wondering where its prey had gone.

[@dga3240]

@@douglassutherland4646 It is these moments that make living in the countryside! I had a wild peregrine join in the flight my goshawk was having after a grey partridge. Neither caught the partridge but it was an exciting few moments.

[@twist69100]

What a fantastic video!

[@thornwarbler]

Superb...........Thanks.

[@robertomalvestio7651]

Buongiorno Ti faccio i miei complimenti perché hai una sensibilità è una conoscenza con gli che non è da tutti, non è per niente semplice ammansire un sparviero di cattura

[@HamzaAbbas-y2c]

Great skill.... respect

[@leighjones5551]

Fantastically informative

[@karlholland2061]

What a brilliant video

[@bartelR]

Really good idea not to translate what she was saying 😄. And thank you for the video!

[@naveedahmed3315]

I caught and kept 3 sparrow hawk in 3 different times but three of them after 13 to 14 days died ...i don't know the reason please guide m quite interested in keeping sparrow hawk. One of my mistake i think i did not water them they were quite tame and ready to hunt

[@dga3240]

Feeding is usually the problem. People think hawks are trained with hunger but it is by careful dieting with a life constantly on a knife edge. Not a bird to learn falconry on without a skilled teacher.

[@GARYINLEEDS]

Thanks for sharing, shared.

[@DaleDrennan-yp1zz]

Good job you know what you are doing with birds of prey good film

[@nznaturephotography]

Wonderful video. Thanks for sharing. Very similar to how I train wild caught harriers here in New Zealand.

[@Ronny.81]

Didn’t think it was legal to catch them in NZ

[@nznaturephotography]

@@Ronny.81 For the last 10 years it was legal under a permit. Unfortunately that has now changed.

[@Ronny.81]

@@nznaturephotography yes seems to be a lot of them about, but obviously the law is not allowing people to catch and train them.

[@dga3240]

@@Ronny.81 It will only be illegal if you are caught! :)

[@robinbeavan5152]

Such a fast metabolism has a sparrowhawk you must feed little and often otherwise they will drop of your fist. Always weighing it till you get a sixth sence of its weight and the time it needs a titbit. Ive seen them take partridge wood pigeon magpie and all manner of birds including moorhens.

[@dga3240]

Yje first time I flew one sparrow hawk a black bird and a full grown rabbit flushed from the hedge. The spar flew after the rabbit but did not take it!

[@robinbeavan5152]

This is a great film production probably the best I've seen on sparrowhawk.a lovely bird is a sparrowhawk cant help but look up when I hear starlings warnings. There's always one about.i once had the idea of getting some racing pigeons and reared about 30+ then a female sparrowhawk started killing them and no matter how long I'd keep them in as soon as I let them out she would ambush them even while I was banging a pan to scare her away. That was the end of my racing career.