Iowafalconer's Falconry Blog

Morning Hunt 12-28-08

2008-12-28T14:45:00.004-06:00

Still striking out. I saw one today - no telling how many Percy saw in 2 hours of hunting. I saw one one good chase. I think a dog would help a ton! Need to order a training collar. Doing it now. It was nice to see the morning sun today after a couple days of fog, wind, rain, sleet and a little snow. The good news is it was a welcome break from a tragic day at work yesterday. That being said my heart goes out to a local family. Blog will be under construction. I am sick of photoshop images. I will be hosting the pics on my server space, shouldn't be any noticeable difference when finished except friendlier photo links, etc.

Help, I have seem to lost hare!

2008-12-24T17:44:00.003-06:00

I had a couple hours on 12/23/08 to go hunting before I had to pick up my youngest and get to work. Being the first time I had been able to go out since the wind pushed the snow. I went to a place where I hunted with Magellan. I doubted it at first when I heard it but the past couple hunting ventures (where conditions were right) have proven to me that rabbit numbers are significantly down. We are still getting bumps, but the opportunities are few and far between. On this trip I went to a ditch off the last active railroad tracks in my city. I can remember taking a couple rabbits in here (and can check my journal on exact numbers), but this day we only got one rabbit going which hit a warren in after about 20 feet. Percy was right on it. I ended up hunting for two hours with only about one more possible dive attempt (I was too far away to see). Today after a couple of fresh inches of snow the wind started blowing, so I was unable to hunt.

On another note I would love to introduce my rat/Jack Russell Terrier "Clyde" to hunting as he would improve odds greatly. Only issue is he is aweful "headstrong" (read: stubborn). I am sure if he overstepped his boundaries Percy would give him a "hand" (read: talon) to help him remember. In the meantime I took the attached video calling him to the lure. Please excuse the dark setting (it was 10:50 AM). The iris setting got "adjusted" by one of my children. Enjoy!

鷹狩り/ cetrería / Falknerei / Fauconnerie / Falconeria / Valkerij / 放鷹捕獵 / Разведение и подготовка ловчих птиц

2008-12-22T17:50:00.001-06:00

Falconry - -

Afternoon Hunt 12-19-08

2008-12-19T17:47:00.002-06:00

I left work early (actually I put in extra time working on my days off) to go out hunting after a winter storm dropped 8-10" of snow. We didn't catch anything despite some good effort (on both our parts - I will explain in a bit). I first went to a school wildlife area that has yielded rabbits in the past. There were plenty of tracks but all the rabbits were tucked away. I was able to call Percy to the fist multiple times. I hooded him and started the 1 block walk back to the truck to head out to a new field. I was drenched in sweat and VERY thirsty despite the mid 20 degree temperatures. I went to a convenience store and grabbed some Gatorade. I went to the park where we caught rabbit number two. I figured there would be rabbits in the deep ravine so I went down (I need to take some photos of these ravines). Sure enough a rabbit bumped out of the north side and scrambled up the hill. Percy was hot on it's tail but it went into a bramble patch. I started to trudge up a drainage trough, which was a very hard climb. When I got up I jumped on a brush pile a couple times and nothing bolted. I ended up going 100 yards to get to a point where I could walk without trudging though thigh high snow. I made my way to the north ridge line and walked there without any luck. I crossed the bike trail to the ridge line of another ravine (with VERY THICK COVER). I walked along the top and ended up going down in. The snow had built up on all the tree limbs so besides the sweat from the carpetbagging (falconry term for hunting a red tail) I was covered in snow. I am hoping that I can eventually make a path or two through this mess. Percy did dive on something without any success. I got out after a slow and laborious climb. I was thirsty again and considered calling it a day. I walked back to my truck and took a couple swigs of Gatorade and hit the trail again. By the time I got back to the hunt Percy was no where to be seen. I walked to where I heard bells and bumped a rabbit. I kept wishing to her the jingle of his bells (in the event that he was in a tree and I didn't see him) but it never happened. I whistled and he came nearer. I circled back around to walked the ridge line again. No luck. I ended up calling him down to a garnished lure and calling it a day. Our family Christmas is tomorrow and I hope to go hunting with my nephews (three of which I spoke of in this post - second paragraph). I can't remember any hawking in the past that was as hard as today was. I had to shower when I got home because I was soaked in both sweat and melted snow. It was a good cardiac workout nonetheless, which I obviously need. I had heard that rabbit numbers were down. I am starting to believe that. Places which Magellan and I took numerous rabbits are just not there like they used to. Of course Percy has had opportunity and it is not for his lack of gusto. He is appropriately aggressive and, usually, follows nicely. It is times like this where I remember back to being patient. Rabbits will come. In the meantime, I am helping this hawk make it through a critical time in its' life. An estimated 70% of raptors do not live until their first year. The life and death consequence of NOT catching a rabbit are replaced by the falconer keeping the bird health and vibrant during lean hunting times.

