Travel Day - Trip Wrap up

I sit in my own livingroom, finishing up this series of posts. It is good to be home . . . even though my home is somewhat of a disaster, and needs cleaning badly!! A couple of very good friends watched all the various beasties. THANK YOU to all of you, for helping us to get away for a little. Fortunately, Shawn and I both have a couple more days until we have to return to work. Shawn is snoring as I type this message. Finally, in his own bed, he is allowed to sleep past noon. Poor Dear . . . it's hard to be a night person . . . and be married to a morning person!

It sleeted last night, and the roads are a bit slippery. But I think I must get myself put together here shortly, and make an attempt to go out trapping. I have but today and tomorrow to be successful . . . or go hawk-less until next September. Dave e-mailed that he's been trying, and almost had a hawk, but it broke free from the trap. Bill called me on the cell last night while I was waiting for our connection in the Chicago airport, and we've agreed to meet at the pheasant farm in Janesville tomorrow, Friday. I do so hope for a bit of a miracle these last couple days.

Our trip home was uneventful . . . again, a very good thing! We got up and got checked out of our hotel very early. We had plenty of time, so went in search of one of the local grocery stores. As I suspected, they each have a tortilla stand. So, I purchased two 20 packs . . . and carefully transported my carry-on package all the way home. I've invited some friends to have soft tacos on Thursday . . . using authentic, fresh, soft tortillas. No preservatives . . . so they won't last long. But somehow, I don't think that will be a problem. I definitely have to get out of the house, as I have to go pick up some groceries. Not too much in the house!

I've always noticed that 'home' feels just a little strange when you come back from a trip. Certainly 'home' smelled normal!! Very doggy! It is supposed to get just a little warmer (relative to a Wisconsin winter) the next day or so, such that the windows might get opened to let in some fresh air.

Time is ticking . . . animals need feeding . . . and I should get out and try to find a hawk or two to drop a trap under.

Yes . . . back home again!

Sharing a Decadent Dessert - End of Vacation 

A White-Tailed Hawk . . . Neat!! 

Vacation - Day 4

Tuesday, December 28, 2004

This was our last full day of our vacation. We lounged in the morning, with me allowing Shawn the chance to sleep in a little. Once we did get up and going, we went out on the Bay and took a digital film of seagull feeding. It came out quite nice! You have to have seen “Finding Nemo” to appreciate the humor of these birds. They appear quite mindless . . . and always food-oriented. Just start handing out something, and you’ll have a mob of them very quickly. For the record, they are Laughing Gulls, in winter plumage.

We then made our way to the beach, one last time, but first hit a couple of stores on the way. Souvenirs for friends. Magazines for the trip home. I found at a sporting goods store a cheap supply of leader sleeves, or connectors. I normally have to mail order these little pieces of plastic. They make attaching nooses to a BC very easy! These are usually salt-water fishing supplies, which is why you can’t find them in Wisconsin. I bought over 200 of them.

On this day we went out onto the Federal Park part of South Padre Island. It’s a 70 mile stretch of beach. Just keep driving until you find a spot that is relatively free of other visitors, and campers. This was the warmest day of our trip, into the 70s, and we both enjoyed the beach, after covering ourselves fully with sunscreen, to protect our terribly white Wisconsin skin. I’ve experienced beach sunburns before . . . and was not going to take one home with me this time. The water is still very cold, so no going into the ocean other than up to the legs. It was an enjoyable last visit. We had a picnic, and I saw a small crab peek out of his hole to see if the coast was clear. It wasn’t . . . he went back down his hole. On the way back to our hotel, I spotted a White-Tailed Hawk on the pole, and got lots of pictures.

After relaxing in our room for a bit, we cleaned up, and went out for a nice dinner. We found a nice fish restaurant on the bay, by the downtown. A very good dinner, shared with my husband. Our waitress was very friendly, and took a couple pictures of us, as we shared a decadent dessert. A few more pictures outside next to the boats . . . and then back to the hotel. Wednesday is a travel day, so need to get some sleep this time.

It has been a very nice vacation, and a welcome change, even though our home is very nice. I’ve gotten my dose of beach, which might have to last me now for several years. Lots of relaxation. Many new birds to the life list. A most excellent vacation!

