Lovin' the Cold

Between family, work, and hawking its been hard to find a few minutes to update the blog.  I guess it's time for a little catch up.....

A week or so ago, as Daniel posted about earlier, we took a weekend hunting trip out west to do some trapping, shooting, and hawking.  And amazingly we accomplished all three things.  Our first priority was to get some shooting done over Jay and I's bird dogs.  It didn't take long before we had both Lulu, my pointer, and Mack, Jay's setter, locking up on Scaled Quail and Pheasants.  Jay managed to hit a quail and a pheasant and I, being the poor shot that I am, got a piece of a pheasant that Jay finished knocking down.  Somewhere in there Jay got also got a Jackrabbit that made its move at precisely the wrong time.

Lulu, me, Jay, and Mack

We also were around so see birds trapped that we just don't regularly have on our side of the state.  There was a nice Praire Falcon or two, a huge female Ferruginous Hawk, and a beautiful jack Richardson's Merlin that a Tulsa falconer is now having a ball with.

Daniel holding the passage Merlin

To top the trip off we hoped to get a chance at Daniel putting a Jackrabbit in the bag.  Finding the Jacks was not a problem (click on the pick below to enlarge)

Bunny Party

After a handful of serious slips over two days Daniel's bird managed to connect and hang on.  Click here for Daniel's account.

Daniel and his first Jackrabbit

Jay and I did fly our falcons out there on ducks, but the result was less than desirable.  It appeared that the trip had taken a lot out of Jay's hybrid and my bird pretty much just flew off.  He still was not back to weight and from being fed up over the Thanksgiving holiday and I decided to push my luck anyway.  It could have easily been a disaster when he decided that he really had no interest in the ducks, the lure, or me.  Tulsa chased around a large blackbird flock for close to 10 minutes before landing.  I had to flash a pigeon to get him to eventually come down and very carefully put his equipment on while he was on the ground eating from a quail carcass that I had thrown down there.  But all's well that ends well I guess.

Since returning from the trip my falcons are back in form.  Tulsa, whose neck I've wanted to wring more than once this season, has really turned on since the weather has gotten cold.  He has caught a duck in each of his last four flights and each of those was better than the last.  Throughout much of the early season he was testing my patience by only climbing 200-300 feet then setting his wings and coasting around.  We went back to the kite multiple times to get him up there and now that we have more optimal weather he's really starting to put out and take a far more respectable pitch.  Mongo, the Gyrkin, is also flying well but has a vice in that he cannot leave geese alone.  Even if they are flying on the horizon he buggers off after them.  He has taken several to the ground but luckily gives up before giving to much of a fight.  I do not want him grabbing geese as that is an easy path to a broken wing or possibly death.  Aside from the geese grabbing he has been flying well, taking good pitches and staying over me as I approach the ponds.  A few days ago we had one of those rare times when everything comes together and both birds came home sporting full crops.

Today, Tulsa took a good pitch over dozen or so mixed ducks that were working hard to keep open the last 6 foot hole in the ice on the pond.  When the falcon was climbing and starting to work away from the pond, I flushed.  The falcon folded up into a mummy tuck and hammered a hen Gadwall over the ice.  She fell and hit so hard she broke through the frozen sheet and didn't come up.  I had this happen once last year as well.  After a few seconds she popped up in the open water hole about 50 feet from were she smashed through.  The rest of the ducks had bailed back onto the ice and the tiercel remounted to a solid 700'.  I again flushed and a clear look at the whole situation.  Things just clicked in one of those surreal ways.  I looked up and the falcon was right there pumping away, he was very visible against the overcast sky.  He waited for a few seconds this time as the ducks oddly flew directly toward me while leaving the pond.  I could hear the beating of their wings as they passed over me about 30 feet up.  Looking through the flock I see the falcon close his wings and begin his stoop.  He poured on the speed as he came down at the intended target.  The impact made the duck bounce off the frozen ground like a stuffed animal tumbling down the highway from being casually thrown out a car window by a child.  The this happened so uneventfully for falcon that I assumed he had hit one of the small divers I saw in the flock.  As I made my way over I was shocked to find Tulsa munching the vertebrae of a drake Mallard! It is amazing how easy it seems for this falcon to tackle and subdue prey that nearly twice its size.  

The cold weather really brings out the best from these falcons.  Kind of a catch 22 when your main quarry is ducks and the ponds begin to freeze.  Looks like it will be warming up a bit this week though.  Here's hoping......or not........

-RVZ

The wife HAS to be getting irritated.....

I really did plan on putting up decorations yesterday.....Christmas is approaching fast, and i'm going to miss the whole darn holiday, if I don't get my rear in gear.  I left my favorite hawking stick at "The Dumpsite" on Tuesday though, so i HAD to get it back.  Short-bus had the biggest casting I had ever seen come out of a bird (including owls), and he somehow made it back to 950 grams on the dot.  I thought "what the heck," so we loaded up, and headed on out there.  Being that I wasn't planning on flying (and hadn't adjusted my schedule to accomodate it), we only had time for a super short session.  About 30 minutes or so was all we had, and as luck would have it.......the rabbits were not poppin. :(

We made our way back to where we had caught the rabbit on Tuesday, and my glorious brush stick was waiting where I had left it.  Once that was back in my possesion, we continued along the train tracks, but didn't manage a single slip.  Worked along the frence row, but again, no one wanted to come out and play.  We kicked through the "open section," that has patchs of sumac/bushes scattered around in clumps, and again....no one was home!  Pretty lame, so we headed toward the woods, that run along the east side of the field (as opposed to the woods where he has caught a couple rabbits this year already....).  Slips can ALWAYS be found deep in the woods, but the cover is nice and thick, and up until recently, it just wasn't possible to get back in there.....well....I couldn't get back in there, and I didn't really have the desire to hack my way in there, to find a bird hiding with a rabbit, so we have stayed clear most of the season.   The last few sessions out there though, the cover had lessened enough to make it possible, and we have chased quite a few rabbits around in there.  He hasn't connected with any of them yet, but the sun was on it's way down, and I just needed a slip PERIOD. 

So I started forcing my way in through the sumac, and Short-Bus took a perch right above my head.  He sleeked down, and started looking pretty intently right in front of me, so I knew right then, that there was a rabbit moving infront of me.  I kept pushing through the cover, when I heard the jingle of bells, and CJ shot over my head, moving pretty quickly toward an area just to the right of me.  He tucked into a mini stoop, and disappeared in the brush beside me.  SQUEEL!!!!!!  The fact that I didn't really get to see the flight was sort of lame, but I was more worried about listening for bells, than anything else at that point.  I could hear the rabbit, and I could hear CJ, but I had no idea where they were.  Luckily though, the area i was in was pretty much all Sumac, and the vines that wove it all together, were around the tops of the bushes.  I got down on my hands and knees, and started army crawling (I looked just like Parker!!!!!) in the direction of all the comotion.  Eventually, I spied them up ahead, and as I crawled up on them, I discovered he had done the "rabbit wrap" (or whatever you want to call it....).  Dee Dee used to do this all the time....one foot on the head, and the other foot holding both of the back legs AND the head......keeps the rabbit in a nice little ball, and eliminates pretty much all movement, from the rabbit.  Not really THAT cool, but he just hadn't ever done it before, so it was neat to me.  Anyways, gave Peter the stretch, and after i weaved my way out of that tangled mess, it was back to the car we went (With brush stick in hand this time!).  Sorry for the fuzzy picture....the light was fading fast, and this ended up being the best one I got (if that tells you anything about the rest of the shots!!!!).

