Last Rabbit hunt of the year.

Today was Tara's introduction to the type of falconry that she will be doing when she gets her license. At least what I would expect for her. Her sponsor hunts nothing but long wings and some very nice birds at that, but most beginning falconers start with birds like Redtails, Goshawks and Coopers hawks, rather than at the top of the "falconry food chain". These birds are free for the taking, and a good beginning on the Falconry journey.

While it was still very cold for a Harris Hawk, and the outcome as far as a willing Harris was far from settled. We took Peg to Arock for our hunt as the snow and ice was thinner there than anywhere else. Tara had never seen an experienced Harris hunt. She had been out when I was first starting Sue, but it was mostly just a hike rather than a hunt. I hoped that today would be different. Peg hopped right up to the tee perch that Tara was holding and we started into the field. Peg flew to the top of the telephone pole just like it was a balmy day rather than the 18 degrees that the thermometer showed. We had not gone far into the field when she took off after a Jack. He of course evaded her, but it looked as though she was going to play the game. We picked her up and moved on. We soon jumped another Jack and she chased hard, but failed to catch him. She was cold and showed it. She kept pulling alternate feet up trying in vain to keep warm. She wasn't getting wet, so she was willing to hunt.

We chased a few Bunnies, with her just missing on several occasions. One of those chases ended with her crashing into a bush, literally and kind of stunning herself. The fact that there were two bunnies in there was a bit of a surprise. She chased another bunny that took refuge in the rocks. I picked her up and walked right into the remains of an Eagle rabbit kill. Of course there was enough parts there that she was quite satisfied to stay right there, but I was having none of that. I finally got her away from there and continued on our way. We had not gone far when Travis saw a Jack hiding under a bush. I got into position and had Travis scare the Jack out for us. He finally started out and I saw that he had a broken leg. It didn't take Peg more than 15 feet for her to catch him. I'm not sure how he broke his leg, but there was no way that he was going to heal up from that. He was going to be food for someone soon, might as well be Peg.  I killed the Jack for her, and tossed her a front leg to eat while I cleaned the Jack. I gave Tara my glove and a hind leg to feed Peg when she finished her snack. She flew to Tara bringing the rest of her front leg with her.

You can see the broken leg jutting out. I am puzzled as to how it could have happened. There was no bruising on the rest of the leg at all, and to all appearances it was fresh. I had found blood back in the sage as we walked forward, and it was possibly from this rabbit.

Tara kindly carried and fed Peg on the way back to the car. It was a fitting end to the season. They should all end on a positive note.