Wait until fall.....

 


My Red-tailed Hawk Cisco
by Stephanie Jennings

Page updated April 14, 2024......

This Red-tailed Buzzard has been on the cover of Texas Parks and Wildlife magazine, On The Wing, and featured in articles in World of FalconryAmerican FalconryGalveston Daily NewsThe Falconry and Raptor Conservation Magazine, as well as in articles that I have written for Texas Hawking Association's On The Wing. There was a feature article on him in The Houston Chronicle in late November of 2012, written by Annette Baird. For a time,Cisco was displayed on the cover page of the Texas Hawking Association's web site. Despite his celebrity status, he remains quite humble. 




Some examples with links:

  • Text of Joey Richard's Article in Galveston Daily News: Cisco Killer King; PDF's of Same Article: Killer King PDF's;
  • Houston Chronicle Article on Jim Ince and his Peregrine, with a brief reference of Cisco Chronicle;
  • Picture of Cisco, 2nd Honorable Mention in Western Sporting / L.L. Electronics' Photo Contest Photo Contest;
  • Same picture employed in Western Sporting ad: Sporting;
  • Cover of Texas Parks and Wildlife Magazine, Nov, 2008. Cover In an article within that edition, there were a number of pictures of him taken by Kendall Larsen, but without attribution; Cisco badly needed his beak coped in that cover picture. Oh well......
  • On the cover of 002 Houston magazine, August, 2011: 002 I wrote a small article to accompany the pictures. The models held the bird hooded, then picture was "PhotoShopped"
  • Houston Chronicle Article, 2012: Neighborhood

 

 

Farrah with swamp rabbit right near my house, about a month aftert Hurricane Harvey

 

"Alex", my first hawk after three decades, a passage female American Kestrel, two days before she was attacked and driven off by a female Sharp-shinned Hawk.
Photo: Russell Bryant on 12/29/2004

"Apollo", haggard male American Kestrel - He was lost April 25, 2005, after taking his first sparrow, staying out overnight, catching a lizard, and finally escaping my trap. This picture was taken in my backyard in Houston. The hawk is a little stiff in this picture. A Sharp-shinned Hawk flew over just a few minutes before this picture was taken.
Photo: Stephanie Redding on 2/11/2005

 

 "Bravo", passage male Red-tailed Hawk, in his mew, taken early November 2005, a few weeks before he flew off. His loss made me consider quitting falconry; shortly after that I acquired Cisco.
Photo: Chuck Redding

 

"Cisco", passage male Red-tailed Hawk with the first rabbit of the day, March 11, 2006, Ft Worth, TX at a mini-meet.
Photo: Krys Langevin

 

Dart, a 2007 captive bred Coulson Harris's Hawk. A refugee of Hurricane Ike, Chris Comeaux gave him to me after Chris sustained heavy damage to his house on Bolivar Peninsula. He became an excellent game hawk, taking small birds and rabbits. After flying him for more than a season, I gave him to Lynne Holder in 2009. With Lynne's passing in November of 2023, I got him back and flew him all season. He's now heading to Francie Forrester. Read more about Dart in Cisco's 4th and 5th, and 19th Season pages.

(Photo: Bob Dalton, 2008)

 

 

Cisco, March 8, 2008. The capture of this squirrel demonstrates his capacity and versatility. The squirrel was hidden from the hawk on that little tree behind me. Cisco flew between the gap at about shoulder level, snatching the squirrel from the back side of the tree as he went through.
Photo by Mike Wiegel

 

This little beauty was a one year old Red-shouldered Hawk I acquired from Charlotte Rohack in July of 2010. The picture taken in 2011; I had to release her before Thanksgiving when she became face aggressive. She was seen in the area over the next two years. "Ms. Elbert" liked to chase starlings and cotton rats, but enjoyed just hanging out with me more than anything else.

 

 

Here is Ms. Elbert juvenile plumage, in a picture taken by Bob Dalton - January of 2011, nine months before the picture to left. Quite a transformation, no? I never saw a bird complete the molt as quickly as she did, just a few months. More about her in " Cisco's 6th Season" page, and Cisco 7th Season.

 

 

A passage female Harris's Hawk in her second season was added to team; I call her Farrah. She flies at around 810 grams (including anklets, jesses, and transmitter), roughly 110 grams lighter than Cisco. She was given to me by Keith Denman over Thanksgiving of 2011, about a week after I had to release Ms. Elbert. Farrah had a solid first season, pacing Cisco with the rabbit and squirrels. I picked her up in Bryan, TX on the way back from the 2011 NAFA meet in Vernal, UT. In this picture she has a crop, the result of eating a large cotton rat.

(Photo: George Nalbandian in Spring, 2012)

 

Elbert a month or two before her release. If you look carefully you'll see starling feathers in the palm of my hand. She caught two starlings on this particular morning.

(Photo: George Nalbandian)

 

This is BB, a 2016 male Coulson Harris's I possessed and flew during the winter of 2018/2019. I passed him along to Stephen Bodio in Magdalena, NM. In the picture above he bloodied himself up smashing into some shrubs chasing field sparrows in 2019. After more than three years, he came back. During the fall of 2023 BB very badly injured himself smashing into a cotton rat hole. He's now living in Oregon with a friend. See picture at right from mid-September 2022.



 

 

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