Katana

Forever Soaring

2008-11-19T09:11:00.002-06:00

I received the call I have been dreading last night. Dr. Moore kindly went in on his evening off to check on Katana and run some more x-rays. Needless to say, it was Asper and it had taken hold of her pretty badly. By the end of the day she was down to 760 grams and now regurgitating her food. He told me that she was not going to make it, but merely die slowly. I made the very difficult decision to have her put to sleep. I just could not stand to think of her suffering anymore. He assures me that she went peacefully. It still does not make it any easier. I know that we are not supposed to bond with our birds like I have, but I just could not help it. She was an amazing bird. Her artistic aerial flights were unmatched. I will miss her talking to me as I enter the mews. I will miss sitting and watching her preen after a long day of hunting. She will forever remain in my heart and be missed forever.

Update

2008-11-18T10:43:00.002-06:00

I was able to speak with Dr. Moore last night at great lengths about Katana's condition. She is still having trouble breathing and would probably be dead if not for the oxygen that she is on. We discussed her hunting weights from season to season as well as her her performance for this season. Her red blood cell count is fine...this pretty much rules out the mid-winter anemia as originally thought. He has sent off blood work that might give us more answers, but the outcome looks pretty bleak. Basically, we do not know what is wrong. He did say that she is eating and keeping her food down which is great. He personally feeds her golf-ball size amounts of quail which she is digesting just fine. The main problem is the breathing. I know that as soon as she quits eating then it is over, but I will keep my fingers crossed. She is stubborn and hard-headed, one of the things I loved about her the most. I hope that her personality keeps her fighting long enough for Dr. Moore to find out what is causing this. If anyone can, he will. The DFW falconers are truly blessed to have such a knowlegable vet to help us out in times like this.

A Very Sad Day

2008-11-17T09:40:00.003-06:00

This weekend was not a good one. On Friday night, I weighed Katana and she was dead on to hunt the next day at the mini-meet. Problem was, Friday night it got very cold and I did not account for it. The next morning she was 20 grams lower than I have ever had her. Her bate was still strong and she seemed perfectly fine. I immediately fed her 40 grams of food and loaded her up in the car. A few hours later, I pulled her out to fly her. She immedately took off the fist and flew to a low perch. After letting a train pass, we began to work towards her. She then flew off again and landed on the ground. At this point I told everyone that she was done and I was just going to feed her up. I picked her up from the ground and after bating a few times she laid down on my fist. I then tried to get her to eat and she laid on the ground. I was eventually able to get 100 grams of meat into her and carried her out of the field. I took her home and perched her in the living room so I could keep a close eye on her and also because it was still very cold. She started to perk up that evening and had turned her crop so I fed her another 100 grams. The next morning however, I woke up to find her panting heavily and acting lathargic. She also had not turned her crop from the previous evening. Needless to say, I panicked. Noel was able to get ahold of Krys and he took my bird to Dr. Moores. It was unsure if she would make it through the night, but thankfully I received work from Krys this morning that she is doing ok, and even showing small signs of improvement. Hopefully she will eat today, that will make me feel even better. She is not out of the woods yet, but with Krys and Dr. Moore's expertise I know that if anything can be done, it will. I know that I need to tighten up on the weight management and keep a better eye on the weather forcast. Hopefully she will pull out of this and be ok. I will keep hoping...

Bad Blogger

2008-11-11T12:24:00.002-06:00

With my busy schedule, I have neglected my blogging. The past few weeks have been exciting and Katana's flight style is very much different from last year. As usual, her response weight is all over the scale...thanks to good old Texas weather. It can be burning hot one moment and freezing cold the next. Katana is still stooping her prey, but has started mixing in some amazing tail chases. I have never seen her fly down the rabbits as much as she is doing this year, and I must say her success rate is greatly improving. I just love watching her evolve from season to season.
Katana's lure response is improving, and I continue to end each hunt on the lure in the field and not by the car. This is also reintroducing the hood as we leave the field, something that I had neglected last season. She is getting better at this as well, and does not hang her head and sulk anymore.
We have a mini-meet coming up this week and while I am unsure whether I will hunt her with the group or go solo, I plan on doing some marathon hunting to get her in top form for the jack rabbits at the NAFA meet in a few weeks.

Now a Believer

2008-10-20T06:53:00.003-06:00

What an AWESOME week! I must say things started off slowly. I have been trying to find some new fields by my house and have not had much luck as of yet. Katana has gone on many "walks" though in my quest for good fields. Due to this, on Saturday when we went hunting with Sheldon, her following skills were not so great. That combined with the thick cover and sweltering heat makes hunting quite miserable. None the less, we went at it all weekend. I generally try to fly Katana until she are tired, especially on Sunday because she gets Mondays off. Historically this has not been very hard to do right after the molt. This year she is exceptionally strong though. I am converted to a true believer in free lofing during the molt now. Her feathers came out perfect and she came out much stronger.
Katana has always liked taking the long slips, and this weekend was no exception. While the majority of the rabbits were able to make it to thick cover, there were a few that didn't. Katana did not falter in these occasions. I think she also likes making me miserable because she waits until we are headed to the car to take came. By then I am hot and frustrated. In Sheldon's field she took a nice long tail chase which ended in a tumbling skirmish rewarded by a large cottontail at the end. She had a couple of other super flights, including a sweet stoop from out of a large tree mid-field. After taking her rabbit we called it a day, and went to fly Kenny's bird at another field.
Sunday I was determined to fly Katana until she was tired. I judge this by her perch selection as well as her following in the field. Just as the engergizer bunny, she kept going, and going, and going.... The first field I flew her in was very promising. There was rabbit sign everywhere, and I mean everywhere! The cover was still really thick though, and the few rabbits we did flush nearly had to get stepped on before they would flush. Once they did start running it was not long before they disappeared. That is the great disadvantage to beginning the season so early. This field should prove prosperous however, once the cover dies back. It also does not help that we were hunting in the heat of the day. Look at all the weight we sweat off though! On the way home we saw once more field that we wanted to check out. Here, with hit the jackpot. I cannot remember a time when we have flushed more rabbits in a field. The cover was not too bad either. The problem was that they were running in all different directions and Katana did not know where to look! She also has the annoying problem of ignoring everything and everyone when she fixates on something in the field. That is what happened on the first flight. She started looking hard and I moved in to see what it was when the rabbit flushed. It had the misfortune of running right towards Kat in her tree. She took off after in, upwind mind you, and after a hard tail chase I heard the familiar rabbit cries. Just like last year I walked over to her, as I am determined not to run, and made in. I had decided earlier in the day not to feed her up as I needed to cast her to change her anklets when we got home. She did get a nice step off piece and I decided to hunt her back to the car. She flew up into a tree and roused so I knew she was good to go. We started walking back to the car and immediately flushed another rabbit. She took chase but it made it to cover before she could get there. Not I am excited, so we keep hunting a little more. No much longer, she takes off to the other side of the field, in hard pursuit. It was a LONG flight, and she ended up pretty far away. After seeing her drop behind the tree that was blocking our view, I started running. I had no idea what she was chasing, but know what I was hoping for. :) There she was, on the very edge of the field, proudly sitting on another rabbit. She had complete control of it and was patiently waiting her reward. She stepped of beautifully once again to the lure and we definitely called it a day now. I am going to be very careful with this field and do not was to overhunt it to extintion like several of the others. We walked back to the car with rabbit number two in the bag and ended an awesome weekend.
Katana's flight style, as of yet, had changed dramatically from the last two seasons. She has always gained her strength from height, stooping from the sky to catch her prey. All of the rabbits she has taken this year have been from tailchases. It is interesting to see how she evolves as the season progresses. She is definitely handling the rabbits with more ease when she gets them as well. Hopefully this will transfer over when we begin hunting jack rabbits.
Katana also has new anklets equipped with some sparly bling. Her dark color makes me lose her in the trees, and after borrowing Kenny's anklets I decided to change mine. When the sun hits the jewels it is amazing how much easier it is to find her. I also like the design of the anklets much better and probably won't go back. Will post some pictures soon, as I plan on taking my camera out in the next couple of hunts.

