The Harris Hawk: A Beginner's Best Choice

By Keeping Barn Owls: Housing and Husbandry Basics
Comments 35
29 Aug 2026

The Harris Hawk: A Beginner's Best Choice

Why So Many Beginners Start Here

Walk into any field meet in Britain on a Sunday morning and you will spot them: long dark tails, brown shoulders, chestnut thighs, and an expression of calm curiosity rather than barely suppressed panic. The Harris hawk has quietly become the default first bird for British falconers, and there is a good reason for that. It is not that the species is somehow easier to keep than a buzzard or a kestrel. It is that a Harris hawk is far more forgiving of the mistakes a novice will inevitably make.

Wild Harris hawks come from the south-western United States, Mexico and parts of South America, which explains their tolerance of heat and their very un-British fondness for sitting in the sun. They are also, unusually among birds of prey, genuinely sociable.

A Hawk That Hunts in a Pack

Most raptors are solitary and territorial, and they treat a human being as either a threat or a rival. Harris hawks live and hunt in groups of two to seven, working cooperatively: one bird flushes, another chases, a third cuts off the escape route. That instinct is the key to their success in falconry. A bird wired to hunt alongside others will accept a person as a hunting partner far more readily than a goshawk or a peregrine, both of which usually have to be convinced over many months that you are worth tolerating.

In practice, a young Harris hawk often settles to the fist within a fortnight of being manned. Many beginners find they can fly their bird free within a few weeks, and some are hunting rabbits or pheasants by the end of their first season. That does not mean the process is automatic, but the bird meets you halfway.

What Training Actually Involves

Training a Harris hawk is about routine, patience and weight management rather than force. The sequence is broadly the same for every bird:

Manning: carrying the bird on your fist around the house, garden and, eventually, a busy car park, letting it grow used to traffic, dogs, pushchairs and the general noise of British life.
Weight control: weighing your hawk daily on digital scales and finding the flying weight at which it is keen but not desperate. A male typically flies around 600–700 grams, a female nearer 800–900 grams, though every bird is an individual.
Recall: short jumps to the fist in the garden, then to a moving fist further away. Once the response is instant, you progress to a creance — a long lightweight line — before flying free.
Hunting: walking up with the bird following on, teaching it the slip and allowing it to make its own kills. Harris hawks soon learn to follow a spaniel or a ferret as if it were another member of the pack.

The Daily Routine and the Kit You Need

Owning a Harris hawk is a daily commitment, not a weekend hobby. You will fly or at least exercise the bird most days of the year, weather permitting, and that means waterproofs for you and a perch that keeps the hawk off wet ground. A good setup includes:

A well-fitted leather glove, quality jesses, a swivel and a strong leash.
A bow perch or block perch, positioned so the bird has shelter from wind and driving rain.
Accurate digital scales and a notebook for recording weight every single day.
A reliable supply of food — day-old chicks, quail, rabbit, rat or squirrel — plus a freezer to store it.

Feeding is usually one main meal in the evening, with the crop left to empty overnight. The bird will cast pellets, which tell you a great deal about how well it is digesting its food and fur.

Where the Harris Hawk Falls Short

No bird suits everyone, and it would be dishonest to present the Harris hawk as faultless. Because it is so bonded to people, it can become possessive, and some individuals develop a habit of screaming for attention if they are overfed and under-worked. It is also a fair-weather hunter in British conditions, and a soaked, cold bird will simply refuse to perform.

Nor is a Harris hawk a hawk for the purist who wants to test themselves against a difficult bird. Some falconers find them almost too easy, too fond of perching on the glove, and too inclined to wait for you to do the work. And remember the lifespan: a healthy Harris hawk can live twenty years or more. This is a long-term companion, not a season's experiment.

Starting Out Properly

Before you buy anything, join a local falconry club at least a season before you collect a bird, and spend that time handling someone else's hawk under supervision. Buy from a reputable British breeder, ask for the correct paperwork, and be clear about what your bird is legally allowed to hunt and when — you will need the landowner's permission, and closed seasons apply to game.

Get the manning, weight control and recall right, and a Harris hawk will teach you more in one autumn than a whole shelf of books. Get them wrong, and you will learn the same lessons more painfully. Do it well, and you will understand why so many British falconers keep a Harris hawk long after they could fly anything they liked.

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The Eagle Owl: A Majestic but Demanding Bird

Though not native, red-tailed hawks are kept by some falconers. Learn about their temperament, diet, and training requirements in a British context.

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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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