Texas Speedbump . . . aka Nine-Banded Armadillo 

Dagger Point, Aransas NWR 

Shawn at the Beach 

Vacation - Day 3

Monday, December 27, 2004

We rose very early today, and took the route north, over the free ferry, out onto Port Aransas beach, to watch the sun come up. However, the sun was covered by overcast, so nothing too dramatic there. But it was a nice morning on the beach. This day we did the most of our beach combing for shells and such. Padre Island, to the south, does not have a whole lot of shells. Port Aransas does. We found lots and lots of “Sand Change”, sand dollars that are all broken up, and two whole sand dollars, plus a few almost whole. We’ll share those with friends. We also picked up some nice shells. I found a nice barnacle, and some coral. Overall, a nice haul of “booty” from the ocean. We started off with our shoes on, but both of us ended up taking them off. We still got our pants wet. Later, as we left the beach and drove further north looking for the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge, we found a Wally World (aka the Evil Empire . . . they are EVERYWHERE!!) and purchased some sandals. Each day its been getting warmer, and sandals would work perfect now.

The rest of the day was mostly spent driving around, walking hiking paths and looking at birds in the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge. This is the winter home of the migratory flock of Whooping Cranes that winter in Canada. We did not see any cranes this day. However, I did see many birds, and a few I’ve never seen before. Before we even made it into the refuge, I spotted a pair of Crested Caracara. This is a most unusual looking vulture-like bird. There were also several red-tails, with a good number of them being juvenile passage birds. Great . . . tease me with their presence, when I have neither the trap to catch them, nor a license to do so, or a husband patient enough to tolerate the activity. He informed me he would not, under no uncertain terms, be trapping on his vacation in Texas. Besides, the out-of-state trap fee was very expensive. I’ll just have to hope when I get home that I’ll be able to trap one in Wisconsin in the last couple days that will remain in 2004.

Other birds seen this day: Osprey, Vultures – both Turkey and Black, Roseate Spoonbill, Brown and White Pelican, lots and lots of Kestrels, Harriers, Kingfishers, Snow Geese, American Coot, Common Galinule, Common Pintail, and just about all the Robins that must migrate north. There was an awful lot of them!!

Other non-bird animals that were spotted: Several Armadillos . . . also known as Texas Speed bumps . . . as they get killed on the roads a lot. We got lots of pictures of these. One of the ponds at the refuge had a very, very large alligator. And as we were leaving, a bobcat ran across the road. Shawn looked at me, and I looked at him when it crossed the road. He asked, “Is that what I think that was?” I said, “Yes, a bobcat!”

Lots of neat things in Texas!

We came back to our room, and did the domestic thing . . . laundry. When you play at the ocean, your clothes need washing! When that was done, a quick dinner run, then back to our room. This night we also checked out the hot tub next to the pool. Shawn even checked out the freezing cold pool, and did the ‘polar bear’ jump. He attracted some attention, as a few people thought he might be ill, or crazy. He just told them he was from Wisconsin. They seemed to accept that as a plausible explanation!

Beach Meditation 

Vacation - Day 2

Sunday, December 26, 2004

I began this day taking a walk on the bay, as the sun came up. I was mobbed by the seagulls at first, as I was carrying a bowl of dry cereal. I shared some, but this was my breakfast, not theirs! We’ll catch them on our digital camera later. If you’ve never fed seagulls, its quite a scene!

The main thing we did this day was for Shawn’s benefit. Corpus Christi is the last resting place of the USS Lexington, a WWII naval carrier. It is permanently docked in the Corpus Christi Bay, and has been converted over into a museum. I did not find this particularly interesting, but then I don’t have a keen interest in old ships, and military stuff in general. Shawn does. We took many pictures, and toured the whole ship. It is showing its age in many places, and the sea air is taking its toll. There is a lot of rust. Shawn on several occasions remarked that he would have better enjoyed the tour if he could have shared it with some of his guy friends. I found the atmosphere to be somewhat depressive (just about everything military is) and there is a faint disturbing echo to old ships like this. Many people lost their lives serving on her, like all military craft.

