#1885894 - 04/15/10 11:17 AM
Re: Eyes of a hawk
[Re: MUP]
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Winchester
Non-Typical
Registered: 12/05/03
Posts: 25339
Loc: TN
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Hunting very seriously and with full concentration for any type Movement and even sound is very physically and mentally draining as well. Nothing will make you more tired than sitting in a tree all day on absolute full alert of ALL your surroundings! This is where I have a hard time relating to those who read books, or wear headphones, or play games, while on stand. I just cant even begin to tell them how much they are missing by not devoting their FULL attention to their surroundings!
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#1885910 - 04/15/10 11:29 AM
Re: Eyes of a hawk
[Re: BSK]
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Pursuit Hunter
8 Point
Registered: 10/01/08
Posts: 2084
Loc: Way out there
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Because birds of prey incredible vision is based on the construction of their eyes, that type of vision is impossible to mimic. However, it is interesting how we humans can "train" our brain's vision processors to "see" more like prey animals see. Most prey animals have eyes built with a high density of rods--sensors sensitive to light and dark as well as motion. Our human eyes are more like a predators, with good binocular vision and many moe cones that rods (good color vision and depth perception). Yet we do have more rods out at the periphery of our vision. And with practice we can use that peripheral vision to notice movement very much like prey animals can.
I've often been amazed that if you train your mind to focus on just movement, even the tiniest movement at great distance can catch your attention. I've also noticed this ability take practice. Usually, "newbie" hunters don't have this ability at first, but will learn it with time. And like riding a bike, once you've leaned how to do it, you can basically turn it off and on at will. It may take a few days into a new hunting season to "rehone" the skill, but once learned it is never forgetten.
Very good point. Our peripheral vision is much better at detecting movement and it is more sensitive to light than our central vision. Most of time, the first thing I see of a deer is a small movement of an ear, tail, or leg in my peripheral vision.
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#1885919 - 04/15/10 11:35 AM
Re: Eyes of a hawk
[Re: BSK]
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Pursuit Hunter
8 Point
Registered: 10/01/08
Posts: 2084
Loc: Way out there
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Every once in a while I would take my eyes off of him to sort of rest my eyesight and it would take me 5 or so minutes just to find him again,amazing how they can just melt into their surroundings. For an animal that is somewhat "monochrome" it is amazing at how they are almost invisible as long as they don't move.
Actually... If you look at a deer's coloration, they are perfectly camoflaged acording to the principles that I learned in the Marine Corps. We were taught to apply dark camo makeup to the areas of the face that are normally brightest (forehead, top of the nose, cheekbones) and light colored makeup to dark areas (under the chin, under the nose, under eyebrows). Take a look at that deer you've got hanging on the wall and see if he doesn't fit that description to a "T"
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#1885926 - 04/15/10 11:41 AM
Re: Eyes of a hawk
[Re: BowGuy84]
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MUP
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Registered: 08/01/07
Posts: 36593
Loc: Just North of Chatt-town
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I can't do that stuff for fear of missing something! I couldn't stand the "not knowing if missed something" while I was reading a paragraph or something!  One of my first questions for the big guy is going to be "how many big bucks did I just barely miss killing that I never knew were there." I imagine it will be a pretty long highlight real.
_________________________
MUP
Amateurs: Built the Ark
Professionals: Built the Titanic
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#1885930 - 04/15/10 11:45 AM
Re: Eyes of a hawk
[Re: BSK]
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BlueMarlin
4 Point
Registered: 06/04/07
Posts: 131
Loc: East TN
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I didn't know that BSK but I have noticed in the dark, or shadows, that I can see animals better in my peripheral vision than looking straight at them. Try taking the dog out in the night and watching him wander around. You will be able to see him better if look slightly off to the side than straight on.
_________________________
Sieze The Day!
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#1885940 - 04/15/10 11:52 AM
Re: Eyes of a hawk
[Re: Pursuit Hunter]
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BSK
Jerkasourous of the non-typical kind
Non-Typical
Registered: 03/11/99
Posts: 59670
Loc: Nashville, TN
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Every once in a while I would take my eyes off of him to sort of rest my eyesight and it would take me 5 or so minutes just to find him again,amazing how they can just melt into their surroundings. For an animal that is somewhat "monochrome" it is amazing at how they are almost invisible as long as they don't move. Actually... If you look at a deer's coloration, they are perfectly camoflaged acording to the principles that I learned in the Marine Corps. We were taught to apply dark camo makeup to the areas of the face that are normally brightest (forehead, top of the nose, cheekbones) and light colored makeup to dark areas (under the chin, under the nose, under eyebrows). Take a look at that deer you've got hanging on the wall and see if he doesn't fit that description to a "T"
This procss of camouflage is called "coutershading" and is one of the most common forms of animal coloration in Nature (darkest on the back, lightest on the belly). Species of nearly every Kingdom of living things use this system. It is obviously very effective hence the reason Natural Selection selects for it so often.
But I wouldn't consider countershading to be "true" camouflage, such as a leopard's spots or a tiger's stripes.
But wouldn't it be nice if deer were one of the species where the male used bright coloration to attract females? Can you imagine bucks in brilliant shades of red and royal blue!
Of course, deer wouldn't be anywhere near as successful of a species at avoiding predation if that were the case!
_________________________
"Know where you stand, and stand there" --Jesuit Father Daniel Berrigan
"There is no reasoning someone out of a position he has not reasoned himself into." --Clive James
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#1885943 - 04/15/10 11:52 AM
Re: Eyes of a hawk
[Re: BlueMarlin]
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Football Hunter
18 Point
Registered: 10/22/07
Posts: 24708
Loc: Wilson Co/Perry Co
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I have really good vision,20/15,but not Hawklike,I see deer ,Ive noticed quicker than most people,when my son asked me about,I told him that horizontal lines in the woods get my attention.Not much else in the woods that have horizontal lines,not sure when I picked that up.
_________________________
The best day to plant a tree,IS TODAY!
You wont know,if you dont go!
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#1885948 - 04/15/10 11:55 AM
Re: Eyes of a hawk
[Re: BlueMarlin]
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BSK
Jerkasourous of the non-typical kind
Non-Typical
Registered: 03/11/99
Posts: 59670
Loc: Nashville, TN
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I didn't know that BSK but I have noticed in the dark, or shadows, that I can see animals better in my peripheral vision than looking straight at them. Try taking the dog out in the night and watching him wander around. You will be able to see him better if look slightly off to the side than straight on.
Try looking at very faint objects in the dark with your peripheral vision instead of looking straight at it. You can see much fainter stars at night out of your peripheral vision compared to looking directly for them. Our retina has a very high density of color-sensitive cones right near the center of our vision, but a higher density of light/dark/motion-sensative rods at the periphery.
_________________________
"Know where you stand, and stand there" --Jesuit Father Daniel Berrigan
"There is no reasoning someone out of a position he has not reasoned himself into." --Clive James
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