Take it easy friends

-D-

Lazy Hawkin'

I wasn't really planning on hawking yesterday.  I had Christmas decorations that I STILL hadn't put up, all the gear was still laying in the garage, I had been feeling like crap all day, and Short-bus was at 950 grams.....Sometimes though, I just can't seem to help myself.  We flew high the day before, and he did really well, and being that this was only the second day of being "high," I knew that he wasn't ACTUALLY that heavy. Sooooo, we loaded up the car, and headed over to Rosa east.  This is only my second time to fly this part of the field (this year), and I think I'm going to keep avoiding it.  This will be my "lazy" field from now on, and I will probably refrain from hawking it, unless I need a super quick, very "easy" session.  Sometimes, you just need a field like that....one where you can guarantee a LOT of slips, in a tiny amount of time.  There arn't any briars here, and the hawking tends to be more of a strole, than any type of work.  Sometimes, it's just nice to get out and watch the bird fly, and not have to beat brush like a mad man!

So we popped the hood off, and Short-Bus headed straight up to the top of a power pole.  There is a long stretch of mowed grass that you have to walk through, before you get to where the "field" starts, and as I made my way through it, CJ sleeked down, and started doing his little head bob thing.  If you all remember correctly, there is a long stretch of Johnson grass, that runs parallel with the road, and is only about 10 yards wide (It runs for about a quarter mile, but it's just pretty narrow....).  As I enter the Johnson grass, a rabbit bails out the back side, and starts hauling through the woods.  Like I said, there isn't much cover in this area, and I saw the whole flight as CJ burned it down, and crashed right behind it.  He missed, but that's not what made the flight cool......what made it SWEET, was that out of no where, this Harlans comes roaring in from behind, and continued the chase!  He crashed, got back up, and crashed again like FOUR TIMES after that rabbit!!!!!!!  It was pretty freakin sweet.  This is only the second time I have had this happen with one of my birds.  Interestingly enough, the first time it happened was last weekend.......that first Jack that CJ bound to (but got kicked off) went down the same way.......another bird came in, and continued that chase as well.  Anyways, I waited for Cleveland to fly back up to his power pole, and we continued on.

I went another 10 steps or so, and he folded into a bullet, and smashed the ground right in front of me.......DARN VOLES!  Now, Short-Bus catchs a mouse/vole/rat/misc something almost every session we go out.....it's never a big deal, and I just let him eat it, and then we continue on (unless it's a HUGE rat, then I trade him off and keep going.....).  Well, being that he was already at 950 grams, I second guessed myself, on what I should do.  I knew he would fly well while it was still in his crop, but it was just a matter of if i wanted to hawk the next day or not.  950 grams, plus a big vole,  (and assuming we catch a bunny) plus his trade off lure piece, plus his rabbit leg, equates to no flying the next day.......since I still had Christmas duties to perform, I decided that was cool, and let him eat it all, before we continued on.  When he finished, I hopped him to the fist, and he then flew over, and landed in a short tree.  I started walking through the Johnson again, and a rabbit takes off, running the edge of the grass.  Cleveland sprints from his tree, and BARELY misses snagging it on his first crash.  He got right back up immediately, and snagged it's rump, as it was going through the fork of a small bush.  Of course, that bush stopped Short-bus right in his tracks, and he was left with just a patch of fur in his talons.  Took his sweet time about getting back up after that one, and when he did, he took a perch in a tree across the street.  I reached a part of the johnson grass section that was a lot shorter than the rest, and as I made my way out of the head high stuff, a rabbit got up at my feet.  I could see the rabbit running as plain as day, and I'm yelling HO, but Short-bus just watched it go.  Once it disappeared from sight (into the woods), CJ slowly meandered back to my side of the road, and took a perch on the power pole right above me.

I continued kicking through the short grass, and instead of "perching up" like he normally does, he let me get about two poles down from him.  Normally, he is right on my head, or else one pole behind me (so that when I walk past the hiding rabbits and they shoot out from behind, he is right there to snatch them up), so I'm thinking that he may have started putting his crop over.  Well, I JUST made my way past the second pole, when a rabbit gets up right by my feet, but instead of bailing toward the woods, it headed toward the road, and started cutting back in the direction I had just come from.  BIG mistake!!!!!!  Cleveland was already on his way, when he left the cover of the grass, and started running through the mowed grass, running along the road.  He went about 10 yards, before he noticed the hawk screaming toward him, and cut back into the Johnson grass.  CJ whiped to the side though, and snaged him just a few feet into the cover.  That's about the time I hear the cars honking :).  I look up, and some dude had COMPLETELY stopped his car (in the MIDDLE of the road), had his door open, and yelled out "That was the coolest damn thing I have ever seen, in my whole *ucking life!"  Apparently the people behind him didn't feel the same way though, because the chorus of honking just got louder and louder.  He finally came to his senses, pulled off to the side of the road, and made his way over to where we were at.  I did a little Q&A session with him, while Short-bus ate on his rabbit, and then I let him snap off a couple pictures.  We finally made our way back to the car, and he was a FAT 1074 grams, when I stuck him on the scale at home.  Christmas decorations will be on the agenda for this evening, and hopefully, I will be able to get a good session in on Friday.

-D-

Unbelievable!

I'm not sure if you all have any of "those" fields, but I sure don't.  You know the ones I'm talking about......you hear stories about them all the time.  Everywhere you look, there is game in abundance, you can't walk anywhere without getting a slip, and the presentations just happen to be PERFECT!  Well, not only do I not have any spots like that, but I had never even seen one.......that is, until this weekend!!!!

The skunk monkey had been hitting pretty darn hard over the past week or so.  It was my fault to an extent, because I didn't even give CJ (A.K.A. Short-Bus) the chance to fly three of the days, but the rest of the hunts, were just so so.  We were getting slips, but we just were not putting anything in the bag.  So when I got the text from my wife around noon on Friday, I pretty much started doing the happy dance.  It went a little like "hey, if you only spend money on food and gas, you can head down to the panhandle with Ryan and Jay this weekend!!!!!!!!!" (maybe the exclamation marks weren't there, but that's how I read it :)!!!!!!).  So I grabbed whatever was in arms reach, jumped in the car, and started hauling down the highway.  Sure, I forgot half of my hawking gear, unimportant things like clean cloths, deoderant, and my tooth brush, and SUPER important things like my game sheers and telemetry, but it didn't matter.......the needle never dropped below a hundred, and I was on my way to what would become one of the best hawkin weekends I've had thus far.

