Hunting in the wind.

There is a real weather front moving through and it has brought a lot of wind with it. It isn't that cold, but with the wind it doesn't matter. This means that we are having a change over on Raptors and ducks. The ducks will now be a bit fatter coming from Canada's corn fields. Jessie will be happy.

I had seriously considered skipping today when the wind woke me at 3 AM, but it was down to just aggravating by the time that daylight came around. The desire to film a hunt with the Movie camera was pretty strong, and the birds are going to have to learn to deal with the wind anyway. They had an introduction at the Burns falconry meet in Oct. and were beginning to get the hang of it then.

The camera is a Tachyon XC, a helmet cam that I have been using on the plane. I got one of Karen's headbands to secure it to my Straw hat. ( I like to wear a wide brimmed hat when I am using the Tee Perch. It keeps the glasses clean. Peg has a disconcerting habit of crapping on her person if she gets a chance.) Of course one is always moving their head, much more than you would imagine, so I did a lot of cutting and editing to get anything at all.

The birds seemed to like the wind, as they were a lot more aerial today than they are normally. Some of the chases were going a lot further than I was comfortable with. Sue caught a Jack on one of the longer flights, and then lost it before I could limp up to the scene. Of course it was tougher for them to get a really sure shot on the running rabbits, as the wind was making smooth flight impossible.

The rabbits, both Jacks and Bunnies will duck into a hole if they are pressed hard enough. One of those occasions was especially funny to watch as Sue straddled the perch pole that Tami was poking into the hole trying to get the rascal out. She wanted to watch and be prepared if she managed to rout him.

Finally we got a close slip and Sue hit the Jack first with Peg close behind securing the head. It is amazing to me that the birds can be throwing those sharp talons all around and never get one another. Sue will tussle with Peg to get her food, but they haven't hurt each other at all or me, seriously, yet.

After they finished their rewards for the Jack, we called it quits and headed back to the truck. On the way another Jack jumped and Sue gave chase. Peg who was lagging behind got after a Bunny that she found and from the wing over that she put in, I felt that she had connected. Sure enough when I got to where she had disappeared, I found her down in a hole holding onto a Bunny. A good day, one each in tough conditions, and the film to prove it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iVLBSzQesfA