Aces High Bulletin Board
General Forums => The O' Club => Topic started by: deSelys on May 06, 2013, 03:55:19 AM
-
in color!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1XNL9F2Urqs (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1XNL9F2Urqs)
Kill starts around 2.45 for the impatient ones ;)
-
nice! I liked the split S.. <G>
I thought this fitting..
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7jGbtIdOZ-M
-
Arg!!!! I can't veiw video!!
-
PRIVATE video? :headscratch: :headscratch: :headscratch:
That sucks wind.
-
Hahaha thanks Kappa, that's made our day here. Face hurts from laughing.
-
Private video?
-
Field marshal song?
-
Wasn't private a few hours ago, sorry about that.
Some PETA-like jerks probably complained about the vid. It was shot by a cam on the back of a peregrine falcon. At one moment, the falcon dives and smacks into a duck taking off, killing its prey instantly according to the owner's comments.
:(
<edit> the falcon's name is Dora, hence the thread title...
-
I saw that video earlier on a different media outlet and DAMN!!!! That falcon came down and...... WHUMP!!!! no more duck...
Great video!
-
Wasn't private a few hours ago, sorry about that.
Some PETA-like jerks probably complained about the vid. It was shot by a cam on the back of a peregrine falcon. At one moment, the falcon dives and smacks into a duck taking off, killing its prey instantly according to the owner's comments.
:(
<edit> the falcon's name is Dora, hence the thread title...
This may surprise you, but I've never heard of PETA complaining about nature being nature.
PETA is often silly, but ascribing such things to them kinda legitimizes the stuff they actually do as it isn't as silly.
-
I generally keep my falconry videos private too, so I don't blame the guy.
I'm not a big fan of sharing them publicly because of the flack they often generate from the anti's.
-
Here is a working version. More to be found with google via other hosts:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r8oGfrmWdMA
The speed and angle it is diving at are unbelievable.
-
That's real flying! I once saw a hawk grab a sparrow in mid air just outside my bedroom window. Just came out of nowhere. It was so fast it was hard to take in what happened.
-
This may surprise you, but I've never heard of PETA complaining about nature being nature.
PETA is often silly, but ascribing such things to them kinda legitimizes the stuff they actually do as it isn't as silly.
This is why I wrote 'PETA-like'.
And falconry being 'nature' is debatable.
-
This is why I wrote 'PETA-like'.
And falconry being 'nature' is debatable.
As a falconer, the best description of falconry I've come across is "hardcore birdwatching". Not that I'd "define" it as such, but it really is the best "description" I've heard.
As for it being "nature"? Maybe, maybe not. Personally, I consider the human race to be a part of the ecology of the planet. As such, I see people (and what they do) as a legitimate part of "nature".
Now, would a raptor pair up with a human? Probably not as a hunting "partner"...
However, they do "use" people (and predators, and other large animals and herds of animals) and their propensity to (often accidentally) flush quarry out into the open. It's not uncommon for raptors to take advantage of that while hunting. Flying a falcon in "waiting on" style and flushing ducks, grouse, or pheasants under it is about as close to a mimicry of this event as it gets.
Having watched wild redtails hunting squirrels, mice, snakes, pheasants, etc. (while I was unobserved), and having hunted literally hundreds of squirrels with my "wild but trained" redtails I can attest to the fact that there is surprisingly little difference between the "natural" event and falconry. I could elaborate and give other examples of hunting with falcons and accipiters as well, but it would be redundant for the most part...
It's also not uncommon for raptors to "use" human alterations of the environment either to hunt gathered quarry (such as the bird feeder or altered habitat drawn sparrows, etc., that cpxxx saw captured) or to ambush quarry (such as a redtail sitting on a telephone pole.
Now, is it "natural" for a redtail to hunt from a telephone pole? Or to hunt mice under that pole that are more-easily accessible due to the placement of that pole and the mowing habits of humans?
What if the redtail is hunting from a tree that was planted by humans? Or from a "naturally-occurring" tree that is only an acceptable perch because it borders grasslands that it wouldn't naturally border due to the human division of massive tracts of "redtail-unfriendly" forest into smaller "redtail-ideal" woodlots?
Agricultural practices have opened massive amounts of previously unsuitable habitat for redtails, and provided mile upon mile of ideal hunting habitat for assorted prey (in the form of wide grassy highway borders, complete with perches, and even fences and fast-moving traffic to ensure that they aren't disturbed by people). Is a redtail hunting along an undisturbed section of highway an example of "nature" in action?
Is it "natural" for humans to use/exploit/benefit from animals?
Yup... It's all debatable.
-
I love birds.
I have always advocated that Falconry would be an acceptable and beautiful alternative to pest control.
Just park a ranger with a falcon, no more birds bothering your crops.
The birds of prey are the finest and most beautiful animals on this planet. Yes there are debates about humans using them as weapons. But the birds love to hunt, and love eating fresh meat. They also get companionship from humans and bred with a family. These birds get a really good deal. Its the poor unfortunate pigeons, rabbits, mice and ducks and so forth that get in the way of said bird that should be worried.