The goal was a Jack rabbit flight....plain and simple.  I had never seen a live one before, and the first one that got up at our feet, had me saying "holy $hit, did you see that?!?!?!?!"  We were gun hunting pheasants at the time, and even though it wasn't being pressed by a hawk or anything, it headed straight for the horizon.  That was my first clue, that these guys act a little bit different than the cotton tails we are used to chasing, and I just didn't know how it would go.  Up until this point in time, Short-bus had gotten his pants juked off of him, every single time he has flown a rabbit in the wide open.  With that in mind, I didn't really think he had a chance at a Jack.  I LITERALLY, just wanted a flight, but in the back of my mind, I pretty much expected him to refuse them all.  So after a great day of shooting pheasants and quail (well.....I watched the dogs run, and Ryan and Jay shot stuff.....), we arrived at "the honey hole" Jack spot, with expectations that were not very high.

Short-bus had been hooded up most of the afternoon, so when he flew up to the gate post where we parked, you could tell he was trying to "center" himself.  If birds thought this way, there was something probably going through his mind along the lines of "WTF?!?!?!  Where are all the trees?  How am I supposed to chase game, with nothing to sit on?  Wait.....you can't really mean for me to fly to those "H" poles.....there are only like two or three that are useful, and there are places to hawk as far as the eye can see......You expect me to cover all of that, from a couple different perchs?  You have lost your damn mind my friend....."  About that time though, we had made our way about 20 yards from him, and the first jack got up infront of us.  My head flipped back like a rocket, and Short-bus just watched it run.  What surprised me though, was after the jack got about a hundred yards away or so, CJ lazily started flying in that direction.  It was almost like he was wanting to "check it out," and see if he had really just seen, what he thought he saw.  Yep....that was a big @$$ rabbit!!!!  He pulled up to a short post, and we only made it a few more yards, before another Jack got up at our feet.  He only hesitated for a moment, and then took off in a half committed chase toward the rabbit.  Of course, he got burned, but that cheesed out grin was starting to spread across my face.  "No way......is he really gonna chase them?!?!?!"  He sat there for a moment, as we made our way toward the line of "H" poles, and after a little coaxing (actually.....a LOT of coaxing!), he flew our way.  He was finally up on a high perch, and I was pretty interested to see what would happen next.

The area we were hawking, was sort of broken up into two sections.  The "main" portion, had cover scattered EVERYWHERE, and the ground had been grazed completely bare.  When you walked around at first,  you thought you were walking on top of a lot of gravel.  It was only when you bent down to inspect it, that one realized that it was ALL jack rabbit crap!  There were literally HUNDREDS of jacks hanging out in this little section, and every row you looked down, would contain at least five to ten rabbits......just looking at you!  Surrounding this section, were endless fields of CRP, and the jacks were split into sort of two different "groups" if you will.  One group, prefered to stay around the cover....they would run from one end to the other, and then back again.  The other "group", bailed for the open fields, and prefered to use their speed to get away.....they would head for the hills, and just keep running, until they were out of sight.  These were the jacks Short-bus ended up prefering, and as we started into this "heavy cover section", the first jack bolted for the CRP!

Unlike the first couple of slips, this one was instant, and Short-bus came pumping off of the "H" pole, like he was going to die without catching that jack.  The flight took them pretty far out into the field, and I held my breath, as he closed in on the ground, and did the wing flash they do, when they are coursing a rabbit in the open.  Then.....he connected!  I couldn't really believe it, and started running for all I was worth (which apparently, isn't much! LOL).  I only made it a short distance, before I saw the jack shoot out the side, and start heading for the hills.  I'm yellling and jumpin, because as far as right then is concerned, I accomplished my goal for the weekend.  My bird chased a jack, and it just happened to be a good flight.  After that rodeo, and from what I had heard from other people, I was expecting CJ to refuse them from then on out, but in the scheme of things, that was alright by me.  Well, Short-bus got up off the ground, and we continued on, and wouldn't ya know it, he kept chasing!  Not only that, but he kept chasing harder and harder on each slip!  All in all, we probably got 10 or so more flights on jacks (and one pheasant flight!)....two of which he pulled fur on, before he started running out of gas. As we made our way back to the car, we got one last slip which he ALMOST got.....he ended up hammering the ground, and the jack jumped over his head!  Soooooo close!  We had a drag jack set up from the get go, and after that last slip, Ryan took off dragging it.  Short-bus grabbed onto it, and Ryan took him for a ride!  I ran in there just like I would on a real one, and all in all, I think we simulated a jack score FARELY well.  Fed him up quite a bit (because he worked so hard), and though I tried not to get too excited, scoring a jack the next day, was becoming more and more of a possibility!

So Sunday found us back at the same spot, and from the get go, Short-bus was there to score!  I had had him down to 908 for the first session, but now that he knew what was going on, I had pushed him back up to 920 grams.  He seemed to have more "pep in his step," and he chased the first Jack that got up, with the intensity we didn't reach, until mid session the day before.  This got me too excited, and I started BELIEVING that we were going to score!  That was bad, because when my expectations start getting high (and if he doesn't behave perfectly), the bird begins to piss me off!  We had a nice shot on one from the "H" pole, but after that, he started screwing around, and taking REALLY low perchs.  Of course, he got burned everytime, and I was well on my way to the cursing stage.  Another stratagey was taken, and I got CJ up on a T-perch, and started walking the edge of the CRP.  Ryan and Jay continued moving through the junk piles, and the goal was to get one to flush out into the open, with Short-bus and I waiting there for it.  Ryan made the comment "Man, what we really need is for one to get up RIGHT at your feet (when the bird is on the T-perch), and that would help solidify the purpose of riding the T (I hadn't ever really flown with one, before this weekend). So we continue on, and CJ suddenly bails from the T-perch, and takes a stance in a lone tree about 50 yards infront of me.  RIGHT as he leaves the perch, and heads that way, a jack gets up from under my feet (which is what we were trying to get to happen)!!!!!!  I'm pissed!  I start cursing the bird, start cursin my luck, and I go from "irritated," to mad!  I'm muttering under my breath, as I begin to approach the bird, and when i get about 80 yards or so from him, a jack breaks about 15 yards from the tree.  Short-bus just BURNS out of that tree, and closes the gap in no time.  I see him slam the ground, and then the ride was on!!!!!  