The later portion of the day we went to Padre Island, to watch the sun go down, and the moon rise. My calendar said the moon was full on Friday, but I think it was not quite correct. We did still have a fairly full moon rise on Sunday. We took many pictures, and I did the beach model thing. Shawn took pictures. Several of them came out very nice. This is part of what I came to the beach to do. Sit and contemplate the waves. Meditate. Just be. It is a peace of the soul that I find in wild places. It became cold as the sun set (as I was traipsing about in my bathing suit) but I felt very good at the end of the day. The car heater was nice too!

Back in our room we enjoyed the decadence of delivered pizza! We live too far out in the boonies at home to get delivery!

A child building 'snow castles' instead of sand castles. 

A record-setting winter storm in an otherwise warm Corpus Christi. 

Christmas Vacation - Travel Day and Day 1

In the midst of all my previous hawk-related posts, now that I am hawk-less, I might as well share my thoughts regarding a much-anticipated vacation we had planned over the holidays. This is, after all, my blog . . . and not necessarily just falconry only. So, I'll abuse everyone with tales of my trip.



Saturday, December 25, 2004

We came to live in Wisconsin almost 10 years ago, in February 1995. Since that time we have not taken a vacation together anywhere other than visiting family . . . which does not count! When we were living in Dallas, we needed to get away from the city from time to time, to reconnect with each other . . . with nature . . . with peace and quiet. But when we came to live in Wisconsin, we found that all in our back yard. However, I have been making it rather clear to my husband that I have missed the beach, and have longed to visit.

My parents both had family living in the Texas lower valley, and we would spend our family vacations there. This usually always included going to the beach on South Padre Island . . . and getting sun burned, and having my Great Aunt Vera treat us with aloe vera she grew in her home. I have many fond memories of time spent on the beach, combing it for shells and sand dollars, and watching the crabs, and the sea birds. I still frequently dream of walking the beach, and it is an aspect of childhood innocence and wonder, and returning to my roots.

Shawn acquiesced to my requests, and surprised me earlier this year by announcing he had made reservations for us to visit Corpus Christi, Texas over the Christmas vacation, when he had time off . . . and I could take time off. Corpus is located north of where my family used to visit. We have visited here before, but just a little further north, at Port Aransas. The area of Corpus itself is not so nice, a bit run down, and being located in a bay, but it is nearby many National Parks and nature reserves, one of which is the location of the last remaining wild whooping crane wintering grounds. With our home near Necedah, Wisconsin being the location of the introduced flock, I find it interestingly ironic.

We were very busy on the day before we flew out, so did not get a whole lot of sleep that night (about 1 hour). We only had to make it to the first flight. The pilots would do all the rest of the work. We flew out of La Crosse, Wisconsin around 6:00 am, Christmas Eve. It was about 11 degrees below zero, with a wind chill of –25 or so. Yes . . . Texas is going to feel really nice!!

Our flights were not memorable . . . which is how you want flights to be. We connected in Chicago, caught a plane there to Dallas, Texas, and from there a small flight into Corpus. Get off the plane, get a rental car, find your hotel, check in. We then searched out a grocery store, and stocked up on picnic supplies, coffee and snacks. It was certainly confirmed to me that we were indeed in Texas, as the grocery store had a booth where a woman was making fresh tortillas. If you have never tasted fresh tortillas hot off the griddle, you are missing something quite nice. We bought a dozen, and began eating them on the trip back to our hotel. So good they are, you do not need anything on them!

We did walk on the beach by our hotel for a few minutes, if you want to call it a beach. Corpus Christi is located inside the Corpus Bay. So there is no tidal action, and it is more like being on a large lake. For anyone that has never been to a true beach on the ocean, they may be fooled. But I knew better. Besides, it was also quite cold, even for this Wisconsinite. A winter storm was moving into the area, and a very cold wind preceded it. This was to prove significant. Settling into our room, we did notice a few snowflakes falling from the sky.