But there a billions of them, and falcon numbers are starting to dwindle.
Falconry is illegal in my country unfortunately, because it is something I would really love to do.
-
I tried getting into falconry
wheni was 15. I just didn't know where to get a
bird. :furious I still have my mediocre leashes, and hood somewhere.
-
Here is a working version. More to be found with google via other hosts:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r8oGfrmWdMA
The speed and angle it is diving at are unbelievable.
It really is pretty incredible isn't it?
Last I heard there were at least 2 instances where peregrines have been "proven" at speeds of up to 275mph (twice the speed a skydiver falls!).
I know there's footage available of Ken Franklin diving with his falcon where the bird achieved 254mph?
What's amazing is that it's exceedingly difficult to get a falconry bird to perform at the levels of a wild bird... Wild birds stoop faster than falconry birds, and while peregrines are credited with being the "fastest animal on the planet" eagles can catch them in a stoop, and nobody's ever done a true comparison as to whether a peregrine is as fast or faster than a gyr, or prairie, or saker, etc...
So, if 275mph is "proven", how fast are they really able to go?!?!?
FWIW, the video you posted is quite impressive, but isn't representative of true top speed for that falcon. The camera slows it down (drag), the falcon isn't high enough to really get cookin', the dive angle is too flat, and it's doing a fair amount of maneuvering in it's stoop. It's not in it's "mummy-tuck". My guess is it never gets much past 150mph, if that. Very cool of course, but just imagine if it was going almost twice that fast!
Quite honestly though, he'll probably catch far more game with a bird that stoops like that than one that goes high enough to reach top speed.
-
I have always advocated that Falconry would be an acceptable and beautiful alternative to pest control.
Just park a ranger with a falcon, no more birds bothering your crops.
I have a few friends that do this, and I've considered it myself... It's a great way to abate birds in select instances, but it's very time and labor intensive, expensive, and complicated.
For the most part, it's used to abate birds form airports, orchards, and areas like bridges, parking garages, landfills, etc.
One of the complicating factors is that we cannot use native raptors for abatement in the US; we need to import (or purchase captive bred) non-native or exotic birds or hybrids. Another complicating factor is that many of the birds that you want to abate are protected, and cannot be hunted. You need the raptor to chase with "intent" to convince the target birds it's in their best interest to leave, but you don't actually want your birds to catch the target birds. The target birds can tell in a micro-second whether or not the raptor has "intent", and therefore whether or not it is a threat. If they couldn't tell, a RC drone could be used at much less effort and cost.
Also, in a case like at an airport, it's only effective in the very immediate area. The passenger plane that landed in the Hudson river hit those geese several miles outside of the airport; far outside the effective protection abatement may have offered.
It's almost never (if ever) going to be a park ranger doing it.
The birds of prey are the finest and most beautiful animals on this planet. Yes there are debates about humans using them as weapons. They also get companionship from humans and bred with a family. These birds get a really good deal. Its the poor unfortunate pigeons, rabbits, mice and ducks and so forth that get in the way of said bird that should be worried.
But there a billions of them, and falcon numbers are starting to dwindle.
I agree with you on the beauty factor; there isn't anything on the planet that compares with them. "Weapon" is a misnomer, and "companionship" is quite a stretch too, but I won't delve into that. As far as a "good deal", you're correct for the individual birds involved (falconry has zero impact on wild populations though). Roughly 65% of raptors perish before reaching the ripe old age of one. In falconry mortality is reduced to roughly 5%. If they get sick or injured they go to the vet. If they fail to succeed in hunting they still get fed...
Raptor populations in the US are doing fairly well overall. Birds like the peregrine and bald eagle have been brought back from the brink of extinction to levels where they're no longer even considered threatened! We now have peregrines nesting right in our cities! Much of that success can be directly attributed to falconers.
Threats still loom however, but not from/through falconry. If the numbers can be believed, wind turbines may be killing enough golden eagles to ensure that they cannot breed fast enough to survive long-term. It would be a shame if our "green" energy sources led to (or contributed greatly to) the extinction of birds like that. Power poles kill massive numbers of raptors annually. Habitat loss is still the number one threat by far.
Falconry is illegal in my country unfortunately, because it is something I would really love to do.
Australia, by chance?
-
private, can't view it either :(
-
Australia yes.
I know that companionship with a killing machine is a bit of a stretch. I know they don't like being handled and are very shy, and I know for a fact from my own resident avian, that birds have attitudes and are sentient beings of sorts.
Falconry is an art, I don't see why it should be illegal.
-
Australia yes.
I know that companionship with a killing machine is a bit of a stretch. I know they don't like being handled and are very shy, and I know for a fact from my own resident avian, that birds have attitudes and are sentient beings of sorts.
Falconry is an art, I don't see why it should be illegal.
I don't think it should be illegal either. You're not the first person I've conversed with from Australia that was frustrated with that law.