Rock House Fly- In!

Each year a bunch of our friends gather for an unofficial Kolb airplane fly- in here at the house. It is a good time visiting and flying the spectacular terrain that Eastern Oregon is blessed with. This year we decided to have it in late June in the hopes that the weather would be a bit better. It was a nice thought, but as usual for this year the wind was a bit of a problem. Everyone managed to get in without any problem.

 
The group has expanded a bit, with  a visitor from Hawaii and even one from Australia. At peak we had 20 people here. The wind was howling and one sustained wind peaked at 41.7 MPH. One of the guy's parked his truck and trailer to block as much of the wind as he could. His plane was hovering with both wheel off the ground. Finally the wind subsided, but much too much to enjoy any flights, so a road trip was in order for the rest of the day.

 The scenery in Leslie Gulch is pretty spectacular, and wildlife is prolific so every one had a great time.

 After dinner we all gathered around the camp fire to shoot a few bulls and tell stories.

 Finally we got a break from the wind and there was a mad scramble to get our planes out to fly.

 Besides the light sport type, we also had 3 GA planes. The dirt ( Rocks ) runway did not suit them as well as the Kolbs, but we worked around it.

 I had a chance to borrow a drift video camera, and found that the quality was much better. I promptly ordered one.  https://vimeo.com/44828465

Cow Camp Candy drop and Flight to the Alvord!

It has been a while since I have posted, mostly because the weather has been terrible and I have done little that hasn't been necessary for survival. We normally have a "Fly-In" for our Kolb friends each year in May. The weather is usually nasty most of the time, so this year I thought that we would put it off until the 23rd of June in the hopes that the weather would moderate a bit. So far the decision has been one of my better ideas.

John Hauck arrived Thursday from Alabama with a four day flight, and two weather days. Not bad, it took him eleven days last year to get here in May. A little bit of rest composed of naps and hot tubs and he was soon feeling a lot better. Today promised to be a quiet day for the wind, so we decided that it was time to fly.

The Stoddarts from the ranch next door, have been up to Cow Camp for at least two weeks branding this years calves. All of them must be worn to the bone with all the work, and I am sure the kids are feeling it as well, so I decided that a Candy drop might be just the thing for the kids. I spent a bit of time last night tying 9 or 10 Hershey bars to one of my bandannas for a parachute. That way they could find it and they wouldn't be crumbled up when they got them. I used to make parachutes like that when I was a kid. Should work, I reasoned.

The morning wind slowed around 8 AM and John and I took off for Cow Camp. As we approached we could see that we had gotten lucky and had caught them before they had left for their gather. I buzzed the camp to decide where I wanted to toss the bars. I made another circle and tossed them out at about 100 feet. I was pleased to see the bandanna open up just off the wheel. I had timed it perfectly and the bars landed just by their tent.

We then headed on to the Alvord by straight line. As I topped the last hills I could see a herd of "Wild Horses" all in a single file heading down the hill.

The winds were surprisingly calm and smooth, and we soon approached the Desert.

This year has been a dry one and there was very little water on it at all. The only places where it held water was where the creeks flowed into the desert.

After a low level flight around the edge of the Desert and a check of the Hot Springs John wanted to land. We set down in our last campsite from 2005. The air was dead calm and really quiet since we were the only people on that side of the lake bed. John wanted to do some touch and goes to reacquaint himself with the altitude. After shooting 6 or so landings, we both took off for the house. As I flew across the Lake bed, John continued doing touch and goes all across the 6 miles of flat lake bed. He said that he did about 10 and with his bigger engine still kept up with me flying at 70 MPH level.  We flew out through the Sand Gap and over Coyote Lake ( about a mile across and just as flat). John did another five flying across that.

There was a bit of a tail wind coming across the desert, but the wind at the house was only 3 MPH. We flew 1.6 hours and had as good a flight as I can ever remember.

Here is a video of that flight.  https://vimeo.com/44174932

Air time on the Owyhee!

The weather and wind finally came together to make a great day here in Rome. It was much too nice to work in the garden or the other things waiting for me to do. So I rolled out Dart and checked the batteries in my video camera and took off to get a better look at the Owyhee canyon. The picture above is where Crooked Creek flows into the Owyhee. The river is brown and a bit higher due to the recent rains and snow melt.

There were at least three groups of rafters camped at various spots on the River. The season this year is going to be quite a bit shorter than normal and especially last year. There was so much rain last year that they rafted well into July. It is about done right now this year.

The air couldn't have been better. No haze at all and even shooting through my lexan windshield they are still decent photo's.

Chalk Basin is next from Rome when going North (down river) Pretty interesting scenery to say the least.

Here at the end of Bogus Creek and basin, the river goes back into the enclosed cliffs. John Hauck and I fished the pool where the river goes into the higher cliffs. There were so many Bass that it took no time at all to fill our limit.

The cliffs get a lot bigger and more imposing from this point on. I did not get any pictures due to the shadows and the fact I was a bit busy looking at everything.

The Bighorn Sheep did not disappoint me, and were at their usual spot. I did not want to get close enough to take the picture that I would like. So I used my Telephoto and decided to accept the photo no matter if I would have liked to get closer. If they are "pressed" at all they run to the cliff edge and dive over. No matter that they are Bighorn Sheep and are comfortable on Rock faces that would have me peeing down both legs, I just cannot push them into evasive action.

The flight lasted 1 hour and 36 minutes. I burned about 5 gallons of fuel and traveled 91 miles.

http://vimeo.com/41261611    Will take you to an  short HD  clip of the flight.

Friday, April 13th

Jasper has apparently decided that this is his home. Depending on his successes he is either close to the house or at least visible in the distance. He will allow me within 10 feet or so to him before he moves to a more remote perch.  The other day Karen and I found him inside the Chicken pen, sitting on the doorway of the house. Apparently he had gone in after a Sparrow, and was either waiting where he would have the advantage if one came in to eat, or he had forgotten how to get out. I believe that he was waiting inside on purpose. He was quite well hidden, and appeared to be content with where he was.

I went back to the house to get a thawed Starling, but when I went inside with him, he flew to the far corner and began to Kak in alarm at me. He was in the wrong corner to get out, so I pushed him to the side that he would be able to get out of the wire. He crawled through the wire and flew up to the power line. I tossed the Starling into the horse corral in front of him as I left. I watched and he flew down and got the Starling.

