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!
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!
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