Morning Hunts 12-17-08 and 12-18-08

2008-12-18T21:43:00.002-06:00

We went out after the snowfall to see what we could see. My momma (you gots to luv yer momma) took the lil one early yesterday. So I had an hour and a half to kill. I went to what I thought was a sure thing for rabbits. Only thing is the rabbits didn't get the memo. I proceeded to walk a long way without seeing anything. I began following the bird thinking he knows more than me (which is probably true). I ended up crossing a half-frozen stream. I found the unfrozen part when my boot broke through the ice and ended up falling forward and crushing my (naughty) finger. My ungloved hand was numb by that point. So I didn't feel the blood rushing out. I couldn't get it to stop bleeding. I ended up wiping blood on my ole flannel "hunting" shirt and in the pocket of my jeans to try and get my hand warm. After my injury I lost track of my bird. A little fear crept into my heart as I saw my hawking season pass before my eyes. Being the prudent observer I am (no laughing please) I heard a "murder" of crows cawing in the distance. I went to where they were and lo and behold there he was. I will send a peace signed "thank you brothers" to the crows. I lured him down and decided to press my luck in another area in which I had some success getting some rabbits going in the past (see the bottom of this post).

I was able to get one going after being forced to get on and stomp around on a large brush pile. He missed a catch by mere inches, which frustrated him. I had to get to work and spent the better part of 15 minutes trying to lure him out of a tree. I presented and whistled at least 30 times. Finally, he looked as if the say - "oh, you have the lure out" and down he came.

Today was a little different. I went to the abandoned railroad right of way where we got the first catch. He was spot on. I pushed it to the north with no luck for the first 200 yards or so. Finally, I got into some good cover and was able to get some rabbits running. Percy was way to far out in front of me. I push through some woods and he makes a dive. The rabbit ducked into a woodpile right next to the railroad track. I almost have to step on it to get it going, as he obviously knew the bird was there. When he did Percy dove hard from a branch and provided the rabbit a little bit of a "crewcut", but he couldn't hang on. I end up pushing it up to the city limits and then some. Finally, I broke out the lure and called him down without incident. It seems as though in recent hunts the rabbits have been getting the better of us. However, there is always tomorrow (well, after the winter storm passes).

Afternoon Hunt 12-15-08

2008-12-15T15:03:00.004-06:00

Yes, there is a bird in there somewhere!