A few days later I made another trip up the runway spraying weeds, and saw him sitting on the fence bordering the runway. He paid no attention to me at all. On my trip back, I noticed that he was sitting on top of the house that I had put up for him. Since then in the evenings he can be seen sitting on the roof of the Kestrel house. I cannot say if he is going inside at night or not, but at least he is using it. I can only hope that a female will wonder by and think that he has a viable nest site.

He has actually been spending more time here around the house lately, and it obviously supplies most of his food. After all it is the local feeding spot for everything from Sparrows to Mice. I have noticed at least one molted feather under the power pole by the house. He is in no way bothered by either us or the dogs, but he does maintain his own space. Yesterday he was sitting on the Chicken pen in the morning and the evening, but he didn't seem to be all that hungry, so I did nothing, figuring that if he was really hungry, I would be able to tell from his actions.

It was a bit cool this morning when I went out to feed. Josie let me know that my live trap had Mice in it. I picked it up and found that I had at least five Mice in it. I flipped one out for Josie to play with. She took it to the middle of the runway and driveway to play with it. She still wants to play rather than kill them. I noticed that Jasper was sitting on the fence at the top of the runway. I yelled and waved my hat at him, tossing it up in the air, as I had done when we were serving him bagged game. He did not come in my direction, so I put the trap down and let the Chickens out. When I looked up, he was no longer on the fence. I looked around and saw that he had been sitting on the rock jacks by the gate. He then flew to the top of the hanger. I got another Mouse out and tossed it in the air towards him. He took off and rather than come towards me, he was flying full speed at Josie. Josie was sitting down watching me. Jasper zipped behind Josie within two feet, snatched up the Mouse without slowing down a bit and flew to the rock jack.

I called for Josie, and she turned to pick up her Mouse. It wasn't there! She had no idea that Jasper had stolen it, without her realizing it. She ran all over the area with her nose to the ground, and just could not believe that it wasn't there. I finally got her to come over to me and get the one that I had tossed. Everyone was happy, and I had my first laugh of the day.

This is not the first time he has taken one of her Mice. Josie was playing with one that I had tossed for he, when Jasper showed up on the power line. Josie had wallowed it to the point that it was quite content to just sit still and endure. Josie saw me and came to me, leaving the Mouse humped up and not moving. Jasper swooped down, picked it up and flew to the corral gate to eat it. As I have said more than once, the boy is smart! Hopefully he remains alert and agile as well.

Jasper Update.

Well it has been 8 days and an update is due, since I am sure most of you are wondering how his readjustment is coming along.

It appears that he might just claim the place here as his "Territory". He has not been loath to help himself to the Sparrow population, and I have seen him many times with a Sparrow in his feet. He seems to like to eat twice a day. A Sparrow in the morning to start the day out right and a Mouse from my live trap in the evening. He seems to have little desire to take on the Starlings or Black birds that are helping themselves to my Chicken food. A smart move to my way of thinking. Both are dangerous without immediate help.

I would always see him in the morning if I got out early enough, gone through the middle of the day and then back again in the evening to hunt the Sparrows and Mice that live here. The weather has been moderate as far as the temps are concerned. The winds however have been howling, but that is not a problem with a Kestrel. He can handle the wind better than most of his prey species.

Tami finally got enough of a pause in the hectic schedule of the Ranch to come over to see him. I called her when he showed up, but it took her a bit to get her kid crew fed, and when she got here he was not to be seen. I had noticed the day before that when I had done some shooting, he showed up. I had been trying to eliminate some of the ground Squirrels that seem intent on carrying off as much of my Layer mash as they can, mouthful by mouthful. He has been hanging out on the fence line some times, but he was nowhere to be seen. I got out my 22 and began shooting at the Pigeons that were flying overhead. Nothing! Tami and Grace loaded up to leave and as soon as they started the car, I noticed him sitting on the gate post.

I checked my live trap, and found that the only Mouse in it had managed to kill himself by tripping the trap from the inside and getting caught in the mechanism. I gave it to Tami and she waved it calling him. He flew over to her, hovered over her hand, but did not land. He flew instead to the top of the Hanger. Tami called again and tossed it to the ground in front of her. He flew down, picked it up and flew to a post by the gate. We watched him, discussing how pleased that she was to see him. About that time he flew to the rock jack that anchors the fence, and cached it, flying back to the hanger.

I got a dead Starling that I was intending to give to the Harris Hawks, and gave it to Tami. She again waved it calling him, and he again hovered over her fist, almost landing. He flew to the front of the tractor, watching her. She again tossed it to the ground and he flew down to it. He immediately started trying to break in to the brains. I think I have mentioned a time or two that he loves the brains on the birds that he catches. After eating a while, he attempted to fly off with the Starling, but could not as it probably weighs as much as he does. We watched him eat until duty forced Tami to go home. I went out later to see what he had done with the Starling, but could not find it anywhere. I am not sure where or even how he managed to drag it off, but the only thing left was the remains of the head. I checked later to see if the Mouse was still cached in the rock jack and it was. The next morning when we went to town, it was gone, so we knew what he had for breakfast.

He is of course getting a bit more independent each day, and more used to feeding himself. I tried with three mice that I had caught yesterday to give him. He was content to watch them run to cover each time without making any attempt to catch them. He is not concerned with me or my presence. He only stays high enough that the dogs do not pose a problem to him. I am able to walk within a few feet of him, without him feeling the need to move.

Two days ago I noticed that I needed to spray some weeds that were beginning to come up in the runway, and as I approached the wind sock, I saw a bird fly to the front of the sock. I drove up a bit further to where I could see and there was Jasper sitting on a bar inside the wind sock. The mystery of where he has been spending the night is now solved. The little rascal is sitting inside, dry and out of sight each night. I went back to the house and called up plans for a Kestrel box on the computer. After I finished it I fastened it to the windsock pole. Hopefully he will begin using that and even better find a wandering female to nest there.

I had thought that he might wander off, but there is the faint possibility that he might stay here. The thought causes me great pleasure. I had first thought that the "Hack Tower" might provide a home for him, but two Barn Owls have moved into there, so the windsock is the next best.