Now friends, I don't run......I was sore as hell from the day before, but I took off like a freakin track star, when I saw the cloud of dust errupt from the ground.  I was screaming "hold on to it!!!!  You better freakin hold onto it!!!!!!" and had to have been moving at least a million miles per hour :)!  Of course, I'm putting everything I had into that run, so I lost sight of them, while I was on my way.  I suddenly freeze, and I hear the squeel of a jack!!!!  I discover JC sitting on the ground....one foot on the head, and the other between the shoulders!  The jack was kicking like mad, but he had him completely under control!!!!!!  When it's confirmed that the jack is dead, I just started freakin out.  I'm yellin like an idiot, jumpin around, fist pumping......the whole freakin nine yards.  I never thought you could replicate the look on an apprentices face, when they are holding their freshly trapped, first falconry bird.......but I did it!  I had that rediculously HUGE grin on my face for HOURS afterwards.  I was dumb struck, that my little guy actually did it.  It's funny, I had just started calling him "Short-bus" that week, because I was really getting irritated with him.  I guess he took it personally though, because he sure did prove me wrong!!!!!

Fed him up nicely on that jack, and he was nice and fat for the drive home.  No session on Monday, because he was still overweight, but yesterday found us "close" to weight.  He weighed in at 930 grams, and we went flying at the dumpsite.  He took perchs higher than he ever has, and crashed after bunnies with an intensity I have yet to see from him.  He absolutly CRUSHED rabbit number 13, and I'm thinking we are about to see this little bird turn it on.  He is riding on a confidence high that he has never known before, and who knows, this may just turn into a decent falconry season after all!

Take it easy guys

-D-

Don't Read While Eating

Came across this sight while checking ponds last week.  Not the prettiest of views and nearly every falconry blog has a post similar to this, but it is important to show the dangers of powerlines.  Every year a number of falconry birds meet their end by touching uninsulated electrical wires.  And being that there is a very small number of falconry raptors in the United States, one could only guess how many wild hawks meet their end this way across this country and around the world.  

I've seen several raptors get killed in this way.  Sometimes it's a quick zap and they fall and other times the are locked to the wire as the current literally cooks them from the inside out.  Unfortunately for this guy it looks like he got the later.  On closer inspection you could see charred tissue on back side of his legs. Unfortunate reality for the hawks that use power poles to make their lives easier.

Here is a link to some more raptor electrocution info:

http://www.themodernapprentice.com/electrocution.htm

-RVZ

(Not a) Good Day for a Swim

I knew I shouldn't....The morning was crummy for flying.  High humidity, high temps, and few ducks.  But it was the last chance I had to get a flight before heading off to visit the families for Thanksgiving.  So I pushed my luck.  The only ducks I found were four Blue-wing Teal a farm pond.  I knew it was a bad idea... Teal are very hard to get off the water and my bird hasn't exactly been flying stellar lately.  But I did it anyway and the flight ended as expected.  Ducks dumped in the pond, falcon got splashed and the flight was over.  

So I called the bird down to the lure, put in his equipment, and went to take his transmitter off when I realized that it wasn't there.  I put the bird away in the truck and pull out my trusty receiver to find the missing tracking device.  

The first signal I get is across the pond and pretty close.  I trek over to the other side of the pond to triangulate, and much to my disappointment the signal was exactly back where I came from.  The transmitter was in the pond........

So off came the boots, socks, and pants, and I waded out into the muck bottom pond in nothing but my boxers.  Around waist deep water I found that the transmitter was somewhere below me using a trick I learned long ago of detaching the antenna from the receiver.  So here I am, water up to my hip, leaning to the right up to my shoulder with my hand fishing around in the muck to feel for the transmitter, left hand in the air trying to keep the receiver dry.  As I'm in this compromised position, a local sheriff comes putting along  and stops on the road several yards away.  Him and I have talked before and he knows what I'm usually doing out there, but looked a little perplexed when he stopped this time.  As I explained what I was doing, I brushed my hand across the antenna.  The officer had a laugh about my situation and went about his day.  

Satisfied that I wouldn't have to buy a new $250 transmitter, I spend the next 30 mins sitting on the dam wall drying off wondering how do I get myself into these situations......

Well its Official

We are on a streak!  Ducked out of work at 4:00 yesterday, and Cleveland was sitting right at 915 grams.  We headed over to the Lowe's field, and the wind was blowing pretty good.  Started out kicking through the open section (the "flag pole" if you will....see earlier posts, if you don't know what i'm talking about.......), but it seems that the rabbits have bailed on that area.  Good to know for future reference.....I can stop wasting my time there!  That must be their summer hang out, but now that the cover is lower, they have vacated for more secure areas.  Anyways, after kicking through there some, I gave up, and started heading through the head high Johnson grass, that borders that portion of the field.  CJ took off after a rabbit that must have scooted out the side, but it made it to the third tree clump, and he was left empty footed on the ground.  Hopped him back up, and he took his perch up on the power pole again.  Continued on, and I pushed another one out, that promptly made it to the second clump of trees, just as Cleveland arrived.  These rabbits are going to have to figure out a new game plan, because it won't be long until the cover dies back more, and I will be able to get into those clumps for reflushes!!!  Yesterday though, they were smart moves, and CJ was getting a little bit amped.  He took off into the air, and soared up about 70 feet, and followed me around for a good 10 minutes or so.  He has started doing this more (when he has had a few misses...), and I would like to think that it's because he has learned that game appears when he does this.  It's still too early in the behavior to know if he has that solid connection or not, but I'm hoping the light bulb is at least flickering!  I tossed out a couple pigeons to him, and though he made some good attempts at them, wasn't able to snag either one. 

After a bit, he landed back on his power pole, and I took off toward the back portion of the field.  I was hugging the tree line, and made it about 50 yards from the pole, when CJ took off in a pretty level flight from the power pole.  This wasn't his normal 45 degree downward angle that I'm used to, but he was flying with intent, so I knew he wasn't just going to a new perch.  I stopped to watch, and he was gradually getting lower and lower.  He disappeared from view after a moment, and then guess what.....yep............................SQUEEL!!!!!!!!!  I started running over there, but quickly stopped doing that when I realized how far I was going (no jokes Ryan!!!!  That run, after the duck flight the other day, almost killed me!  I HAVE to start getting into shape!), and since I didn't really have a specific spot I was going to, didnt't want to accidentally step on them!  Wandered around for a minute or two, before I found him on the ground.  He had made it all the way to the the back corner of the front section (if that makes sense), and was crouched low in some cat tails.  I looked back at the power pole, and my best guess, is that the flight was a good 200 yards or so!  Pretty psyched, because if he is willing to take a slip that far out, it must means his confidence is going up.  Finally starting to like this bird (it's funny how that happens, once we start catching stuff!!!!!), and it seems like I have his weight down now.  He has been doing well at 915, so once this 70 degree weather goes away, I'm going to push him up to 920 for a few days, and see how that goes.  If he stays consistant, then we will go up another five grams.  So that's it for the update....number 11 in the bag, and it's on to number 12!

-D-

Jay's on the Board

Jay Tuttle (he's interning for me this winter at the center) and I met up this morning for a couple of flights.  The conditions were not great today, warmer weather and heavy wind up high, but we managed to get out and get the birds up.  

Jay's bird took a nice pitch on the first pond that held ducks and seemed to pull up short on a pair of Gadwalls that we had flushed clean off the water.  The falcon was called down for little reward with the intention of flying again after a rest.