Lack of intelligence abounding - I decided to try to hunt. One factor or another has kept us out of the field. The winds yesterday were sustained gusts of 20+ mph with gusts even higher. This afternoon saw some relief from the wind. Percy was slightly lower than his first catch which was needed after the debacle on Friday. We went back to the park that yielded rabbit number two, only this time we started on the northwest end of the park, which is adjacent to an abandoned rail line. Percy was sharp and responsive even in the wind. Unfortunately he came up short in a thick wooded area, otherwise our hunt would have been over in just ten minutes (I wouldn't have complained!). Nevertheless, we played back and forth with no real success. The cover was just too thick to walk through so I would go around on one side and he would fly to the other. This happened about 4-5 times. He ended up diving on about 4 or 5 rabbits. He really looked sharp and crisp. Finally, the underbrush cleared a little and I was able to get him over by me. I started to push and saw a rabbit break from cover before disappearing in the weeds. I thought I would push the rabbit back to Percy but the rabbit had slipped past me. I took my time and the rabbit made a break. Percy launched from a high perch and did the power glide before snatching the rabbit. Again I was in a position where I couldn't see. I walked around to where he was and listened. Thank goodness for my Velarde-Style Acorn Bells from Northwoods Limited. I was able to find where Percy was. I assisted him and allowed him to eat a full crop. The walk back to the truck was rather long and cold. All in all an interesting day. I would like to get some video but need an assistant brush-beater or two to facilitate that. In the meantime please enjoy the photos I took.

Curse the Wind!

2008-12-15T12:35:00.003-06:00

Still windy with the possibility of them dissipating this afternoon. I may try to hunt in an hour, but proceeding with caution!

Weather - it is for good or bad!

2008-12-13T14:26:00.005-06:00

Note on this photograph: Although this is a red tail hawk it lacks a red tail. First year or passage red-tail hawks have brown tails with darker horizontal bands. After their first molt these brown tail feathers will be replaced by the crimson or red feathers that are commonly observed on maure red tails where the name Red-Tail Hawk come from. Read the WIKI here.

No hunting today for us. Although I did take the time to explain to my kids that there will be times when we all will go out hunting and what could happen if the bird catches a rabbit. I explained that hawks need to eat rabbits, mice and other animals to survive and I gave them the option of going or not. The five year old said that she would go, but would like to sit in the truck. The three year old was in. Nevertheless, various conditions prevent us from going out. So I decided to allow for some weathering, bath and kid time in the yard. Which, combined with the lighting and the fact that my wife found the charger for my "almost indestructible" Olympus Stylus 1030 SW camera made for the attached photographs. Since I am dropping names of sponsors (yeah, right) I would like to mention Filson (links broken on purpose - I need written permission to link to their site) you can always go to http://www.filson.com/ to look at their wears. I had a Filson "Original Hunting Vest" that I lost in the house fire. To those that don't know in 2005 my family lost almost everything in a house fire. We were able to save some photographs. We lost almost everything. The blessing was that no body got hurt, but it was bittersweet as we lost our family rat terrier "Maggie". Alas, I digress... My Original Hunting Vest was replaced with a Filson "Tin Cloth Game Bag". While the Game Bag is a great product, the Hunting Vest is the cat's meow. Just enough pockets for a falconer (which the Game Bag lacks) the Hunting Vest is the ultimate falconers vest. So if any of you readers have any connections at Filson or "corporate friends"- I would gladly advertise their product on my hunting adventures in exchange for the excellent Filson - Original Hunting Vest.

Yesterday (December 12, 2008), we went out to a local out of the way lot. Percy, despite the cool weather, is still "rabbit heavy". Which is good, in a way. We did try but after three perfect slips and refusals by the hawk it was lure time and pack it up. Two of the three slips were unique because it was a fenced in area and the rabbits had to go right under him in order to get out. He didn't even lean toward the rabbits. It may be until Tuesday until I can hunt again with the weather forecast.

