From my young days as a falconer I was fascinated with the art of trapping wild hawks. My first introduction to this art was from an American falconer whom I met at a falconry meet in Austria in 1968.

He told me of the Indian ‘bal-chatri’ and the fun they had catching Red tail hawks and Prairie Falcons using this noose covered cage trap. I returned home and was soon catching wild Kestrels on our sand dunes and enjoying their good manners compared to eyas kestrels.

Many years later my friend Bruce Haak re-educated me and invited me on a number of ridge trapping trips to catch migratory raptors for banding and release.
Bruce favoured the bow net for larger raptors and the do-gassa for the small stuff like Merlin's and Sharpshins.
This picture is the view from our blind (hide) at one of Bruce's ‘Honey Pot’ sites in the mountains.