Too Much Rain

It rained ALL last week. :( I was only able to take Kat out once, and she became wet very quickly as a result of the days previous weather. On Saturday, the wind was not in our favor, so she had trouble finding places to perch. But, Sunday yielded success. We headed out to an old field from last year, and she was following very well. After several strong flight, and a few more flushes, Katana bagged a rabbit. We hunted back to the car and she put up a few more good fights, but we ended the day with only one. Today, Brandi and I took her out to a field close to home, and we did some more hunting from the fist. It was still pretty windy, and Kat does not like to sit on the fist when it is gusting, but we held strong and she caught her first rabbit off the fist. With all the wind lately, she is getting some great exercise, and proving how strong she really is.
10 rabbits, 3 snakes, 2 grasshoppers, 1 frog, 1 mouse, 1 rat

A Very Blustery Weekend

We had our friend Kevin in from England, so we took the opportunity to head up to Oklahoma to visit our friends Dave and Pam. We had a full weekend of hunting in mind, to include hunting Katana on Jackrabbits as well as watching Dave's Golden Eagles fly. To our dismay, winds were gusting up to 60mph on Saturday, so that put a hold to any plans we might have had. It was even too windy for the eagles. Grudgingly we set out to do some trapping, as there is no wild take allowed in England, so we wanted Kevin to have the full US experience. The wind even discouraged the wild birds from coming to the trap, that is the few that we not huddled down somewhere waiting out the weather.
Forecast showed better weather for Sunday, so we woke at 7am to head out. Alas, it was still windy, especially for Katana. We took her out anyway, and had numerous jacks break in front of us. Unfortunately, the smart little buggers always seemed to run upwind, and Katana knew she did not stand a chance. Of the 2 downwind flights that she took, she lost one of the rabbits and pulled fur on the other. At least I learned that she will chase them, as they are even bigger than I imagined! So the trip was not lost. Also, we were lucky that Aiden, Dave's eagle, had no trouble with the wind and bagged 4 jacks in a little over an hour. What a magnificent bird! I am in awe....
I gave Katana Monday off, and took her out Tuesday yielding many great flights, but no success. She returned to me today, taking one rabbit after sensational performance in the field. her fist response was excellent, and she returned to me after every missed chase. She is dong fantastic! The only downfall she has is that she tried to be too stylish on the easy flights, pursuing with her classic wing-over and stoop. If her aim would get a little better, no rabbit would be able to get away! She gets better everyday though, and her creative attempts make her even more enjoyable to watch, even when she misses. She flies fast and hard, and that is what it is all about.

My machine is back!

Magic Weight: 920 grams
Katana is on fire! Third day in a row for rabbits. She is flying fast, chasing hard, and kicking butt! She loves crashing the thick cover and it has paid off for her. After many diligent flights she added to rabbits to her game back, yesterday and today. She is flying in true Kat form: climbing up and after a beautiful wing-over, teardropping in. I am in awe of each flight she takes. I am looking forward to flying her on jack rabbits this weekend, I know that we will have a BLAST!

8 rabbits, 3 snakes, 2 grasshoppers, 1 frog, 1 mouse, 1 rat

A Great Day back in town...

Well, out of the snow and back on her home turf today Katana did great! I took her to her favorite field, and she was once again the Katana that I have grown to love. Although we surprisingly did not kick anything up for her, she had 3 magnificent flights on her own and nailed a rabbit with a beautiful wing over stoop. She was a little low today - 900 grams, so we ended pretty quick. It was also a little warm, so I was desperate to get back into the air conditioning as well. She is back! This will hopefully be a great season!
6 rabbits, 3 snakes, 2 grasshoppers, 1 frog, 1 mouse, 1 rat

NAFA 2007

Well, this has been an exciting week. The Thursday before we left for NAFA, Katana hit her ideal weight. Krys took her out while I was out of town picking up publications for THA at 920 grams, and she was on. After several flights she nailed bunny #4 for the season. Keeping this in mind, we traveled the 10 hours to Colorado for the annual NAFA meet in Alamosa. Keeping her within her ideal weight we headed out. The first few days I had trouble putting game under her. When I did, however she pursued diligently. She had several awesome flights on white-tailed jacks with no success, but finally landed a 3 lb cotton-tail on Wednesday. Friday I put the most game under her that I had been able to find, but unfortunately, my little girl was freaked out by the snow that had fallen the night before. So, we packed it up and headed home. I took her out again in the rain today, and she had 4 good flights before I called her in, soaking wet and ready to rest. I had a GREAT time at the NAFA meet, made some new friends and spent time with old ones. I am SO glad that I went, and foresee this to be an annual occurrence. Next weekend we will head up to Dave's place in Oklahoma and fly her on some black-tail jacks. I am excited, as he has told me that the rabitat up there is great!!

5 rabbits, 3 snakes, 2 grasshoppers, 1 frog, 1 mouse, 1 rat

Continued Obesession with Snakes

I took Katana back out to our training field. She had several great flights on rabbits with no success. She is flying strong again, and I think that she is finally getting back into shape. She was standing on a rock pile when Krys flushed out a 4 ft Texas Rat snake, that she nailed. After trading her off and releasing the snake unharmed, she took a perch on a telephone pole on the other side of th field. We flushed a couple of rabbits that she ignored, and we realized why when she went down. She had nailed herself another snake, this time a 4 ft diamond back water snake. I transferred her off the snake (well, Krys did :)) and we called it a day. Both the snakes were released back into the field, and will hopefully become prey for the pair of resident red tails in the area.
Weight 940g
Game bag: 3 rabbits, 3 snakes, 2 grasshoppers, 1 frog, 1 mouse, 1 rat

Coming along

I have been working with Katana's weight trying to increase her lure response. I am flying her every other day, varying her weight in 20g increments. I found a great field for rabbits, with very thick cover. This is forcing Katana to fly hard and crash harder, so she is getting some much needed exercise. We are up to 1 hour hunts, after starting at 30 min. I have not taken any game with her recently, but her lure response is getting better as is her following so I am very happy. Game will come with time, and I will probably fly her at an easier field this weekend so that she may take a rabbit, reinforcing the training she has been going through.

Halloween Mini Meet

This was a great weekend! We had several out of town falconers come in, including Anthony and Jen from England. I think that we wore them out from all the hawking, but we definitely gave them the Texas Hawking experience. We hunted from Wed - Sun, and also trapped 2 new passage redtails, one for Krys and another for Jeremy from Austin.

I am playing with Katana's weight. She did not take any game this weekend, but at a lower weight (950g) she was following better, and still took several great flights. If she had been in better shape, I am sure she would have been more successful. I think that she has regained the same fear of landing on the ground from last season, so I am going to work with her on this again and wait til Thursday to hunt her. We are also going to jump ups and try to get her back into shape.

And We're Back!!!!

After Katana's brief period of rest, I took her back hunting today. We went to her favorite field, and true to form she had nailed a rabbit within 10 minutes. My little girl was following again, and back in true form. We only saw one other rabbit that took cover quickly, and Katana never saw it. Her lure response is still weak, but she did fight very hard against the wind to come down to it eventually. I am finally seeing glimpses of my Katana from last season, and while we are going to start out slower this time, I am expecting great things!
Weight 970
3 rabbits, 1 snake, 1 rat, 2 grasshoppers, 1 frog

The verdict is....