Morning Hunt 12-11-08

2008-12-11T11:06:00.005-06:00

Rabbit Number Two was caught this morning. Percy was still 20+ plus grams heavier than his first catch. As you can tell by the photo the sun was out at the temps were in the 20s. There was a slight Northwest wind. I went to a park near where my wife works. It has some super deep ditches with a lot of cover. Almost too much cover! First I circled an area that was about 30' down into a ditch. Again, I didn't want to go down, but after I didn't get anything running on the top of the hill I went down. There were a lot of rabbit tracks but no rabbits here today. I climbed back out after Percy relocated to another tree. I pushed along a trail without even seeing a single rabbit. There were tracks galore, but no rabbits. I went to the other side of the trail where another deep bowl was. The cover was much thicker on this side. I did scare one further into the woods as I decided that I would walk around to attempt to push it across to the bird. When I was walking to the other side Percy saw one sneaking away and made a dive but came up short. When I got to the other side, against my better judgement I went down. It was very thick. When I was halfway through Percy relocated to another tree. I lost sight of him but every once in a while I would hear the bells to reassure that he was still in the area. I crawled up the other side (wishing I had an oxygen tank - falconry hunting is a great workout by the way). Low and behold I was right below him. He flew to an area along the trail that I had previously walked. Figuring that he could see more than me (higher point of view and keener eyesight) I went over in that direction. He was in a tall tree adjacent to a field. I walked where the field met the woods hoping to scare one out into the field. The cover here was again very thick. I didn't see this one as much as I heard it. As I was in the middle of the cover I heard the telltale sound of a catch and looked up to see him on a rabbit in the middle of the field. Number 2 was in the game bag. The pick up was less than desirable. Percy has taken to plucking at least one field jesse out during a hunt. I will deal with that issue tonight. In the meantime a happy hawk and hawker!

Update 12-10-08

2008-12-10T15:45:00.003-06:00

I went to fly Percy this morning after an ice/snow storm passed Monday Night into Tuesday. Weather was picture perfect. Percy was a little heavy. He no sooner got into a tree when I flushed a rabbit right in front of him. Be bated and flew half-hearted to a better perch. I was able to bump another one just 25 yards later. He looked and leaned but didn't chase. He was 60+ grams heavier than Sunday so I knew I was taking a chance. I ended up calling him down to the lure and giving him his reward before putting him away to try again tomorrow. The weather window looks great for the next five days. Hopefully we can put another rabbit or two in the bag before I got back to work on Wednesday (I still have to work tomorrow, but depending on where Percy is - I may come in late).

First Catch

2008-12-07T12:53:00.004-06:00

I am able to report that Percy caught a rabbit today. Alas, I get ahead of myself... On Friday I took Percy out to an old abandoned rail yard and decided to tempt fate (See this post) and fly him free. He weighed in at 918 so I wasn't looking forward to miracles. So I put on the field jesses and took my chances. I was able to bump a rabbit out rather quickly with him on the glove, but he didn't see it. He repositioned to a tree and was immediately harassed by four crows. I worked hard to put a rabbit in front of him, but the only other one went off in the opposite direction. He didn't even raise a wing at him. I attempted to call him to the fist but at where he was he didn't want any of that action. After beating the brush around him I decided to break out the lure and call it a day. Lure response was immediate which, if I may qoute Marth Stewart, "Is a good thing."

So on today (Sunday) I decided to go out again. He had dropped to 908 and I went to an area where I took a lot of rabbits in the past. I put him up and started beating the brush. I called him to the glove occassionally he did take a dive on something. He started flying to be and landing on the ground. Knowing that he wasn't too low I would call him up (no reward) and put him up again. Finally, we went back to a bamboo patch that looked promising. While we were making our way there he took a couple of dives at a rabbit without any connection. In the bamboo patch he tried again, but missed. We ended up going about 1/2 mile from my truck. It seemed like we both had trained each other because he would get higher and higher perches as I would work towards him. After 3+ hours, a sore knee and a sweat soaked stocking hat I decide to walk a creek bottom that he had been sitting on for 15 minutes. I beat brush all around the creek bottom but finally decide to go down. As I was climbing up a small drop off where a feeder empties into the larger creek I hear ringing of the tell-tale bells and look to see him in a dedicated plunge and then I hear it. Rabbit number 1 in the bag only 16 days after trapping. I give him carte blanche and allow him to eat to his hearts' content knowing that I would not be able to hunt tomorrow. "We" both still need a little work. Primarily on calming down (he screams when I am helping him out) and staying focused. Today he has a very full belly and some good vibrations going on. Hopefully he will continue to catch on and understand the name of the game.

