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Co-hunting with Hawks and Beagles, Part #1
I have a friend named Ray who is a master falconer. He has worked for years with mostly red-tailed hawks. It is legal in VA to trap a wild hawk (most of which will be under a year old because more canny adults avoid trapping) and then shape them into cooperative hunters. In the Piedmont area of VA, the most common game for hawks is squirrel and rabbit.
It only takes Ray a month of intensive work to get the hawk to hunt with him. Initially, the hawk is kept in a dark, quiet space inside his home. He handles the bird daily and weighs her to then provide a precise amount of food. Once the correct amount of food is calculated, the bird is then fed in a box. With repetition, this becomes part of the transport routine after a hunt: the bird wants to return to his car and go into the box because that’s where feeding takes place. Every day is exactly the same and that consistency helps the bird settle into the routine.
Once the hawk is comfortable with Ray, he desensitizes her to the presence of his five kenneled beagles. The hawk is placed in another kennel, about 3-4’ away. Though she might initially show some threat displays, typically within 45 minutes the hawk ignores the dogs and by day four is totally relaxed around them.
While hunting, wild hawks take advantage of any disturbances on the ground that will aid them in finding prey. It could be farm equipment in a field, a fire, or beagles themselves hunting. Thanks to their very keen eyesight, the hawk will spot any prey that’s flushed out by this disturbance and hunting will ensue. So while Ray’s beagles are having the literal time of their lives finding and tracking scents on the ground, his hawk quickly learns of their usefulness in flushing game and purposefully keeps track of the beagles’ movement.
In the next post, I’ll share more details about this cooperative hunting practice. What’s one thing you’re curious to know next about how the hawk and beagles work together once they’re in the field?
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4 Replies
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I have questions! I am not even sure of the process these animals use to work together. Do the beagles flush out the prey, then the hawk grabs it? Do the beagles get frustrated by that, if so? Would the bird come off the prey if the beagles come up while she’s on the ground? How does Ray teach the recalls for the beagles, assuming they are running off lead? I’m gonna need a video of the whole process… lol I know nothing about this type of hunting.
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Do the beagles flush out the prey, then the hawk grabs it?
@catherine , yes. The beagles are focused on the scent trail. Often they won’t even see the prey. But the hawk is watching carefully from above for her moment to swoop in.
Do the beagles get frustrated by that, if so? Would the bird come off the prey if the beagles come up while she’s on the ground?
The dogs are often entirely uninterested in the rabbit once caught by hawk. But if they get too close, she will punish that behavior quickly. The dogs learn to avoid. Mostly, they want to just find the next scent to trail.
How does Ray teach the recalls for the beagles, assuming they are running off lead? I’m gonna need a video of the whole process…
It’s hard to get video as the dogs are free and often move far away. Not at all easy to stick with them.
I’ll have to address the recall issue in a separate post!
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Wow! This is so fascinating!
I can almost visualize it happening, thanks for the details. And there’s an insight to motivation here:
“The dogs are often entirely uninterested in the rabbit once caught by hawk….Mostly, they want to just find the next scent to trail.”
The fun is in the hunt, not the catch. Oh, hounds!
My herding dogs would disagree with that. ???? For them, it’s very much about stopping/controlling movement so they are most satisfied when the chase ends in “Bite it! Bite it!”
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EXACTLY! It’s what the dogs are bred for and most certainly how they’re internally rewarded for their efforts.
Ray described how the beagles can sustain plenty of cuts and scratches during the hunt, stuff they don’t even notice and are certainly not deterred by, until after the hunt is over. Once back home, they may be very sensitive about lots of cuts and scratches in their ears and, until he learned to wrap their tails in duct tape, bleeding tails that wouldn’t heal. In some circles, we call that ‘happy tail’ — once the tail tip has been injured, it’s really hard to get it to heal over. The tape has entirely resolved that.
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