A day of hunting in Flanders’ Fields
Part 1 – The morning.
In October of 2020, my father and I decided to organise a little hunting “en petit comité” (this is a French expression, meaning in a very small group). The hunters that day would be my father and myself, accompanied by my fiancée. But things would turn out a bit different than originally foreseen.
Due to the corona virus restrictions interdicting hunting in groups (as is usually done for small game) of no more than four, we had to cut the day a bit up. Through relations, my father had made contact with two falconers, who due their lacking of an own hunting terrain, were eager to get out after the first lockdown’s of 2020 and give their birds something interesting to do. On our side we also had a bit of an issue. One of the terrains borders on a 3 lane highway, which is about 3-4 meters higher than the surrounding fields. Due to this the berms just next to the highway (from 0 to 5 meters away of the asphalt) were an overgrown tangle of brush, small trees and riddled with rabbit holes. Hunting with a firearm there, would be neigh to impossible and also quite dangerous with cars zipping by at 120Km/h just next to us. So we decided to make use of the services of these falconers and they were more than happy to oblige.
The berm on the side of the highway. The highway is just at the level of the horizon, about 10m to the right from where you see me standing.
Now, I say falconers as the correct term for their hobby/profession, but they actually hunted with hawks. Falcon’s, as they explained, are used for a style of hunting in open fields, where they will pray in the air, and then out of their own accord bomber dive to the ground at huge speeds to fix the pray, and then kill it with their beaks. This style of hunting, for the terrain we would be in, would obviously not be very appropriate. Also, falcon’s, they told me, have very limited stamina and usually only about two dives on a single day would be feasible. Our rabbit infestation was a bit too much for falcon’s.
Hawks on the other hand, have a much greater stamina, and are capable of hunting intensely for a few hours. They are also much more agile and well suited to hunt in brush and overgrown areas. Hunting with hawks is also almost like with a rifle, as the hawk rests on the gloved hand of the falconer, and is only released if the falconer confirms that there is a viable prey, after which the hawk, like a guided missile will intercept. Hawks, in contrast to falcons, kill with their claws, where they try to crush the head of the rabbit. If they only manage to get their claws into the back, often the rabbit will be able to wiggle free and then outrun the hawk (yes the hawk will also go running after a rabbit in big leaps and bounds, very amusing to watch!)
Discussing with the falconers on what strategy to use on this seemingly impenetrable berm. Cows are watching with interest.
Both falconers brought out a hawk each, and also a hunting dog. What we didn’t know is that they (luckily) also brought with them a few ferrets, to chase the rabbits out of their burrows.
They decided that hunting in the berm with both of the hawks at the same time would be too complicated, they put one hawk back in the truck, and decided to continue only with the white Siberian hawk, the dog and the ferrets. At this point my father, my fiancée and myself were just observers as we let the more experienced falconers decide on how to approach things.
Siberian hawk, male.
We decided to set up on top of the berm, only a few meters from the highway, looking down. The falconer carrying his hawk was just in front of us, waiting for rabbits to come out of their burrows and make a run for it. Meanwhile the other falconer, now transformed into dedicated ferreter, would be launching his own rabbit seeking missiles.
Inside the brush on the berm, with the hawk trying to spot a rabbit. On the left side one of the rabbit hole entrances. As you can see, there would be no place to swing a shotgun from left to right to try and shoot the rabbit. There is barely enough space for the hawk to fly. In fact I did not think it possible until I saw the hawk in action. Our backs are only a few steps from the highway.
As this was for the three of us also new, and I suspect for most readers too, a quick description on how ferreting works. Each ferret has a small electronic collar, which allows the ferreter to more or less find its location, when the ferret is underground. Rabbit burrows can easily span 20-40 square meters, with holes and tunnels all being interconnected. So ‘losing’ a ferret underground happens frequently. The ferreter takes all of his ferrets and ‘throws’ one at a time from a short distance to the various rabbit holes he sees. Imagine a soldier nonchalantly dropping a bunch of grenades down various ventilation shafts, it’s almost the same thing. The ferrets, as long as they are close to an entrance, will naturally start exploring inside, helped by their sense of smell. They try to find the rabbit’s underground, who themselves are either frozen scared or start running for the exit’s. In the former case, this happens often when a ferret approaches a rabbit from behind in a tunnel. So the rabbit can smell the ferret but does not see it, and it therefore often needs some helpful biting and clawing from the ferret to help it shake off its fear and start running. Once all the rabbits from a burrow have been flushed, the ferrets will come back above ground, waiting to be picked up by the ferreter.
A ferret coming back above ground, awaiting pick up.
So now imagine this beautiful scene of man, bird, dog and ferret working together in close cooperation to get the bag of rabbit’s filled. Waiting with the hawk until something moves somewhere around us, obviously the hawk seeing it before the falconer, then the release, the hawk zigzagging between trees and branches for up to 15meters trying to catch the rabbit’s head in its claws. Afterwards having to wait out the ferret’s to come out, catching them and then moving onwards to the next burrow. In total, out of the 15-20 rabbits we flushed in this way, the hawk was released on about 2/3rds of them, got in time to the rabbit on half of that, with only a few where the hawk managed to sink its claws into the head. After a few hours only 3 rabbits had been caught in this way, but what an excitement.
I wish I had some pictures or even video to share of the hawk in action, but we were always too late to snap a picture. A hawk charge was usually over in 2-4 seconds and the photographer had cold hands from keeping the camera always at the ready. A next time perhaps.
Part 2 will come some soon, with an afternoon hunting hares in proper Flemish fields.
