HAWK HUNTING WITH A DECOY OWL 
PHOTOGRAPHING THE SWIFT HARRIERS OF THE AIR AS THEY SWOOP DOWN 
AND STRIKE WITH CUNNING VINDICTIVENESSjiAT THEIR. 'AGE , OLD ENEMY 
By HARRY L. FERGUSON 
I T is possible that the shooting of 
hawks and croVs would not appeal to 
many people, but it does offer chances, 
for several months of each year, of be- 
ing out with a gun when the game sea- 
son is closed, and affords many oppor- 
tunities for observing birds near at hand 
that would not be seen ordinarily, ex- 
cept at quite a distance. On a good 
day, when condi- 
tions are favorable, 
hundreds of small 
birds are continu- 
ally passing, and 
many stop to look 
at the stuffed owl 
which is used as a 
decoy, and hop 
about in the near- 
by trees, each in its 
own language 
showing disap- 
proval of the owl. 
As birds ranging in 
size from a Bald 
eagle to a Hum- 
ming bird have 
come to the decoy, 
it can easily be 
seen what a great 
variety is presented 
to anyone who 
loves to study birds 
close at hand. 
For a number of 
years I have lived 
in the midst of a 
large tract of land 
controlled 
by a shooting club 
and which is quite 
heavily stocked 
with game birds. Each fall the hawks, 
on their migration, as they pass over, 
take quite a toll and draw the wrath 
of the game-keepers upon them. For 
years the only way the keepers had of 
shooting the hawks was to walk about 
and accidently jump one off its kill, 
or to get a chance shot while hunting, 
as they flew about. Four or five years 
ago we were told to set up a stuffed 
owl and see what would happen. A 
very ingenious owl with mechanical 
head and wings was then offered for 
sale in New York, so one of these 
was tried, and the question of get- 
ting hawks to come within gun shot was 
solved. For some reason owls are heart- 
ily hated by most birds. When one is 
Marsh hawk or harrier coming to a live great homed owl 
spied it usually means that he is in 
for a pretty disagreeable time. 
During August only an occasional 
hawk is seen, but, as the nights grow 
colder and the migration time ap- 
proaches, more hawks are travelling 
about. From early in September until 
November great flights of them occur 
whenever the conditions are suitable. 
To have a heavy flight, it is necessary, 
where I live, to have a real change of 
weather. If in the latter part of Sep- 
tember we have a good storm followed 
by a cold night and the next morning 
a fairly strong wind from the northwest, 
we always have a big flight. One year 
we did have a large flight of Sharp- 
shinned hawks when the wind was from 
the east, but nearly 
all these birds were 
at a great height, 
and possibly had 
different conditions 
at the level at 
which they were 
flying. 
F or several 
years I had 
shot hawks 
with the others, 
and then I thought 
I would like to get 
some pictures of 
them as they were 
attacking the owl, 
so I traded in sev- 
eral old cameras 
for one more suited 
to this work. My 
first attempt 
proved to be one 
of the most thrill- 
ing experiences I 
had. I had set up 
my owl not far 
from the house to 
see if I could get 
some crow pictures. 
The woods where I 
“set up” were on 
the line of flight from a crow roost to 
the salt water, where each morning they 
would fly to their feeding grounds on 
the mud flats and marshes. The owl 
had not been in position more than a 
few minutes when a crow spied it and 
called. In a moment the air was full oi 
them, cawing and flying around abou 
I should judge there were about fif 
Contents Copyright, 1919, by Forest and Stream Publishing Co. 
