A few of my hawking buddies

Bridget Bradshaw

This is my daughter Bridget and her first falcon, Athena. They make a cute couple, don't they? Athena is an American kestrel (Falco sparverius) and hunts house sparrows and starlings, as well as a variety of invertebrates like grasshoppers and the occasional earthworm.  Athena is also flown to an 8-foot delta kite.  The kite is baited with a piece of mouse, and Athena will follow the kite 600 feet into the air to catch the bait.

Bridget and her first Harris's hawk, Neon, hunting rabbits in eastern Washington sagebrush.  Note the displaced tertiaries on Neon's back, the result of dragging him out of a rabbit burrow with a piece of barbed wire.

Moira Carr Bradshaw

This is my wife Moira, who puts up with things like rabbit heads next to the ice cubes in the freezer, muddy dog tracks on the bed, and Harris's hawks screaming for food at dawn. Even she thinks baby Harris's hawks are cute, though. Who wouldn't?

Tom Coulson

Tom Coulson (left) taught me (right) much of what I know about practical hawking.  Here is a photo of us from the early 1980s, standing with a couple of Harris's hawks and five swamp rabbits (Sylvilagus aquaticus) in front of the ligustrum hedge in Tom's backyard in Arabi LA.  Swamp rabbits, known locally as 'cane cutters,' are the largest species in the cottontail rabbit group.  Our Harris's hawks performed brilliantly on swamp rabbits, in spite of the hot, humid weather, swarms of mosquitoes, thick ground cover, and the occasional water moccasin or human corpse we would find.  After the hawking season ended, we still kept busy by breeding Harris's hawks.  I left Louisiana in 1984, but Tom and Jennifer Coulson still keep the swamp rabbits hopping and the Harris's hawk eggs hatching.

Dan Pike

Dan Pike is a full-time hawker. At various times he flies a peregrine, a gyr-peregrine, a gyr-prairie, a merlin, a sharpshin, a Cooper's hawk, and one or two Harris's hawks.  When they get tired he pulls out one of his European goshawks. His pack of Jack Russells and JRT-beagle crosses is relentless, and he has a pointer to work with the falcons. Dan breeds Harris's hawks and Euro goshawks. Photo by Harvey Bradshaw.

Lee Mann

Lee is famous for his practical jokes, and there aren't many hawkers who haven't been 'Lee laid' at one time or another. Lee also flies a golden eagle from time to time in addition to his Harris's hawks. He has several Jack Russell terrier and JRT-beagle crosses to run the rabbits out of the blackberry bushes. Photo by Harvey Bradshaw.

One of Lee's eagles on an eastern cottontail.  A bit of overkill for rabbits, I'd say.

Jerry Fraulini

Jerry Fraulini is among the most persistent hawkers I have met, and he has flown a couple of the best Harris's hawks I've ever seen. The bird in this picture is Chainsaw, a female Harris's hawk whose mother is 'White Wing' from Tom and Jennifer Coulson's breeding project. Jerry and I were hunting snowshoe hares on the Olympic Peninsula when Chainsaw took down a full grown black-tailed deer! By the time we slogged through the thick cover to get to Chainsaw, the deer had kicked her off. Jerry also flew Yiko, a female Harris's hawk that several times caught more than 200 head of game in a season.  Yiko is now at the Coulson's for breeding.  Jerry runs pack of Jack Russells. Photo by Harvey Bradshaw.

Phil Smith

Phil Smith with a tiercel golden eagle  he once had.  Local Harris's hawkers are getting a little nervous with all the eagles now being flown in Washington.  Check your six!

Phil returned to flying goshawks, sharpies, and Harris's hawks when he got tired of lugging that eagle around.  He now lives in Missouri.

Tip and Gator

Tip and Gator are my hawking dogs -- man's best friend and rabbit's worst nightmare.  Gator is a Jack Russell, and Tip is a 3/4 Jack Russell - 1/4 beagle cross, bred by Lee Mann.  Gator is silent on trail and usually works with his head up.  Tip works fast with her head down, has a really good nose, and makes a lot of noise on a hot trail.  The advantage to fast-working dogs is that the rabbits are forced to come out of the blackberry bushes at full speed, which makes for a much better flight with the Harris' hawks.

Back to Toby Bradshaw's Hawking and Falconry Website.
For more information, contact Toby Bradshaw.
Last revised: 15-Jul-2004