[Myrddin]

My wife is a master falconer. She had to attend the same firearms safety classes labeled "hunter's safety" as people hunting with firearms. Her "weapon" of choice was a big, female Red Tail hawk when we lived in San Diego. Her hunting dog was a Jack Russell terrier. On any given afternoon she would bring home 3 or 4 rabbits. The dog would flush them and the hawk would nail them. The hawk was allowed an extra ration on the way home. The "excess" was food for the next few days.

She may return to that hobby when time permits. Caring for a hawk or falcon is a daily task of weighing, feeding and spending time with the bird. Just as intense as caring for a newborn infant, but they don't grow up. Caring for the bird is a perpetual responsibility until you train it to survive in the wild or pass it along to an apprentice. Her job as a police/fire/EMS dispatcher doesn't leave enough uncommitted time to lavish on a bird right now.

[gracie1]

Wow, I’m impressed. We have red tail hawks here in the valley, but I don’t know anyone who uses them to hunt. My grandsons other grandmother has red tails outside their house in San Diego. I can easily see how if your house is near a ravine you could lose pets to coyotes.

[Shyla]

That is very impressive. Good for her.

use to have a nesting pair of red tails in my front yard, wayyyyyyy up in the tree. It was very difficult to se the nest.