I just finished my morning chores and found Jasper sitting on the corner of the Chicken pen. I closed the gate behind me and went to my Starling house trap that was currently occupied with two Starlings. I took one out, wrung its neck and tossed it out to the open area by where he had been sitting. Nothing! I took the other out and did the same, tossing it a bit further out. Still nothing. I looked around the corner and he was just sitting there watching them flop, but showing no interest at all. I picked up the dead birds to feed to the Harris's and went to my Mouse trap. (It is a repeating trap that can catch up to 10 or more mice at a time.) There were four of them in there, and they were quite hyperthermic, so I reached in and tossed one out in the open area in front of him. Nothing! I did so with the other three, and he still didn't move. At that point I was convinced that he was in no danger of starving, so I turned to go. I noticed him turn with a bit more interest, then he apparently decided that he might be able to hold another mouse or he decided to cache it.

All in all, it has worked out much better than I could have hoped for.

Spring has come to the High Desert!

Spring has indeed come to the High Desert of Eastern Oregon. The calendar has officially decided that it is spring. The hours have changed to daylight savings time. Not sure why, but it is not my place to ask. Already darkness has retreated to 8 PM. Our winter this year has been the gentlest that we have experienced in Karen's and my entire lifetime. We have had 2.4 inches of moisture since early November, but the rainy season here is still to come. The months of April, May and early June often have the worst weather of the entire year if you discount the cold of December.

March has been the windiest that we have experienced. The wind has been unrelenting, and hitting as high as 59 MPH. The average temps have been climbing steadily, and the migrants are returning to their summer homes. Killdeer are hunting worms in the lawn that is now beginning to green up. The Say's Phoebe has returned to claim his home under the back porch. While watching the Red Tail Hawk, that is determined to bring off a clutch of young from the telephone pole down by the creek, I saw a flock of Swallows in flight over the house. Of course I am not immune to the promise of spring either, as I was  rototilling the garden. The daytime temps are in the 60's when the spring storms have made their way into Idaho and points East.

Since it is Spring, it is time for Jasper to have the freedom that we promised him when we first held him in our trembling sweaty fingers. He has held up his end of the bargain, and now it is our turn to honor our promise.

A pretty forlorn little guy!

I find it a bit amusing that many of our falconer acquaintances do not understand why we are releasing Jasper. I can only guess that their definition of falconry and the apprentice program is different than the one that Karen, Tami and I believe in.

It is true that Falconry, and the goal of Falconry, is to hunt wild game with a raptor. It is not merely the possession of a hawk. Most people are content to have a hawk that will actually kill wild game. I require something more. I want to learn to understand better the processes that enable a raptor to hunt with a man.

Now the goal of apprenticeship is not the same as that of Falconry. In a nutshell it is to learn the art and the process required to train a raptor to be able to hunt with a man or in this case a woman. It is to learn the nuances of the raptor mind. It is to learn their language, so that they will be able to catch any species of raptor and guide it to a hunting partnership. One cannot do that by keeping the same raptor, no matter how good or successful it is, throughout the entire 2 year apprenticeship. Any sponsor who is content to give that kind of effort to his or her apprentice is cheating them of knowledge. One time, does not make you an expert, no matter the circumstances.

Sponsorship is basically "paying it forward". In most cases someone took the time and energy to impart to the current crop of falconers whatever knowledge that they had gleaned through out the years and raptors that they have handled. There is also a "protection" feature to it as well. It is the opportunity to instill a set of ethics that ensure that falconry is treated with the respect that it deserves and requires to exist in a society that is ever more "politically correct". It ensures that the raptors in our care are treated and cared for in a responsible manner. It is our duty to impart as much knowledge and understanding as they can in the two year period that the apprentice is bound to them. That is not done with one raptor. Tami will have handled and trained a minimum of three Kestrels by the end of her apprenticeship this coming November. She will be ready to go with confidence to the next stage of her falconry career. She will have learned weight control. She will have learned how to care for and keep in flying condition a raptor, and she will have an understanding of how to enter a raptor to wild game. She will also have learned about the quarry that she will pursue, how to set up the hunts, and the limitations of both her raptor and the game that it hunts. She will also be able to impart and improve on what I have been fortunate enough to teach her, and through her efforts be able to "pay forward" once again the joy of Falconry.

I basically had no sponsor. I met my first genuine Falconer on the day that my Kestrel, that I had purchased from a guy advertising in a LA newspaper, caught her first Sparrow. I didn't have long to learn from him as we soon moved to Oregon, but one of the things that he said that  burned its way into my mind was that "Raptors are a gift from the Gods, and it was our duty to return them to the wild in as good or better shape than when we took them".  Of course in those early days, captive bred raptors was only an unfulfilled dream. That has of course changed and the entire equation has changed with it, but it is still my pleasure to be able to release a raptor back to the wild from which it came. I admit that I try to instill that rather romantic notion in those that I have sponsored. In many ways my path was much more difficult, and my arrival to this point has been due to my hunger for understanding.

We have waited until this date to release Jasper. Tami has been fattening him for his readjustment to the wild. We are releasing him here at the house, since the resident Kestrel has returned to the ranch. If we turned him loose there, a fight would of course ensue, and that is his rightful territory. Jasper has done most of his hunting here at the house, and if he decides to stay, I can supplement his diet as he requires. I seriously doubt that he will need any help, as I have rarely seen a better hunting Kestrel than him. I also doubt that he will stay long. I do not know what pressures his intensifying hormonal levels will put on him. I am guessing that he will make his way to Rome and the area around the Owyhee that had been his home before we came along.

Just in case you are curious, I gave Tami the option of keeping him for the summer. Primarily to see what she would do. She did not disappoint me, when she said that she would miss him, but wanted him to have the opportunity to be free.

Its here, Jasper's first day of freedom!

 

After some false starts we managed to cut his Jesses, and he was sitting on the fist free. Finally he decided that he would make another try to get to the Chicken house so that he could hunt. His weight before Tami brought him over for release was 124 grams. That was about 15 grams more than when we caught him, so he was in no danger of starving to death any time soon.

