Yeah!

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 :)

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

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