Well, Katana is healthy. Blood tests and a fecal revealed there is nothing wrong with her. Turns out that if you fly a bird over 10 hours in 6 days right out of the molt, she will be sore. My little girl is just out of shape and over overworked. My fault, the worse she performed, the longer I flew her. Turns out that hawks are even more similar to people than I thought. Nice to know that I am not the only one who is out of shape and sore after all this hunting :). Needless to say, she is going to enjoy a few days of much needed rest before going back out to the field this weekend. As much as I hate to take a break, I admit I will enjoy it as well.

My bird is broken :(

Well, I have been having some trouble with Katana's weight. On Saturday when she flew at 990, her response was not great so I was told to cut her weight. So I did. At 970 and 950 her flights were weak and she was taking low perches. Today I flew her twice - first at 1030 which is the weight she caught her first rabbit at, and second at 995. At both weights she would watch the rabbits flushed run away, not follow, and gave no lure response whatsoever. She did catch a rat that ran under her while she was sitting in the ground in the field. All she did was reach out and grab it. I think that something is wrong, as she should not be passing up flights. If she were high or low she might fly and pull off the prey, but not just watch as it runs away. I am going to take her in for a fecal and blood tests to see if she is sick, and will go from there. I cropped her up tonight and will give her tomorrow off. Based on the results of her tests, I plan to fly her again on Thursday around 990g, and leave her there for a few hunts to see if she comes around. I suppose only time will tell.

Weekend Update

I flew Katana everyday this weekend - Friday thru Monday. I have been playing with her weight, dropping her to try to get her to follow better. I had her all the way down to 950 (partly by accident) and think that is too low for her. Today she was passing up easy slips. I am going to start raising her up a little bit, as she is definitely getting back into shape. So far she is up to 2 rabbits, a snake, a frog and 2 grasshoppers. :) It is an interesting season. Her flights are fantastic but she is still not following well. I am hoping that will change soon, as it is very frustrating.

An AWESOME flight!!

Today after Belle got out of school we headed back to the same field we hunted on Tuesday. It was hotter and more miserable I must say, but it got better :) She still is not following very well, and chased 3 rabbits that we never saw. About a half and hour into the field, I kicked up a rabbit from the center of the field that had the misfortune of running straight towards her. Her flight was AMAZING!!! I could not give it justice by describing it. Luckily, I don't have to because Krys got pictures! Bunny #2, and we will also be hawking all weekend. We also hunted Brandi's newly trapped Red-Tail, Makya, and she took her first rabbit in an awesome flight from the fist only 5 minutes into the field. What a great day!

And We're Off!!!

I picked up Belle from school today at 3:00 and headed to one of our favorite fields from last year. I know that I said I would fly her for the first time on Friday, but the weather was too beautiful to wait. She weighed the magic weight from yesterday - 1030g. I met Kurt at the field to help me out - just in case I lost her!! She immediately took to her favorite pole from last year and we began to beat below her. I must say, the cover is thick and terrible! I think that she self-hunted most of the time, as she did not follow well due to the fact that she was always fixated on something in the other direction. try as I may, I could not flush whatever she was staring at. We had four flights, and the last one yielded a rabbit. It was a very long flight, and I was surprised that she was successful as out of shape as she was. After 45 min. in the field, I transferred her off to a large reward and called it a day. I did not want to push her until she is back in shape. I cannot believe how good it felt, and how much I missed hunting. She is sitting in front of me right now, drinking from her bath pan, and whether she shows it or not, I know she is glad to be flying again. May this be the start of a GREAT season!!

The Magic Weight

Today Katana was 1030g and I put her on the creance again. I flew her over 100ft more than 20 times with instant response. On a few flights I didn't even make it the full length away from her. When I pulled the lure she was facing backwards and responded instantly. I am going to keep exercising her at this weight and then free fly her on Friday morning. Yeah!

Almost there!

Today Katana was 1150g so I put her on the creance. She flew several close flights and 20 flights to me from 100 feet. I then pulled the lure from 50 feet and had instant response. I sat with her while she ate and then transferred her from the lure to a tidbit on the ground with no problems at all. I think that she is VERY close to her flying weight, if not already there. I plan to hunt her next Friday, and will continue to exercise her until then. The season is now upon us....YEAH!

Katana's New Tail

Getting Harder...

Katana still weighed 1170g today so we did more jump ups. We started with 4 to me, and then she did 6 to Belle. After that she met her new nemesis - the weighted leash. She struggled to make the short jumps at first and I can tell she was not happy because she was hesitating between rounds. At the end I had her jumping to full height with a little more ease, but it was still tough for the pudgy out-of-shape bird. Another week of this and she should be good to go!

Birdy Boot Camp

Well, Katana's weight is dropping. Yesterday I flew her on the creance, mainly because Brandi still had it out after flying her bird. Her fist response was decent, but lure response was non-existent. Today we did 15 jump ups in the garage, and she did very well. Her weight is currently 1170 grams, 100 grams over last years hunting weight. I plan on getting her back into shape over the next week or so, and then taking her out into the field (once the lure response returns that is!!) She is definitely still out of shape and in need of much exercise, and I will be introducing her to the weighted leash soon. I went ahead and changed out her equipment in preparation for the season, and added the bells so that she can get used to them.

Time to get back to business...

Well, the summer was long and blogging was slim. Katana is still finishing up her molt, but I am going to slowly start cutting her weight in anticipation for the upcoming season. The preliminary bunny reports are good - so it sounds like there is game out there waiting for her. I will begin to post regularly as things progress!!

"Doh!" - Homer Simpson

Well, I see it's been a while since Kylie posted here, so I thought I would update the masses. Whoever said nothing exciting happens during the molt has not met Kylie Taylor. She can turn the most monotonous day into an exciting and exhausting adventure. After an action packed day of shopping Kylie decided to let her bird fly free at 10 pm Sunday night. Straight out the garage door she flew leash and all. One moment of inattention was all it took Kylie was tethering Katana to the perch in the garage when she turned to say something to Brandy and I and Kat bated. The leash went right through Kylie's glove. After an all night search nothing turned up. Silver lining was we found a new rabbit field. There were so many rabbits running around that Kylie was able to pick one up with her bare hands to use as a live lure.

The next morning Kylie checked the 2 places she was sure the Kat would be, but still no luck. Finally we spotted Katana in a tree on a residential road. She was getting harassed pretty good by the local mocking birds. Katana was not interested in the BC or the live lure, instead she just kept flying from tree to tree. Finally she tried to fly across an open field and could not make it. She landed on the ground. Oh the benefits of a fat and very out of shape bird. We were finally able to run her down with her only being able to fly away a few yards at a time. With every flight she let us get closer until we were finally able to grab the leash.

I'm sure everyone will read about this in the apprentice corner of On The Wing eventually, because many things can be learned from this little jaunt across the neighborhood. First of all pay attention at all times. Second always hold the leash tight and never let go until the bird is securely tethered, or the giant hood door is shut. Third don't give up. Even though it may seem an impossible task it can be done. In Kylie's case the same thing that worked against her was the thing that eventually got her the bird back; a fat non hungry out of shape bird. If all else had of failed the water hose was the next option. A fat bird definitely can't fly with wet plumage.

Kylie will probably add her version of the story at some point.