 

 http://vimeo.com/39102952

 

He flew to his regular perch by the free chickens, and then chased a Sparrow over to the other pen. I went inside to see if there was any that I could flush. The Sparrows had all vacated the premises as soon as he had flashed up over the rock fence into sight. I was keeping an eye on him to see what he was doing, and after a bit, he started jumping up and down on the post, grabbing (footing) all over the top to the point that he fell off. He then went to the next post and was doing it there as well. Karen thought that something was the matter with him for a bit, because he was acting so strange. Tami and I could see him better and both of us were cracking up watching his joy at not having all that weight on his feet. I can't actually say that he "moon walked", but he threw almost every other hip hop move in there that he could think of.

 

We retired to the hanger to sit down and watch from there to see what he was going to do. He flew around a bit and spent at least a half an hour harassing the Black Birds that were landing on the Chicken pen.  When he tired of that he flew to the free range chicken pen. Then he flew to the ground and started playing with a chicken feather. After a bit he jumped up on the water pan for the chickens. Then he jumped in the water and started bathing. Tami was amazed as he had never bathed the entire time that she had him. He would drink water off her finger, but refused a bath. The Pigeons thought that was a good idea and wanted in as well, but didn't trust him.

When I went out to pick up eggs and put things up for the night, he followed me to the captive pen. There was a Starling inside the pen, so I pinned it in the corner with Jasper's help and took it outside for him. I tossed it for him and he caught it on the ground. They were fighting pretty good, so I got down and went in to him. I broke the birds neck and backed off. He plucked on it a bit, then the next time I looked he had flown up to a near by fence post and was eating it.

 

I am not sure where he spent the night. I went out this morning to do my chores, looking for him all the time, but did not see him any where. As I was walking back to the house, he flew by me from the area of the free range Chickens carrying a Sparrow. He flew up on the power lines, then from there to a bit easier spot to eat his breakfast. We were all so very pleased with the little rascal that we could have burst without too much effort.

 

Karen and I had to go to Boise, and did not return until about 7PM. We flushed him off the drive way gate as we drove in. I went out to do my evening chores, but did not see him. I also noticed that the normal flock of Sparrows and Black birds were not in much evidence either. The thought crossed my mind that it would be real nice if he stayed. As I went to the free range pen, I checked an automatic mouse trap that I had set outside the door. There were 5 mice in it, so I called Josie and gave her one to play with. I thought I saw a flash across the Sun, but couldn't find anything. I was standing in the drive waiting for her to maul hers to death, when I saw Jasper sitting on the fence watching. I tried calling and waving my hat to him, but he ignored me. Finally I reached in and grabbed one of the Mice. I called his name and waved the mouse. Off he came and I tossed the Mouse. It stopped still and he couldn't find it. He flew up on the hanger roof, so I walked around and herded the Mouse towards him. As soon as he saw it run, he swooped down and snatched it up, flying back up on the roof to eat.

 

As long as he stays, I will make sure that he has food if he needs it. If he decided to stay here, I could save enough Chicken food from the hordes of Black birds that normally empty my feeders, to ship in food for him. 

Jasper and Sparrow

Tami, Isabel and Thayen came over this evening with Jasper. He had finally got back into his flying weight range after an apparently exceptionally plump Starling that we had given him on his last outing. The Starling are on their swing back north after spending the harsher winter months in the land of thawed french fries. Last year I caught over 600 in less than a week, and have been feeding my hunting hawks on them ever since. Tami is stocking up as well and in the process saving at least some of her chicken feed for the intended recipients. We also keep a few fresh ones alive for the days that the wild population outsmarts us. The plump one that Jasper had eaten was one of those. It is a bit amazing how soon these Starlings lose condition after being caught. Tami feeds them well on Cat food, but they apparently loose quite a bit of muscle. Jasper caught this one with little effort on his part. Well that is if you don't count the fact that he crashed into the ground at least twice in the pursuit, giving Tami a serious case of the giggles. This time I asked her to bring at least three fresh caught ones for our "just in case" scenario.

When they arrived the Starlings were lined up on my Chicken house. As soon as Jasper opened his wings a cloud of Starlings and Sparrows hit the sky getting as much distance between them and the ground as they could. As he streaked across the ground, I saw a Sparrow take refuge under one of my trailers parked by the outside Chicken house.

Jasper was working the captive pen, and getting a few chases but nothing would give him an even chance. I decided that I would try to get some video this time rather than try to take pictures. We were checking the rock wall by the chicken pen when he abandoned us to try for a Sparrow by the outside pen. We all trekked back to see what he had found. By the time we got there he was sitting on the back of the outside pen and had cornered one behind a tool box stored there. I started the video as Tami rousted the Sparrow out of the hiding spot. The Sparrow flew under the dog house and on out, but Jasper didn't see him leave and went under the house looking for him. He finally came out and took a perch on the Dog house, then up on the Hawk house thinking the Sparrow might still be hiding there. Tami got him on the fist and we moved to the back of the outside chicken house to see if Karen could flush one in our direction. One did come to the escape hole, took one look and bolted past Karen out the front door. Jasper gave chase, but lost him in the corral. Tami called him to the fist and we went to check the Sparrow that I had seen hiding under the trailer. Tami went on one side and I started kicking the trailers on the other. The Sparrow flushed and Jasper soon put him into cover under my old Ford PU. Tami came up just in time to force the fleeing Sparrow back under the truck. Jasper went back after him, and chased him around the tires a couple of times with the Sparrow screaming at every turn. Tami was bending over to look under the truck when the Sparrow decided that it wasn't such a good place to hide after all. The Sparrow came up over the hood of the truck scratching and flying for all it was worth. When it saw Tami it hesitated just a bit and Jasper caught it by the radio antennas. They were going quite fast and they both slid over the edge. Thayen watches all the chases and does his version of trying to help. He came thundering up waving a stick about the same time they slid over the edge so Jasper continued to a farm disc parked by the truck. He is so used to Thayen and every thing around him that he seldom pays attention to any of the mayhem that usually occurs during the mayhem of a hunt. That is of course the key to successful hunting hawk. He can then focus on the prey rather than worry about the people.

 He sat on the disc and finished killing the Sparrow. Tami walked up and offered him a Starling leg. When he looked up and saw her and her offered fist, he jumped to her to eat the offering. If you will notice he is eating the leg and holding the Sparrow in his left foot. Next to bird brains he likes the skinned offerings the best.

http://vimeo.com/36971119

The above link will take you to the video of the hunt.

Jasper and thoughts.

 An interested bystander to the hunt.