My Mistake

2008-10-08T06:55:00.003-06:00

After cropping Katana up on Sunday, she should not have needed to eat until yesterday. That was true of last season anyway. I came home last night and weighed Katana, and I am ashamed to say that she was down to 850 grams. She has NEVER been that low, and I was scared. She was acting fine, very alert and still bated but nonetheless I was concerned. I imeediately perched her in the living room and fed her a plucked quail. I did not fully crop her up, but gave her about 100 grams. I left her in the living room for a bit after she ate, and she seemed to be doing fine. I put her in the box for the night to keep her calm, and it is also getting quite chilly in the evenings. I weighed her again this morning and she is up to 895 grams but I brought her to work anyway. She still had a little food in her crop, so I will feed her some more in a few hours. She is staying in the box until I get her weight back up, and then I will put her back in the mews. I learned a valuable lesson last night - never to take anything for granted. Her metabolism is obviously quicker than last season, and I must keep an eye on her weight more closey. Lesson learned, and thankfully everything worked out ok. Whew!

Awesome weekend!

2008-10-06T10:03:00.002-06:00

What a fantastic weekend! We started out hunting after work on Friday, and kept on going through til Sunday night. Noel and I are trying to find some new fields closer to work and along our carpool route, so that is what we did. The first field we went to had a very large pole right in the center. I was exstatic when Katana chose to perch there. I knew that if we kicked anything up not only would she see it, but the flight would be amazing. Alas, we were unable to produce any game, even with Deacon running around like he was on fire. Needless to say, it was HOT. We headed to the bar to have a brew and wait for the weather to cool. We hit one more new field on Friday, and came up again empty handed. She did follow well though, and her perch selection was good. 900 grams
Saturday, I took her to a couple of fields. She had some great chases, the cover is just really thick. She did come barreling out of a tree to grab a large rat, so she has officially taken her first head of game for the season. 890 grams
On Sunday, I flew her even longer. We hit 3 different fields and her following and perch selection is gradually getting better. She had some very close chases, as well as some really long ones. In the last field on the way to the car she stooped of a high pole to slam a rabbit. I heard the all too forgotten cries as I made my way towards her. Continuing my methods from last year, I did not run. Again the thought behind it is that she will never be able to handle a jack if she can't keep control of a cottontail. I am assuming that she was exhausted at this point, and unfortunately the rabbit got away just as I was nearing. Does not matter though, we had an excellent weekend and I look forward to flying her again. 895 grams

Hotter that Hot!

2008-09-29T08:55:00.003-06:00

The falconry itch caught me 2 weekends ago....when it was cool. This weekend was true to Texas weather, a blistering 90+ degrees when we set out to hunt. We set out to one of our favorite fields from last year, and all I can say was wow. The cover was so thick, that we could not even fing the brush piles. I released Katana, and she immediately perched in a low nearby tree. We worksed the area beneath her and continued on towards the brush piles. It took her a few moments to follow, but she then took to the wing and began flying circles overhead. It almost seemed like she was remembering how to fly, and after a few moments she settled ahead of us into a tall tree. We worked the area and finally kicked up a rabbit. It immediately took off across the open field and Katana followed in hot pursuit. She flew long and hard but the rabbit made cover before she closed the gap. I did get to hear the familiar crash that I have grown to love. She got back up and settled over head once again, and followed us relatively well as we continued working beneath her. She had 2 more flights, probably rats, as she crashed the brush once again. After about half and hour, I called her to the lure and she was amply rewarded for her efforts on the first hunt of the season. By then we were all melting, as the heat was pounding down upon us. I am very happy with her performance, and hope this will be a great forshadow of the upcoming season! Weight 945 grams

So much closer...

2008-09-25T13:47:00.002-06:00

Due to the fact that school keeps me out past dark, I have to work Katana in the house on most weekday evenings. I came home and immediately perched her in the living room for about an hour while I did some homework, and then I set her up to do some jumps ups. This time there was no hesitation, and her response was immediate everytime. We did about 25 jump ups before I pulled the lure, and she immediately came to it. I had her tethered on a long leash in the house as I don't want to run the risk of her flying free and hurting herself. The lure flight was a short one due to this, but I think that she is definitely remembering the game. I will put her back outside on the creance on Friday, with hopes to take her to the field Sunday. I know that her hunts will start short (especially after learning my lesson from last year!) but I will be happy to get her back in the air for some excercise.
Weight: 995 grams

Moving outside

2008-09-22T17:11:00.002-06:00

On Friday, I can home from work a little early, so I had plenty of time to get Katana acclimated to the living room. I set up a perch for her to sit on for a few hours, and when she finally calmed down we tried some jumps ups. At first, she stared at me like I was crazy, but after the first jump the light bulb went off in her head. Her response became instant, and I could tell it was all coming back to her. The lure response at the end way iffy, but she still jumps to it 5 feet away. All in all I must say her performance was good for this early on. She is also still a little fat.
Sunday, I went ahead and moved her outside on the creance. I only set up a 20 feet line, as I did not want to push her at the higher weight. Again, she was hesitant at first, but her response got better with each flight. There was also a lot of surounding noise and distraction, so I think where I creanced her worked out great. Her lure response at the end of the session was instant, but I use the term response very loosely. I think I work my little girl out, considering she immediately ran to the lure when called. We are getting closer to her weight, and I hope to have her out in the field by next weekend. Weight today was 1030 grams.

Getting There

2008-09-16T06:17:00.002-06:00

I took Katana out of the mews this evening, and after chasing her down I decided to weigh her. She is losing weight nicely, down to 1170 grams. I went ahead and switched out her perma-stiff jesses, lol and will change her anklets this weekend. On Sunday when I went to check on her, she had pulled her transmitter from her back pack and unscrewed the top. I finally found if after 10 minutes of crawling around in the pea gravel, and will replace the antenna this weekend as well. She is still pretty mean, but by the end of the week we will begin jump-ups and she will once again return to earning her food. As the weather cools, I am very anxious to get out there. I should hopefully have her going in the next 2-3 weeks, as I want to get her back into shape and drop her weight slowly.