One Step Forward - Two Steps Back

2008-12-02T16:13:00.006-06:00

After a great training day with Percy yesterday today was anything but stellar. Yesterday and today, prior to training, I entertained the thought of slipping the creance and free flying by the weekend. PROBABLY NOT GOING TO HAPPEN. Yesterday his response was great with little effort. Today not so much. I do think there are several factors against me so I will re-evaluate daily but am seriously doubting that self-imposed deadline. The night before last it got cold and I left my scale in the truck so I was not able to get an accurate weight. Today he was at 910 grams and it was brutal. The wind was a little gusty and the sun was shining so I can fault that as well and my own ignorance (there is plenty of that). I look at it as having to take advantage of when I could with time being so limited. The good news is that the lure finally came today. Immediate response. The bad news is that after a horrible start and middle the ends didn't justify the means.

On the kestrel front Ernie was started on Flagyl yesterday. She is still pretty weak and shaky, but I am providing extra feeding. She was able to take in some sunlight this morning since I went into work a little late. I will attempt to get her to fly when she is a little steadier. When I thought she was dying I cut off her anklets (to provide for some comfort). Today I replaced them without issue.

Hope?

2008-11-30T14:47:00.003-06:00

Well, I thought the writing was on the wall for the kestrel. Friday night and Saturday things were looking pretty bleak. She was unable to keep her balance and was slouching with her eyes closed. It looked as thought she was in bad shape. I did my best to keep her hydrated and nourished. I am cautiously hopeful today. She is now standing on a perch and eating mashed meat. She has some difficulty swallowing which leads me to believe that she has frounce. I will gauge her in the morning before paying a visit to my vet. In the meantime I am cautiously optimistic. Today she has been taking "mashed meat" samples from my fingertips. I will continue the vigil of mashed meat throughout the day and night.

I took Percy to a park yesterday and today. Short attention span theatre, I tell ya! I will continue to bring the weight off slowly for a more attentive response. I have a nice garnished lure all ready to go to solidify it as "THE Insurance Policy" as per Oakes. But the lack of consistent performance on creance training is holding that off.

With that in mind I have to tell a story of Thanksgiving night. I did creance work in the garage with my kids present. I have a 7 year old son, a 5 year old daughter and a 3 year old daughter. They all did fine with the kestrel, but when the "big bird" came out and flew to me that was enough for the 5 year old. I had to escort her out of the garage like she was a diva dodging the paparazzi as the mere sight of the big bird had her completely freaked out. After that on the next call to fist the 3 year old said, "That is SO COOL." She stayed in the garage until she got too cold and went into the house. From the mouth’s of babes... Her big brother stayed all through and is looking forward to getting his picture taken while holding one of the birds.

I am hopeful the issues with the kestrel will resolve. I miss the bobbing.

Very Sad Day

2008-11-29T15:11:00.002-06:00

Yesterday I came home to a kestrel that had become acutely and obviously ill. I spent until 4 AM trying to get her back in shape. I don't know what happened. Our last training day Wednesday she was on top of her game. Same on Thursday. Yeah, there were distractions in the room but she didn't seem to have any problems. I am just at a loss. How can everything be going so good that I had plans to get her out in the field in just a couple days to this?

On the redtail side I took Percy out to a baseball diamond for creance training and got about 5 flights out of her. She was very distracted by everything going on. Plans for her are a lot more manning hours. I will update when I get a chance.

I am completely bummed about the kestrel. We all came to accept and look forward to seeing her everyday. This sucks!

Progressing

2008-11-26T21:24:00.002-06:00

Things are progressing well on both fronts although work is becoming a distraction. Tootsie, Bob, etc all the nicknames is ready to creance train outside. Percy, the redtail continues on inside training. Not much to report training continues. In status quo mode. Repetition, repetition, repetition. Percy was introduced to the lure today, with typical results.

Update November 24, 2008

2008-11-24T14:45:00.007-06:00

Percy

(Note: Not diseased feet. I cleaned them and applied some Vasoline to them and under the jesses.)

