#hunting hawk

Update on the baby northern goshawk shown in a previous post(and video).  This is a photo taken by a friend when the baby goshawk, now named Havoc, met a baby desert eagle owl (Bubo ascalaphus; also known as the pharaoh eagle owl or Savigny’s eagle owl), owned by a different friend of ours.

They don’t seem to know what to make of one another, but one thing is for certain, they are both freaking adorable.  I can’t get over it.

As you can see, Havoc is getting his feathers in.  I’ll try to keep you all updated as I either take more photos of my own or my friend sends them :)

Northern Goshawk Chick (by JennTalksNature)

You all seemed to love the photos, I suppose I’ll post the video I made to go along with them.

This is my friend’s new baby (eyass) northern goshawk (Accipiter gentilis).  He is a captive bred, Russian/Finnish subspecies cross and is 100% ADORABLE.  I pretty much screamed with glee every time he did anything.

My friend is a licensed falconer of the general class, so it is legal for her to own and raise this bird.  He is destined to be a hunting hawk and under my friend’s care and training, I know he’s going to be one major badass by the beginning of the hunting season this fall.  For now he’s wibbly, wobbly, and covered in cotton.

Northern goshawks are sort of the Ferraris of the falconry world.  They are fast, extremely agile, and focused, but make a mistake and you will pay big time.  They are not forgiving birds and they require very experienced falconers to handle and train them.  I’m very excited to watch him grow and watch my friend train him.  I want a goshawk eventually, but not until after a lot more experience with more forgiving raptors.  I’ve been out hunting with several goshawks, and man, it’s a wonderful and intense experience.  Their ability to move through the forest is like watching poetry in sharp, pointy motion.

My friend John Baumlin is an absolutely incredible artist (and person!).  His work has appeared in many publications, galleries, and museums and I think it should appear here as well.  He tells me he’s working on a website, but doesn’t have one yet, so I can’t link you to him directly.

John is a naturalist to the core, and his work reflects his passion for and understanding of nature and it’s various denizens.  Having the chance to watch his paintings come to life (I was able to see “Wake Up Running” in various stages as he worked on it) has been an honor, and I can tell you that no photograph can do his work justice!  (Though I think this is true of any original artwork.)

Until you have the chance to see his work in person, I hope this post, featuring a select few of his pieces, will do!

In order:
“Wake Up Running” 24" x 36" oil on linen
“Big Cat Messages” 20" x 20" oil/linen
“Lion Skull” watercolor, 14" x 18"
“Daydreamer” 14" x 11" oil on board
Interpretation of Shere Khan12" x 9" oil
“Harris Hawk and Saguaro” 18"x24" oil
Merlin illustration for cover of Breeding Bird Atlas of New York State
“Peregrine with Mourning Dove” 24" x 18" oil
“The Wanderer” 48"x48"oil on linen
“Pronghorn Study” 8" x 10" oil