Thing is Rob ... dont they tend to do pretty well on their own Harris Hawks when they escape? Im not sure how many birds were involved but the one around the Green Quarter near CIS complex in the city centre, the Heaton Park bird and the one seen briefly at Elton Res (couldve arguably all have been same bird) seemed to do ok left to their own devices. Im certainly no expert but their non-specialist diet eating a range of prey could give a bit of an edge to their adaptability maybe?
Most trained birds of prey will not know how to survive in the wild, as we mustn't forget these are domesticated birds and not wild. The method usually used in breeding them is they are parent reared in captivity and then trained by the handler as soon as they reach juvenile age. Then it's upto the handler on what he trains them for.
Many people use them for leasure and are never trained to hunt. These ones will stand little to no chance to survive if they should escape as they are totally dependent on the handler. Some are trained to hunt, and Harris hawks are best suited for catching rabbits. They don't stand much chance in catching a wide variety of other species because, being classed as Broad-wings, they tend to fly a little slow. In the wild, they over come this by hunting in packs (the only Broad-wing type Hawk/Buzzard to hunt like this). The handler trains them to hunt for specific species depending on what he wants from them.
Those that are able to survive in the wild after escaping are usually birds that have been trained to hunt, but they will have to learn quickly how to do this without their handler, unless they become really lucky and come across a carcass such as road kill and try to learn to fend for themselves. These are big ifs as most will not survive long, but there are a few cases where they survive quite well for many years.
Hope this helps
Ta!
__________________
Which bird is ideal for keeping cakes in? I asked. The answer: a Bun-tin.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/135715507@N06
Thing is Rob ... dont they tend to do pretty well on their own Harris Hawks when they escape? Im not sure how many birds were involved but the one around the Green Quarter near CIS complex in the city centre, the Heaton Park bird and the one seen briefly at Elton Res (couldve arguably all have been same bird) seemed to do ok left to their own devices. Im certainly no expert but their non-specialist diet eating a range of prey could give a bit of an edge to their adaptability maybe?
We were approached by two characters on Carrington Moss today, one of whom was holding a Harris Hawk. They told us they had lost another one a day or two earlier and asked if we could keep a look out.
I suggested they look at this forum from time to time to see if any sightings are reported.
(They mentioned that the one previously seen on Carrington Moss a couple of years ago was still about apparently. This latest one has jessies and a bell we were told.).
