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roy reali

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Recently I was out doing some bird hunting with my dog. We were hunting in an area of scrub. We were not having any luck at first. Then we walked over to a thick stand of brush. My dog went right into it.

I could hear quail flushing on the other side from were I was. There was no way to get around or through this vegetation. This brush was about a foot taller then me. So I took a few steps back, got my shotgun ready, and hoped one bird would fly high enough for me to shoot.

As I was standing there, an unexpected hunter showed up. A small hawk, or maybe a falcon, came out of nowhere and dove towards the flushing quail. I couldn't tell weather she got one or not.

Later I noticed that a bird a prey would was always in a tree no matter where we were hunting on that land. I am not sure if it was the same bird as before or not.

I thought this was cool.
 
Probably a Cooper's hawk. They are very good at showing up when people or animals move through brush that has quail and other small birds in it. They seem to know how and where to position themselves so they get their birds. I have seen it several times. It's cool to watch a pro at work.
 
Birds of prey

I sometimes see hawks, falcons and alot of eagles where I hunt. I take it as a compliment that they would want to hunt with me. They realy like my squeeler. The coyotes flush the rabbits and the birds swoop in. The eagles mainly fish, but Ive seen them feasting on deer carcases too. Watching nature is awe inspiring. When Im hunting I feel a part of it.
 
Had a similar thing happen when bow hunting elk. Hawk just blew-up a quail. I was tremendously happy, as the quail kept randomly flushing and ruining my stealthy creeping...
 
owl accompanied

last year hunting pheasant along a wind row i had two owls taking posts ahead of my dog. i never saw them swoop down but they were definately using the dog.
 
What for hunting???

Prime 8--
I take it as a compliment that they would want to hunt with me. They realy like my squeeler. The coyotes flush the rabbits and the birds swoop in. The eagles mainly fish, but Ive seen them feasting on deer carcases too. Watching nature is awe inspiring. When Im hunting I feel a part of it.
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IMHO, you NAILED it!! This is a big part of what hunting is all about, for me!

And Birdshot, that is awesome, having owls using yr dog! Whoda thunkit!

Some of my most memorable hunting experiences have been in the presence of other predators. Have watched a Snowy Owl land in a tree, to seek mice, and now I know what "looking," and "silent flight," really mean. Have had a white weasel sharing my sitting-log, hunting the mice under the log. Have seen a fisher undulating through the forest. On none of these days did I have a shot myself, but I wouldn't trade the experiences.
 
I always wanted to see a Bobcat while hunting!

I've seen a fox before, and it was pretty cool.
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Looking eye to eye at an approximate 40lb bobcat 15 feet away can be a bit nerve wracking, and I wouldn't trade that for anything. I must say I'm glad that he decided to run after we stared at each other for 15 seconds or so, I wasn't sure if he was going to jump me or not. Not to mention I never would have guessed that there would have been a bobcat anywhere around where I was hunting at the time.

Mav
 
Sparrow Hawks and bird feeders

this tear in northeast Iowa we have had an excess of snow and very cold weather(take note Al Gore).My wife is an avid bird watcher and feeder.A few weeks ago she she came in from filling some of the many feeders she has around our 200 acres of iowa river vally and demanded that I stop shooting her birds off the feeders.I told her to calm down and that I wouldn't do such a thing(it had crossed my mind several times).I went out to check and found the remains of Gold finches,Chickadees and Sparrows around 1 of the feeders and they looked exactly like I had popped them with my Hornet not much left but feathers.intrigued I set out to find the culprit,it didn't take long in less than an hour a Sparrow Hawk attracted by all the birds made a pass and snabbed up a chubby Nuthatch landed on top of the feeder and had lunch.People ask me time and again why would you want to live that far out in the boonies I just smile. ELMO;)
 
Me too

Where the Wapsi meets the muddy Miss..... Sorta:rolleyes:

I only wish I could escape this rat trap called the city....rrrrrrrrr:mad:

I hunt alot on public land, but that hasnt slowed me down.
Early bow season, and coyotes in the summer are my favorite seasons. OK coyotes are fun all the time.

Were gettin quite a few east Iowans here at TFL. Glad Im not alone.
 
I've got at Broad-winged Hawk in the neighborhood, incredible bird. Every once in awhile I see it flying through the woods, it seems to like the trail that I built. It likes my feeder, last summer I found half a Robin that had been driven into my lawn as if it was shot out of a cannon.
 
I was bowhunting in Del Rio TX on the Lake Amistad NRA about 6 years ago. I had a bunch of blue scaled quail milling around in front of me. I was in full camo, sitting on the ground. I heard the brush rustle behind me. A georgeous grey fox was stalking the quail, and came almost right next to me... maybe 6-9 ft tops. he looked at me, couldn't figure out what I was, and continued his stalk toward the quail. He caught one right out of the air as he flushed them...coolest thing I ever saw, and to be so close...For those who think full camo isn't necessary, they haven't hunted like this before. That sort of thing would have never happened if I wasn't in full camo. What a hunt...
 
