Essential Telemetry for Lost Birds of Prey

By Introducing Your Hawk to the Great Outdoors
Comments 35
20 Jul 2026

Essential Telemetry for Lost Birds of Prey

Telemetry Is Not an Admission of Failure

Every falconer says the same thing afterwards: "I was only going to fly her for ten minutes." Falconry is a sport of fine margins, and a hawk in good condition, flying well and full of confidence, will eventually go further than you intended. Telemetry is the difference between a bird recovered by teatime and a fortnight of trudging through hedgerows and knocking on farmhouse doors. Fitting a transmitter does not make a bird more likely to be lost; it simply means that when she does go, you have a genuine chance of finding her again.

Choosing a Transmitter and Fitting It Properly

Most British falconers use a small VHF transmitter, and the method of fitting matters as much as the unit itself.

Tail mounts slide over the two central deck feathers and are held with a clamp or cable tie. They are light — often between 4 g and 8 g — and sit well on hawks and falcons with sound, fully grown tails. Never fit one to a tail that is still growing or carries a broken feather.
Backpack or harness mounts suit birds whose tails are unsuitable, including some owls. Fit them carefully, and check under the wings and around the keel for rubbing every few days.
Leg or bracelet mounts work for smaller birds but can snag on jesses, swivels and the creance, so watch them closely.
Collar mounts are used mainly on owls, where a tail mount is impractical.

Weight is the critical number. A sensible rule of thumb is to keep the transmitter below 3 per cent of the bird's body weight, and nearer 1 or 2 per cent for a bird flown at full performance. An 8 g unit on a 1 kg female Harris's hawk is comfortably under 1 per cent. A 6 g unit on a 200 g male kestrel is not, and you should be looking at something far smaller.

Frequencies, Receivers and Aerials

In the UK, most VHF falconry telemetry sits in the 173 MHz band, with some equipment operating around 216 MHz. Every transmitter has its own frequency or channel, and your receiver must be able to tune it. If your receiver has fixed channels, make sure any spare transmitters you buy match them before the season starts.

You have two aerials to think about. A hand-held Yagi — three or five elements — gives you a direction, but you must sweep it slowly and steadily. A whip or omni aerial tells you the signal is present without giving a usable bearing. The technique is simple but must be practised: hold the Yagi vertically at arm's length, rotate slowly, watch the meter, then take another bearing a few hundred metres away and triangulate. Reflections off buildings, vehicles and even wet ground will lead you astray, so never trust a single bearing.

Modern GPS and GSM units will send you a position, which is a wonderful thing when it works, but they are heavier, depend on battery and phone coverage, and are best treated as a bonus rather than a replacement. Most experienced falconers still run a VHF transmitter as the primary unit.

Training the Bird to Wear It

A small clarification first: the bird wears the transmitter, and you carry the receiver. She never needs to know the receiver exists, but she does need to be entirely relaxed about the transmitter.

Start in the mews, not in the field. Fit the mount when the bird is calm and on a full crop, and let her wear it for short periods before you fly her. A tail mount can be introduced empty, or with a dummy of the same weight, so she learns the feel of it before the transmitter goes on. Check daily for damage to feathers, chafing or a loose clamp, and never fly with a mount you are not entirely happy with.

Then train yourself. Ask a friend to hide your transmitter in a wood or on a housing estate and walk the signal out. Learn what your receiver sounds like near power lines, how a signal behaves over a hill and how quickly it fades in a hollow. Get into the habit of switching the receiver on before every slip: hearing your own bird's transmitter gives you a baseline and confirms the battery is alive.

Fieldcraft When a Bird Goes Missing

Mark the point of the slip and the direction the bird was last seen, then start searching from there rather than from wherever you happen to be standing.
Get high. VHF works best with a clear line of sight, so a ridge, a gate or a hilltop can add several kilometres of usable range.
Take a bearing, walk, and take another. A single bearing tells you very little.
Stop and listen. Bells, the bird's own call and the alarm calls of crows and magpies mobbing a hawk will often find her before the receiver does.
Keep the aerial away from your body, which will block a weak signal more than you would expect.

Batteries, Spares and Routine

VHF batteries last weeks, GPS batteries last days, and both fail at the least convenient moment. Keep a written log of when each transmitter was last changed, and replace on schedule rather than on failure. Carry spare batteries for the receiver, a spare transmitter if you have one, and know your frequencies by heart or keep them written down in your bag. Check transmitter range in the field at the start of the season, not on the day you need it. A few minutes of routine will repay you tenfold the first time a bird decides that the next valley looks interesting.

Equipment

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The right perch keeps feet healthy and prevents sores. Explore bow perches, block perches, and how to choose for your bird.

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5 Comments

Robert Sonny says Jul 21, 2024 at 10:00am

I must explain to you how all this mistaken idea of denouncing pleasure and praising pain was born and I will give you a complete account of the system
Reply
- John Abraham says Jul 21, 2024 at 10:00am
  
  I must explain to you how all this mistaken idea of denouncing pleasure and praising pain was born and I will give you a complete account of the system
  Reply
  - Robert Sonnysays Jul 21, 2024 at 10:00am
    
    I must explain to you how all this mistaken idea of denouncing pleasure and praising pain was born and I will give you a complete account of the system
    Reply
Robert Sonny says Jul 21, 2024 at 10:00am

I must explain to you how all this mistaken idea of denouncing pleasure and praising pain was born and I will give you a complete account of the system
Reply

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