Hope?

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

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

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

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.

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)

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...

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

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".