We decided to come to Corpus Christi in December to escape the cold of the upper Mid West. This is why we were incredibly surprised to wake up to 4 inches of snow. All the locals we met looked shocked . . . and the weather stations confirmed there has not been this amount of snow in Corpus over the last 70 years, all put together!! We plan a trip to an otherwise warm location . . . and the snow follows us! We walked around the area and took pictures, to document this momentous event. The sky was clear now, with the storm having passed, and the snow was already beginning to melt. It was forecast to get into the mid 40s that day, and up to the high 60s the next day. The winter storm will be a memory very soon.

We lounged in our room, letting the roads clear, as we KNOW the locals do not have snow plowing equipment, nor any experience driving on icy roads. We enjoyed the Christmas morning together, calling family, and regaling them about the incredibly amusing situation we found ourselves in. When we did finally venture out, we had to reroute a bit, as a few of the bridges were still closed. We were able to drive north of the area, and took a route up to Port Aransas, taking a ferry to get to the island, and then driving out onto the beach in several locations. We then drove south on the island from Port Aransas, down into Padre Island, and then looped back onto the Corpus mainland.

How to describe the emotion I feel when returning to the beach? I am not one of the “beautiful people”, who want to be seen lounging in the sun. And certainly not at this time of the year. I come to feel the energy, the raw power of the location. It is a meeting place between wind, water and land. There is life here, many shore birds snatching up bits of food, fish leaping in the waves, dolphins and other sea life. But there is also death. Shells cast up. Broken bits of plants. Jellies washed up. It is a dynamic confluence of powers, and particularly intoxicating to my spirit. It is a coming home! Even though it was not particularly warm (mid 40’s), and the water was pretty cool, I shed my shoes anyway and touched the ocean.

I am, of course, very raptor-oriented. There are some kind of hawk here that I have not yet identified, as I have not gotten a good look at them . . . yet. We did see a harrier (or marsh hawk) dive down on something in the grass. And as we were leaving the island I saw a falcon on the power line. What kind . . . I don’t know, again, not a really good look to notice field marks, but it was, most definitely, a falcon. And there are deer here. White-tail deer to be specific. Imagine that! We saw a small group of them on the side of the road. We joked with each other, my husband and I, that we needed to make sure we didn’t hit a deer while we were away from Wisconsin. We already brought the snow here. Don’t need to hit a deer in our rental car, so far away from the deer-infested woods of our home up north.

We ended our first full day here in South Texas having dinner out of our little refrigerator, calling a few more family members that we missed this morning, and watching a movie on our laptop. It is a very relaxing experience, and what a vacation should be. We plan to sleep in tomorrow . . . as the wet roads today are to freeze up tonight. There is still some winter weather to deal with. We plan to watch the sun come up one of these mornings . . . but it will not be tomorrow!

Solstice

A cold winter wind blows the five to six inches of snow which has blanketed our area. A beautiful adornment for this, the longest night of the year.

In a fashion that would please the pagan heart, we built a very large bonfire, my husband, my soul-sister and myself. The snow is protective cover from the many sparks and embers that the wind catches up, and dance into the sky.

We built a very hot fire, and consigned Pente’s remains into the bed of coals and flames. They quickly did their work, with the help of the wind. Many times, great gusts would cast up sheets of embers, like so many fireflies. The clouds cleared, and the moon shone through, in what I like to think of as its “Luna Eye” phase. Waxing Gibbous. It looks like a great hawk’s eye in the sky.

A very magickal night to say farewell.




Good Bye Pente! Fly Free!

Loss

It has been a year of losses . . . on several fronts. Some in areas of my private life, too complicated and personal for this forum. And unfortunately, one in particular, which can be appropriately covered here.

On Saturday, December 11, 2004 at about 12:40 p.m. Pente gave up her struggle for breath, and her will to live.

I had hoped that my Amazon girl was holding her own, and might be one of those birds that survives aspergillosis. If not getting better, at least she didn’t seem to be losing ground. But on Friday night she took a turn for the worse. She had been placed in her mews during the day, for fresh air, but to protect her from the sleet and rain that were falling. When I brought her in that evening, she was panting, with no exertion. I gave her the evening meal, with her medicine, but shortly she threw it all up. The next morning she was gasping for breath, and had to be pried from off her perch. She would grip no more. With a few close friends, their love and support there to bolster me, we waited out her final hours.