Percy the red tail is coming along nicely. Today it was jumping to the glove. We took more tidbits last night and tonight we walked before progressing right into jumping. Some "skylarking" with distractions, but otherwise a good training session. Giant hood construction is complete. It's not pretty, but functional (hey, I am not a carpenter). I would expect to ease into creance in the garage tomorrow.

In general observations this bird is not as "fleet as foot" as Magellan was. Too often I have to replace the glove to get it to step up on a perch and its' footwork is just so... uncoordinated and heavy footed. I am certainly hoping that will not transfer into the woods when we start hunting. Hooding is not too problematic. I do the modified Ronald Steven's method with the Reagan Twist sewn in.

Tootsie (or Ernie)

Tootsie (Ernie, Chewbacca, or Bob)... This bird has more nicknames. This lil' firecracker is progressing well. We did creance with a 7 year old boy distraction tonight. I have introduced her to the lure and she has responded in spades. Tonight I put the glove in all sorts of places and called her to it. Through stairs, on my boy's head, high perches, low perches, etc. After she takes the lure I walk around and over her giving her the feeding whistle to get her to dive in and not worry about me. A point of concern is her first inclination is to attempt to carry the lure before she gets the whistle to look for food. I can make in and out several times on the lure. Therefore, note to self: she will need and get a bag or two before anything serious develops. I would imagine a couple creance flights outside (to the truck, even) and some more high perch call backs before I "bag" her and then field her.

Finally - "Percy" and "Tootsie" are in hand.

2008-11-21T23:32:00.004-06:00

In 1997 I roamed, what seemed like, 2000 miles to catch a bird. Having a few seasons and different birds under my belt I was more confident that I would be able to easily trap a falconry bird this year. I wanted a red tail because I, obviously have experience with them and, two feel as though I would best be able to fly a red tail at rabbits on a consistent basis this season. That being said I would have liked to have more time to create masterpiece traps, but the valued commidity of time eluded me until the last minute. Unfortunately, the constuction on my mews didn't start until mid to late October and I found myself behind the proverbial eight ball on trying to find a passage red tail. All my old haunts were filled with mature birds. I roamed every corner of Fayette County, Iowa only to see haggard after haggard. Which, in November, is what was to be expected. After talking to my former sponsor I headed south towards Cedar Rapids, Iowa in search of the, thus far elusive, passage red tail hawk. But I get ahead of myself let me back up...

Half of my pigeons escaped two days after trapping them. So last night (Thursday, November 20, 2008) my two oldest nephews of my youngest sister (how is that for confusing) went out to snatch a few more piegeons to add to my last three. The weather was a brisk 10 degrees. We scored on a couple sites and ended up in "virgin" pigeon harvesting territory. Needless to say I am happy I am here today because last night I almost died... Of laughter. When the weather gets cold like it did, puddles of water tend to freeze. Then water freezes on an incline it makes for howling - I couldn't catch my breath - laughter when BOTH nephews fall, the last one falling and sliding about 15 feet. We joked that it was a waterslide for the homeless (sorry to hurt your feelings if you are homeless and reading this). So in the span of a couple weeks I have had two opportunities to win $10,000 on America's Funniest Home Videos - the first referenced here. I do have to send a shout out to all my nephews of my youngest sister - thanks for helping me catch pigeons. Here is the only photo that I have of all of them together. Seriously, I do owe them thanks because I am not as nimble as I was - back in the day. :-)

So armed with a new battalion of pigeons I hit the trail again (this being my first day off since Sunday). As I referred to earlier I went back to the Cedar Rapids area and spent the greater half of the morning seeing nothing. Finally, I went back to where we had deployed on a passage on Sunday. Sure enough there was a young bird just off Highway 30 east of the City. I put out my BC and didn't even get a second look. Then I decided to put out the HP with the same results. It is completely frustrating to see the potential way I want to spend a hunting season sitting sitting in a tree oblivious to my feeble attempts to trap it. I ended up picking up from the first deployment and trying again with both the BC and the HP. No luck again. Traffic on highway 30 at this time was extremely busy. Which made for an interesting time.