First Green Head of the Year.

Several minutes later we found another small pond holding a pair of Mallards.  We put Tulsa in the air and he started off pulling the same bologna he's been doing off and on the past few weeks.  He started climbing strong then set his wings and coasted down to about 200 feet.  Since there was two of us, I had Jay stay just under the dam wall and I walked away from the pond.  It didn't take long for the falcon to follow me and he quickly regained pitch.  I yelled for Jay to flush when Tulsa was wide of the pond and climbing.  The drake was struck about 20 feet off the water into a small stand of shrub trees.  And my bird quickly secured his 1250g+ meal (nearly 2x his weight), duck #3 on the year

Jay's First Okie Duck of the Year

After getting my bird back in the truck and getting on the road, we found another pond that was loaded with Mallards only minutes away.  Time to give Jay's bird a second chance.  His falcon quickly gained a good pitch, quite a feat considering he just flew less than an hour before.  Jay and I came up over the dam and flushed probably 30 Mallards off of a postage stamp sized pond.  The falcon locked on to a hen Mallard that was trailing the group and, with the precision of a surgeon, cut through the duck's wing.  I saw the wing break right in front of me and it was obvious that Jay had got his first duck of the year.  Not the Gadwall that he's been hoping for but a nice start.  And if there is one duck we have in northeastern Oklahoma, its Gadwalls.

Now for a nap....

-RVZ

Little Better

So things went a little better yesterday.  I took the morning off as an apprentice falconer was coming up from Oklahoma City to buy some old telemetry equipment from me.  Daniel and Jonathan also took the day off to come and fly, so we were set to have quite the crew here.  

Daniel came up a little earlier than the rest to come along for a quick flight at ducks.  I've been back to the kite for a few days with my hybrid to try and get him on track as far as pitch is concerned.  Looks like the kiting was a good reminder for him.  We found a bunch of mixed ducks on what I've named the Bull pond (the rancher keeps about a dozen large bulls in this pasture when they are in between fulfilling their role in life).

I got Tulsa in the air and he instantly went over another pond the other way from our intended target.  Not such a bad thing as it turns out.  

He wasn't terribly high over the wrong water but as we made our way toward the Bull pond he realized that he was off track and came roaring back gaining pitch the whole way.  Just as we reached the pond edge he was coming up right behind us in perfect position.  We flushed dozens of Mallards, Gadwalls, and Ring-bills off the water and.......nothing.  

Several seconds past as I watch the fleeing ducks waiting for impact.  It was probably on 5 seconds or so but it felt like a minute or more.  Finally out of the corner of my eye I catch movement and see a hen Ring-bill cartwheeling down into the pasture.  The falcon throws a lazy wing over, a sure sign that the duck it down for the count, and lands gently on the duck.

Today he actually let the ducks get a little ways off the water before he really turned on the stoop.  Definitely an improvement over the past 3 or 4 flights.  Hopefully this will be our turning point.

I just looked over my notes and last year I caught my second duck on today's date.  So technically I'm one day ahead of where I was last year.  This is the start of year two of hunting with this bird and it's pretty obvious that he still has a lot to learn on his way to be great from just a barely mediocre game hawk.

Afterwards we met up with the others and did some bunny hawkin'.  Quite a few were flushed and a couple now have bald spots but in the end nothing was brought to bag.  I'm now all cut up by the thorns that made it above my brush pants and worn out.  Falconry season must be in full swing.

Quick Session

Monday, we only had about thirty minutes to fly.  He was still fat (925 grams) from the rabbit the day before, and we saw it in his performance for sure!  He was chasing, and crashed a little brush, but if the slips were hard at all, he would just check off in the end.  It had been raining all day, and was sprinkling a little bit when we got to the field.  I took the route that I have been taking, but it seems (which makes sense) the rabbits like to be in heavier cover in that type of weather, and I only got a couple slips in that area.  Ended up bailing from that route, and took one of mine from the year before.  Headed back south, through an open portion of the field, and we got a nice slip that went up and over a big hill, and ended with the rabbit making it to the clump of briars on the other side about 200 yards from where the chase began.  These briars were only a few feet tall last year, but must have gone on steroids or somethings, because they are HUGE this year!!!!  Kicked through the back portion of the field's briars, and like I said....got some slips, but he wasn't willing to go balls out.  Called him down to the lure to end the session, and he only got a little bit for his lame effort.

Tuesday found him slightly lower than I had wanted.  Luckily though, I had gone to work early AND worked through lunch, so I ducked out at 3:00, ran home and got the bird, and was walking into the field by 4:10 or so.  He was at 908 grams, which is right around were we caught the original rabbits.....I had just been pushing him up since then, hoping his strength would improve, and we could get a lot more speed, dedication to the chase, intensity, etc, etc out of him.  Well, he must have thought he was starving, because he didn't take the far perch like normal, and then move over my head....he instead, just went straight up, and started staring at the ground waiting for something to pop.  Kicked the first briar patch, and a rabbit went scooting out the side.  The bird took off, but pulled up into a tree pretty quickly.  I moved in that direction, and got about half way there, when CJ took off pumping hard, and slammed into the ground about 25 yards from me or so...................SQUEEL!  Total hunt time.....45 seconds.  Seems like he understands the program now!!!  BUT.....he needs to stop doing that, or else I'm not going to get my hawking fix taken care of.  I did a few doubles last year, but just don't really have the desire to anymore.  Hopefully, he won't do this too many times, or else I may be forced into doubles, just so that he gets enough air time and I get my fix.  Going to have another short session tonight, and he will be fat (I need to start making my lure pieces a consistant size....that's where I keep screwing up.....I have figured out what it takes to put him at weight the next day depending on if I put a front, or a back rabbit leg on the lure, but I keep switching it up with spine, pigeon, squirrel, etc, etc (none of which i weigh...just eye ball it).....gonna have to stop doing this, so that we can start becoming consistant in the field....).  He will probably be around 930 grams or so, so I'm not expecting much.  He will get a work out in the wind today though, and who knows.....maybe he will do some soar hawkin, and I can toss some pigeons for him.  Fingers crossed for SOMETHING good to happen today

-D-  

On the Board....

Well pics are nice but this was not a day to write home about, at least not for my bird.  I went out hawking with Scott on Saturday morning trying to scrounge out a duck flight or two.  This season has gotten to a slow start quarry-wise.  There just have not been many ducks yet and when there are they have been on bigger water.

Scott was up first on a pond that was holding several Mallards and a couple of Ringnecks.  As usual Scott's bird rang up to a really nice pitch, we flushed the ducks and a drake Ringneck got his bell rung.  A perfect falconry flight by all accounts.