My Little Piggy

2008-09-09T16:43:00.002-06:00

This past weekend I counted Katana's feathers and it would appear that her molt is coming to an end. So now begins the long journey of trading the fat for muscle using a well regimented routine of diet and exercise. She definitely has a large amount of weight to gain, so I am going to begin dropping her slowly as the last few feathers push their way in. As fat as she is, she will still be fat as the feathers finally pen. Once the feathers are in, we will begin jump-ups to get her back into flying shape. I plan on taking my time, as it is still extremely hot and Katana has not performed as well in heat during past hunts.
She completed her molt in her new mews and the transistion went very smoothly. She continued her molt with no regard to the change of scenery, something I am very happy of. My English Pointers were just fixed and as soon as they recover from the surgery, I plan to look for some new fields in my part of town as well as close to work.
I am grow very excited as the upcoming season draws near....I guess it is time to go get my new hunting license in preparation!

End of the Season

2008-04-06T19:47:00.002-06:00

It is officially over. I took Katana out yesterday and hunted 2 different fields. She had some awesome flights and took 2 rabbits. Today it was very hot, so I only hunted 1 field from which she took a rabbit and a rat. I had every intention of marathon hunting her today, but I just could not stand the heat. I fed her up until she could eat no more, and she is sitting in the garage fat and happy. I will put her in the mews soon, but it was so hot I did not want to risk sour crop.
It was a great season, and I can't wait until she finished molting! I just know that she will add a jack rabbit and pheasant to her game bag next year, and look forward to seeing how she molts out.
49 rabbits, 5 snakes, 2 grasshoppers, 3 frogs, 11 mice, 14 rats, 1 crawfish

That time of the season

2008-04-03T16:21:00.002-06:00

Well, it is getting hotter and the rabbits are getting scarce. Let me add that when I woke yesterday I checked on Katana and found a nice plastic casting. Luckily she has had no ill effects from Wednesday's escapade.
I took her out yesterday to 3 different fields and it was tough finding game. The first field gave us nothing. In the second field she took a rat from her perch atop a building. She was following really well, so when the first rabbit broke she was in position for hot pursuit. After a beautiful flight, she nailed it. We kept on hawking with a few more slips, but that was it. I then took her to another field that we have never tried. It was close to a good field, so I figured - what the hey? No only were there no rabbits to be found, but no sign either. We did flip some rocks and boards (on the hints given by the puppies :) and she ended up taken 4 rats and a mouse. Not a bad day, but I wish we could have found more rabbits.
Today we hit 2 different fields. The first one gave us nothing. Well, I take that back - no rabbits. She did leave the top of a 3 story building to take a large frog which I allowed her to eat. We hit one more quick field that gave us one slip. She got very close and was in great position, but got hung up in the brush as the rabbit got away.
The end of the season is near - game is scarce and it is getting to hot to hunt. Sunday will be her last day before the molt, and I will fly her a bunch this weekend.
46 rabbits, 5 snakes, 2 grasshoppers, 3 frogs, 11 mice, 13 rats, 1 crawfish

Another Lesson Learned

2008-04-01T14:12:00.002-06:00

What a rotten day! I took Katana to 2 fields, and though her weight was dead-on and she followed great, we only saw 2 rabbits. The first one she flew hard but missed and the second kicked up when she was down on the ground.
At the end of the hunt, I always go to the car, put my beating stick up, and add a big chunk of meat to the lure. I do all this in the back of the SUV with the tailgate open. Today, as I did this, she was sitting in a tree on the other side of the field. I thought that I was blocking her view but I guess that I was wrong. Despite the fact that I have done this all season with no problem, today was the exception. As I was tying the piece of meat to the lure, I feel a quick gust of air and turned to see Katana leaving the area with the bag of tid bits and transfer pieces. Next thing I know, she was gone. This started my first solo telemetry chase and 10 minutes later I found her hunkered down in the tall grass. By this time she had eaten everything, and I can only assume this included the plastic baggie. When she spotted me she headed to a tree and I immediately called her to the garnished lure. I spoke to my sponsor and he said that she should cast up the baggie and be fine, but I will ask Krys's opinion when he wakes up in a few hours.
I learned the hard way not to take routine for granted, and Katana is much smarted than I give her credit for! Needless to say, this ended the hunt sooner than I planned and we walked away empty handed. At least I have my bird back....and a little piece of new wisdom!
45 rabbits, 5 snakes, 2 grasshoppers, 2 frogs, 10 mice, 9 rats, 1 crawfish

Awesome weekend!

2008-03-30T20:05:00.002-06:00

Katana had a great weekend! On Saturday we hunted 2 different fields. The first one she had 3 spectacular flights in, but was trying to get the rabbits from behind instead of above and kept getting hung up in the broom weed. She did take 3 rats in this field which she transferred off of nicely and did not carry (thank goodness!!) The second field we flushed a rabbit out of a large brush pile that made the mistake of heading straight out into the open. Katana narrowed in quickly from her vantage point in a nearby tree and slammed the rabbit with some gusto. She also pulled 3 small mice out of this field. Today we hit 3 different fields. In the first field she had some spectacular chases, but the cover was so thick that she lost sight of the rabbits before making in on them. In the second field, she took a nice high perch atop a building and slammed through some thick cover to snag a rat. Other than that we did not see much. The last field she took 3 mice and a large rabbit just as it tried to make into a brush pile. We also took our 3 mos English Pointers out hunting with her this weekend, and they did great. They stayed close to me the entire time and also showed Krys there was a rat hiding under a rock. They are going to work out great and can't wait to see them in action next season!
45 rabbits, 5 snakes, 2 grasshoppers, 2 frogs, 10 mice, 9 rats, 1 crawfish

My little carrier...

2008-03-28T20:32:00.002-06:00

I took Katana to a new field today. We kicked up 2 rabbits right off the bat, but she was not following well enough to get a good chase on them. She tried though. Perhaps it is because I ruined her rhythm when Krys and I did a demo at Belle's school. I let her go with the plan of calling her back it to the fist a few times, and then the lure. Unfortunately, she booked it to the nearby woods and declared it hunting time. I eventually got her to come back to the lure, but it took a lot of persuasion. I think this is why she was stubborn in the field today. Needless to say, on the way back to the car Krys flipped aboard and kicked up a rat. Katana came in and grabbed it. As I made in to transfer her off she took off with it into a nearby tree. This is the first time that she has ever carried, but usually her prey is too large for her to take. When she was done she came to the lure about 100 grams heavier, so we called it a day. I think that I will stick to rabbits and not flip any rat boards for her in the future, not unless I am done hunting for the day.
42 rabbits, 5 snakes, 2 grasshoppers, 2 frogs, 4 mice, 5 rats, 1 crawfish

