Duck hunt, old school style

[fastwin]

This thread needs to get locked... it's getting stupid. Everyone is entitled to their opinion. Granted... no harm no foul. And I am a hunter who eats what I shoot.

Leave this stuff on emails or PMs.

Never thought I would be the one saying this.

[rgramjet]

This thread needs to get locked... it's getting stupid. Everyone is entitled to their opinion. Granted... no harm no fowl. And I am a hunter who eats what I shoot.

Leave this stuff on emails or PMs.

Never thought I would be the one saying this.

Fixed it for ya!

[Speedbag]

Great, now I'm obsessed with falcons.

Like I needed another (albeit cool) hobby.

[WarrenJ]

Last year while I was kayaking/fishing behind my place I got to see the classic Osprey vs Bald Eagle deal where the Eagle hassled the Osprey into dropping its fish and the Eagle catching it in mid-air.  Bald Eagles are pretty rough customers.  I watched three of them chasing down baby ducks in a puddle behind the house a few years ago.  Not something you'd air on prime time.  Pretty grim.
We probably have at least 10 pairs of ospreys nesting within a couple miles of here.  They are fun to watch.

[muskrat]

how the hell did this thread turn on hunting for food? 
I for one hunt on occasion but around here I see some pretty tough shit watching the hawks and owls tear up the rabbits.  Birds of prey are awesome to watch.

[WarrenJ]

The ospreys here keep the power company busy as they constantly try to build their nests on the power poles.  Once they get one established, they stick another pole near it with a nest platform on it and move the nest.  Then they put orange highway cones on top of the previous nest site to discourage them from rebuilding on the actual power pole.  They are persistent.

[Langanobob]

Good stuff. 

...What kind of speeds do the falcons reach when diving?

I believe that Peregrine Falcons are the fastest birds and according to legend they dive at up to 175 MPH.  However, I read an article a few years ago where National Geographic attached a micro GPS to one, similar to the back camera attached to the bird in Lethe's video.  Clocked it at a confirmed 230 MPH!  Amazing creatures.

When I was a kid we used to trap sparrow hawks (American Kestrels) and train them and I've had a lifelong interest in falconry although I'm not a falconer.   The sport of falconry fortunately is now regulated and is more than a hobby.  Due to the high commitment level required to keep and train a raptor, falconry is really a way of life.  Not sure what the requirements are to keep a Peregrine but I'm sure you have to really, really pay your dues as a falconer before you're allowed to have a Peregrine.

Falconers were instrumental in the effort to save the Peregrines when they were on the endangered species list and it's very likely that without falconers there might not be anymore Peregrine Falcons.

Bob

[ducpainter]

The ospreys here keep the power company busy as they constantly try to build their nests on the power poles.  Once they get one established, they stick another pole near it with a nest platform on it and move the nest.  Then they put orange highway cones on top of the previous nest site to discourage them from rebuilding on the actual power pole.  They are persistent.

In VT there is a section of US Rt 2 along the causeway to the Champlain Islands where they've installed platforms on top of the power line towers so Bald Eagles can build nests .

If you look across the wetlands you can see literally hundreds of raptor nests in the trees along the edge of the lake.

It's quite a sight.

[fastwin]

I'm planning on coming back in my next life as a red tail hawk. Lock up your cats and puppies.

[triangleforge]

One of my favorite DC memories was from one of the many interminable meetings in a 14th floor conference room on 17th Street, right across from the National Geographic building.

I'd pretty well tuned out & was watching out the windows as a half dozen pigeons flew lazily across my field of view. All of a sudden, there was a line of motion that intersected the flock from above and instead of one of the pigeons there was just a cloud of feathers hanging in the air.

I'm pretty sure my involuntary "Holy SHIT!" wasn't really considered a constructive contribution to the meeting...

[mitt]

But they don't "need" the food from the kill. That's my point. Instead they hunt a defenseless animal and kill it for sport. That's sick.

http://vimeo.com/57126054

We are all sick.  Unless you are a vegan, no-one has a right to question any killing of animals.

mitt

[ducpainter]

http://vimeo.com/57126054

We are all sick.  Unless you are a vegan, no-one has a right to question any killing of animals.

mitt

touche`

[hbliam]

touche`

Not a bit of touché in that one. Killing for recreation and killing specifically for consumption are different.

[muskrat]

Not a bit of touché in that one. Killing for recreation and killing specifically for consumption are different.

obviously you haven't been to a slaughter house, that's as sick a scene I've ever seen and I have seen some gory shit.  I know of NO ONE who hunts just to kill but rather harvest and enjoy.  FYI...we do in fact need the food from the hunt, wherever did you find a planet where we can do without eating?  I get your point but I for one would rather know where my meal came from and BTW hunters are a million times more humane than the "usual" sources of harvested meats.

[ducpainter]

Not a bit of touché in that one. Killing for recreation and killing specifically for consumption are different.

I was talking about the relative 'sickness'. Killing for sport and the way food is produced in our society are both sick.