Peggy turns it on.

After chores this morning we loaded up the Harris Hawks for another try. We were going back to a field at Danner that we hadn't been able to hunt while Deer season was going on. There are lots of Bunnies there, probably 3 to 1 compared to Jacks. For some reason, I have thought that Bunnies were easier to catch than Jacks. Apparently not true.

I made Karen a Tee Perch of her own to try to get Peg to stay with her, so that Sylvester would stick around more. Peg knows the advantage of a Tee perch and doesn't require a tidbit to come to it.  So I was hoping that things would go a bit smoother with a good high perch for her.

 

We got into the field and Rabbits were going every where, hawks too. Peg still had not realized the full advantage of having another hawk to set up the rabbits for her, so we were watching miss after miss. The Jacks use the cover to full advantage and will stop, reverse direction, hide then bolt out when the hawk commits to landing in a bush or on the ground. The Bunnies were making both birds look slow and clumsy beating them to holes or hiding first then going to a hole. They were trying and trying hard, but still not closing the deal. Peg was now flying as she should have before. She was putting on the speed and being very respectful of Sylvester, which allowed him to quit worrying about being blind sided by a dumb baby. They even set side by side on a Tee Perch when we took a short rest.

A big improvement. After watching Peg for a while, it was evident to me that she was picking up on the fact that Sly could help her get a better chance at the rabbits, and she was taking advantage of his attempts, to set up a shot at the rabbit for herself. Each flight saw an improvement in her tactics and her efforts to catch one herself. I told Karen that she really wanted to catch something, much more than she had before, and was surely going to succeed soon.

As we moved into another series of Lava lumps, Karen stayed out a bit and I took the inside by the rocks. A Jack flushed right in between us and Peg was off in a flash, making the first shot at him, turning him towards Sylvester. He missed and it turned him towards Peg who grabbed him.

 

When I got there, the Jack was tied up pretty good indeed. With two Harris Hawks there is no need to worry about a Jack breaking free, it isn't going to happen. I added my ham hand in there and even though Peg was the first to grab him, she let go and walked off. I tossed her a chunk of rabbit prepared for just that purpose. While she fed, I killed the rabbit and tossed Sly his chunk the other direction. When he was finally able to let go, I cleaned the Jack and put it in my bag. We hunted our way back to the truck getting several more slips, but they didn't connect. We had been in the field for at least two and half hours, and it was getting hot, so we put the birds in their boxes with the remainder of their meal and went home, happy again. Peg might not be one of the best hawks around, and may not have the full free use of her limbs, but it appears she is improving. That is all I ask.