The bird ended up bumping about 150 feet (across an intersection) away. I pick up and turned around and this time deployed just the HP. I went to an area and waited and watched. And waited. And waited. While waiting I tied some knots and kept telling myself that I would show perseverence in this since the writing was on the wall for this season. I don't know total time on this one but it ended up with the bird diving on a mouse and paying little attention to the fresh HP within "slicing distance". My last glimpse was the passage red tail doing the "marsh hawk" hovering technique well away from my HP. I was completely bummed out. I decided I would pick up and head home empty-handed. I had to go "around the horn" on the four lane highway to get to my HP. As I pull up I see a red tail on my pigeon. Since I was too close to get away without causing a stir I just sat and watched. After a couple minutes I see the attempt to fly and the red tail drop - a talon clearly caught. I might add that last night while waiting for nightfall I cut all the nooses off my HP rig and retied them with a new style noose I learned recently. Plus I put LESS nooses on it. As it turns out it was the right choice. The irony on this one was... I was actually nervous. All the other attempts didn't elicit half the jitters as this one did. Seeing the attempt to fly I manuevered my vehicle and jumped out to put the 'habeas grabas' on the redtail while thinking please hold nooses - please hold. Sure enough they held. So I gather it up and put it in my truck and right away jesse and leash it up and name it "Percy" (Perseverence). Comparitively, this bird seems huge compared to my memory of Magellan, who flew at 32 ounces (907 grams). This bird weight in at a trapped weight of 1078 grams.

I also grabbed a passage female Kestrel which I am taking the weekend debating whether or not to keep her. The weight management issue dictates that the bird should be kept inside which is nice for the kids to experience falconry, but I don't know if I should tie up a slot on my general license. I am sure I can get it slips, but getting it consistent slips is the real issue I am weighing. "Ernie" (short for Ernestine) was my intended name but I was vetoed by my three year old. She called it Tootsie (pronounced to her Two-tsy) after Tootsie Rolls. Tootsie is readily taking tidbits and hopping to me. While I complete the obligatory 3-186A and prepare for a Monday mailing I debate the merits of keeping the kestrel.

I hope to post some photos later.

*$%@($%@# (Translated for G Rating)

2008-11-20T15:44:00.003-06:00

Over a week has passed since my last post. My other nephew and I went to Cedar Rapids after talking with my former sponsor and sure enough - there were immature redtails down there. Unfortunately, we didn't catch any. Our first bird was spotted on a controlled access 4 lane highway - which means - no shooting the median (CURSES!). We put the BC out in the place that allowed us the least turn around time, but a nearby haggard prevented the immature redtails wasn't interested. As it turned out we had another opportunity but I fell prey to the "ramminess" (rambuntiousness) of my nephews cries of "it's caught" only to bump it off and then proceed with every automobile in a 500 mile radius driving on the road where I am trying to trap.

My nephew decided we needed to militarize our trapping plans. He decided to call the harnessed pigeon "Hank the paratrooper" and the BC pigeon "Frank or Something the Heavy Tank Driver" and would proceed to provide a play by play of the thoughts of the pigeons throughout the day. The irony came when one of them "left a deposit" on his lap. We ended the day earlier than what I wanted to on a sharpie. He did go after the HP but didn't get caught.

I find myself rethinking my off season preparation and harking back to my apprenticeship days. I had several traps (which were destroyed by the fire) that I tweaked to be VERY effective. I think I was more meticulous in my preparations than I have been. Therefore I hope there is enough time to rededicate myself to paying attention to the details to catch a bird this season.

Thursday is Friday for me so my nephews and I will snag a few more pigeons for the "ranks" while I modify (hopefully improve) my trapping contraptions.

In the mean time a kestrel is sounding more and more appealing. I still have a few minor details to attend to on the mews, but any newly caught hawk would not see that for at least a month. Whereas a kestrel would be inside as per Mullinex and the fact that it is common sense.

