FalconFlyer
11-19-2012, 09:47 AM
Hi there, my name is Jeremy and I am totally new to the hunting sport, although, not entering it in the way I guess all of you are involved.
You see, a year ago, I became involved in falconry. I have a Peregrine falcon and a Gyr falcon. For anyone concerned, yes I do hold all the legal requirements and have a government approved facility to keep raptors. Only reason I mention that is I did see a thread on here where somebody witnessed a couple of jackwads trying to shoot a harrier and reported them. That tells me that the laws, as well as the life of these animals is valued by the members here, which is actually why I chose to join this forum to ask my question.
So here it is.
My birds need to hunt, while they are cared for and fed a good diet everyday, as well as allowed to fly free regularly, they are still birds of prey and they need to be allowed to do what they naturally do. As such, I want to teach them to hunt ducks, not for a food supply for me, simply for food for the falcons. Having never been a hunter though, and also still relatively new to the lower mainland, (I moved here seven years ago from central alberta), I don't know of any locations that I can do this. There are a couple of concerns for me. First, I have no problem with asking a land owner for permission to be on his land, but if there is public land that I can be on that would be better. Secondly, I don't wish to hunt where others will be hunting with guns, I don't want to risk my birds being shot by one of the mentally defective human beings as mentioned above. Last of all, I prefer a spot that is a large field. Wet is okay, but over a body of water is no good. Ducks are smarter than I had given them credit and if they see a falcon in the air, and there is a body of water there, the ducks will stay on the water knowing that the falcon won't attack them on the water. Not only that, I don't want my falcons ending up in a body of water and having to try to swim to shore, falcons can't fly off of a body of water like an eagle who's gone into the water can.
So therein lies my question, where is the best location in the lower mainland that would satisfy these needs? As I understand it, because I am not shooting any form of projectile, bullets or arrows, I don't really have restrictions to the area that I'm at in terms of residences or populated areas. Obviously I am not going to do this in a spot right in a city or in an area used by families for walking or biking such as mill lake in abbotsford. I just have no idea where to start looking.
Thanks in advance for any suggestions!
You see, a year ago, I became involved in falconry. I have a Peregrine falcon and a Gyr falcon. For anyone concerned, yes I do hold all the legal requirements and have a government approved facility to keep raptors. Only reason I mention that is I did see a thread on here where somebody witnessed a couple of jackwads trying to shoot a harrier and reported them. That tells me that the laws, as well as the life of these animals is valued by the members here, which is actually why I chose to join this forum to ask my question.
So here it is.
My birds need to hunt, while they are cared for and fed a good diet everyday, as well as allowed to fly free regularly, they are still birds of prey and they need to be allowed to do what they naturally do. As such, I want to teach them to hunt ducks, not for a food supply for me, simply for food for the falcons. Having never been a hunter though, and also still relatively new to the lower mainland, (I moved here seven years ago from central alberta), I don't know of any locations that I can do this. There are a couple of concerns for me. First, I have no problem with asking a land owner for permission to be on his land, but if there is public land that I can be on that would be better. Secondly, I don't wish to hunt where others will be hunting with guns, I don't want to risk my birds being shot by one of the mentally defective human beings as mentioned above. Last of all, I prefer a spot that is a large field. Wet is okay, but over a body of water is no good. Ducks are smarter than I had given them credit and if they see a falcon in the air, and there is a body of water there, the ducks will stay on the water knowing that the falcon won't attack them on the water. Not only that, I don't want my falcons ending up in a body of water and having to try to swim to shore, falcons can't fly off of a body of water like an eagle who's gone into the water can.
So therein lies my question, where is the best location in the lower mainland that would satisfy these needs? As I understand it, because I am not shooting any form of projectile, bullets or arrows, I don't really have restrictions to the area that I'm at in terms of residences or populated areas. Obviously I am not going to do this in a spot right in a city or in an area used by families for walking or biking such as mill lake in abbotsford. I just have no idea where to start looking.
Thanks in advance for any suggestions!