Sue's second Bunny

This is the third trip with Peggy and Sue together. Peggy is still not in the groove, she is out of shape and just hasn't gotten into the hunt as energetically as she should. She has been heavier than I flew her last year. I really didn't want to take her down any more than I had to because she is still growing feathers, and I wanted to limit the damages to the feathers as much as I could. Of course that was wishfull thinking on my part. On our last trip I fed her only as much as she deserved, which of course meant that she didn't get much at all to eat. She actually quit on us last trip and crawled under a bush and wouldn't come out. We walked off from her and I eventually called her to the lure across the field. She was far enough behind that she had to make it in two flights. Sue was still heavy yesterday while Peggy was almost under weight. So I fed Peggy some bunny to hold her over until I could get Sue down in weight. It was my intention to turn the screws on Sue and take her down a bit more to make her a bit more energetic in her pursuits.

This morning both birds were at the intended weight. Peg was at her last years hunting weight and Sue was down almost an ounce to 900 grams. She was hungry enough to be cranky. I picked up Tami, Isabel and Jamey, a cousin,  and we trundled off to Arock to see what the day had in store for us.

Sue was really sharp and would not let go of my glove even from the Tee perch. I tried to get her to let it go, but she was convinced that there had to be some food on it and wasn't about to let it go. I finally dumped her on the ground with it to work it out.

She finally gave up on it and let me put it in my vest so that we could get on with it. Both birds were really trying and Sue was even crawling down holes after the bunnies that got away. Their game was turned up a notch, with Sue taking the lead and crashing into the brush harder than she ever had. There were several very near misses for both birds. They were finally beginning to play off each other and positioning themselves so that if the other missed they could take advantage and get a shot of their own. Several times we were sure that they would finally make the shot that would end up in a rabbit in the bag.

Sue has finally gotten used to Tami and what ever beaters that are in the field.  She was finally using whichever Tee perch that was closer. Sue and Peggy have worked out their relationship in the field and there was no more of the rude behavior from Sue. Tami thinks that I am doing her a favor by letting her tag along. Little does she know how much she helps and how much I need her. Especially when the hunt is over and on the trip going back to the car.

Peggy was beginning to get discouraged again, when I saw a Bunny hiding behind a bush. I took Sue and skirted the bush to drive the Bunny out into an open patch. I rushed the bush and kicked it and Sue flashed off the perch after it. She crashed into the ground, and I waited for the squeal that would signal a catch. It never came, but she didn't come back up either. She is a really strong hawk and she had caught the rather smallish bunny, killing it so fast that it never made a sound. Peggy flew over, but landed further out. I am pretty sure that she knew that Sue had caught something.

While it was only half grown at best, it is a special bench mark for her. After making sure that it was dead and not suffering, I leashed and tied her to one of my bags to anchor her there, and then gave Peggy the lure as a consolation prize. She ate most of the meat that I tied on it, but didn't want to come to the fist for more food. I tried for a while to get her on the fist, but she would have none of it, so I offered her the Tee perch and she climbed on out of habit. I then leashed her up, giving her to Tami to carry and feed if she wanted to eat. I then picked up Sue with the rest of the uneaten Bunny, and we walked back to the car. Sue ate almost all of the Bunny with the exception of the guts and the hind legs.

This is Sue's 6th kill so far. Things are beginning to click, and will only get better from here on out. When Peggy gets into her stride things are going to get hot for the Rabbits.