An Update on the Moult

Well, after doing some research today, I learned that a Red-Tail Hawk has a total of 54 flight feathers: 14 primaries, 28 secondaries, and 12 tail feathers. To date, Katana has dropped 17 of them. I have also started quite the collection of body feathers as well. She currently weighs around 1300 grams, and spends the day sitting contently on a perch in the living room, with visits to the weathering yard as weather permits. The vote is in - she is a dark morph. Her red tail is coming in strongly barred, and her body feathers are darker with hints of silver. Here are a few pictures to show her progress.

Summer Time Blues

Kylie is getting impatient with the whole molt process. She does not seem to understand that the birds don't drop all their feathers at once and immediately replace them, although this is how she would like for it to happen. And she's tried to get me to do unscrupulous things to make that happen, but I've rebuffed said efforts. So far there are about 10 wing feathers and 3 tail feathers gone. Numerous body feathers have gone by the wayside. The new body feathers are considerably darker than the old. The tail feathers are red, not white. That makes Kylie happy, and we all know if Kylie is happy then Krys is happy. The tail feathers appear to have black stripes throughout, but time will tell the rest of that story.
We have done a lot to stay busy. Kylie et al have helped me build a new mews in anticipation of my getting a tiercel sharpy next spring. Kylie and friends have been hard at work renovating my house. We have now moved on to expanding Kylie's mews. All that's left in that project is to lay the pea gravel, place perches, and put up the last wall. Now Kylie is recovering from yet another back surgery.
On happier notes the THA picnic was last week. Kylie was named Graphic Designer of the On The Wing. Kylie will also be running for the recently vacated secretary treasurer position and I will be running for Northern Director. We also plan on making a day trip to Houston this weekend to pick up Katie. From all that Ky has said Katie has been in good hands with Greg Barrow and she looks forward to having her back at the house. Hopefully Katie will be added to the hunting party this fall. Heck I hope now that she will have the dog back she'll still keep me around.

It's Snowing!!

Well, the molt is in full swing. It has started snowing in the living room when Katana bates, a result of the body feathers she is dropping. She has also become restless, and causing damage to her passage tail. She seemed to do well in Krys's new mews, so I am going to begin conversion of my mews to accommodate her. Hopefully, this will prevent damage to her new feathers. Also, her new tail feathers are just starting to push through, and yesterday I saw a hint of red. :)

2 More Tail Feathers

Katana is now back in the air conditioning, and fully recovered from the other day. When I came home last night, I put her in the weathering area for a few hours. Around 6 I went out to feed her, and surprise! 2 more tail feathers! When I brought her back inside after eating, she bated and played dead bird. I took the opportunity to check her out. The tail is not poking in yet, but her secondaries are almost in. They are a beautiful dark and silver. She is definitely going to be stunning when she is done!

A Little Scare

Well, I got off work yesterday and went over to Krys's house to pick up Katana. She was in the weathering area outside as I had asked Krys, the same weathering area she spent the weekend in while we were doing some work. When I arrived, she was bating like crazy. I went over to pick her up, and noticed that she was panting, she had stringy saliva coming out of her open mouth, and she seemed very weak on the fist. I immediately soaked her down with a water bottle and took her inside to cool. After she was thoroughly wet and was starting to calm, I took her home. It is about a 10 minute trip. When I got home and pulled her out of the box, she was drooping her wings, and panting even harder. It seemed that she could barely stand on the fist. I immediately soaked her again and took her inside to the perch in the living room. After turning the A/C on, I refilled her bath pan with cool water. Before I even had it halfway full, she was in it. I continued to fill it as she spent the next 10 minutes drinking. When she was done, she returned to the perch, and sat there mouth open, wings hanging. Needless to say, I was very concerned. Over the next few hours, I continued to keep her wet, and to spray water into her mouth until her disposition returned to normal. By the evening, she was back to her usual self, and I fed her a quail that I plucked for her, taking away all the casting material. It just goes to show that even the same situation (the weathering area) can cause different results, even in the small span of a few days. I will not put her in the weathering area again while it is hot, unless I can remain and supervise her. Fortunately, all is fine now, and I am glad I was able to get off work early yesterday.
However, when I entered the weathering area yesterday, I did find another surprise: HER FIRST TAIL FEATHER!!!!! YEA!!!!!

A Trip to the Vet

Well, since the last entry, Katana has dropped 2 primaries. Over the weekend, I noticed a discoloration on the top of her mouth, and Krys took her to visit Dr. Moore yesterday. Turns out that it was probably just some dried food, but I guess it was better to have it checked out than to just let it go. While she was there, she received a coping. Krys told me he can now see her feathers coming in, as he had her casted, and they are much darker than her immature plumage. Now I want to rush home and cast her, something I have been hesitant to do in hopes of keeping her calm.
So, all is well! Katana is in perfect health, and the molt is progressing nicely. :)

So you had a bad day...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5uUz9AxfT8U

So, I had a REALLY bad day at work yesterday. Not going to go into that. My back is hurting more and more each day, and yesterday was exceptionally bad. I took a History Final last night, and that is where my day started turning around. I am sure I aced it. When I got home, to my dismay, Katana had not dropped any new feathers. Oh, well...it is only one day right?? Wrong!! I went to the bathroom and when I came back she had dropped her 4th secondary and another body feather for me. It was as if she knew I needed something to cheer me up! Yea!
So far, I think the molt is going well. Still waiting on that tail feather tho...

Something's Afoot

Kylie and I were getting ready to head out to an education program at Greystone Castle in Mingus Saturday morning. Kylie is obsessed with her bird starting the molt and finding out what she is going to look like next year since it is a dark morph. When I say obsessed I mean on an unhealthy almost commitable level. Anyway she picked her bird up off the perch and it bated dropping a secondary. Bates again and drops the matching secondary on the other side. (or did they drop....) Neither feather drifting lazily to the ground were seen by Kylie. She did however actually see the bird drop a body feather while doing the program. Everything is right with the world now that Katana has started the molt right? Or so I thought until I got a phone call from Kylie the other night accusing me of planting the feathers to mess with her head. She had a tone to start off the conversation so I immediately knew something was up. I must have reacted with a tone of my own only causing Kylie's suspicions to increase thinking I knew I had been caught. Nothing I could say or do could convince her that the feathers belonged to her bird. She said "The pattern does not match that of the remaining feathers." and she"can't find a gap where feathers are missing." At this point I am laughing hysterically, and not doing myself any favors trying to defend myself. I just think its too funny that she thinks I would actually do that....however it is a great idea. By the way you may want to look up turkey feathers on the web since they look stunningly similar to those of a dark morph passage red tailed hawk.
__________________

More Feathers!!

Well, this weekend we all loaded up and headed out to Brandi's ranch for a camp out. It was a blast! Brandi and her family roasted a pig and everyone ate very well that night. there was even a live performance by Elvis! Brandi's dad is an Elvis tribute artist, and really knows how to put on a show. One of the highlights of the evening was watching Krys get hugged by Elvis, stiffening as he always does when touched.
When I returned home on Sun, I found another secondary and a bunch of body feathers. The molt definitely under way, and progressing nicely!

Feathers! Feathers! Feathers!