Ultimate Crash

2008-03-27T15:22:00.002-06:00

We took Katana out in the heat of the day today, and it is official: Summer is here. It was HOT! Needless to say, we only flew her at one field and only saw 3 rabbits. She was getting dive bombed by some nesting crows and the cover was very thick - both strikes against her. She was perched high in a tree as Krys and I worked the area, and the second rabbit up ran through the brush and under a tree. I thought there was no way she could have gotten it after hearing the familiar crashing sound in the brush, but I was wrong. Krys and I found her underneath a bush and I could not see how exactly she got there. We had to crash our way in and pull her out, but she had a firm grip on the rabbit and was not letting go. We worked our way back to the field and then I fed her up on the lure. It was hot and miserable and we were done. I brought her home and sprayed her down, the weather forcast for tomorrow predicts cooler weather. I hope it is right!
42 rabbits, 5 snakes, 2 grasshoppers, 2 frogs, 4 mice, 4 rats, 1 crawfish

Best Flight of the Season

2008-03-26T20:32:00.002-06:00

WOW!! Is all I can say. I took Katana to a field that we have not hunted much this year with thick cover and rough terrain. We started out not kicking much up, but had the occasional brush crash at unknown prey (probably rabbit). Today was very windy, weather guy said gusts up to 25 mph but I knew Katana was strong and could take it. The first rabbit that she got got away, probably due to dull talons which I sharpened tonight. The second was was the most spectacular flight I have ever seen her do. She was following great and taking some super perches. Upon moving up in the field she caught the wind and began to soar overhead of us. She has done this a few times before, but I have never been able to kick up any game for her when she is soaring. Today was different. Krys and I started running like crazy while she was overhead. I hear Krys yell, "ho, Ho, HO!!" and immediately turned around just in time to see Katana about 100 feet overhead fold up and barrel straight down. She crashed right in front of Krys who immediately started yelling, "Yes! Did you see that?!?!" YES!" She had gotten the rabbit. I think at this point I was still standing there with my jaw dropped. It was a perfect tear drop right onto the rabbit. There are really no words that I can use to give it justice, but I am sure she is not the only red tail to do this and for those who have seen it - WOW. I transferred her off and we started walking back to the car. She had another awesome brush crashing flight on the way to snag rabbit number 2 for the day. Today was one of those great hawking firsts that remain with you forever. I hope to get her soar hawking more often for her awesome power when she dives is what falconry is all about.
41 rabbits, 5 snakes, 2 grasshoppers, 2 frogs, 4 mice, 4 rats, 1 crawfish

In the Reeds

2008-03-24T18:58:00.002-06:00

I took Katana first to a small field that usually has a few rabbits in it. While she followed expertly, I was only able to kick up one rabbit for her...she did chase it, but ended up crashing in some very deep cover as the rabbit made its escape.
After Belle got out of school and finished her homework, we headed to another field in the area. This field is thick with marshy reeds, a feature that holds Katana's attention strongly. Today was no exception. While the reeds are full of rabbits, getting them to flush in a huntable way is a different story. Katana took an incredible perch atop an A-Frame tower where it was clear that she soulc probably see for miles. She fixated on the reeds below and I would try to flush under her gaze. After a few hard crashes, a rabbit made the mistake of running in the less dense area and Katana folded up and slammed the reeds to grab it. She was so far buried under the marshy mess that it took me a moment to find her. It was the familiar screaming of the rabbit that gave up her wherabouts. We then worked our way out of the field, and stopped only long enough to watch Katana stoop out of a tree to snag a mouse, which she promptly ate. I fed her up again today, but her metabolism has been so crazy she will probably be at weight again tomorrow. This was the case today after I had fed her 200 grams yesterday. I am trying to feed her up and give her a day off, but if she decides to burn and happens to be at weight, I will take her out flying. Even after the 8 hours total hunting over the weekend, she still shows no signs of fatigue and her performance is stronger and better than ever.
39 rabbits, 5 snakes, 2 grasshoppers, 2 frogs, 4 mice, 4 rats, 1 crawfish

Can't Wear Her Out!!!

2008-03-23T15:37:00.003-06:00

I try to take Katana out marathon hawking at least once a week, and today was that day. We started at one of her old time favorite fields. Right out of the car she perched on the building, which is rare for her. Usually I can't get her up there even if I try! Awesome! She then soared overhead about 50 feet up, circling Krys and I waiting for a slip. Unfortunately, none came up. She then landed on a telephone pole above the marshy reeds. There are always a lot of rabbits in that area, but getting them to flush is a different story. Krys and I worked under her, and still nothing. We tried to move on to a different part of the field and Katana held her perch. I tried to call her to the lure...nothing. Krys said she was acting like she didn't want to play ball, but I told him she must be fixated on something. Turns out, I know my girl. While we were standing there arguing Katana dove of the pole to snag a rabbit. Got the Easter Bunny! This was the first rabbit that we had seen, and obviously Katana was not going to give up until it flushed. We started walking back to the car, working the field as we went. We kicked up several rabbits across the railroad tracks but they ran into the wind and she didn't get them. As we paused for a train, Katana took off over the train and to the far side of the field and went down. We had to wait for the train to pass, and then we started making our way to where she went down. She had not come up yet, so this meant that she probably had something. I figured by the time that we found her she would have a nice crop, but I was wrong. We found her clear on the other side of the field waiting patiently on top of rabbit #2 for the day - the Easter Bunny's Brother :). The transfer off of this one did not go smoothly, as she had been hanging on to it for a while and did not want to let it go. She did though, and we went back to the car kicking up one more quick miss on the way. I then took Katana to 2 more fields, thick with heavy brush. I know how much she likes to crash, and crash she did...and crash....and crash..... She did not get any more bunnies, but each flight was more spectacular than the last. The more she missed, the harder she crashed. I can usually tell when she is getting tired, as her perch selection gets lower. Not today. I flew her for around 4 hours, and her perch selection never faltered. She always picked the highest branch in the highest tree. I finally gave up on wearing her out, as I had only succeeded in wearing myself out. What a great day of hawking. Why does she have to peak at the top of her performance at the END of the season?? Hopefully it will be a foreshadow of things to come for next year. :)
38 rabbits, 5 snakes, 2 grasshoppers, 2 frogs, 3 mice, 4 rats, 1 crawfish

Getting Hotter

2008-03-22T17:32:00.002-06:00

I took Katana for a quick hunt yesterday, even though her weight was a little high. She had some great flights but did not connect, and her following was definitely a little poor due to the higher weight. It was a quick hunt just before dark but I was able to at least get her out for some exercise.
Today we met early and flew Krys's Harris' Hawk. After he left to go to sleep (he worked last night) Noel and I took Katana to 3 fields. In the first field she did well, but was getting dive bombed by 4 crows in the area. She had some strong flights, but the crows were relentless and refused to leave her alone so we moved on. In the next field, we did not see much. I turned my back at one point and when I looked up she was gone. I found her on the ground close to the perch she was on atop a large half-eaten rat. I transfered her off and we kept going. Noel flushed a rabbit that she chased and pulled off as it put in under a tree. She did get in on the reflush although I did not see the flight as I was on the other side of the tree. I put her up for a bit to hunt Noel's bird, and then closer to dark we hunted one last field. The field was super thick to the point that she did not stand a chance on any rabbit that was flushed. She flew very hard and despite not having bells on I always knew where she was by the distinct crash she made on every flight. I called her in to the lure and fed her and then we called it a day. Tomorrow we will go out looking for the Easter Bunny!