I was sitting in a box blind in Cent. TX some years ago when I heard a "pop" noise behind me. Turned around and a sparrow hawk had killed a cardinal. He gave me a challenging look while he dissected his dinner. Good show.
 
I haven't hunted as much as y'all have in the free states, but I have seen some awe inspiring sights while scouting for game and once while quail hunting.

On the quail hunt it was like Roy's... dog flushed a covey and a small hawk swooped down and t-boned a quail during takeoff. We were so impressed just watched. From that point on, one of us would watch the sky as the dog moved forward to flush. Neither of us wanted to bag a quail and kill or injure the hawk.

On a pig hunt, I had my rifle poking out of some brush waiting for a pig to exit some brush when something blocked my front sight. I refocused and found, sitting on the last 3" of my lever gun ... a hummingbird! When I moved the bird flew off, but came back and buzzed around me several times. As my dad says, "It's a gift from God to make you smile." (It sure does, Dad!) :D

Once, on a deer hunt with a friend, we watched in silence as a trio of does wandered into view to graze. We were expecting a buck to show so we waited. We saw something moving in the brush and realized that there was a cougar stalking the smallest doe. Watching a big cat use cover and stealth is awesome! The big cat launched and we thought he'd missed until he tripped one. After watching the nature show, we quietly crept away so he could dine in peace.

A local hunter I know stealth-hunts and I've given him a ribbing for his preparations, including a homemade ghillie suit. They'd gone on a pig hunt and Dan positioned himself in a seated "sniper" position by a rock. His precautions were so good, his hunting partner took a photo of him, rifle supported by the rock aimed towards a trio of pigs... with about 5 birds perched on his ghillie suit! :eek: So now we call him "Birdman". :D
 
I don't have a Ghilli suit but I still fit into the tiger striped camo I brought back from Nam and sitting in a tripod stand with trees all around me I've had my share of close encounters with mother nature's animals. I've seen coyotes tag teaming rabbits within 20yds of me as well as various bird species trying to or landing on my arms thinking I was a tree, it something I look forward to when in the field. My wife told me of an experience she had going to work one morning at about 10am as she closed the front door to the house and started down the steps to her car a large Redtailed hawk flew between her and the two trees in our front yard which are no more than about 15ft from the door and landed in our neighbors tree and gave her the stare. She had never seen a bird so large outside of the zoo, and this in in the middle of Dallas. Mother Nature can do a lot to add enjoyment to our sport.
 
Tree rats too

A buddy of mine was kind enough to let me hunt one of his stands on one of his favorite spots. Its was prime rut and cold as all get out, It was my first bow season so it was all new to me. We had been watching these 2 bucks chasing this doe around the corn field, and back across the creek. Over and over they ran figure 8's across a 5 acre area. My buddy later estimated them at 100 and 130 class deer. Not real good at that to be honest. Anyways, I lost sight of the smaller buck when my tree started to sway. I froze! All I could think of is the small buck had circled behind me and was rubbing on my tree. My adrenaline was through the roof. I sat as still as any living creature ever has, for what felt like 10 mins. I finnaly got the nerve to slowly turn around only to see a squirrel angry that I was in his way! That tree swayed back and forth as he tried to find a way around me. Once he knew I saw him he barked at me and scouried around me hastily. One of the most exciting things Ive ever experienced.
 
The lost art of falconry

There are some that would say that falcon was very aware of you Roy, and did that stunt to impress you (and your dog).

But there are others who would argue that it was just hungry and saw an opportunity.

In medieval times they attributed more to these animals - falconry enthusiasts maintain that the birds enjoy this neo captivity and at best symbiotic relationship. I don't know...

Now a days most folks would be on the 'he was just hungry' side of things.
 
I have come to believe that many species of animals, like people, vary. Many are pretty much oblivious to anything that doesn't directly impact them. Others are curious, exploratory, and display individual personality traits, which can sometimes include playfulness, pride and even a little showmanship.

Just like your average neighborhood full of two-legged critters.
 
I have come to believe that many species of animals, like people, vary. Many are pretty much oblivious to anything that doesn't directly impact them. Others are curious, exploratory, and display individual personality traits, which can sometimes include playfulness, pride and even a little showmanship.
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Funny you should mention this. A former coworker of mine lives near the coastal foothills of CA - one of those houses with stilts in the back. One summer, her husband was recovering from a serious knee surgery and he spent a lot of time on the balcony painting and reading. Every morning a redtail hawk would fly past just above the roofline, circle twice, then head off to hunt. After a month of watching this ritual, her husband got a touch of sunburn and stayed inside one morning. About 7:30 they heard the hawk screeching and found it sitting on Al's chair! When they opened the door, it hopped to the balcony rail and waited for him to get seated before taking off to hunt. The next morning the hawk hunted successfully and returned to a nearby tree to eat his "breakfast" with his human audience! For the rest of the summer it would wait for them to show up before leaving a nearby tree to hunt.

Either he liked an audience or it was a Hawk that believed in them being "lucky" for his hunts.
 
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