MILO
322 posts
Apr 19, 2007
5:15 PM
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Good information.
I've been flying dark for a long time. I use the lights with some success. I've saved many kits with the lights.
c
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tapp
237 posts
Apr 19, 2007
6:30 PM
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I'm going to install lights the way you suggested. I just had a 5 kit, kit bix given to me from Morris DeRyke and I'm lighting up the ground and sky. Anything is better than nothing> Thanks Dave!!! Ps I've lost 16 birds in the last month from hawk induced over flys. ---------- Tapp
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nicksiders
1596 posts
Apr 19, 2007
9:58 PM
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Good information. I am going to illuminate a good part of my loft area and backyard ASAP.
I was talking to Dave Moseley and he said that he avoids a lot of BOP attacks by flying later in the evening because he can illuminate his area.
So it can be a two fold project bennefit.
Nick ---------- Snicker Rollers
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MCCORMICKLOFTS
1332 posts
Apr 19, 2007
10:13 PM
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I've landed a few kits in the dark in the past, was rather stressful. Generally the ones that didn't get to the kit box usually lighted on a neighbors house and was back in the morning. I don't fly in the evening here anymore because the wind blows every day starting at about 1 pm till it gets dark. There are a few occasions when I get home and by some strange event the wind isn't blowing like two days ago, so I let out the squeakers and within five minutes a falcon smoked a first timer in the air. Evening flying sucks...lol
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DHenderson
55 posts
Apr 19, 2007
10:35 PM
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well with descent weather you can easily fly just before dark to avoid predators and then land them in total darkness, it works amazing.
I am mostly unable to due this except in the summers months due to 100 degree weather up here.
Then a lot of times my kids sports are just before evening, except football right now, but next year is HS ball and thursday or friday nights.
Well glad several are electing to try the method I would suggest you do it gradual or you can loose birds in the process especially with owls? at least that is how it is here.
If you do it right you get them comfortable to land at night then total darkness doesn't affect them as much, although once the ground gets dark except the kit box roof and ground they will drop fairly low.
Good luck Dave
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MCCORMICKLOFTS
1334 posts
Apr 19, 2007
10:46 PM
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Owls aren't a problem here Dave as I (for the most part) simply refuse to fly in the evenings because of the wind every day. And I prefer to lose a kit in the morning while they have the entire day to find home versus risking evening flying, and more precisely here, ruining every kit due to flying them in the wind. Of course your mileage will vary depending on where you live.
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Flyin Hawaiian
156 posts
Apr 20, 2007
3:18 AM
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Earthquake, I've been flying late evenings off and on depending upon the time of year for as long as I can remember. I used hologen sqaure lights mounted on the corners of the loft and set it to illuminate just the top of the loft roof. Similar to what the do for heli ports etc. Landed all my kits under the lights. Because of my hours at the job I think it was more by force than by my own accord that I started flying and landed a kit late in the evening. Ron Duncan when he judged the Finals in 04 can attest to me landing my kit in pitch black conditions. I have that greenish fiberglass over my fly pens and when I turn on the light in the fly pens it is visible for quite some distance and they hone in on it and come down.
One thing is for certain you must be ware of preds especially in the warmer summer evenings. I remember Bruce Cooper had lights and would land them late into the evening hours at pitch black only to watch the owls and red tails work them over. As soon as the birds hit the lighted area a owl or red tail would swoop them up. Be careful and be watchful. Ivan
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motherlodelofts
1751 posts
Apr 20, 2007
4:50 AM
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Same here Ivan, I think owls can peg you like anything else ,owls can snatch birds in low light and the kit doesn't even know it happened. As for keeping the birds in the yard , I have found that the yo-yo system used properly is the best way, it keeps them reacting to the feed can much better.
Scott
Last Edited by on Apr 20, 2007 4:53 AM
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nicksiders
1599 posts
Apr 20, 2007
7:41 PM
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Hmmm......I do have a pair of Great Horned Owls near by and have seen them on top of my kitbox(I think they can hear my birds and come to investigate).
Nick ---------- Snicker Rollers
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chandlerTX
51 posts
Apr 27, 2007
1:32 PM
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I have used this method with great results this year. I have a setup closer to what Ivan has. I do not have any owls so this has worked great for me. I fly no earlier than one hour before dark during hawk season. I take it one step further and put the kit up a few hours after dark. I only do this about once a month because they have not kitted well in the dark(looks like a bunch of bats in the air), but all have trapped in without a problem. My training them to the light was by accident. During the winter I would feed them after work(already dark outside) with the light on the kit box so they could see the feed. I believe they associated the light with feeding time. I only had one hawk attack late in the day this year(and lost none to this attack, they landed in the dark about 10 minutes later), but had several attacks if flown earlier in the day. I will report back if I start having problems with this system. Chad
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sundance
101 posts
Apr 27, 2007
6:51 PM
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I strung a rope light through my kit boxs. I got it in the fall as a christmas decoration. I work late so I tend to feed at night sometimes and found the birds wont eat in the dark. The rope light made it easier to feed and I know they are eating. I suppose it could also serve for this purpose of lighting the surrounding ground around the kitbox if a kit stays up too long.
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