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!