Things here are winding down for the hawking season. Some people hunt until late March, which is the end of most of the legal seasons for Falconry. Duck season is over near the end of January, Grouse ends in December. Upland game such as Pheasant and Chukar are open until the end of March. Rabbits have no seasons, but they begin their breeding season in March. You have heard the phrase Madder than a March Hare? That is because when their hormones are raging, they are much like a teenage boy. Little sense, lots of testosterone. You can see them running all over the place with little regard for safety. Just too easy and I fear that the one that my hawks kill will be the one responsible for the perpetuation of the species. :-) 

So all of my birds are fat and molting. Weight, as well as hours of daylight, are the factors that trigger molt. My shop looks like the scene of a pillow fight, feathers and bits of down are every where. Sadly enough, I miss the time spent relating the events of the hunts. Putting it into print clarifies my understanding of what my birds are thinking and their reactions to the things that happen due to my influence and actions. So all I have left is watching Jasper trying to catch Sparrows here at the house, and trying to clarify training techniques to Tami. It is not as easy as it may seem, to teach something so nebulous as interpreting as a Raptors thinking processes. Most of the stuff that I do is instinctual and the reasons for it, not thought out. Then to explain why, takes a lot of thought and sometimes words. So while this process is fresh in my mind, I will try to clarify some of my thoughts on preparing  a raptor to hunt. The following is an attempt at clarifying a Raptors thinking process and may either be repetitious or boring, so I have included some pictures of Jasper's hunt yesterday, at the end of this piece. So feel free to skip to the pictures at any time.

Of course the first thing one needs to understand is that a Raptor's thinking processes are a lot different from any other animal that we deal with. One of the biggest things to overcome is that tendency to think that Raptors suffer from the emotion of gratitude. Raptors have evolved by being able to exploit weakness in their food supply. Food and the obtaining of it is the primary drive in all Raptors. If there are two Raptors and one of them has food, the other will try to take it. Even in youngsters at the nest, when the adult comes in with food, a youngster will grab it and turn its back on the adult that just brought it, in an attempt to hide it. This behavior does not change through out all its life. The hungrier that it gets the more pronounced the behavior.

The success of a falconer depends on their ability to observe. Of course to solve a problem you first have to understand it, and the factors that influence it.

When a Raptor is first caught, it thinks that you are going to eat it. That is what happens to every thing that it catches. When you first lay your hands on it, it goes into shock, which is the bodies way of preparing one to die. This shock will last for roughly a week or so. As a side issue, during that time the bird is more susceptible to any of the common afflictions that they normally carry in the body, such as Frounce, and Aspergillis. In other words their immune system is shut down. In the following days and week or so the bird is "manned", or in simple terms becomes used to you and its altered surroundings. It does not understand why you haven't eaten it, but that thought is of course in the back of its mind, and until it forgets that, it will not act in a fashion that is normal to it. You can, during this time make mistakes that will cause you problems once the bird becomes used to you and its situation. It will not react that much if you take food from it, because it expects to be eaten, but it will not forget either.

During this time, the falconer is laying the groundwork for a relationship that will last the birds entire life.  One can teach a bad habit in an instant, and never be able to erase it in a lifetime. So you have to be very careful what you do.

 During the manning process you teach the hawk that food can be found on the fist. Its weight is controlled to the point that it is eager to eat at the time that you have chosen to interact with it. This is enhanced by long walks with the bird followed up by the reward of food either during or immediately after. The bird learns to first step to the fist, then to fly to the fist. Then the lure is generally introduced as a safety feature or a "Panic button" if you will. Hawks generally do not require a lure to get them back, but a falcon needs something that is readily visible from long distances. I always train my hawks to the lure as a means of getting an instant response and return. Once they have finished these steps they can then begin the process of hunting.

It takes about three lessons to establish a link in the birds mind that the lure is very desirable and they will come to it when they will respond to nothing else. Some, like the Accipiters think of the lure the same way that they feel about prey. The object is to link the lure to its full meal. So that when the bird gets the lure it gets to eat enough that its hunger is satisfied or at least appeased. It takes very little time for the Raptor to become very possessive of the lure. Think of it like this. When you throw the lure the bird does not think of it as a gift, rather that you might have dropped it, and if the positions were reversed, the Raptor would be trying to get it back.

During the training process the Raptor is on a "creance" or line, so you have control. If the Raptor tries to drag the lure off, as is its instinct, it is no big deal. Keep in mind that any raptor that sees your Hawk with food will either try to take it or kill the hawk, and then take it.  In the wild, Hawks will drag their food under cover so that they are not observed. They will "mantle" or spread their wings to cover the food to make it less visible to other Hawks. All this is so that you can understand what the Raptors natural instinct compels it to do. We counter that tendency by putting weight on the lure or line so that the bird cannot fly off with the lure. Most times that is enough, but if the bird ever learns to distrust your motives, you have taught a lesson that will plague you for the rest of the time that the bird is with you. If your bird is free and you give it the lure, there is nothing to make that bird stay with you if it did not want to. So it is in your best interest to make sure that it knows there is more on your fist and you are not going to try to take the lure from him.

To make the bird anxious to come to that lure, we must put enough food on it that the trip is worthwhile. We must also make sure that the food cannot be pulled off, but has to be eaten on the lure. If it ever pulls off a chunk, it will fly to a nice quiet spot to eat it, and will try to repeat that process each and every time that it comes to the lure. I prefer to have some food with a bone in it for the larger Raptors to prevent that. If one puts enough on a lure to fill the birds crop, the problem of how to pick it up arises. If you don't put enough food on it, then the bird will see little reason to come to it in the first place. If you put too much there is no reason for the bird to remain in your presence at all after it has eaten it. Most of the time that a lure is used, for a Hawk, is when the bird is too fat to hunt and is showing signs of disinterest to the point that it will not come to the fist.  I prefer to put about half of its meal on the lure, then make her come to me for the rest of its meal. I try to never touch the lure until the Raptor is on my fist and secured. That way if the Raptor wants to drag the lure under a bush, it knows that to get the rest of its food it will have to come to my fist to get it. I try to never give the bird any reason to think that I am going to take the lure from her, or that it holds any value to me at all. Remember there is no gratitude involved, it is all learned behavior.