There is a spiritual side to falconry, perhaps not often discussed, but there nonetheless. To touch a creature that is wild, and will continue to be such, regardless of whatever training we place upon them. You can feel their fire sometimes, the look in their eye, the beat of their heart. When you release them to pursue that most basic behavior, hunting, you are allowed to commune with nature in a way that so frequently is no longer accessible in our modern age and times. There is the beauty of where you hunt, the peace of the walk, frequently alone, shared only with your bird, and a primal thrill when your bird is successful. These things, and so many others, touch the soul.

Frequently we allow ourselves to form bonds and ties of love to a source that is either incapable, unwilling or unable to reciprocate. It is the price we pay for being alive, sentient, and filled with the capacity to love, to care. When the bond is severed, intentionally or otherwise, it can be incredibly painful.

It is how we deal with that loss, how we cope with it, that tests who we are, shapes our personality, and guides our steps in future decisions. To vow to never allow the bonds to form again is certainly no way to settle the pain. But it takes courage to acknowledge that to go forward, to try again, puts us at risk to experience the loss all over again. To know that it is worth it . . . . that for whatever the cost, it is truly worth it, for the hope that someday you can feel that warmth again. This is the hope that makes the journey down the path of life tolerable.


The reports are sent off to the State and the USFWS. Soon, one quiet evening, I shall release her physical form through flame. She was a good hawk, as hawks go, and a very excellent falconry bird. I’m sad that she did not live, so that I could have returned her again to the wild, which I had planned to do in a year or two. I wanted to release her, so she could find a mate, and raise chicks of her own. But that will not happen now for my Pentesilea, my beautiful Amazon Warrior Queen. A tragic end for her, as for her namesake . . . who according to myth, died at the hands of Achilles. Hmmm . . . maybe I should never name a hawk again after a figure that dies tragically!


On Saturday, December 18, I shall take up the task again. There are a few days left in this 2004 trapping season . . . I hope to capture a new hunting partner, and begin the relationship all over again.


Take up the path again . . . .

A Pleasant Visit

Today, Saturday, December 4, I visited with Dave and Linda Noble, my former sponsor and his wife, and told them all about the NAFA meet. I did bring a couple of little gifts, and showed off all my new equipment that I purchased or won at the meet, as we drank coffee and ate bannana nut bread. Also, I had to bring back to Dave the bells I had not sold. Very nice people!

Afterwards, I went for a walk in one of the county trail parks nearby my home. I let Rigel fly free, to exercise his wings, calling him to the lure from time to time. It was a nice walk, on a pleasant winter day. Sometimes it is good to take a walk alone in the woods, with your thoughts.

Of late I have had many thought on many things.

I walked by a field that I had flown Pente in last January. She had caught mice there. I do so hope my Amazon bird will be OK. Only time will tell.

I must be patient!

Wrap Up . . . and Dark Clouds

The next two days, Saturday and Sunday, were a bit of a blur. These were travel days, and I was anxious to get back home.

On Saturday I decided to skip going through Kansas City again on the return trip, and instead went North into Nebraska. Once there, drive east into Des Moines. My first day of travel I probably tried to drive too far. I was terribly tired when I got there, only to discover there was some kind of college football game going on, and many of the hotels were booked. Go North just a little further, into Ames, and I found a place to sleep. I crashed for the night.

I was up early, and on the road. As I got closer to home, it became foggy, and apparently Minnesota had gotten some snow, which all disappeared when I got to Wisconsin. My husband was up to greet me with very strong coffee upon my return. The rest of the day was trying to recover, and get ready to go back to work the next day.


On Monday I made an appointment with Dr. Rasmussen for Pente. He checked her over, but could not look into her airways, as he did not have a scope to do that. However, he indicated that respiratory problems are usually one of three things:

Bacterial Infection - treatable with anti-biotics. However, that usually is accompanied with loss of appetite in the bird. Pente was eating as normal. So, probably not that.

Worms, for which he prescribed a worming treatment.