Increasingly Frustrating...

2008-11-11T18:40:00.004-06:00

Although gas prices have eased I am still putting a lot in my truck. Still no bird. It has been a very interesting year (for the limited time that I have been trapping). I am no stranger to Murphy of Murphy's Law. He has reared his head quite a few times. More than once I had to pull up next to someone oggling my trap (these are traps designed to catch hawks - not kill them) and explained that I am a licensed falconer and I am trying to catch a hawk. Little do they know that their moronic curiousity has caused the attempt at catching a hawk to fail. I have been courteous thus far, but that is wearing thin. I actually had someone PICK UP a trap (called a bal chatri). Although I was tempted to yell "Get your friggen hands off that", I calmly explained that I was a licensed falconer and I am attempting to the hawk in yonder tree (I didn't use yonder with her). People need to leave stuff alone and just keep on driving. I realize that falconry gear looks odd, but I am ALWAYS within sight distance of my traps.

The best chance I had was Sunday. I went out with my nephew. Although the winds were pretty high we still went out. We spotted a first year coopers hawk near Wadena and deployed a harnessed pigeon. I turned around and drove back and the hawk was on the trap. This time I got to play the role of village idiot and attempted to photograph the hawk on the trap and bumped it off. The hawk repositioned to a tree and we drove on to 1) get away and 2) get an angle where we could see the trap. Not five minute later a deer hunter walked out of the woods just 40 yards away from the trap. He took a couple looks at the traps and then continued walking down the road. If that wasn't enough to spook the hawk some folks in a vehicle then drove by and stopped and backed up to take a look. Having royally screwed up this attempt we picked up and went our way.

I spoke to my old sponsor today. He is also facing the same issues I am. The bulk of the first year red tails may have already passed through. So with my limited window of available trapping time dwindling and the uncooperative weather and the inevitable appearance of Mr. Murphy I am again caught behind the eight ball trying to have a bird for this season and I am not paying for a bird. On the positive side there are a lot of old birds around - red tails and bald eagles.

All the preparation time I spent this summer and fall appear to be for naught. But I am not giving up.

If all else fails I will get a Kestrel (actually I thought about getting one whether I get a Red Tail or not). I have a few plans for how and where to effectively hunt a "K-Bird".

Late Start '08

2008-11-06T20:48:00.003-06:00

I am finally able to start another falconry journey. After three kids, a fire that destroyed all my equipment and at least five years I am finally able to resume my passion. I have a new double chamber mews that is in the final stages of being built. In Iowa the falconry trapping season begins September 15th. So I am approaching 60 days behind schedule. Previously I was bird in hand on October 1st. On Monday my nephews and I went out to catch some pigeons. One nephew called it a redneck adventure.

Today I went out for a couple hours. A cold front in heading in with the possibility of snow. I was hoping the front would push passage birds my way. The unfortunate thing is wind was a factor. So I drove 62 miles simply wasting time. I hope to hit the trail for a couple hours in the morning to see what I can see. I also found myself unprepared with appropriate traps. I spent too much time building small bird traps. I also picked up Trapping Essentials: An Illustrated Guide to Trapping Raptors by Ben Woodruff a couple days ago. I highly recommend this book to beginning or mid-level falconers.

On the lighter side I picked up a couple gerbils to use as bait. My kids wanted to see them very bad. My oldest girl (middle child) was hysterically scared. My son (oldest) put his hand out for the gerbil to crawl on - unfortunately the gerbil had other ideas and latched onto his hand. I did all I could do to get it off. Finally it released my poor son and fell to the floor. With two of three kids and my wife freaking out I put the grabs on the gerbil and escorted it out the door. My son said I apologized to him at least 50 times.

Depending on the conditions I may try again for tomorrow. I have a busy afternoon so time will be limited. Unfortunately I am scheduled to work Saturday. If the weather works and/or if construction is planned I may take Saturday off. Sunday sounds like the best weather day. Hopefully I didn't miss the window. According to HawkCount - Duluth "pickins are slim".