Your job in the "Manning" process is to lay the ground work to serve as a solid base in your relations with the Hawk. If you do it halfway, you will suffer for as long as the bird is with you. You have a window that you can establish a relationship with the bird that will make it look like it is easy if you do it right, or make the entire experience miserable. Tami has done an excellent job with Jasper in her manning. I have drummed into her the two lessons that I feel are the most important in handling a Raptor. Never cheat or lie to your hawk. If you offer it, then give it. Never take food from it. She has done that so well that Jasper will fly to her with a Sparrow that he has just killed. He trusts her completely. I cannot tell you how rare that is. We will see if she can repeat that with the Kestrel that she will get this summer. It is about time to release Jasper so that he can live the life that he was intended to have. A wild caught bird is a gift. Jasper has had his horizons expanded by his association with Tami, and Tami has learned much from him. Hopefully this little interlude in his life will help him in his quest to survive and reproduce. He is beginning to drop body feathers, and soon the urge to mate will be upon him. We hunt him here at the house, but the Sparrows are cagy and far from easy prey. If we spent longer and put more effort into it we would be catching some, as he always tries very hard for us. They clear the area when he opens his wings, and when the daylight fails us, we amuse ourselves by making him "wait on" in the fields around the house and tossing him Starlings that Tami has trapped at her house.

 Vantage point after a chase.

 On point over a Sparrows hiding place.

"Got him, but he has me too"

Starlings are tough prey for a little Kestrel. This one was holding one of Jasper's legs while Jasper was holding him. They can impose a nasty wound with their sharp beak, so it is to Jasper's advantage to have Tami helping him.

Jasper and update.

The duck season has closed, and the wind during the biggest part of January was lethal. The Harris's could not manage that much wind so I kept feeding them, and keeping them at weight. It lasted so long that I began to feel sorry for them, and finally broke down and started giving them enough food that they were a bit more satisfied with life. Jessie has began her molt, so she is up for the year. There just isn't enough upland game birds to hunt her on. The Sage Grouse are still suffering from the West Nile outbreak that traveled through here three years ago. I had to keep pretty close to home due to Karen's restricted ability as well. In all honesty I am quite content to toss another log on the fire and open a book. It has been a great year. I have two new birds well on their way to making good hunting hawks. I am content to let the rest of the Jacks and Bunnies do their best to evade the Eagles that don't have some one to feed them. Perhaps there will be enough this next year that I don't have to leave the property to hunt rabbits. Right now Puddy is carrying an extra 6 ounces of weight. She weighs 2 lbs 2 ounces, but still thinks she is starved, while Yogi weighs 3 lbs 2 ounces.

Jasper however is another story. He has also had his problems with the wind, but as a falcon he can handle a lot more wind than a hawk can. The scarcity of dumb dicky birds has been his biggest problem. We went through a period of time that we were catching some Starlings, but could not get him a decent shot at wild birds. When he opens his wings the Sparrows and Starlings leave the area before he can begin to close the distance. That leaves us with a busted hunt and eventually tossing a bag when he begins to climb up to wait on. One of the side effects of this is that he has developed the belief that if he keeps pressing the birds he will eventually be able to catch them. Some of the flights are covering distances of 1/4 mile or more. I have to admit that we sometimes are relieved to see him break off the pursuit, because if he did catch them, we would never be able to find him.

Yesterday I went over to Tami's in the hopes that we would be able to get something going over there. She had caught a Starling, and I put it in my pocket just in case we couldn't get anything else going. Well it didn't take any time at all until he was the only bird around. We stood around a bit, hoping that something would show up to give him a chance to hunt, but he started climbing up in the sky circling right over us, and I couldn't resist. Out went the Starling with a yell and the chase was on. Out of the field, through the barn and around the chicken house, behind the house, and Jasper was closing the distance.

That was the last that we saw him. We began our search. Tami went down to the creek and the shoulder high Tules, while I looked around the house. Nothing! No sound, but no Jasper either, a sure sign that he had caught it. We looked all around trying to listen to see if we could hear the distress cries of the Starling. Wind blowing, Dave working with an excavator, nothing! We started working our way up the creek, Tami low, me on the road, checking high. Finally I suggested that Tami swing the lure, just in case. As she started swinging it, he flew up into one of the trees by their house. He saw the lure and came over to us, but really didn't seem all that anxious to come to her. He took a perch in the top of one of the trees. She tried to call him to the fist, but he ignored her. We tried walking off from him, but again he didn't seem inclined to follow us. Finally both of us agreed that we didn't like his actions, so we decided to end the hunt by calling him to the lure. He did come to that, and Tami picked him up after he finished the garnishment on the lure. She noticed that he had fresh blood on his feet and beak. Tami has a big old Tom Cat that hangs around the house. We are sure that the Cat took his bird from him. At least he was smart enough to not wait around to discuss ownership with it. We also could not find the cat any where. Usually he is under foot.

Tami called this evening and related that he was a bit fat, but he had been agitated all night and wanted to hunt. He is really something else. When he kills, he is as contented with life as one can be, but when he misses, he is as grumpy as an old bear. The fact that he only weighs 3 ounces does nothing to dispel the image.

She came over around 5 PM and though there didn't seem to be many Sparrows about, we turned him loose to see what he could do. He took off the fist in a sneak attack about 12 inches over the ground and flashed up over the fence at the Pigeon house. Nothing seemed to be in the area, so he took a perch on a post between the loafing shed and the Chicken pen. Tami went to the loafing shed and I went on the outside of the fence to the old truck parked there. I must have scared one out from under it, as Jasper chased it around the yard between the pens and into the rock wall by the Pigeons. I kicked as many rocks as I could, but could not get it to bolt. I went back out to the truck again and apparently managed to flush another one. He chased it through the yard, over the fence, back over the rock wall and slammed into it as it tried to take refuge in the back wall of the loafing shed. Tami scaled the fence and we both got to him at about the same time. She helped him pull the Sparrow out of the rocks. As soon as he was clear he jumped to her fist with the Sparrow and began to eat the tidbit that was on her fist. He had to finish that before he broke into the Sparrow.

Sunset

I had thought that I would be efficient for once and write the blog early so that I could watch the football games. Well unlike Karen, I get bored pretty quickly and do just as well listening to them while I am doing something else or sleeping, which I do best. All was well, I was reading a bit, reading emails, and then it was time to do chores. I put the hawks up for the night and after turning the corner of the hanger, here was a great sunset. I managed to ignore it for a while, but it kept getting better and better. Finally I decided to go for the camera, thinking that it would fade before I got back. Well it did not, and it still improved.