Asper . . . the worst possible thing . . . and what he thought it truly was. He gave me a prescription for Sporonox. I had this filled on Tuesday, and began giving her treatments morning and evening. She still continues to be absolutely ravenous. I don't notice any difference in her breathing . . . but it will take time. Dave and Bill are supportive that redtails can and do survive Asper. I'm hoping for the best. She is put out during the daytime, for fresh air and sunshine. At night I'm bringing her into the house, to rest hooded in her box, but with the door open. Her weight is going up, because she is eating so much.

It looks like I'm going to be off hawking for a month at least. Well . . . time to work with Rigel, and try to improve his behavior!

NAFA Field Meet - Friday

I didn't have a whole lot planned for Friday . . . as I couldn't fly Pente. I took her over to the meet hall and tied her out for the day, and then went to do a few errands. I went by the library, but it was closed, so no e-mails. I did do a little shopping, to get a couple gifts for friends. Bill had gone out trapping that morning, but wanted to take only his son. We had agreed to get together that afternoon, and we as a group went to another of his hot spots. And hot it really was. There were bunnies all over the place. KC caught two more while there. After the hawk flew, the Oakes family let their dogs run in the field just a bit. Marcie and I joked that we would have plenty of time to get back to Garden City to clean up and get dressed for the final banquet that evening. When time to go, Bill decided he would try to trap one last time. So Marcie came back with me. As we pulled into Garden City, I got a call on my cell. Bill apparently had trapped a bird, a passage redtail . . . but she was going to need some help. She had torn open her entire crop. He wanted for us to locate the vet, and he would see them when he got back. I walked around the hotel a bit with Marcie, with her really doing most of the foot work. Once she had done all she could, I said goodby, and returned to clean up and get dressed. Once that was done, I found the Oakes again. Bill was back now, and his new bird was resting on the floor. One of the meet vets had come and done quick surgery for her in the hotel room, and sewed up her crop. But, she also had frounce, and pox on her feet. She really was a mess!! Bill coming along was her last chance to survive . . . and that is the name he apparently has decided to give her . . . "Chance". I thought one of the other names he had been bouncing around, zipper neck, or Zippy was catchy!!

The final evening the guest speaker was Walter Crawford, with the World Bird Sanctuary. He was a very good speaker, and the food was good too. After that was announcements, and thank yous, and presentation of meet pins, and the big raffle. I did manage to win one very nice item, a new gauntlet, with jess grease and VitaHawk thrown in. I had come to the meet with intentions to buy a gauntlet and hood for Pente, which I did, but for an additional $20 for the raffle, I took home two gauntlets. Not too bad!

I said my goodbyes to Bill and Marcie that evening, and wished them a safe drive home, and thanked them for letting me hang out with them all week. The meet was over, and it was time to head back home.

End Day Five.

NAFA Field Meet - Thursday

Today was Thanksgiving. I'd missed all the turkey meals with friends and family . . . and probably when I got back, everyone would be too tired of turkey to think of any more should I want some. But at least I wasn't cooking a turkey meal!!

I started the day off taking Rigel to one of the feed lots where they fatten up the cattle. It was indicated that there were many sparrows and starlings to try a small raptor at. And there were . . . but Rigel just doesn't understand that they are food. At one point I sat in my car, holding him on my fist, while some 30 or more sparrows moved across a large tractor sitting on the lot, just feet from where I was parked. He never moved. I then began to drive around some of the cattle pens, although what I was thinking, I'm not sure. If he had gone after something, and took it down over the pens, what was I to do then. Jump into the pens with all the cows?? Well, I didn't have to do that, but at one point he did break free of my grip, and flitted out the window. I then spent 10 tense minutes watching him happily fly over the cows, from pen to pen, not listening to me call him. Several times he went out of sight. Again, no telemetry or bells. But, like any good, small animal with a high metabolism, he decided after a bit that he really was hungry, and there was nothing to eat over the cow pens. He came back to me. I grabbed his jess and stuffed him in the box. No more free flying for the kestrel in Kansas. I wanted to bring him back to Wisconsin with me, to at least try to improve his behavior, and learn if I could make a falconry bird of him. Both of his outings had been met with potential disaster . . . so no more chances!

