Falconry - 2012-2013 Season

[Greg]

Indeed, it is yet again that time of year! After two weeks and a day of endlessly driving around searching for birds and attempting to trap (most of which ended in failure because I constantly found myself looking at birds that just weren't hungry...) we trapped a new Red-Tail yesterday morning. She doesn't have a name yet, but she's moderately larger than either of my last two birds, and she has HUGE feet. In short, she's still fast and maneuverable, but her feet will make her hit harder and grab more powerfully than Maia and Blaze ever could, making her a great rabbit/squirrel bird.

I sat with her for two hours last night, and four this morning. I think we'll try offering her food by this evening or tomorrow morning, since she continues to appear as having no food in her stomach or crop, which is helpful. That'll get her hungry faster and help me start getting response for training in the next day or so.

I'll have pics up fairly soon...we took a bunch, but are having computer troubles (posting this from work.) She's a beauty, and we'll show her to all of you soon.

Cheers!

-Greg

[Willrett]

congrats cant wait to see the picks.

[Ringulf]

That's wonderful Greg!
Can't wait to see the pics and follow you on a new season of falconry!

[Ernildir]

Excellent! Looking forward to hearing about this season's progress and seeing lots of pics.

[Greg]

Alright, life has calmed down a little bit, so it's time to make a few more updates. Didn't realize I never posted pictures of the bird. HIS name is Dusty, and he made his first free-flight, off of the leash today. He's very attentive, if a little skittish, and seems to like staying really close to me...won't fly very far. That's convenient for someone like myself who's a little nervous after losing last year's bird, while at the same time, a little bit disappointing since he isn't going really high into trees, which would help him build more speed. I think he needs some more time to grow stronger...we'll be doing jump-ups this week (having him fly vertically from a low perch to the glove to build wing and shoulder muscle) to help get things in shape...but we're out in the field, and that's what's important.

Here's a shot of him in a tree over a dry creek which we beat the brush of for rabbits today. I've seen them there before, but we didn't have much time to really work the area...just gave us something to do as a sort of "simulated" hunt while I'm getting him used to the idea of following me, etc.


...aaand some proof that he came back.


More to follow, as always, but we're off to a great start.

[RangerKellen]

Dusty is very beautiful! Congrats it went well!

[Ernildir]

That's a good-looking bird, Greg, and it sounds like his training is coming along nicely.

[Peter Remling]

Handsome bird !

[Greg]

Dusty and I are having a wonderful season, though we had to take a month off so the family back in Cali could meet my daughter.

Now we've been back for several weeks, and we're back plugging away at hunting. Dusty's bagged two squirrels so far this season, as I'm having trouble locating a good field full of rabbits here around our new house, but the search continues. In the meantime, I just couldn't resist:

Find the bird!


Taking a breather:


...aaand the money shot!


He does what we call "follow on" better than Blaze or Maia ever did...he's just WAY more attentive in the field. He may be my favorite bird I've flown so far, even though Maia was more aggressive in the hunt and Blaze was more people-friendly. Dusty gets tossed up into a tree, and then I can hike 200 yards down my hill to the valley floor, and the bird follows me from one tree to the next, waiting for me to flush game or call him down. Makes being a Ranger with a hawk a lot more possible...lets me hike without the bird on the glove, so I can have a bow or sword to hand should I need one. The only problem is, it's kinda hard to not draw attention when there's a hawk jingling along through the trees wearing bells above your head...but I'll never fly him without them. A bell-less bird is asking to be lost. More insights on hawking as a Ranger on the way!

[RangerKellen]

Sounds fun, Dusty even looks smart! And where is Dusty in that first picture?

[Greg]

Just a little higher than me, and off to the right...coming in like a jet.

[Manveruon]

Great pics! I can't wait to see more!

[Greg]

The rabbit season ended yesterday in Indiana, but not on a bad note!

[RangerKellen]

Very nice! Dusty sounds like a very smart falcon.