 I kept trying to finish my evening chores and every time I looked the sunset intensified.

 These clouds seemed to be rolled on the outside edges.

 And then they got puffy and more interesting

 Looking straight West it was hard to not let the lens be overpowered.

Finally I just had to turn my back on it and go into the house. I still shot 16 pictures of it. These are the best.

All Jasper today.

I knew it was too good to last. We actually have a storm blowing in form the Southwest today. The temps jumped up to 54 degrees, and the wind was gusting to 24. I had intended to fly the Harris's but with this wind, the best thing was to feed them enough to hold them over to tomorrow.

I had two Starlings in my trap, so I wanted to get Jasper started on the kite. I got the quad out of the doors to the hanger, but didn't see the need to go that far away since the wind was blowing away from the hanger. The only thing that I didn't take into account is that the wind shadow from the hanger was going to make for some squirrely wind. I got the kite up in the air, and once it reached about 50 feet it turned over and slammed into the ground breaking the rod that makes up the spine. Time for plan B.

The wind was still screaming, and Jasper really had to hang on to the fist to keep from being blown away. He first took a perch on the free Chickens house, but the Starlings and Sparrows were all over to the captive pen. He soon zipped over there and the usual mayhem ensued. He was here, there, chasing this one, missing one in the rocks. Off again after another, then we were out of Sparrows and opportunities. Just as we were about ready to go to a bagged Starling, a batch of Sparrows flew back in and the chase was on again. Once again, he frittered away all the opportunities, and Tami, who was outside the pen started to go through the fence, flushed another Sparrow. This time he was determined to catch it. The last I saw of him as he disappeared around the loafing shed, was just about a foot in behind the Sparrow. He didn't come back, but a large group of Sparrows that had taken refuge in front of the house lifted off and came to the pens to hide.

We waited, but he didn't show up, so we started a search for him, sure that he had caught something. One of the big problems with him is that he is hard to see if he is more than 50 yards away or down on the ground. If he was the type to be secretive, she would have lost him long ago.

 I finally found him on the ground by the back of the house, almost under the eves. The flight had gone more than 100 yards. This is the first time that he has really pressed the pursuit. The hardest part of flying any kind of game is to convince the hawk that if they keep pressing they can generally force the quarry to try to take cover. He has been discovering the consequences of not catching anything, and he hates it. Tami says that he is restless all night when he misses.

 Well he won't be restless tonight.

 Tami offered her fist to him, but the wind was still howling and if he had turned around he would have ended up on his beak. He is looking, but held his ground.

 When she reached down to get him, he still didn't turn around, but sidestepped up on the fist.

We retired to the shop to get out of the wind so that he could eat.

Yogi, catching up!

We first gave Jasper a chance to catch a Sparrow, but unfortunately, he was unable to make it happen. As soon as he opened his wings, the Pigeons all flew, and with them the Sparrows. We has some good chases, but no cigar. He once went up about 150 feet and was circling over top of the Pigeons. I kicked the wall and flushed out a Sparrow. Jasper turned over and was just about a foot behind it when they went around the "cat house". Unfortunately the Sparrow took cover and the flight ended up right in front of us in another rock wall.

We ended up calling him to the fist and letting him sit in the box to contemplate his failures while we hunted the two Harris's.

I loaded them into the back of the Subaru and drove down to the end of the runway to save us a bit of an unproductive walk. Puddy was up to 887 grams while Yogi was down to 1100. Not sure whats up with Puddy, since I consider 840 to be her flying weight, but I am having trouble getting her down that low. Yogi sheds weight like crazy and I have to watch her weight, so that it doesn't get too low. Perhaps it is just that the girl has put on muscle.

I had expected Puddy to be a bit sluggish, but she was anything but. The first Jack that jumped, Puddy was after in a flash and a quick wingover brought a squeal from the Jack. Unfortunately Yogi wasn't close enough to help and the Jack made his escape. We walked quite a bit before we got another chance at any of them.

After a rather lengthy search we had a couple of close slips, and Yogi was really trying hard, but she still has not perfected her technique and although many of them were extremely close, she still wasn't getting it done. Puddy also was burning up the Sage, slamming into the brush and the ground equally. Finally one busted out fairly close to us and Puddy crashed into the ground just on the other side of a Sage bush, followed by Yogi. After Yogi went in, the rabbit screamed once, then the screams were cut off abruptly.

 The one that gets its feet on the rabbit first is almost always on the rear end, since that is the closest thing to grab. That leaves the rabbit momentarily with the front end scrabbling to pull free of the demon on its butt. The other hawk will grab the head quicker than the rabbit can say "Oh shit", which makes the screams quite muffled.

 While this looks like a wreck, and an extremely dangerous situation, it has not been so far. Those feet are flying faster than a rabbit or a man can begin to react, but the accuracy is just as amazing as it is fast. So far neither has so much as scratched the other, but they are a tumbled mess to all appearances.

If you enlarge the picture above you can see that Yogi has ripped a four inch slash almost down to the bone in the Jacks leg. She has one of the Jacks legs on her left side and her right leg up between the Jacks legs and into his belly. In the meantime Puddy has both feet and all eight talons buried in the Jacks head.

I attempted to give Puddy a front leg from an earlier kill, since the Jack rightly belonged to Yogi, but Yogi volunteered to take it. She walked off a couple of steps to eat her reward, leaving me to convince Puddy to let go. To my great pleasure, she did so with little encouragement. Reuben and I went off a bit to clean the Jack. Reuben kindly offered his knife to clean it with.

We gave both birds all the rabbit that they could eat. Yogi, ever the Lady, daintily ate her food on Tami's fist, while the youngster bolted every thing she could get down her throat as fast as she could.

Jasper - #20

Tami and Isabel came over today to hunt Jasper and help me with the girls here at the house. Jasper has had a dry spell, due to Dave's injury and our education program for the Sparrows here at the house. However one made a fatal error in judgement today. It hid under my old Ford truck, and I saw it hide. Tami rousted it out and it tried to scrape Jasper off on the fence wire that you see between Jasper and myself. It failed to understand Jasper's knowledge of fences and his determination. Tami got over the two fences between us and called him to the fist. He happily carried his Sparrow to her.