Well, we were getting ready to go to the Grey Castle Education program on Saturday. Pulling Katana off the perch she bated...2 secondaries dropped! Since then I have seen a few body feathers drop as well! Yeah!!
The molt has began!

Still no Feathers....

Well, still nothing. Katana is very fat, and enjoying life. She is not quite as friendly as she used to be, but that is understandable. She spends her days in the weathering area enjoying the sun, and the evenings inside on the perch. I have not even seen so much as a body feather drop!! Kat has always been a little difficult, but I am sure she will come around in her time.

Off With His Head!!!

Well, on Saturday we flew Veruka for the last time. I must say, it was a great way to end our time with her. After a long, rocky season, Veruka got a double! The first rabbit was one she saw that we did not. the second, however, was even better. We noticed she was looking down at something, and began to work the area where she was looking. The next thing we know, she was inbound....with Aaron in her path. Both Brandi and I called out, as Aaron turned just in tomw to see her eyes. He ducked, and I am pretty sure she would have hit him had he not, just in time for her to crash a bunny right in front of him, between us. It was awesome! I think that was the closest I have ever been to a kill, and I am sure it was for Aaron as he had to change his pants afterward :). We decided to end her season on that positive note, and now she is in the mew getting fat for her release next weekend. I tear up just thinking of letting her go! She went to Dr. Moore on Monday, and got the all clear health wise, so that is it. The end of an era. I hope that she goes out to make beautiful babies as magnificant as she is.
Katana's weight is coming up nicely, no feathers yet. :(

Bored already...

Started feeding Katana up this week and learned it is going to take a while. I apparently fed her too much on Tues (small quail and 2 mice) because she threw up. After dealing with Veruka having the same problem last season I wasn't worried. I am just feeding her a little less. She is still burning a lot, and sitting at flight weight the next day. :( I guess I am going to have to feed smaller portions twice a day to raise her weight. She is now spending days in the weathering area and evenings inside. I was to spend time with her daily as we did Veruka in case she gets sick or anything else unusual happens. It was also cool to see Veruka preen out her feathers last year. Nothing dropped yet, but her weight isn't even up.
Come on baby....shake your tail feathers!!

All good things must come to an end...

Well, 3 days of hawking yielded a rabbit and a rat.

Friday, we set out to hunt a field that usually yields quite a few slips. They are hard chases, but a lot of fun to watch. The cover is getting so think that we saw hardly any action.

Saturday, Aaron made arrangements for us to go squirrel hawking at a pecan orchard. The owners say they kill a hundred squirrels a year, so we were excited. Putting Veruka up first we worked the entire area and saw four squirrels. The chases were very exciting! She even had a flight on a cottontail, but we did not fly Katana there due to lack of game. We flew her at another field and had several slips, but no where near the number we had earlier in the month. She started the day by dropping off a pole to snag a vole, which she proceeded to fly around the field with it in her beak before landing and eating it. We continued on flushing. At one point she was soaring over the field and a rabbit flushed. She folded up her wings and tear dropped straight down. The rabbit got away, she re pitched and folded over again, nailing it. It was incredible!

Sunday I put her up twice, and she kept soaring. The first time we found her on a pole next to a resident red tail. The second time we chased her all over the field before calling it a day.

The weather is getting hot and the cover thick. I swore I would put her up when I was unable to flush game under her, and the time is here. As sad as it is to end the season, I have the excitement of her adult plumage to look forward to.

We had a great season: 31 Head of game to include 23 rabbits, 4 snakes, and 4 rats. Looking forward to next year!!

She is a machine!!

"Listen. And understand. That terminator is out there. It can't be bargained with. It can't be reasoned with. It doesn't feel pity, or remorse, or fear. And it absolutely will not stop, ever, until you are dead. " The Terminator, 1984

Another great day of hunting. I don't know where to start. Each day I hunt with Katana, I am more in awe of her performance. When I loaded Katana into the car, she was 900 grams. This is a low weight for her, so I fed her 30 grams before we left. Aaron and I took Veruka out and flew her first. After a rocky start with her season, we found the perfect weight for Veruka. We worked an area that looked really good, a little rough but a lot of rabbit sign. After an hour and a half, we had kicked up nothing. Veruka never faltered. She took high perches, followed closely, responded to the game call...she was perfect. So perfect, that she chased something a long way and we lost her. We searched the area we thought she went down to no avail. Krys was on his way to meet us and he stopped to grab the receiver. As he is pulling in to park he called, Veruka was in a tree close by. A sign of relief, Aaron called her to the lure and after 2 hours ended the hunt. If she responds this well on Saturday, I know a lot of squirrels in trouble.... :)

When looking for Veruka, we stumbled upon an area next to a frequently hunted field we had never been to before. I saw rabbits sitting there looking at me! This is where we hunted Katana. I could not even begin to speculate the number of flushes or flights she took, they were too numerous to count. It was another windy day, and with her a little low I didn't think I would be able to hunt her long before she tired. I was wrong. The field was filled with perfectly spaced briar patches, surrounded by open area. Katana has figured out the game, and our purpose. She followed VERY closely, jumping in trees higher and higher to find the best perch. She was in perfect position for 95% of the flushes, the other times it was because she had just finished a longer chase. Her persistence was amazing, it took her no time to recover from a missed attempt before she was back in the tree looking to us for the reflush. Over and over, briar patch to briar patch, flight after flight, "She is a machine!" Both Aaron and Krys kept saying these words as we ran around the field flushing rabbits, "she is a machine!" The wind was definitely a factor in a lot of the missed flights, as well as the deep cover when the rabbit made it to another briar patch. Katana took one rabbit out of the field, but her persistence is what makes her great. We flew for an hour and a half, and her weight never really affected her flight at all. I am definitely taking her back to the field this weekend when she is in her ideal weight range, and am expecting great things from her when I do.

This is the 11th consecutive hunt Katana has taken game, bringing her total for the season to 29 head of game, with 22 rabbits. This weekend we are going to a pecan orchard to hunt squirrels, and I am excited to see how she does. What a great season!! Why does it have to end...