36 rabbits, 5 snakes, 2 grasshoppers, 2 frogs, 3 mice, 4 rats, 1 crawfish

I'll perch where I want to, thank you

2008-03-20T21:00:00.003-06:00

I had planned on hunting all week long over Spring Break, but Mother Nature decided not to cooperate. On Monday, it was very windy and after flying Katana so hard on Sunday I decided not to hunt her. Tuesday....it poured to say the very least. I did take her out on Wednesday, and the nice soggy ground made for muddy hunting. She did catch herself another snake though...yea.
Today I had the whole day to hunt, so I hunted her until she could not take a decent perch. I started in a field that is thick with rabbits, one I had not hunted her in before. There we no trees to perch in, only light poles. Katana said, "Nope." She decided that she would rather perch on the ground than to get on the light poles, which is a shame because we busted tons of rabbits. She did have some flights off the fist, but the cover was so thick that she did not stand a chance with out the height advantage the light poles would have yielded her. Sigh. That is my girl, stubborn as ever. I took her to another field and she had 2 fantastic brush crashing kills through the trees to add 2 more rabbits to her total. She also gracefully swooped down to scoop up a mouse that she promptly ate. How rude. I flew her for about 3 hours today, and she remained steadfast until the end, even as the wind grew stronger. I fed her up nicely, and she is sleeping in the mew now satisfied with her baseball sized crop. I have to go paint some rooms in a friends house tomorrow, so we will hunt again on Saturday.
35 rabbits, 5 snakes, 2 grasshoppers, 2 frogs, 3 mice, 3 rats, 1 crawfish

Wild Game Cook Out

2008-03-16T09:29:00.002-06:00

What a fantastic weekend (so far :))! This weekend was our 3rd annual TOD Wild Game Cook Out. It all started on Friday when Paul Moore came into town with his Harris' Hawks. We took to the field and it was not long before his male caught a rabbit, followed by his female catching her first rabbit of the season! They both followed that up by each catching a frog and finishing the hunt with a bath in the field. As soon as we finished up, Lynne Holder arrived with her passage Red Tail Artemis. We hit the field across the street and her bird hit the first rabbit up from a beautiful stoop off the tower. #3 for her for the season! I had Katana with me and day light was fading but I put her up to let her fly and feed her. I did not expect to even kick something up, but I did and she got it on the second flush. It was a nice brush crash ending in success.
Saturday morning we all met at 7am for a full day of hunting. Man, am I tired. We flew Noel's Harris to catch a duck, Chuck's Red Tail to catch 2 rabbits, Lynne's Red Tail, Kenny's Red Tail, Kurt's Harris' to take 2 rabbits and Ed flown by Brandi soon to be Krys' new Harris to catch a rat. Katana flew twice and successfully took two more rabbits with fairly straight on flights which was great for her. Those are the ones that she usually misses. She did perform one fantastic stoop for us that ended in a miss, but was as beautiful for ever. When all was said and done and the light was leaving us, Chuck and Kurt took to the field one last time to hunt Chuck's Red Tail and he took even a third rabbit. He has trouble finding rabbits near him and definitely took this weekend to his advantage. We all retired to the Hideout for beer, friends and food and ended with a fantastic evening. What a blast! Spring Break has also just begun, and we are headed back out to the field again in a few hours with Noel and Brandi! It is still going....
33 rabbits, 4 snakes, 2 grasshoppers, 2 frogs, 2 mice, 3 rats, 1 crawfish

That time of year again :(

2008-03-13T15:37:00.002-06:00

Let me preface this be emphasizing again - I HATE SNAKES! Katana, however, loves them.
I am getting ahead of myself though. Today we flew 2 of our regular fields. As we entered the first field, we did not see anything at first. After a bit, we finally kicked up a rabbit which narrowly escaped Katana as it made cover. It was not as lucky the second time around, as Katana grabbed it cleanly by the head at the reflush. Yeah! #30 for the season! We kept on hawking until Belle called and said that we had to pick her up an hour earlier than planned, so we left the field. We picked her up and headed to a field closer to the house. A couple of rabbits flushed, but none satayed out in the open long enough for Katana to get from her high vantage point in the overhead tree. As I was heading to the car, she flew down and it seemed that she had landed on the ground. She usually does this when she does not like the perch options available to her. Not this time. Krys walked over and she was wrestling with a 3 foot Grey Rat snake. Krys tried to get me to transfer her off, but it still makes my skin crawl to think of it. Fortunately for me, he has been there for every one of her snake catches, and this was no exception. After making fun of me excessively, he did the dirty deed. I do know that it is only a matter of time before she will catch one with only me around, but until then I will let Krys take care of it.

30 rabbits, 4 snakes, 2 grasshoppers, 2 frogs, 2 mice, 3 rats, 1 crawfish

Awesome Day!

2008-03-12T16:05:00.002-06:00

I took Katana out to a new field today, recommended by a fellow falconer. The field consists mainly of tall grass and huge brush and trash piles. It was hard to get rabbits out of them, but I did get a few good slips. I have started noticing that Katana has a difficult time with the wide open slips, but does great when she has to crash brush. Needless to say, she missed a couple of open ones, but had an awesome stoop into thick brush to catch her first bunny. I transferred her off and we started working our way to the car. She is following well, and flying hard at everything we kick up. Under a board Krys found a rat that she immediately grabbed for her second kill of the day.
We headed across the road to another field. I try to fly her long and hard at least once a week, and today was the day. Again, she missed some wide open flights but eventually came down on a frog. Third for the day! She started eating it, but I could tell she did not like it as she was flicking more than eating. I transferred her off and away we went. She got back on a really high pole and then came soaring to the ground. I was sure that she had nothing but when she did not get back up I went over to find her on a full dead bunny. Another transfer, but I am not counting it. Put her up one last time, and she took off on a long flight followed by a beautiful stoop on her second bunny of the day. Four head of game! YAHOO! I fed her up on the kill and we called it a day. I have started letting her handle herself on the rabbits, and I am not running Mach 3 to get to her anymore. After all, if she can't control a cottontail, she will never get used to hanging on to a jack. She had both bunnies by the head today, and in perfect control. I flew her for 2 1/2 hours today, and it is flights like this that make falconry truly spectacular. Taking game also helps!
29 rabbits, 3 snakes, 2 grasshoppers, 2 frogs, 2 mice, 3 rats, 1 crawfish

Wet and Muddy Day

2008-03-10T14:59:00.002-06:00

Took Katana out hunting this afternoon even though it way wet, muddy and windy. She did really well and used her home filed advantage nicely. After the first couple of flights, she was dripping wet but kept on trucking. Most of the rabbits did not stay our long enough for her to get and ended up taking cover seconds before she could get there. Several rabbits also stumbled in puddles which she did not anticipated as she hit just after them. She did end up catching a mouse, or at least I think that is what it was. After her flight I arrived just in time to see a tail disappear. At this point she was dripping wet and her talons were caked with blood, so we called it a day. I fed her up and will give her tomorrow off. We will hit the fields again Wednesday!