We have not hunted him very hard, averaging 3 to 4 flights a week. Of course lately there wasn't even that for at least three weeks. Perhaps now we can hunt him a bit more regularly.  If we lived in an urban setting it would be easy to kill something every time we went out. It would merely require a car trip to the local fast food place, roll down the car window and pick him and his kill up. Fast food joints are a bit scarce around here. If and when the wind picks up a bit we will start some kite training for him just to learn how, and to see how much more efficient he can be from a height.

Puddy was a bit heavy today after all the food that she stuffed down at the end of our last hunt, but she would still try. Yogi was about right, so when Jasper finished his Sparrow, all of us started for the Sage on the other side of the fence. They have progressed to the point that they are a lot of fun to fly. Neither one expects tidbits to come to the fist or the perch. Yogi shows her wild influence in her ability to see rabbits. Puddy will chase whatever jumps up, but once she misses it, she will soon return to the perch to wait for the next chance. Yogi often "goes on point". She knows if they are hiding or if they have left the area. If she is left on her own, she will stay there until she finds it. I generally prefer to try to find another one that might not be so smart, but have found that I had just as well go see if I can push it up for another try. So far we have almost always jumped them, but have yet to catch one on the the second or third try, but what the heck, it is exciting as all get out.

Yogi is slowly evolving in her flying style. Puddy goes straight for the rabbit following every twist and turn and slamming into either the ground, a bush, or the rabbit if she gets an opening. Perhaps if she learns to take a bit more care of her tail, she might be able to make some of these 90 degree turns that the Jacks are pulling on her.  Yogi cuts them off and has been making slams into the ground at right angles to the fleeing rabbit. So far she has missed, but I bet there are a lot of them with all the hair scrubbed off their bellies. They counter this attack by squatting. She has also been experimenting with the throw up flight when they go to ground. Unfortunately so far she hasn't consistently gone high enough or learned to look over her shoulder as she climbs. She is getting there, and will either perfect this technique this year or the next. These rabbits are the toughest, and smartest of the bunch. All have survived constant predation by Golden Eagles and  Coyotes all year long. They are rolling in fat, and are big, strong and very smart.

Karen walked with us for most of the hunt, and we all had a great time. Unfortunately no rabbits were harmed in this exercise. Well Puddy pulled a patch of hair off one of them, but nothing serious.

Finally a chance to go hunting.

 Sunrise over the desert.

Things have been a bit screwed up over the holidays, and I just holed up rather than try to work out the logistics of hunting by myself. Tami and I have hunted Jasper a bit recently here at the house, but the Sparrows are wise to our tactics, and so far it has been a draw. We are in the process of getting some more sites usable, but haven't had a lot of free time to get them operational yet. I really want to explore some kite training for the little guy, but the wind has been so calm that it will not support a kite. I know, hard to believe, isn't it? I thought that I would be able to fly it the other day, so I drug every thing out and started running the kite up in the air. I got up about a hundred feet and one of the walls of my reel came off and we had a 1000 feet or more of kite string to untangle. It only took about 3 hours.

Tami and Grace assisted me with the girls here at the house two days ago. I am finally doing some hunting on the rabbits that have spent the fall mowing my lawn. We went out in the Sage north of the house and found a few Jacks. Puddy even pulled hair on one of them, but there are no dumb ones left. While I haven't hunted them, the Eagles do on a regular basis. Dumb ones are scarce this time of the year.

Tami was off to Boise to get Dave's staples out today, so I asked Karen to go with us here at the house on a rabbit hunt. She agreed, and we picked up the girls and climbed over the fence. There is a bit of a hillock or hump in the ground about a 1/4 mile out that seemed to hold the most Jacks the last time Tami and I went out there, so we made our way there. Tami spoils me a bit since she is so fit, while Karen with her heart afibs isn't getting enough oxygen to keep up. I made her promise to remind me when I forgot and went too fast. She mentioned that she had forgotten to bring a camera, and I told her that we were now guaranteed to catch something.

We were doing pretty good, and had a couple of chases where the girls where taking some pretty good shots at the fleeing Jacks, but nothing connected. We started our way up on the hump when the girls both took off after different rabbits. Yogi landed on a Sage bush quite a way out, but Puddy came back to me and landed on the perch. I started that way as I was sure that one of the rabbits had hidden somewhere near where they had lost him. I had covered about half the distance when one of them lost his nerve and broke cover. Puddy gave chase, and Yogi much further out, started an interception course and was climbing all the way. Puddy made a shot at him, but missed. Yogi continued on and then folded into a twisting dive and soon the welcome sound of a Jack Rabbit in pain floated back. Puddy whipped up off the ground and went in to help.

I got there as fast as I could and saw the front end of a Jack straining to pull away. I grabbed him and broke his neck, then began to look for the other hawk. I could only see Puddy. She had a limb between her legs and the branches in her face. I reached up to attempt to clear it and found that Yogi was under her wing, but they both had the rabbit in the middle. There they were, their heads side by side and their feet were also side by side. Karen was a bit surprised that they were working so well together on the kill without fighting.

I gave Karen a front leg, that I had carried just for this type of situation, to give to Puddy. She for once willingly let go of the Jack to consume the leg. Perhaps it was the fact that she was stretched way out of shape, or perhaps it was the Sage bush stuck in her eye, but whatever, she was quite nice and better than she has ever been.

I gave Yogi another one and she stepped off the Jack. I took it out of the way and cleaned it, cutting off both hind legs the feed the girls with once they finished their other pieces of meat.

I asked Karen which hawk she wanted to carry, Yogi or Puddy which is about half a pound lighter. She chose Puddy, and we started the almost half mile walk back. Pud is lighter, but she is much more clumsy, and difficult to feed. She has no clue the best way to eat on the fist, or for that matter what her feet are doing. We stopped and laughed at her quite a bit before we got back home.

Its a shame, Karen is finally getting to the point that she is able to hunt a bit, but she is scheduled for a hysterectomy the 12th of this month. That will take care of the rest of the winter for her. Since she has never had children, the easy way to do that is out, and the recovery time is 6 weeks or more.

 Sometimes the sunsets and sunrises are just too much to resist.