Things that grow exponentially

I headed out with the Kat this morning.. We hit a field on 377 just north of 820. I knew it would be good for game due to the briars that grew in the area. I started the long walk to the best parts of the field, working along the way. I kicked up a couple of rabbits, but Katana did not score on either of them. I crested the hill and crossed the tracks to the briar patch. Katana was waiting in a tree above me overlooking a massive amount of land. The great thing is its all down hill and she had a commanding perch no matter where a bunny appeared. As soon as I stepped into the briars Katana slammed the ground next to me HARD. I did not hear a thing. She started mantling and I knew she had something. I made in and took a baby rabbit from her. I went to put the rabbit in the game bag, and noticed something was wrong. There was no head. After a search of the area where the kill took place I found the missing head. Apparently she had hit so hard that she popped the head clean off the baby rabbit. This was also what I was trying to avoid by hitting a different field, but I guess it's just that time of year. It's a good thing that Kylie is planning on putting Katana up for the molt soon. I know how hard of a decision it is for her. This weekend we will try our hand at some squirrel hawking in an effort to avoid the babies and preggers rabbits. Anyway we continued working through the briars kicking up a few as we went along. Now all I was seeing was adults, but they were wise and used the rapidly growing cover to their advantage. One bunny simply sidestepped Katana as she slammed down and sat in the briars about 3 feet from her. Kat used the wind to lift her about 5 or 6 feet in the air and slammed down again, but to no avail. This bunny was too sly and slipped out under the cover of the briars. Kat got back up and took yet another commanding perch. As I worked toward the end of the briars a rabbit slipped into the open and made for the cover about 200 yards on the other side of the clearing near the oil well. Kat was after it in a heart beat. The thing she had going for her was the rabbit was running with the wind. With every leap the rabbit took Katana was closing the gap. I thought there is simply too much open ground for this rabbit to escape. Katana slammed the ground and a saw a rabbit run off and make it to the cover. I thought for sure she would get that one. I started walking to her and she started hopping to the brush dragging something with her. She got it after all! The bunny that ran for the cover must have been flushed by all the commotion. We started walking/hunting back to the truck, but Katana stopped following. I got to the top of the hill and had to lure her in, since she was on a low perch and would not be able to see me on the other side. We walked back to the truck and finished the day. Come to think of it Goose had the same problem as Katana. Once we got to one side of a field it was VERY difficult to get her to change directions. I usually had to lure her in once I got back to the truck. She started following much better a few weeks into her second season, so I hope Katana eventually gets the hang of it. We scored # 27 and 28 today. Only 14 short days ago the Kat only had 8 head of game. #9 came on March 7th. Since then she has more than tripled her head count! She has caught fire here lately. She gets out and flys almost every day. She's on an incredible streak of 10 hunts in a row with at least one head of game, including a quintuple...something I have never done with a redtail. But Kylie my dear I have taken 18 head of game in one day with the Dog.

Two out of three ain't bad!!

Well, another windy day yesterday. Brandi and I headed to a field we hadn't been to in a while in search of game for Katana. We worked for a LONG time with out kicking up any rabbits. Katana followed along very well, especially considering the lack of game we put under her. She did fly at something which neither Brandi nor I saw. Coming to the end of one side of the field, we kicked up a rabbit. Due to Katana's excellent positioning, she took off and nailed it. I transferred her off the rabbit and put it in the game bag to discover a few seconds later, it was still moving. Brandi reached in to dispatch the invincible rabbit, and we continued on. About 15 minutes later, Brandi kicked up another rabbit. If Katana had been sitting anywhere other than where she was, she probably would have missed. The rabbit ran into the wind which was gusting to about 20 mph, but she took a crosswind flight and scored. Another transfer and we started walking back to the truck. I think that Katana senses when we are heading back, because she still followed, just not as close. Had she been closer, she might have scored #3. We flushed it twice until it took cover in some railroad ties covered in thorns. Unable to reflush we continued to the car and called her to the lure. A great day of hunting, bringing her season total to 26! I think that I will fly her for two more weeks, and put her up for the moult on April 1st. As much as I hate to season come to an end, game is getting scarce and cover thick. The heat is upon us and my girl has earned a well deserved break!!

Snakes on a plain...

Well, today was another successful day, in the true Katana style. We set out with the other falconers, our numbers dwindling as the season draws to a close, with only 3 birds to fly. Katana was up first. Walking out into one of our favorite fields, we immediately kicked up a small rabbit that she pursued and caught. Fortunately, she did not carry this time, as it was definitely small enough for her to do so. We transferred her off and continued on. A little longer and Katana took off and stooped on another, larger rabbit. We never even saw the rabbit, but apparently Katana did. Another beautiful transfer! At this point, a train passed by separating Katana and us from each other on opposite sides of the tracks. The long, slow train passed and when it was gone, no Katana. We headed to the trucks and grabbed the receiver. Knowing she had not gone far, we searched the field finding her on top of a snake, eating away. Apparently she decided that with her falconer on the other side of the train, she would have a snack! Not knowing how much she ate, we put her up and continued hunting. Two other birds flew, one catching a small rabbit, the other a little fat with no response. The day was young, and all the birds had been flown, so we put Katana back up. Flushing the field we saw a lot of snakes. Katana did as well, and the next thing we know we are making in on her on top of a four foot bull snake. It took a long flight for her to catch it, so by the time we made in, she was wrapped up pretty good. After Krys untangled the pair, we transferred her off the snake and put her back up. A couple of rabbit flights later (which she missed) we ended the day with another bull snake. Katana had a fantastic day, now at 24 head of game and it was getting pretty windy. Time to call it and enjoy a frothy brew in celebration. 3 snakes and 2 rabbits - can't beat that!

Snakes! Why does it always have to be snakes?

"Snakes! Why does it always have to be snakes?" - Indiana Jones in Raiders of the Lost Ark 1981

I took the Kat out hunting today after work. Daylight savings time is great. Katana took off for the higher perch of the metal power towers. I worked the reeds in the swampy area and below it. We had a few excellent flights, but no success. The residents showed up as I was working the field with Katana up high o the tower. I did not kick up anything out there. the resident pair showed up and harassed Katana relentlessly. Katana was chirping at them. They finally left and I headed back to the truck. Kat came over and landed on a nearby power pole. I started flipping boards hoping for a wide open bunny slip. Instead I found a Texas Rat Snake and Kat to saw it. She glided down nonchalantly and landed next to the snake. She took a moment to size it up before grabbing it. It was not too big so I let her eat it and called it a day. This is the 7th hunt in a row that we have not left the fled empty handed. In the last week Kat has more than doubled her head count. She's a blast to watch. It's too bad the season is drawing to a close. I have high expectations of this bird next year. The way she watches the field she should eclipse Goose's second year total fairly easily.

Number 18!!

Well, Katana and I set out on this muggy, humid day for a little hunting. 10 minutes into the field I kicked up a rabbit that she pursued three times. On the third, I heard the all to familiar screams. I was running to make in and they stopped. I guess she didn't have it tight enough to hold on. For the next hour we had six more flights, and it was obvious that she was now wet as her wings were drooping when she was perched. On flight number 8, she stooped of a pole and crashed the rabbit. Again, I heard screaming. A little closer this time, as she only pursued this rabbit once, I ran to make in, and again the rabbit was gone. Now I am frustrated. We start to work our way across the field to the car and about twenty minutes later, I see her dive. Before she even crashes, I am inbound. Reaching her after she grabs the rabbit, I make in. She has one foot on its head, and the other wrapped around it's back leg. I do not think that she would have been able to hold it for long. I transferred her off and we ended the day.
Last week when I inspected her talons they seemed fine, now I think that they are a little dull. I definitely see a nail appointment for my little girl scheduled prior to the next hunt. Even so, it was a great day! She flew at 985 grams.

Another Triple!! (And a learning experience...)

Well, due to the heavy rain on Tues, we got a late start. Thanks to the time change though, we were still able to hunt for 2 hours before dark!

Krys and I headed out to a field that has proved to yield slips for us in the past, and today was no exception. We kicked up a couple of bunnies for Katana that she missed, but about 10 minutes into the field she killed a rat. We worked our way back around and she was following very well. About 30 minuted later, we kicked up a bigger rat that she slammed. Today, I learned that if Katana can carry it, she will. Not necessarily what I had hoped for. She took this rat to the other side of the field, but we we able to make in and transfer her off to keep hunting.

