Jasper and Jessie

We went to town yesterday and as we drove up Tami was just Starting to fly Jasper. It was just before dark and the Sparrows are a bit reluctant to go into the pens to roost until the last minute. I had a Starling in the outside trap, and since the Sparrows were so sparse, after we emptied every building and pen, we went out into the field. Jasper followed and went into a hover over our heads. I had pulled 5 primaries from the Starling, but Jasper didn't see it until it had a good head of steam, and was leaving the area with alacrity. He turned and was pressing it hard when they went out of sight of us over the hill. We ran over to the crest of the hill and could see nothing. Tami thought she could hear the Starling screaming occasionally off in the distance.  There was a cow that was staring at a spot on the ground. On a hunch she went down the hill, forded the creek and finally found him all the way up against the hillside across the creek. The flight covered somewhere around 350 to 400 yards. The little guy doesn't have any quit in him at all.

The wind woke me up during the night, howling for all it was worth. The Harris's were down to weight, but flying them in a 24 MPH  wind is just a waste. I waited until 4 PM but the wind was not going to quit, so I fed the girls some Jack Rabbit that will hold them over until the wind quits. Jessie however is a different story. She is built for the wind and enjoys it. She doesn't fly as high, but she will be right there in spite of the wind.

We had no idea if there were Ducks on the ditch or not, but I needed to fly her, and had food in my bag and on the lure if things didn't work out. Unknown to us Rosy and David had ridden down the ditch, flushing the ducks as they went.

All the kids came out to help flush, and we lined up in position. I turned Jessie loose and we waited for her to get her play out of her system, and settle down in position to take advantage of any ducks that I might flush. When she indicated that she was ready, we rushed the ditch, which of course was empty. Jessie showed no signs of wanting to stop, so we ran up the ditch hoping that we could find something further up. After about 75 to 100 yards I flushed four ducks that rose up into the air, but Jessie was too close, so they slammed back down into the water. My only choice was to keep running and hope for the best. The Ducks of course waited and took off when she was a bit out of position. She tried, but the wind had blown her far enough out of position that they had a chance to make it down past all the kids before Jessie could do more than scare the crap out of them.  I kept up the best pace that I could, and finally flushed a single Gadwall. I yelled to let her know that there was another one in the air. She flashed by me and grabbed him about 20 feet in the air, but also about 20 feet from a Barb wire fence. I could see her hesitating trying to decide if she could get him across the fence or not. She wisely decided to dump down before the fence. They hit the ground just in front of the fence, but their momentum took them through the fence anyway. I waded the creek to help (really to secure her with her leash) and got her clipped up. I then traded her a Pigeon in exchange for the Duck.


As is usual I forgot to take a camera along with me. All the horses in the field that she had caught the Duck in, came over to see what was happening. The calves in the adjoining field also came over to stare. The horses bolted when she opened her wings, leaving her to eat her Pigeon in solitude. We stood on the bank freezing while she dined at her leisure. It was worth it.


Jessie shares with Jasper an intelligent desire to catch something. By intelligent I mean that both make things happen and position themselves so as to take advantage of any opportunity. If it doesn't work out the first time, they are willing to keep flying and trying. Jessie will fly until she is tired, then sit down somewhere. When she is rested, she will get back up in the air and resume the hunt until she does catch something. It is rare that I have to give up and swing the lure to call her back. As long as there is game, she is willing. She is a demanding mistress, requiring that I treat her with respect, never taking short cuts, but she is worth it.