27 rabbits, 3 snakes, 2 grasshoppers, 1 frog, 2 mice, 2 rats, 1 crawfish

Jacks and Pheasant :)

2008-03-09T20:36:00.005-06:00

What a FANTASTIC weekend! We went up to visit Dave Stevens and Pam for his birthday and to do a little jack rabbit hunting. Arriving on Friday, we headed straight for the field. Katana was a little moody, probably due to the 10 hours she spent in the giant hood, but performed very well. The pictures are from her first jack flight which yielded a STUNNING stoop on the rabbit. The wind was to her disadvantage on the rest of the flights, but this one was spectacular. We then flew Dave's Golden Eagle, Aden, and he gave a marvelous performances as always taking 2 jacks. He has started flying to the left or right of the rabbit, steering it in the direction that he wants it to go. The head games he is playing is unbelievable, and he gets better and better every time I see him fly.
Saturday morning, we headed out again. Katana was a little heavy and her response in the field was weak. I was kicking myself for not compensating for the fact that she was sleeping in her giant hood instead of in the mews or on a perch. We put her up to fly Aden and Spike (Jeremy's new Harris' Hawk.) Spike took his first cotton tail with us since the transfer, and Aden masterfully took another two jacks. We flew Katana one more time later in the day and her weight was on. There was no wind and she gave the jacks a run for their money. At one point she was dancing around on the ground in the middle of the field, refusing to come back to me. I called and called, pulled the lure - nothing. Next thing I know, a pheasant broke out feet in front of her and off she went. From that point on, she LOVED chasing the pheasant. She had a nice stoop on one and got a hold of it, but it got away pretty quick as she obviously did not know her best plan of attack. She flew several more pheasant and jacks beautifully, but had to leave the field with only the bit of fur that she pulled of of one.
Today on our way out of town, we gave it one last shot. It was windy, and Katana has quickly realized that she does not stand a chance on the up wind slips. Coming over the top of a hill a cottontail broke and off she went. After the effort that she has been putting into the jacks, this flight was welcomed and she easily got a hold of the rabbit. I transferred her of and we kept working. YEAH! After walking a bit further, I was stood on a hill as everyone flushed towards me. Right below Katana a jack flushed and she took off. This was the perfect downwind slip that we had been waiting for. I have never seen her fly so hard and so fast, climbing higher all the way. When she began her stoop I knew that it would be powerful - and I was right. She slammed as hard as I have ever seen her but alas, a few seconds later the jack ran away. She was so far out, that there was no way I would have been able to grant her any immediate assistance, even though Krys and I took to running the second she took off.
According to Dave, the jacks that are left are the breeders. These are also the ones that have been out running his Goldens all season. They were tough. I plan to get there early in the season next year and get her going. They might have won this round, but it ain't over yet!

27 rabbits, 3 snakes, 2 grasshoppers, 1 frog, 1 mouse, 2 rats, 1 crawfish

SNOW DAY!

2008-03-06T17:44:00.007-06:00

I had planned on taking Katana on one more hunt before heading up to Dave's this weekend, but the weather decided not to cooperate. When I got out of school it was in the 20's and sleeting like crazy. The sleet eventually gave way to snow and we accumulated several inches by 3pm. Katana has never done well in the snow (she won't commit to the chase) so I just gave her a day of rest. The snow in Fort Worth was incredible, and is still coming. It is supposed to snow through most of the night which should give us a pretty eventful drive tomorrow. The weather forecast for the weekend looks great though, so I am looking forward to some great hunting! Here are a couple of pics from the snow today.

Interesting Kill

2008-03-05T20:39:00.002-06:00

I took Katana to 2 fields today. In the first field, she did not follow very well, but was in position for the first few flushes. All of the rabbits came out of a brush pile, but did not stay out for more than several feet prior to going back in. Katana just could not get there quick enough. At the end of the hunt when we were working back to the car, she went down looking like she was after a rat. She did not come back up so Krys made in as he was closest. Turned out that she was picking at a crawfish that she caught. She started eating it but decided that she didn't like it much so she jumped up for a tidbit. The second field she followed great, I just could not produce much game. She did chase one rabbit several times, but it kept going back and forth under a fence and it finally got away. Overall, it was a great day and she flew well.
26 rabbits, 3 snakes, 2 grasshoppers, 1 frog, 1 mouse, 2 rats, 1 crawfish

Quick Hunt

2008-03-04T16:13:00.002-06:00

Went to a local field today to fly Katana and ran into Ryan on the way there. He has been trying to enter his Prairie Falcon on rabbits. I decided to beat the brush for him and the bird did very well, but did not catch a bunny. I went to a nearby field to hunt, one that I have not hit in months. It was close and time was short so I figured it best to at least get Katana some flight time. I left Ryan at 2:00. Pulled into the field and tossed Katana up. I was crossing the tracks when the first rabbit broke and Katana was on it from her very high perch. She nailed the rabbit by the head and had it completely under control when I got there a few seconds later. I transferred her off, which went beautifully, and fed her up. I gathered everything up and went back to the car. The hunt was over by 2:20. it was a short day, but she flew hard on her one chase and received a nice reward for her efforts. Tomorrow I will fly her longer as time won't be as much of an issue.
26 rabbits, 3 snakes, 2 grasshoppers, 1 frog, 1 mouse, 2 rats

Another Double!

2008-03-02T18:11:00.003-06:00

Today was another great day of hawking. We started out flying Katana in a fied that we have not hunted before. Her first fight was beautiful: a climb upward from a light pole followed by a tear-drop straight down. We had quite a few people in the field (including my sponsor) and they were all very impressed. unfortunately, she missed that one. On the third flight, she took off from a tree tail chasing a rabbit across the field. She did not take off when it flushed, I do not think that she saw it, so there was a few second delay before she left the tree. I thought there was no way that she could catch it, but she did. I found her on top of the rabbit under a tree, a nice head shot and she had it under control. I put her up to fly Michael and Sheldon's Harris hawks, but this field did not yield any more rabbits taken. We then flew Boo and after several spectacular flights she grabbed a female grackle. Chasing the sunlight we hit one of our newer (and better fields) and tossed Michael's birds back up. The first rabbit up Padme nailed. He then put her up and flew his male Neo solo. The second rabbit up, he nailed. Working back to the car we flushed one more that he grabbed through a chain link fence by the head. Miraculously, he help on tight until Michael made it in. I tossed Katana up one more time, and we immediately flushed a rabbit for her. She took off out of the tree and just narrowly mossed it when it made into a brush pile. Diligently working the pile, Michael and Krys were able to reflush the rabbit, and Katana was ready. From he vantage point high in the tree, she came down with another clean head shot. Her aim is definitely getting better, and she is getting most of her rabbits by the head now. I hope this keeps up when we go hunt jack rabbits next weekend!! This is her second double for the season, and she has now surpassed last season's rabbit total. With a month or so left in the season, I just hope she continues to get better and better!!
25 rabbits, 3 snakes, 2 grasshoppers, 1 frog, 1 mouse, 2 rats

Where have all the rabbits gone??