We then worked over into a more open area, and kicked up a LOT of bunnies. She kept missing though, probably due to the fact that she was now soaking wet. As were started working our way back around to head back to the car, we kicked up a rabbit and Katana instantly took flight. As we are running towards her, we kicked up 2 more rabbits, and Katana kicked up a 3rd in pursuit. I watched her go down, and saw a rabbit jump straight up in the air and take off. I thought for sure she had lost it until I heard the all too familiar screams. Apparently, when she went down on the rabbit, she kicked up yet another one! I made in and transferred her off the kill. We hunted back to the truck, despite Krys's warnings of it getting dark. We had just flushed another 4 rabbits, and I wanted another! Katana's response started lingering at this point, so I carried her on the fist. Very close to the car, we kicked up a rabbit, which she chased and missed. I then proceeded to lure her down...nothing. Called her to the fist....nothing. Krys pulled the car up so I could stand in the headlights, as it was pretty dark now, and still nothing. Finally, I dropped the rabbit on the ground and she landed on it. Transferring her off the rabbit to some meat, I was glad that I would not have to spend the night waiting for her to get out of the tree. Note to self: End all hunting well before dark. :)

Still, another triple for #'s 15, 16, and 17. 14 Rabbits so far, and 3 rats. My little girl is really doing great, I only hate that the season is starting to wind down :( !!

First Triple

Tip of the day: The Deep End (movie) is 2 hours of your life you can never get back. NEVER!

I took the Kat out today. It was 11:15 am and her weight was 970 grams. It had rained all night and was still overcast. The temps were barely in the 70s and all looked good for a couple of hours of hawking. We drove to a field a mere 3 miles from the house. Boy hawking in this area is rough; so far to drive. It was a field we had not hit in a couple of days, but usually is good for a handful of slips and there are 3 other good spots within waking distance. I pulled the truck right up to the first brush pile and set the bird loose. I hit the pile once and out popped 2 bunnies. Kat flew one but missed. I saw that it put into the next brush pile, but Kat was already back up o her perch so I kept working the first. Another bunny popped out and was not as fortunate as the first 2. I transferred Katana off the bunny and tried to put her back up. Instead she flew down and ate all the remaining rabbit fur off the ground first. Up to the perch she went and we were back in business. I hit the same pile a couple of more times before moving on to the next. At the next brush pile I got the previously flushed rabbit moving. I quickly had Kat's attention. She flew down, missed, ran along the ground and damn near ran it down, but in the end the rabbit went back into the same brush pile. I began poking around the pole and flushed a rat that Katana came down off the pole after, but just missed. She hopped up to the top of the brush pile and seconds later the rabbit flushed. She nailed it before it got 5 feet from the pile. I cut off a small piece and transferred her again. We had only been hunting about 15 minutes. Back up she went and we kept working. We got a couple more slips but no luck on them. I hit a brush pile that produced about 10 voles and Katana did get one of those. She finished that off in one bite. We ended with a couple more slips, but no more in the bag. Kylie had been wondering if Kat would even go for rats, and I think today we proved that she would. It was not a bunny triple, but a triple none the less. Kills #12,13,and 14.

TOD Mini Meet and Wild Game Cook Out

This was a great weekend! A large group started the day at Whataburger at 7:00am Sat morning to meet for a day of hawking and good eats. First to fly was Noel's bird, Joe, who was a little fat and unresponsive. We then flew Tom's Harris' Hawk, Maya. Maya chased a rabbit into a brush pile and buried herself deep. Sheldon crawled over the top and into the pile to pull her out and we continued hawking. After putting Maya back up again, she immediately returned to the pile again. When Sheldon crawled back in we learned that she had killed a rabbit deep in the middle. Pulling Maya and the rabbit out, we had our first kill for the day! We then flew Harley (who had her first bunny triple on Friday!) with Dr. Moore's dog, Bone Head. Harley didn't seem to take well to having the dog in the field, and didn't fly at the rabbits we flushed. On one flush, Harley got a hold of it and it got away, then Noel kicked it, and it was finally chased down and retrieve by Bone Head! It was an exciting display of team work. We then went to another field and flew Katana. She had a couple of chases before taking a long flight off a pole, right past Sheldon with a video camera, and got her rabbit. Sheldon caught the amazing flight on video and she barrelled towards him! Onward to another field where we flew a cast of 4 Harris' Hawks. Sheldon noticed this area of field we were at previously, but had never hunted. His intuitions we correct, and Joe scored 2 rabbits and Maya scored one. After that it was Cheyne's bird, Bullzeye's turn. Bullzeye's weight was a little low, but he managed to get ahold of a rabbit in the same field. Cheyne allowed him to crop up on the rabbit, and we carried on. We then flew Veuka, who had the opposite problem. Veruka was fat, and though she flew at a couple of rabbits, her response was weak. We then tried to cast Harley and Katana one more time. They started out okay, but then decided to start crabbing. We put Katana away and continued to fly Harley with no luck.

Saturday night we all met at the hideout for drinking and wild game. Everyone brought a dish from Venison Chili to Duck and Wild Mushroom Gumbo. While I ate a steak, everyone else stuffed themselves sill on all the food. It was a great time with great friends, even though I went to bed early.

Sunday, we started a little later. Katana flew well, flying close. She stooped out of a tree and caught bunny #11! We never saw the rabbit until she had it, but she was in perfect position for the kill. We then flew Harley. Sitting on the top of a building she was nailed by another Red Tail, stooping out of the sky. I think that shook her up a little, as her response faltered after that. Harley, who is usually in perfect position and follows beautifully, was lagging behind a little. The next thing we knew, she chased something a long way (not sure what) and was gone. About an hour later, and perhaps a mile, we finally found her. That ended the day of hunting for us, and we were all exhausted.

On my own!!!

Today after work, Katana and I set out to our favorite field. At 955 grams I was sure that she was anxious to hunt. My feelings were correct and she followed beautifully, taking perches ahead of me as I beat the brush. She flew after 2 rabbits that I flushed with no success. She chased the 3rd one twice, as it kept putting up in the brush. On the 3rd flush the rabbit made the mistake of running into an open area. Katana flew off the tree she was perched on overhead the rabbit, and nailed it with a sweet wingover. For the first time hunting on my own, I heard the rabbit scream and I knew that she was successful. I traded her off the kill and I think that it gets easier with every rabbit. She pouted for a few minutes, then put up in a tree to continue hunting. Working my way back to the car, I flushed 2 rabbits at once, and once she finally decided which one to chase, she followed it to the far side of the field. She reflushed it herself twice, as I was still running toward her, but it got away.
I called her to the lure for a quail, feeding her up for a couple of days off before the weekend. What a fantastic day! Bunny #9 for the season in the bag!

Fat Bird in a Little Coat

www.youtube.com/watch?v=E8x9A0pU5zA

I weighed the Kat when I got home this morning and she was a whopping 1020 grams. I was waiting on the glass dude (see Kylie's previous post) so I was not going to fly her, but Kylie was fairly insistent, and she has a way of getting what she wants. So after the glass dude finally got done I headed out to the field around 10:30 am. Katana followed very well for the first 15-20 minutes and then sat on the same perch for the next hour plus while I worked the field all around her. I finally called it a day around noon and headed back to the car. I called her in to the lure about 250 yards. She landed about 10 feet from the lure and did not move. I tried for the next 2-3 minutes to coax her to come to me. Finally she decided that she was hungry enough to ignore me and stepped over to the lure. I leashed her up and let her finish her meal.