Part 1 – The morning.
In October of 2020, my father and I decided to organise a little hunting “en petit comité” (this is a French expression, meaning in a very small group). The hunters that day would be my father and myself, accompanied by my fiancée. But things would turn out a bit different than originally foreseen.
Due to the corona virus restrictions interdicting hunting in groups (as is usually done for small game) of no more than four, we had to cut the day a bit up. Through relations, my father had made contact with two falconers, who due their lacking of an own hunting terrain, were eager to get out after the first lockdown’s of 2020 and give their birds something interesting to do. On our side we also had a bit of an issue. One of the terrains borders on a 3 lane highway, which is about 3-4 meters higher than the surrounding fields. Due to this the berms just next to the highway (from 0 to 5 meters away of the asphalt) were an overgrown tangle of brush, small trees and riddled with rabbit holes. Hunting with a firearm there, would be neigh to impossible and also quite dangerous with cars zipping by at 120Km/h just next to us. So we decided to make use of the services of these falconers and they were more than happy to oblige.
The berm on the side of the highway. The highway is just at the level of the horizon, about 10m to the right from where you see me standing.
Now, I say falconers as the correct term for their hobby/profession, but they actually hunted with hawks. Falcon’s, as they explained, are used for a style of hunting in open fields, where they will pray in the air, and then out of their own accord bomber dive to the ground at huge speeds to fix the pray, and then kill it with their beaks. This style of hunting, for the terrain we would be in, would obviously not be very appropriate. Also, falcon’s, they told me, have very limited stamina and usually only about two dives on a single day would be feasible. Our rabbit infestation was a bit too much for falcon’s.
Hawks on the other hand, have a much greater stamina, and are capable of hunting intensely for a few hours. They are also much more agile and well suited to hunt in brush and overgrown areas. Hunting with hawks is also almost like with a rifle, as the hawk rests on the gloved hand of the falconer, and is only released if the falconer confirms that there is a viable prey, after which the hawk, like a guided missile will intercept. Hawks, in contrast to falcons, kill with their claws, where they try to crush the head of the rabbit. If they only manage to get their claws into the back, often the rabbit will be able to wiggle free and then outrun the hawk (yes the hawk will also go running after a rabbit in big leaps and bounds, very amusing to watch!)
Discussing with the falconers on what strategy to use on this seemingly impenetrable berm. Cows are watching with interest.
Both falconers brought out a hawk each, and also a hunting dog. What we didn’t know is that they (luckily) also brought with them a few ferrets, to chase the rabbits out of their burrows.
They decided that hunting in the berm with both of the hawks at the same time would be too complicated, they put one hawk back in the truck, and decided to continue only with the white Siberian hawk, the dog and the ferrets. At this point my father, my fiancée and myself were just observers as we let the more experienced falconers decide on how to approach things.
Siberian hawk, male.
We decided to set up on top of the berm, only a few meters from the highway, looking down. The falconer carrying his hawk was just in front of us, waiting for rabbits to come out of their burrows and make a run for it. Meanwhile the other falconer, now transformed into dedicated ferreter, would be launching his own rabbit seeking missiles.
Inside the brush on the berm, with the hawk trying to spot a rabbit. On the left side one of the rabbit hole entrances. As you can see, there would be no place to swing a shotgun from left to right to try and shoot the rabbit. There is barely enough space for the hawk to fly. In fact I did not think it possible until I saw the hawk in action. Our backs are only a few steps from the highway.
As this was for the three of us also new, and I suspect for most readers too, a quick description on how ferreting works. Each ferret has a small electronic collar, which allows the ferreter to more or less find its location, when the ferret is underground. Rabbit burrows can easily span 20-40 square meters, with holes and tunnels all being interconnected. So ‘losing’ a ferret underground happens frequently. The ferreter takes all of his ferrets and ‘throws’ one at a time from a short distance to the various rabbit holes he sees. Imagine a soldier nonchalantly dropping a bunch of grenades down various ventilation shafts, it’s almost the same thing. The ferrets, as long as they are close to an entrance, will naturally start exploring inside, helped by their sense of smell. They try to find the rabbit’s underground, who themselves are either frozen scared or start running for the exit’s. In the former case, this happens often when a ferret approaches a rabbit from behind in a tunnel. So the rabbit can smell the ferret but does not see it, and it therefore often needs some helpful biting and clawing from the ferret to help it shake off its fear and start running. Once all the rabbits from a burrow have been flushed, the ferrets will come back above ground, waiting to be picked up by the ferreter.
A ferret coming back above ground, awaiting pick up.
So now imagine this beautiful scene of man, bird, dog and ferret working together in close cooperation to get the bag of rabbit’s filled. Waiting with the hawk until something moves somewhere around us, obviously the hawk seeing it before the falconer, then the release, the hawk zigzagging between trees and branches for up to 15meters trying to catch the rabbit’s head in its claws. Afterwards having to wait out the ferret’s to come out, catching them and then moving onwards to the next burrow. In total, out of the 15-20 rabbits we flushed in this way, the hawk was released on about 2/3rds of them, got in time to the rabbit on half of that, with only a few where the hawk managed to sink its claws into the head. After a few hours only 3 rabbits had been caught in this way, but what an excitement.
I wish I had some pictures or even video to share of the hawk in action, but we were always too late to snap a picture. A hawk charge was usually over in 2-4 seconds and the photographer had cold hands from keeping the camera always at the ready. A next time perhaps.
Part 2 will come some soon, with an afternoon hunting hares in proper Flemish fields.
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