2008-03-01T15:22:00.002-06:00

I guess that it is that time of the year...the weather is getting hotter and the grass is getting browner. All of this leads to a shortage of rabbits as the hide in the deep cool of the soil during the hot muggy days.
I gave Katana Tuesday off and we resumed hunting on Wednesday. Michael Beran came into town so we hit some of our better fields. We still managed to kick up a few slips, but Katana was unsuccessful. The field that I flew her in has a lot of brush piles and the rabbits would just run between them yielding a lot of close misses.
Thursday was a lot of the same, some great flights but no connections.
Friday I took her to a field that I have not hunted in a while but was close to the house. She had some trouble deciding where to perch, and her selection was not great. Because of this, she had some nice long chases but the rabbits would get away. Working back towards her, though, we kicked up a rabbit that she stooped out of a tree to grab. A beautiful flight, straight down and another bunny in the bag.
Today we went to several fields that are usually great, but the rabbits were no when to be found. I flew Katana in 3 fields, the first one yielded no slips. The second only gave us two chases in heavy reeds. She was perched atop a building giving her a great advantage but just could not crash hard enough. At one point she had a rabbit deep in the reeds that got away and she obviously gave up a great fight as it was screaming and she was covered in mud. If I had to speculate, she was probably sitting precariously on top of the reeds and barely had the rabbit by the butt when it got away. We hit one more field, in desperate search of a few more flights. She was perched high in a tree when the first rabbit broke. She headed out for a nice long tail chase that ended in a crash and tumble. As we made in she had the rabbit completely under control and it was a nice clean head shot. Yea! I transferred her off as she had now flown almost 2 hours today and the heat was obviously making the rabbits scarce.
I am also trying to get her used to the mews. Last year she would bounce around like crazy, but she seems to be doing better this year. I hope that she will settle down so I can molt her there. When we got home, I hosed her off and into the mews she went. So far so good. I am only putting in there when I am home and can keep a good eye on her until she gets used to the mews.

23 rabbits, 3 snakes, 2 grasshoppers, 1 frog, 1 mouse, 2 rats

Soaring the Wind

2008-02-26T17:10:00.002-06:00

Sunday I took Katana to two fields. She had some close attempts in the first field but no luck. She did take the first rabbit up in the second field though. It was a long flight and she nailed it atop a rock pile across the field. She is definitely flying much stronger now, I am glad that I am able to hunt her 6 days a week. I would take her out all 7, but it is nice to have a day off for both of us.
Today I took Katana out hunting, despite the 25-30 mph winds. The first field I came to yielded a few slips. When I hunt this field and get lucky, she will perch atop the bill board at one end. Today was such a day, and the billboard was upwind from where I was flushing - perfect. She had a beautiful flight from the top of the billboard, but all it yielded was a broken tail feather :(. I took her to another field that has fewer perches, and something amazing happened. She began to soar. Instinctively I reached for the lure, that is until I realized that she was circling above me. I began running around like a crazy person, desperately trying to flush a rabbit. She must have been 300 foot up when the rabbit broke. She folded her wings and dropped straight down. I could only sit and watch in awe. Even though she missed the rabbit, probably due to the wind, it was one of the most amazing things that I have ever seen her do. And that was not all, she did it twice. We left the field empty handed, but I consider this a very successful hunt. Her flight styles are evolving, all she needs to do is fine tune them.

21 rabbits, 3 snakes, 2 grasshoppers, 1 frog, 1 mouse, 2 rats

Still going :)

2008-02-23T20:57:00.002-06:00

I gave Katana Tuesday off and took her back out on Wednesday. It was VERY hot, but I still flew her for almost 2 hours. She had some strong flights, but I did not get her the best slips. We left the field empty handed. On Thursday, Krys and I took her out and she was flying like she was tired. We cut the hunt short and gave her a days rest. I guess the long hunt and the wind from the day before wore her out. On Friday we hit a different field and after a long hunt and a lot of slips she nailed another rabbit. It almost seemed like she waited for the longest slip in the deepest brush but it worked. She was still flying like she was a little bit tired, but it all worked out. Today, we went to another field and she nailed the first rabbit that we slipped for her. I transferred her off and we kept on going. We had a few more slips, but they all made cover a split second before she made contact. She did have a few incredible brush crashes though, and was definitely flying strong again.
I have also added 2 new hunting dogs to my team: Sadie and Cooper. We picked up a pair of English Pointers and I plann on working with them and hope to fly Katana with their help next season.
20 rabbits, 3 snakes, 2 grasshoppers, 1 frog, 1 mouse, 2 rats

First Double of the Season!!

2008-02-18T20:14:00.003-06:00

Took Katana out today to a field across the street from one we usually fly. She started out very strong and followed closely. Second bunny up, and she scored! Yea! I transferred her of and decided to keep hunting. The transfer was beautiful. I held her on the fist for a few minutes until she roused, and then kept on going. We had some more hard chases, but no success. After an hour and a half, we decided to make our way back to the car.We worked the outer edge of the field on the way back, but no flushes! I was starting to give up hope when I saw a rabbit sneak into a pile of wood. Katana followed to a tree nearby the pile, and Brandi and I began to flush. After pulling the pile apart, the rabbit finally broke free and Katana was in hot pursuit. It was a LONG flight, several hundred yard, and then I heard the familiar screams of a rabbit. Running as fast as I could, I made in. About halfway there the screams stopped but I kept running. Katana had the rabbit tightly by the head, and there was no escaping. I transferred her off and cropped her up for her efforts. She won't fly tomorrow, but will be ready to go again Wed! 2 in the bag - first double of the season! YAAHHHOOO!
18 rabbits, 3 snakes, 2 grasshoppers, 1 frog, 1 mouse, 2 rats

Yeah!