Scott Dillon's Bulleye with drake Ringneck

Then it was my bird's turn and the day went to hell. It has been pretty up and down with my hybrid so far.  We had some pretty nice flights early on this season, but none ending in a catch.  But between those pretty nice flights we all had a fair share of nonsense.  The bird has stooped ducks on the water, knocked them back in the water of number of times, stooped all manner of other hawks, sparrows, larks, possibly a rabbit at one point, etc.  None of these are desired quarry and luckily he hasn't caught any of these to reward his wayward efforts.  

Saturday was more craziness.  We found ducks on a reasonable pond and I got Tulsa into the air.  Within seconds Scott and I lost sight of him and couldn't find his silhouette.  It turned out that was because he ran out along the ground several hundred yards and decided to land on an old hay barn.  So Scott and I sat on the back of the truck to wait him out.   A minute or two passed before a Kestrel made her way in to harass the falcon for I assume sitting in her territory.  She stooped him over and over again until he finally had enough and took flight, but that didn't stop her onslaught.  She kept attacking him for several more minutes until he finally decided to start climbing and leave her behind.

So now I think we are past the nonsense and we can get on to the task at hand but I was wrong.  Tulsa climbed to around 400 feet and then saw the ducks at which time he decided he would set his wings and float on down to maybe 100 feet or so.  Not acceptable, so I walked away from the pond several hundred yards and call him over to hopefully remind him that a pitch is required before the flush.  On the way over, a herd of cows must have flushed some sparrows or something because he turned and stooped hard all the way to the ground.  Waited him out for several minutes and he took off again. I thought that maybe now his nonsense was over, but I again was wrong.

Now he is following the cows, I assume hoping that they will flush some more stuff.  When the falcon had followed the cows 100 yards north of me, the pigeon that I had in my bag, worked his head out (my fault for not checking my zipper) and made an unexpected escape attempt to the south.  Instantly the hybrid was in pursuit and just as he pulled feathers the pigeon flew through the trees and the falcon was blocked.

At this point I have had enough and with the bird a long ways from the pond by me, I radio Scott and tell him to flush the ducks.  This would give the falcon no chance of catching up to them and hopefully reinforce that you screw around and you don't have a shot.  As soon as he caught a glimpse of the ducks flying he roared back to the pond in his last ditch futile effort to catch one.  

Only it didn't work out that way.  As the falcon reached the edge of the water, a lone duck that Scott didn't see in the lilies made a break for it.  Tulsa changed direction and cut through the hen Ringneck from a dismal 300' pitch.  

My Tulsa with hen Ringneck

I just can't be too proud of this one.  To much craziness that resulted in a catch, and definitely has resulted in some pretty poor flights the past few days.  It looks like I'll be back to kiting for a few weeks.  Hopefully this is just early season shenanigans and it will get worked out before it becomes to much of a problem.

Morning's catch

-RVZ

Lowe's Field

Went to one of my "oldie but goodie" fields on Wednesday.  I call it the "Lowes" field, and it has a lot of Johnson grass in it.  It doesn't REALLY start poppin until later on in the year (at least that's what I'm assuming...I hawked it for the first time last year on Thanksgiving day, so it's another one of my "new" fields that I don't have early season experience with....), and because of this, I hadn't flown it yet this year, and I was pretty psyched to see how the conditions were going to be.  Construction had been done near the east side of the field, so I had high hopes that it had concentrated the bunnies into a smaller area.  Parked at my normal spot, and the woods were still THICK!  That is where we get the majority of our slips, but I wasn't ready to dive into something like that yet, so we headed over to the east side, where it's more open, to check and see how the johnson grass was looking.  Still super high, but I kicked a rabbit within a minute or two of getting there, so I decided to keep at it.  CJ crashed for it HARD....something he has been reluctant to do recently, so I hopped him up for a tid bit reward, and we continued on.....he was sitting at 910 grams like normal, and I was liking his intensity.

Now, directly south of the johnson grass section, there is a peninsula of land, that runs between the parking lot, and the highway......which dead ends into more parking lots (invision a flag and flag pole....the "field" would be the flag, and then the "peninsula" jutting out, would be the flag pole).  This portion of the field is not tall.  Not sure why, but the grass is short, and it is full of little head height trees scattered everywhere.  For some reason, I have never kicked through this section....I guess I just wasn't confident enough last year to hawk in more "visible" (to the public) areas, or maybe it was just that I had a routine in this field that would consistantly give slips, and I never deviated....whatever it was....I hadn't ever kicked around in it.  BUT, part of that peninsula was where the construction was, and the cover was short, so I decided to give it a shot.  Running the length of the bottom of the "flag" is a string of T-poles that (lets say it was a wall), would seperate the field, from the peninsula.  These are pretty much the only perchs for the "peninsula" until you get to the very tip of it, so this is where Cleveland Jr. headed up to.  Long story short, but there were TONS of rabbits in there!!!!!  What's cool, is that so far this year (with the heavy cover), I usually only see the rabbit for about two seconds before it disappears, and then I'm waiting for the squeel.  Since this is so low....I could see the rabbits running for a LONG time, which made for some great flights.....especially since he had to come pumping from those poles everytime, which translated into a ton of 100+ yard flights.  We got probably eight or nine of these long slips, and this is when the red flags started popping up.  The first couple of flights back to the pole were fine.  Pumped up there no problem, and he was ready to go.  After that though, it seemed like he started struggling more and more everytime to get back up there, and he started checking off of rabbits the more tired he got.  Makes sense....I brought him pretty low to get him started, and I guess I just stripped more muscle off of him, than I had realized.  Suffice to say, by the time we finished hawkin, he was breathing hard, and had gotten a really good work out.  He has been eating a lot of rabbit lately (about 70 grams will put him at weight the next day), but since he caught that pig the other day, I had also brought some of that along.  I decided that after that work out, he needed to get some richness in him, so I fed him about 85 grams of pigeon, and we called it a day.

Yesterday found him sitting at 920 grams (which means he got a REALLY good work out, for him to burn that much pigeon between sessions), and he seemed ready to go!  I don't like hitting the same field back to back....esp now that i have so many, but we kicked up SOOOO many rabbits on Wed, I just couldn't resist.  Knew the woods were thick this time, so i parked over by the johnson grass portion of the field, and we started in where we got the first slip the day before.  He looked like a completely different bird.....pumping hard and fast  to every perch he was heading to, and the slightest movement had him teed up, and doing balks, like he was about to go for anything.  Went in search for our little friend, and we found him pretty quickly.  He bailed under a clump of trees, and CJ took a perch up on top of them.  I went inside, but just couldn't seem to get a reflush, so I abandoned that bunny, and started heading toward the peninsula.  I got about 10 yard from the tree or so, and I guess the rabbit bailed.  CJ took off in the other direction, and crashed to the ground HARD!  I didn't hear a squeel, so I started back in that direcion, but couldn't find him anywhere.  Looked around for about five minutes, and then headed toward the car for the receiver.  I'm thinking he was on the ground eating a rat or something, and was in a hurry so that MAYBE I could find him, before he ate the whole thing.  I'm making a lot of noise as I'm heading toward the car, and I guess I just didn't hear his bells as he flew back off the ground.  Got to the car, and glanced up at the T-pole.  There he was, just chillen up top, staring into the peninsula.  Good times, so I locked back up the car, and headed into the peninsula.  The pole he was chillen on was right on the edge of the field, so as soon as I started kicking around, I was pretty much directly under him.  I probably hit brush for about 3 or 4 minutes, when directly next to me I hear a thud that had to have cracked the surface of the earth.  Didn't hear bells or anything.....just a crash about a foot behind me.  I LITERALLY, out loud, said "oh $hit" and jumped in the air....it startled me that much.  I turn around to see the bird mantling on the ground, and I see a rabbit leg sticking out from under him.....no squeel or anything.  So I walk to the front side of the bird to help him with his bunny, but I was not needed in the least bit.  The rabbit was completely dead....blood coming out of it's nose and eyes, and it's mouth was COMPLETELY stuffed full of dirt.  He had hit the head with both feet, and just drilled it into the ground.  Dead on impact!!!!!  Now THAT is what I'm talkin about!  Finally...we are getting some aggression out of this little guy.  Trade off was perfect like always, but then the nonsense began. 

