hawked?

[hotrod]

HOW many birds have you had hawked coming home from races ,i have had nine,ranging from only a few tail feathers/talon holes---  to ripped apart, from a team of 36 ,its getting worse every year .

[pigeonpete]

only had 1 from the races hawked! but sure make up for it round home, had 5 taken this year, and a few near misses!

[frank-123]

four for me all tail feathers missing

[blaz]

dont want to tempt fate .this year i have been lucky and not had any home hawked . i have however lost all my red checkers training . birds that have raced and won club and fed. all from training from just short of berwick upon tweed

[Guest]

Last week from 204 miles NFC sent 7, 6 home, missing last years 1st Marmande 473 mile, got a feeling was hawked. Reckon I've lost 6/7 ob around the loft to Percy in the last month!!!

[Guest Freebird]

dont want to tempt fate .this year i have been lucky and not had any home hawked . i have however lost all my red checkers training . birds that have raced and won club and fed. all from training from just short of berwick upon tweed

Reds seem to be targeted more for some reason, maybe someone can enlighten us? I know that red is dominant colour hue to wild type ( blue ) when breeding so how come you don't see many red ferals? Maybe the hawk can spot reds easier. Just a thought.

 

 

[blaz]

Reds seem to be targeted more for some reason, maybe someone can enlighten us? I know that red is dominant colour hue to wild type ( blue ) when breeding so how come you don't see many red ferals? Maybe the hawk can spot reds easier. Just a thought.

 

 

4 or5 years ago i had a lot of reds racing well. now i have one that alone tells me that nowadays their is a lot more bop in the sky. reds could be classed as prey as you have red grouse and red tailed grouse. both of which are prey for raptors.

[b.massey]

Two blues for us..... I also have lost a grizzle that was doing well for me. Always early. So fear the worst for him

[blaz]

Two blues for us..... I also have lost a grizzle that was doing well for me. Always early. So fear the worst for him

 

two races back we got a bad one . i was down 3 now only one . so their is still a little hope

[thunderboult]

so far this year about 5/6 injured , 10 lost racing+training,including a multiprize winning 5yr old cock lost(eaten) training that's flown 420 on the east route and 614 mls on the south.(if i knew how to do a sad face i'd put one on).

[b.massey]

so far this year about 5/6 injured , 10 lost racing+training,including a multiprize winning 5yr old cock lost(eaten) training that's flown 420 on the east route and 614 mls on the south.(if i knew how to do a sad face i'd put one on).

 

 

Here mate... Feel your pain   :( :'( :'( :'(

[blaz]

:( its bad when you lose the best birds :(

[Guest numpty01]

:'( :'(

so far this year about 5/6 injured , 10 lost racing+training,including a multiprize winning 5yr old cock lost(eaten) training that's flown 420 on the east route and 614 mls on the south.(if i knew how to do a sad face i'd put one on).

:'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :( ;D ;Dthere you are

 

 

[thunderboult]

:'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :( ;D ;Dthere you are

 

 

thanks and to b.massey. my uncles name is eric massey any relation ?ps he's also scottish.

[b.massey]

 

thanks and to b.massey. my uncles name is eric massey any relation ?ps he's also scottish.

 

Not that I am aware off. But I do know my Grand dads sister moved to Devon area but she would have lost Massey name when she got married

[thunderboult]

 

Not that I am aware off. But I do know my Grand dads sister moved to Devon area but she would have lost Massey name when she got married

 

i just had to ask. he's early sixties now.

[shotgun tim]

dont want to tempt fate .this year i have been lucky and not had any home hawked . i have however lost all my red checkers training . birds that have raced and won club and fed. all from training from just short of berwick upon tweed

 

its perigrin hevan around berwick in a 30 min drive i could take you to 14 nest sites there is 6 from berwick to st abbs

[The Navigator]

I have had three return injured. Lost two YB's in the last two weeks, witnessed being caught by percy.

[just ask me]

over the last few weeks had a few caught had 4 that couldent race last week 2 back on the road this week one be back in two weeks and one that wont race again probally

[Guest SkyMaster]

Reds seem to be targeted more for some reason, maybe someone can enlighten us? I know that red is dominant colour hue to wild type ( blue ) when breeding so how come you don't see many red ferals? Maybe the hawk can spot reds easier. Just a thought.

 

Hawks seem to take whites grizzles reds  first you just have to look at all the wild pigeons in the fields at the start of the year there will be a wide range of colours whites etc and by the end of the year theres not many if any left  

 

 

[Guest monkeynuts71]

1 blue bar yb killed by percy last week,1 injured. club mate last week lost 9 obs 10 miles up the road training due to percy attack and had a sparrowhawk attack his yb`s on the loft lossing 10 so 19 in the space of a couple of days, he looked utterly gutted last week, it seems the sport is getting impossible in the south west.

so far in our club not 1 red/mealy has been sent to a race yet, 1 grizzle and 1 black are the only colours apart from blues and cheqs that have been sent.

[Guest]

Hawks seem to take whites grizzles reds  first you just have to look at all the wild pigeons in the fields at the start of the year there will be a wide range of colours whites etc and by the end of the year theres not many if any left  

 

 

I'm not sure about colour susceptibility. Thankfully most of the time the real good birds tend to get home, though I do know some top birds are taken. The proportion of coloured birds in any loft is always small (though there will be those that keep for colour rather than performance). There was an excellent debate a few years ago about colour in the BHW. A chap called Thomas moved to West Wales to see if his birds could survive and what colours tended to be taken by the hawks, he published his beliefs/findings in the BHW a few weeka later a partnership wrote in contradicting the findings and providing theri evidence I believe they were brothers who lived in Swansea, though I may be wrong!

[Guest numpty01]

trevor black pied jones i beleave was the fancier who requested donateions of birds to see which were the most hunted in the area he was at time i was one who pointed pot to him in homeing world that the area he said was infested with hawks was in fact not     and as i lived in that area of brecfa for 22years with birds i think i was able to comment then i beleave he moved to bristol area and was advertiseing for books on pigeons then moved again and was advertiseing for pigeon ornaments were he is now who knows but im sure he will be in homeing world again my view is reds whites mealys are the most sought after by perigrins as most seem to lose them first along with others

[Guest IB]

First couple of birds home from Wakefield race on Sat 16th May were very nervous, the racepoint where there were reported peregrine attacks on the transporter. I'd one 2 yo pied hen home on the Monday with a bad hawk wound pretty high up the neck, and I also dropped 2 yearling hens in the same race, a blue bar and a pied.

 

Fortunate enough not to be troubled round the loft.

[Guest]

First couple of birds home from Wakefield race on Sat 16th May were very nervous, the racepoint where there were reported peregrine attacks on the transporter. I'd one 2 yo pied hen home on the Monday with a bad hawk wound pretty high up the neck, and I also dropped 2 yearling hens in the same race, a blue bar and a pied.

 

Fortunate enough not to be troubled round the loft.

 

Ian you surprise me, never saw any Peregrines in Barnsley/Wakefield when I lived there, left 4 years ago, plenty of sparrowhawks though