2008-02-17T15:33:00.001-06:00

Took Katana out both Sat and Sun, but Sat was a bust. As soon as we got into the field it started pouring rain, so I had to put her up prior to any flushes. Sun was great. She had a couple of REALLY hard and long flights, and finally I flushed a rabbit right under her. Stooping out of a tree, she nailed it! I mad it, and another beautiful transfer. It just does not get much better than this. I think that she has decided to play ball again, and I will start trying for multiples soon - especially if she gets a rabbit early in the hunt. :)

16 rabbits, 3 snakes, 2 grasshoppers, 1 frog, 1 mouse, 2 rats

So much better :)

2008-02-14T14:22:00.002-06:00

Katana got Monday and Tuesday off while turning her crop. Wednesday though, she was good to go! I took her out, again at 945 grams, and she nailed the second rabbit up. My first instinct was to keep flying her, but Krys was right when he told me to feed her up to reinforce her need to hang on to her rabbits. So I did. Her transfer was beautiful. As soon as I puled the lure she was on it. I took her out again today, and BAM! First rabbit was in the bag. Again, I went and fed her up and the transfer was perfect. I am so excited! I am hoping to keep her going. Soon I will try for multiples if she keeps nailing rabbits early in the hunt. It is really important for me to get her plenty of exercise.
15 rabbits, 3 snakes, 2 grasshoppers, 1 frog, 1 mouse, 2 rats

Interesting Week

2008-02-10T22:33:00.000-06:00

I took Katana out hunting everyday this week. The beginning of the week was super windy, and as hard as she tried to stay up, she kept flying away. She has grabbed several rabbits, all of which have gotten away. She had started to make me scared that something was wrong with her. She has been missing the easy flights and letting go of rabbits she catches. These were the symptoms that Krys' bird Goose had when she had Malaria. He took her in and ran a fecal and blood work that came up clean though. On Wed, she finally connected. I ran in to transfer her off, and just as I did - the rabbit ran away. All this time that she has been unable to hold on - and this one was my fault! Ahhhh! No luck Thurs, Fri or Sat, but today we scored. First flight, first rabbit up and she nailed it. Perhaps the pedicure we gave her last night helped. Perhaps it was the 20 grams I took off her weight. Whatever it was, she had a good day. I let her feed up on the rabbit, the first time I have ever let her eat on a kill. I am hoping that will reinforce her to hold on. Needless to say, she won't fly for a day or two as she turns her crop, but I hope that she will keep up the good work that I know she is capable of.

13 rabbits, 3 snakes, 2 grasshoppers, 1 frog, 1 mouse, 2 rats

2008 Annual THA Meet

2008-01-21T17:16:00.000-06:00

I hunted Katana on Tues and Wed prior to heading up to Abilene for the THA meet. On Wed I had her weight up to 965, and all I can say is WOW. Her flights are even stronger and harder. I will continue to raise her weight slowly as long as I still have good response in the field. At the meet, we had trouble finding game which was a shame. Katana flew harder and followed better than I have ever seen her on Friday, and the only rabbits we were able to flush were in deep briars where she could not crash hard enough to take them. On Saturday we flushed a few, but she ended up going down on a rat on the other side of a huge fence. I could not easily get to her with out risking injury, so I let her eat up and then called her to the lure. Although her huge crop made her a little more hesitant, getting her back was still pretty easy. That took her out of the game on Sunday - her weight was too high. I had every intention of flying her today when I returned home, but alas - it is raining. I guess I will have to wait for better weather, and I look forward to seeing her hunt more at this higher weight.
11 rabbits, 3 snakes, 2 grasshoppers, 1 frog, 1 mouse, 2 rats

Some much needed rest....

2008-01-12T22:16:00.000-06:00

Well, I gave Katana 2 weeks off mid-season as I like to do and brought her weight up. We took a trip to Virginia over Christmas, and other than a couple of walks she stayed fat and happy on her perch. When we returned, the winds were howling for days and it took me a while to find decent weather to fly her in. Finally on Thursday, even though it was still pretty windy, we went out. Five minutes into the field Katana nailed the first rabbit we kicked up. I proceeded to hunt her for about an hour with many great flights, but the day only yielded the one rabbit. This is of course taking in to exception the half a rabbit she nailed halfway through the hunt :)
Friday we went back out and she is flying strong. Still fighting the wind (I don't think that it will ever stop!) she managed to score another rabbit which unfortunately got away before I made it there.
Today, STILL WINDY :(, she flew stronger than ever in the second field that we hunted. Although she did not take any game, her flights in to the wind we hard, and downwind were incredible. I just love to watch her fly, it is AMAZING! We will go back out tomorrow for another full day of hunting, and I look forward to every second of it!

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

Too Much Rain

2007-12-17T14:05:00.000-06:00

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

2007-12-05T22:05:00.000-06:00

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!

2007-11-29T19:17:00.000-06:00

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...

2007-11-27T18:23:00.000-06:00

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

2007-11-25T21:28:00.000-06:00

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

2007-11-02T14:49:00.000-06:00

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

2007-11-01T19:23:00.000-06:00

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

2007-10-29T16:27:00.000-06:00

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!!!!

2007-10-23T19:51:00.000-06:00

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....

2007-10-17T16:26:00.000-06:00

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 :(

2007-10-16T18:07:00.001-06:00

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

2007-10-15T20:17:00.000-06:00

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!!

2007-10-11T19:51:00.000-06:00

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!!!

2007-10-09T20:50:00.000-06:00

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

2007-10-08T18:54:00.000-06:00

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!

2007-10-06T18:17:00.000-06:00

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

2007-10-06T17:22:00.000-06:00

Getting Harder...

2007-10-03T20:42:00.000-06:00

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

2007-10-02T21:18:00.000-06:00

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...

2007-09-17T21:45:00.000-06:00

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

2007-07-31T02:38:00.000-06:00

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

2007-06-28T23:09:00.000-06:00

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

2007-06-20T05:43:00.000-06:00

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!!

2007-06-04T09:31:00.000-06:00

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

2007-05-23T13:53:00.000-06:00

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

2007-05-16T07:38:00.000-06:00

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

2007-05-15T08:34:00.000-06:00

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...

2007-05-04T07:59:00.000-06:00

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

2007-05-02T00:05:00.000-06:00

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!!

2007-05-01T10:54:00.000-06:00

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!

2007-04-23T10:31:00.000-06:00

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....

2007-04-16T10:48:00.000-06:00

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!!!

2007-04-03T18:29:00.000-06:00

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...

2007-03-29T13:03:00.000-06:00

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...

2007-03-26T10:02:00.000-06:00

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!!

2007-03-22T08:40:00.000-06:00

"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

2007-03-20T23:24:00.000-06:00

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!!

2007-03-20T08:06:00.000-06:00

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...

2007-03-18T15:35:00.000-06:00

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?

2007-03-17T19:41:00.000-06:00

"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!!

2007-03-14T18:28:00.000-06:00

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...)

2007-03-14T07:37:00.000-06:00

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

2007-03-13T02:59:00.000-06:00

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

2007-03-12T08:08:00.000-06:00

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!!!

2007-03-07T18:06:00.000-06:00

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

2007-03-07T02:00:00.000-06:00

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

2007-03-06T17:36:00.000-06:00

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

2007-03-01T08:40:00.000-06:00

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

2007-02-27T10:48:00.000-06:00

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...

2007-02-27T08:35:00.000-06:00

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!!

2007-02-26T12:58:00.000-06:00

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...

2007-02-26T12:54:00.000-06:00

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

2007-02-26T12:36:00.000-06:00

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

2007-02-26T12:26:00.000-06:00

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...

2007-02-26T12:16:00.000-06:00

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!

2007-02-26T12:08:00.000-06:00

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

2007-02-26T11:52:00.000-06:00

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.