His first rabbit, was caught at 930 grams, and he didn't want to have anything to do with finishing up his meal on the fist.  What I do, is I let him get a little off the rabbit, trade him to his lure, and then hop him to the fist for the remainder of his meal.  That first bunny, he acted like a turd, and all he wanted to do was grab the leg, try and fly, and then hang upside down.  Since his weight was adjusted, we have had pretty good manners on the fist....not the best (which is my fault completely...his first rabbit was caught in the middle of some over head height briars, and I had to carry them out into the open....took me a while to get out of that tangled mess, and as a result I made a REALLY bad first impression with this bird...it is what it is, and I have learned a valuable lesson because of it......).  Anyways, manners have been pretty decent all things considered since then, but not today.  920 grams had him doing that same nonsense again, which was pretty darn irritating.  My new target is going to be 915 grams....hopefully, we will get the good flying like we had yesterday, but get those fist manners back.....we shall see.  Either way though, I won't know for a little bit.  Can't fly today (Friday), so I fed him up really good, and we won't be hawkin again till Saturday morning.  I will have him at 915/920 grams for our session, but with the duration of time between feeds, I could probably have him up to 960, and he would still have good manners....will have to have him at that weight for two or three days, before we will know anything for sure.  Sooooo, still dialing in his weight apparently.  I should be past this point by now, but I'm not.....would have been if temperatures never changed, but of course they do, and I'm having to re-figure stuff out.  Over all though, I liked yesterday's session.  He had a new intensity, he finally came off the bench and performed well from the start, and he was hitting HARD.  Hopefully, we can keep it up.  Saturday gives more time for hawking, so the day will be kicked off with duck slips!!!!!  Fingers crossed everybody!

-D- 

Bunny #4

There is just something about this spot!  I hawked the Urban Dumpsite a lot last year.  See, I wasn't planning on kicking my falconry career off with a Redtail, so when fate (or was it Ryan pushing?????) took me in that direction, I hadn't found any rabbit fields yet.  Being that I only had a couple by the time we started flying, I over hawked the crap out of them.  The dumpsite was one of them and I had pretty much figured out exactly where all the rabbits liked to "have their little parties," as Jonathan likes to say :).  By winter last year, I had over done it, and the rabbits just weren't poppin anymore.  By that time though, I had found a lot of other fields that were WAY better, so I didn't go back at all. That must have given the dumpsite enough time to rest, and since we are having a banner year for bunnies, it has recovered nicely!  


Well, as I have indicated previously, I had a hell of a time getting slips early on, so I reverted back to what I knew.  I KNEW there were rabbits at the Dumpsite, and I KNEW where they would be in the summer/early fall (unlike my new fields, where I only knew their "winter" hang outs).  Oddly enough though, most of my slips are in different areas than last year.  Don't get me wrong, they are still in their "usual" spots, but I guess the greater number of bunnies (compared to last year), has made them spread out a little bit.  Rabbit number 3 was near a spot that consistently held rabbits last year, but it was back inside one of the "wooded" sections bordering it (which for some reason, was about five times thicker last year, compared to this year, which made me not hawk it...which in and of itself is odd.  Everywhere else, the brush is thicker this year, except for this area....weird huh??).  Anyways, I believe that was the first rabbit I have moved out of there, and he caught it.  Well, we caught rabbit number 4 yesterday IN THE SAME SPOT!  I don't mean same general area....I LITERALLY mean the same spot.  I didn't have to crush the brush down around him or anything, cause he was sitting right in the middle of the area I had already trampled down. 

Not much of a story behind it.....I only managed 3 slips yesterday, which compared to lately, was pretty weak.  We had one part of the session, when he started soar hawking, and now that I have pigs, was able to enforce that behavior FINALLY.  He was looking down pretty focused, but was just a little bit out of position.  I tossed a strong flier, with the hopes of him getting burned (but still be enforced for his soaring behavior), and hopefully teaching him to stay in better position......if it brought him back over where I wanted, then i was going to toss a hindered one, and end the session on that positive note.  Well, my big plan sounded good to me, but he wasn't having any of that.  I tossed out the pig, and he came in HOT.  He just barely missed snatching it out of the air, so I'm not sure he learned anything about "position" if you will....but at least he put in a good effort on it.  Going to have to make sure I don't do too many of those though (without a confidence booster...), b/c he will either A) start thinking he can't catch them out of the air, and start refusing the ones that don't start from coming off the ground, or B) He will start catching them, and I will be teaching him that position isn't really that important (instead of staying directly over me).  I'll tell you one thing though....his rabbit flights are pretty unexciting (compared to the crazy brush crashing of the females).....his chases on birds though, make him pull out the moves!  Twists and turns, little mini wingovers, etc.....the good stuff!!!!!!  He may pull out the goodness when we start hawking squirrels, but our brush just needs a heavy bodied crasher (at least this time of year....), when chasing those rabbits.  Who knows though....as his confidence gets higher, he may just turn it on after all.  We shall see!


-D-

1st Pigeon!?

Well, we are still crawling along at a snails pace.  I got spoiled with Dee Dee apparently, and compared to her, this little guy is pretty sucky.  He was pretty thin when trapped, so that may have been a pretty good indication of what his fate would have been, had he not been trapped.....we are pushing forward anyways, and I still have high hopes that he will turn into a semi decent hawk.  


Thursday, the day after our last rabbit, he was at 960 grams, and it was WINDY!  I had the afternoon free, and being that I hate wasting days, we went and flew anyways.  Surprisingly, he did great (for him....).  We got seven or eight slips, and he chased them hard, but just didn't seem to connect....probably weight related (too high...only giving part of it to the game), but at the same time....I can have him "at weight", and he will chase really hard, and still won't connect....he just needs to get better at catching rabbits!  Friday found us at weight though, and he sucked.  I had Judah and Paul along for the hunt, and he just wanted to fly off.  I realized early on when I got this bird, that he doesn't fly well with other people in the field......I would have thought that he would be over that by now....but he isn't.  There isn't really anyway to get him better, other than him sucking, and us continue to give him slips.  Eventually, he will pick up on the fact that having a bunch of people out there is advantageous, but until then, he is lame.  