Hunting 3/3 - 3/5

Well, I must say that we had a very eventful weekend, not all good unfortuately.

On Saturday, we all set out and started the day flying Katana. It was pretty windy, and I believe it affected the birds quite a bit because the fields yielded no game taken. Her weight was 955, and she followed beautifully. her fist response remains awesome, and while she entertained us with 7 magnificant flights, we walked away empty handed.
At the end of the day, Krys and I picked up my sponser, Roger, and flew a field by his house. Though we had seen rabbits there in the past, we were unable to put any game under her, though she continued her tradition of following closely.

On Sunday, due to an error in weight management, she flew last. At the end of the day she was 977, and flew fantastically. I was unable to fly her for more than 20 min, because our trucks were broken into. We came back from hunting Cheyne's bird to find the windows broken out of Aaron and Krys's trucks, and quite a bit missing. By the time we finished with the police it was almost dark. She did fly after 3 rabbits, but no such luck.

On Monday I flew Katana for 2 1/2 hours. At 945 grams, her response was great, but I think that her flights could have been a little stronger. We had about 11 chases, but the rabbits kept putting up into thick brush and she just couldn't quite get them. She definately has learned the benefit of staying close, and watched me kick up and reflush over half of the rabbits. Her performance this weekend was fantastic, and I am sure that her next kill is right around the corner!

A Suceesful Yet Unsuccessful Hunt

Due to high winds yesterday, I was skeptical to hunt Katana. Nevertheless, I dressed the lure with a smaller piece of meat in case she decided to soar, and headed out to the field. After turning on her transmitter :), I released her. She immediately caught the wind, missed the first perch she aimed for and landed across the field. Working over to her, I noticed she was paying very close attention to me, instead of self-hunting the other side of the field. I started out following her around the field, and then decided to go the other way. To my surprise, she followed. Not only closely, but she kept moving up as I worked the brush. After about 15 minutes, I kicked up a rabbit which she pursued, but ended up missing because she got tangled in the brush. She obviously realized that I produced the game for her because she then followed even closer, and was taking perches in front of me anticipating my next move. It was incredible! I called her to the fist from the top of the tree, and her response was instant. I was shocked! I had not seen fist response from her in quite a while in the field. We kept working the field, periodically calling her to the fist to re-enforce the behavior, and it was as though she was a different bird! She was in perfect position for the next rabbit I flushed and she took off. She flew out and hovered for a few seconds before folding her wings and diving into the brush. She obviously missed because instantly she came back up, continued flying and crashed again. She did this 4 times on the same flush before she lost the rabbit. Her persistence was astounding!She sat on a low tree branch for a minute and when I got close to her she took off - into a soar. I had been expecting this and my first inclination was to pull the lure to call her in. I watched her go up about 500 ft, and then decided to try to call her to the fist. Her fist response had been great all day, so why not? Circling over head, I blew the whistle and held up a tid bit. To my surprise, she started circling closer in, losing altitude with each rotation. As she got lower, she folded her wings and came barreling towards me in a tear drop position. I was in awe. When she was about 15 feet away, she spread her wings again, and landed on the fist. I pulled her from a 500 foot soar to the fist! Wow! We continued hunting for a total of 2 hours, yielding 6 good chases, and her response never faltered. When she tired and quit following, I called her across the field to the lure. Instant response, and she was amply rewarded for her efforts. Although we took no game, it was definitely the most successful flight we have had together. What an awesome day!

Bunny #8

I took Katana out today hunting with Brandi and Michelle. Her weight was 990. She followed pretty well, but was a little far away. She came and landed on a telephone pole right next to us when we flushed a rabbit right under her. She folded up and teardropped straight down crashing onto the rabbit. This was the first and only flush that she needed to score. She transferred off of the rabbit beautifully. We put her up and continued hunting Harley. We flew Harley for about a hour, flushing several rabbits for her. She finally took off and caught her rabbit, a flight no one saw until we heard the crash and the rabbit screams. We transferred her off the rabbit and continued hunting on the way back to the car.
Another successful day of hunting!

Another day...

So on Monday 2/26, Brandi and I set out for another day of hawking. Katana was a little low: 926 grams, but I figured I would fly her any way. We decided to try to cast Katana and Harley again, as Katana's hunting had improved. It started out well, they both flew to different perches and we paying attention to us. That was short lived. If Katana flew to a new perch, Harley would come and knock her off, and vice versa. We had to break them up severl times. When they were up together, we only had one rabbit flight. Katana had a rabbit run directly under the tower she was on and she folded up and dropped straight down. Unfortunatly, she hit her wing on the tower, causing her to miss. After a couple more crabbing incidents, we separated the two and put Katana in the car.
We continued to fly Harley, giving her a few good slips with excellent chases. She got a hold of one rabbit by the back leg,but could not hold on to it and it got away. After working one side of the field we put her up and brought Katana back out.
Bringing Katana out, it was now apparant that her flight was too low. She took very low perches at first, and then decided to perch on the ground. She followed well, hopping along the ground, and her fist response was great: coming to the fist when called for a tidbit. She did perch in a tree twice, and gave two rabbit chases. Her flights were not as strong as I am used to, so I called her to the lure and ended the hunt.
Even though no game was taken, it was a great day of hawking! We are going to start perching the 2 together again, and then try casting them once more.

My first double!!

Due to high winds this weekend, we were only able to hunt on Sunday. We were blessed with a beautiful day, though quite warm. Katana was first to fly, and she started out very strong. She was following well, although still scanning the other side of the field from where we were. The first rabbit she chased was a long flight, and I think that she became tangled in the brush allowing it to escape. The second rabbit was a magnificant flight, long and strong, ending in a beautiful wing over. As always when we made in she had the rabbit by the head. Only 20 minutes into the hunt, we decided to transfer her off to a tid bit and coninue hunting. After releasing her she decided to do a little soaring. We watched her circle higher and higher, to about 1200 feet before calling her in to the lure.

About 30 minutes later, Katana took flight over bunny #3 for the day. We all watched as she flew further away, until she crashed again. It took us a while to find her, but she was patiently waiting on her rabbit. I transferred her off for a rabbit leg, bagging my first double!

What a fantastic day!

All alone...

On Wed 2/21 I set out to hunt Katana by myself for the first time. I must say, it gave me a deep appreciation of having friends in the field. With Katana's flight style of long chases, I was exhausted. She gave 8 good chases, including one chase that included 3 flights on the same rabbit. Her persistance is amazing! Unfortunately, at the end of the day we came up empty handed. She flew a long way to the lure, and I think she was happy to return to her box after a nice meal. We'll get 'em next time!

Bunny #5

On Tues 2/20, Krys headed out to hunt Katana. 15 minutes into the field, he kicked up a rabbit. From what I am told, she flew out over the rabbit, and then hovered above it before diving in for the kill. Krys immediately ran over and transferred her off of the rabbit. The transfer went well, and he traded her for tidbits to continue flying her. Unfortunately, when he reached to put the rabbit in his game bag, he discovered that it was gone. Hmmmm......
He continued to fly her for 1 1/2 hours until she was so tired she was taking perches on the ground. Thanks for flying her Krys!

