Interesting Week

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

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....

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

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

A Very Blustery Weekend

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