Saturday was good though.  I had the whole day free, no previous hawking engagements, so it was all about the hunting!  Sunrise found me leaving the house, with the bird sitting nice at 900 grams.  We swing by the pigeon spot, and it was like someone was pulling the strings, b/c the setup was PERFECT!  I have described the setup on my blog, but since I'm over here now, I will give a little refresh.  There is a company who has a parking lot that is inset into the side of a hill.  Three of the four sides, are lined with retention walls, and the one on the east side, has a small road running along the top of it.  The pigeons like to get down on the ground, and eat down in this parking lot, which creates the IDEAL setup.  When I got there Saturday morning, they where all in "feeding mode."  because of the walls, you can't actually see the pigeons on the ground, until you are right on top of them, but there was a steady stream of birds going up and down from the powerlines, to the parking lot.  I crept up near the edge of the wall (but back about 10 feet or so), and unhood Cleveland Jr.  The pigs where going up and down, and we sat there and watched for about a minute.  Once he started head bobbing, it was on.  I got as low as I could, and started sneaking up to the edge of the wall.  Freakin ninja style, we crested the wall without the pigeons breaking, and I was yelling HO HO HO when they saw us coming.  CJ was off the fist like a bullet, and was pumping for all he was worth toward the pigs.  The mad scramble occured, and he made a pretty decent attempt, but just couldn't close the gap in time.  Called him down, and we headed toward the otherside of town.  


The falconry gods were smiling on us and I found five or six GREAT pigeon slips out of the car window on my way.  Though he has been bagged out of the window before (and has made some pretty decent attempts at crows early on), we have not tried any car slips for a few weeks, and he refused them all.  Ended up getting four or so PERFECT crow slips too, and he refused them all also!  He doesn't like the car as of right now, and it's going to take some work to get him back into the groove of things (work that I'm not going to put too much energy into right now, because we are working on other stuff.....).  So, we continued on.  The pig slip ealier (and the attempts from the car) were just because I couldn't resist, but we had a goal this morning.....we were looking for ducks!  


I have a few ditchs, that have consistantly been holding quackers recently, and that's where we were heading to.  Arrived, and I glassed the creek, and what do you know.....THREE seperate slips!  Two groups of two, and then a group of about 7 or 8 also.  The setup for these is, again, pretty sweet.  Park high up on the hill....sneak down as low as I can, and then it's on.  Up until today, we hadn't really had a good "chase" on ducks, but Cleveland was geeked this AM (I think the Pigs got him going!), and I was hoping for some goodness.  Anyways....I forgot to pick up rocks....I know, I know....I loose my brain when hawkin is involved.  Make the slip, and i'm yelling ho ho ho.  He takes off heading straight at the ducks, and they imediately bailed back to the water.  He buzzed them, and then did a wing up about fifteen or so feet into the air putting him in PERFECT position for the reflush.  This is where I screwed up....no rocks, bird in the air, and these ducks didn't want to leave the water.  He makes his in-air turn, and is heading back toward the quackers, and this is where I failed as a falconer.  I should have just jumped into the creek and flushed them....with the wind direction, bird location and his speed coming in....he would have had one.  I was dumb founded, doing one of those...."I can't believe he is going for them with so much intensity....wow" sort of things, and just froze.  He comes haulin in, and tries to snatch one off the top of the water.  They both dove, but he got a foot on one of them.  He gets pulled down into the water, and quickly lets go, and flies over to the bank.  Suffice it to say....he doesn't even try on the other two slips.  I'm yellin ho, ducks flush (cause I get rocks for these slips), and he just flies up to a perch.  I blew it.......that's all there is to it.  First slip, he went for them hard, and I failed him.  Had he scored, it would have been all over but the cryin for the ducks the rest of this year.  Now I'm going to have to work on it....just like we are workin on catching rabbits, and everything else we are going for.  It's like, the first go is make it or break it.  


His first few rabbit slips, he was crashing THICK brairs left and right....now he only half asses the briar slips, just waiting for an open one (and he isn't too heavy....if anything, he needs to go up in weight).  Anyways, we head to Rosa South after that, and get between 10 and 15 bunny slips that he tries for.  Misses them all, and we end the day empty handed.  Saturday night, I meet up with my good buddy Mark, and we go pig trapping.  I have tried to do this twice before, but my technique is lacking, and I needed to watch the master!  Had a good time, and Sunday found me with pigs in the loft, and a new game plan going on.  I didn't have much time to hawk, so I was hoping to find a pigeon slip out the window, and if he went for it at all, then I would follow it up with a confidence bagger, and hopefully, that would get him back in the car hawking mood.  Left the house, and OF COURSE, I had to check the pigeon spot.  Again, they where cooperating perfectly (why couldn't I have gotten slips like this with the Red Shouldered Hawk?!?!?!?!?!?).  I have car hawked the "pigeon spot" before, but have since realized that the torn up gravely road (and my car driving down it), is usually what causes the pigs to bust early, so I went for it off the fist again..... My main goal was enforcing car hawking today (and this was another one of those bonus, I just can't resist slips...), I didn't use caution like Saturday, and just parked on the edge of the wall.  Half of the birds busted, but the rest stayed on the ground, so I walked away from the top with the bird, and we watched the pigs, until they started coming down again.  Same thing as the other day....the head bobs told me we were ready, and I started to sneak up to the edge of the wall.  Well, I guess he remembered the slip, because he left the fist WELL before we got to the wall, and came in low kestrel style.  I was running behind him toward the wall, and just as he crested the wall before he disappeared below the edge, I heard the erruption of wings.  I'm yelling and waving, and I get there just in time, to see him snag one about a foot or two off the ground!!!!! 

 I'm pretty psyched about this kill.  It's a pigeon yes....not the most glamorous of hawking, but this is how I look at it......He flew off the fist (we normally hunt from trees, so this is different than he is used to), I made the game call, and he caught feather.  That is exactly what I was wanting.  Will this translate into him going for the ducks again without doing work....maybe..probably not....but who knows.  It definitely didn't do anything negative for his prey image of feather, that's for sure, so we will see.  

Yesterday, the wife had an interview, and I had to get Parker from day care.  Daylight savings time is weak, and I only had about 20 minutes before dark, by the time I got home.  Decided just to bag him out of the window, and he sucked.  Hopped off the fist to the car window.....sat there for a second, and THEN went and grabbed the pigeon....not what I wanted, and I don't think it enforced any of the car hawking concepts at all....the only thing I did was feed him another pigeon pretty much.  So that is were we sit.....came into work early today, and I'm working through lunch, so hawking is happening after work today.  Hopefully, we will get to hear the squeel, but we shall see.....     


-D-