Bunny #4

I know there is a hole in the blogging, but technical errors took down my blog. So....
Due to my hectic schedule that has prevented hunting during the week, and also a little falconry withdrawal on Krys's part, Krys has been helping me hunt Katana.
On Sunday 2/18 the TODs headed out a hunting. This would be the first time that Krys would hunt Katana, and I wanted to be in the field. I must admit that it was a little difficult watching him hunt her, even though I have the upmost respect for him as a falconer. Katana has started taking long flights, and flying clear to the other side of the field we are hunting to chase game. This Sunday was no exception. After a couple of long flights and chasing her around the field, she perched on a telephone pole watching. Not neccesarily watching us, mind you, which she made apparant as she ignored 2 rabbits we flushed right under her. I must say it was entertaining to watch Krys try to call her to the glove. She ignores me when I try, so I am not sure why he thought it would be any different. :) We were about to lure her in when she took off in pursuit to the other side of the field. A long flight and intense wing over later, and she nailed it. Krys and I took off running, across the railroad tracks to where she went down. We found her beneath the tree on top of a rabbit. I then had to retrace my steps back to the tracks where I fell, losing part of Krys's camera lense (sorry, Krys!!) All was fine though, and no major damage was done. She trasferred of the kill beautifully, with us allowing her the head as a reward.

Falling In Love...

Well, I must admit, my first falconry season began with a rocky start. I set forth on September 30th to trap my bird, excitement in the air. Little did I know the journey would prove long, with days turning to months in search of a passage female. Never a dull moment, we trapped light morphs, dark morphs, a Krider’s hawk, a rufous morph, and even a red shoulder hawk, but none were what I was searching for.
Our excitement mounted October 28th, when I spotted a large dark morph on a pole south of Gainsville. Placing the trap in the perfect position, we drove back to wait. That is what trapping is, in fact, waiting. All of a sudden the bird flew off. Curious, we went over to the trap and there was a man standing over the BC with a pocket knife in hand. He had release our gerbil. What?!? He mentions he thought we left it there. Of course, that gerbil would do just fine in the wild (yeah, right!) Disheartened, we left the gerbil-liberator and carried on our way. I later trapped the bird and had to release it, as it was a second year bird with an incomplete molt. That, my friends, is an entirely different story all together.
On November 13th, I drove to Benbrook to trap a confirmed passage female. Pulling out the scope, excitement ran in my veins yet again. I placed the trap in an excellent spot, drove to a nearby parking lot and waited. With the scope on the bird, I watched her bend and look, obviously interested in the prospect of her next meal. All of a sudden, she quick looking. Swinging the scope to the left I began to search for the trap. A search that would prove endless, as it was never found. Perhaps a nearby passer picked it up, perhaps a coyote, but nevertheless, it was gone. Sorry, Sheldon – it will be replaced.
On Thanksgiving weekend, though, on a weekend trip to Kansas, the desperate search reached an end. 212 hours, about 8,000 miles, and 10 passage males later, I found her. Katana is my dark morph red tail female, and I cannot express the sigh of relief that escaped my lips at the sight of her. Of course the adventure was just beginning…
Katana would not eat. For 8 days in fact. Then she would not hop to the glove. For another 25 days. On Christmas day, she hopped to the glove, and was on the creance 2 short days later. Twenty days later, 7 weeks off the trap, I released Katana for the first time at the THA meet in Abilene. Not knowing if she would return to me, I was scared. I called her to the fist and her hesitation put a knot in my throat. A couple hours later (okay, maybe it was only a couple of minutes) she came back to the fist. Time to hunt! We kicked up a rabbit, as she crashed the brush with no hesitation in pursuit. Unfortunately, she and the rabbit jumped a foot upon impact, and she lost hold. A few more rabbit flights later, I called her to the lure to end the hunt. My face was aglow from how well she followed. Ezra, from US Falconry, was stunned that this was her first flight. She flew ahead, stayed close, and took pursuit to all the game we produced. My hard work had paid off.
The Monday after the meet, Brandy, Michelle and I took to some fields in Fort Worth. Game was scarce, and we were only able to kick up two rabbits for her. The first, she pursued in an instant, and even after the first miss she continued to fly it down. She did, once again, get a hold of it, but lost it in the end. The second, we flushed for her twice, and she nailed it. Seeing her go down, I immediately ran to where I thought she was, unable to find her. I thought that I heard muffled rabbit screams and I was right. Tangled in the brush, Katana had both her feet in a rabbit hole, and on the other end – a rabbit clutched in her talons. We had done it! She was amply rewarded for her kill, transferring her off the rabbit to a quail on the lure (after untangling her from the brush.) My first rabbit in my game bag, we headed to the car, to continuing hunting with Brandi’s red-tail, Harley. It was at that moment, I fell in love. I fell in love with falconry and truly respected the awesome power and grace of the raptors. I knew I had a new love in my life, once that could never be matched. Thank you, Brandi and Michelle, for sharing that experience with me.
Now, Brandi and I are hunting together on a regular basis, and flying out passage red-tails in a cast. Last weekend we watched them soar together, and drop out of the sky to return to the lure. Every hunt is a new experience, and I never know what will happen. It keeps getting better and better with every hunt, and I am thankful for all of the great people I have met in the sport.
Thank you, to my sponsor, Roger, for taking a chance on a new apprentice. Thanks to Sheldon, Krys, Aaron, Brandi, Noel and all the TOD’s for your great support when I needed it the most, and allowing me to be part of your family. While it might be dysfunctional, it can never be matched. Happy hunting!

First Free Flight!

Finally on Sat, Jan 13th, 51 days off the trap I let Katana taste freedom! I must admit my nerves were out of control when she left the fist, untethered for the first time. It was even harder when she hesitated for a few minutes after I called her to the fist for the first time. But, she remembered. After looking around, she flew from the top of a tree where she was perched, back to me. After that, the entire hunt was uphill. She followed me around the field as if she were an old pro. Every time I called her to the fist she responded, and was rewarded with a tidbit. A whistle blow from across the field would bring her to another perch in front of us, as if she already knew we were there to help her hunt.
Aaron kicked up a rabbit about 45 minutes into the hunt, and she immediately took persuit. There was no hesitation at all, and she stooped out of the tree landing on top of the rabbit that had the misfortune of running beneath her. Unfortunately, according to Aaron, she hit the rabbit so hard that the two bounced up off the ground about a foot and she lost contact, allowing the rabbit freedom.
We had 4 more close pursuits through out the 2 hour hunt, none proving successful. She did give a good chase with each flush, and was amply rewarded with the lure at the conclusion of the hunt. Her lure response was a little weak, but will only improve in time.
I was told that it was unbelievable this was her first time out, and we all had a great time!!

Introducing Katana

Well, it has been a LONG journey so far. After 212 hours and 8,000 miles, we trapped Katana in Sumner County, Kansas over the Thanksgiving weekend.
While she was a well-mannered Red-Tail from the start, she was stubborn. It took her 8 days to eat, and an even longer 32 days to hop to the glove. She gave me a Merry Christmas by finally hopping on Dec 25th.
Once she hopped, she was Rockin'!! Took her outside to the creance 2 days later, and response was excellent! I gradually increased her distance, moving her to a large field on 12/29. Unfortunately her lure response did not materialize until Jan 9th. I flew her for the last time on the creance on Jan 12th in Abilene, Texas at the Texas Hawking Association Annual Field Meet.