I returned to my room, and cleaned up for dinner. I then met Bill and Marcie, and their son Ian for Thanksgiving Dinner at the Golden Corral. OK, it was pretty good food, but no substitute for home cooked. It was cheaper than what the meet hotel was offering, but I do think before Christmas I might have to make my own turkey meal.

After dinner, we had all decided to go towards Ford County, a private location whose owner said we could jack hunt on his property. As a group, in two vehicles, we headed that way. When we got there, it was a very nice, open field, with a bit of scrubby, low vegetation in many spots. We carried both raptors, Bill with KC, and I with Pente, on the fist. KC was unhooded at first. We did kick up two jacks in that field as we moved into it, and one pheasant. KC made really good attempts at the jacks, but they are very fast, and at the end managed to elude her. At the far end of the field, there was a single tree, with grassy areas surrounding it. Bill suggested I try Pente in that area. I cast her off to the tree, and she did subsequently have two chances at cottontails, which she made a good effort for. On the second bunny it squealed, meaning she did contact with it, but she didn't hang onto it. She then went up the tree, and I had a terrible hard time trying to get her down. When she did come down, she was breathing very hard. This did not look good at all. We began to work back towards the middle of the field, with me holding her up over my head, in case we flushed any jacks. I can see now why a high perch would be a really useful thing to have. As we got to the middle of the field, however, Pente bated very hard, and then seemed to collapse on me. She wouldn't grip the glove, and just layed on the ground. I picked her up in my arms, which she never would allow me to do if she was OK. I felt terribly frantic. Bill suggested I take her back to the meet hall, and ask for some advice from one of the meet vets. He said there are usually two people who volunteer their services. Marcie was kind enough to drive back with me, and helped me be calm. I was terribly worried about my bird. It was over an hours drive.

Once back at the hall, I did manage to find a vet. He gave her a very quick look, felt her keel, and thought maybe she was a bit low. She would have been only 2 lbs. 12 oz, the weight I hawked her at the previous year. Either way, he advised feeding her rich meat, jack or quail or something, with lots of moisture, and letting her rest the next day. The NAFA president, Darryl Perkins, was on hand, and he kindly offered me quite a lot of jackrabbit meat. I gratefully accepted. I went back to my room, and made "soup" for Pente, and fed her up. She was done for the meet. Unfortunately, now I had no bird to fly. Well, at least my bird hadn't died, as quite a few other people did experience at the meet.

The evening speaker was a falconer from California, Joy Roy III. Quite a nice looking fellow, and a really nice presentation. This was the final night for vendor sales. I returned to my room to try to sleep, feeling restless and worried about Pente.

End Day Four.

Bill Oakes and his bird, KC with her first Kansas bunny. 

NAFA Field Meet - Wednesday

Tuesday was miserable, but Wednesday dawned bright and beautiful!! Wow . . . Kansas really does have blue skies! And very wide open terraine. NEWS FLASH . . . in case you don't know it . . . Kansas if VERY FLAT!! Fields go on for miles and miles. You can't appreciate this until the skies clear and it is sunny. Wednesday was sunny!

I went out early with Bill to attempt to trap something. Bill would like to have caught a passage prairie falcon, or a redtail, but we ended up with just a really nice ride in the country. It was a beautiful morning, and I did get a feel for the area a bit. Very nice company! After a couple hours, Bill decided to call it quits, and head back to his hotel to wait for his son to drive in. I decided to take Pente out looking for hawking opportunities. I stopped by one of those super big cattle operations and asked in the office whether they allowed people to work their grazing areas. Many of these looked like really good jack country. They were nice, but indicated that no, they didn't want anyone walking around the areas where the cows grazed. So, again, after a quick Falconry 101, I left looking for other spots.

By quirk of fate, I managed to run into Sharon and Tony again. They were out hawking along the Arkansas River. I say river, as that is what it is called, but actually the water all dried up some time ago. So really, it's just a dry dirt bed, with many trees. I was beginning to get out and prepare to hawk, when Sharon let me know the area had already been worked pretty hard. So we agreed to try somewhere else. I indicated that I had seen some possible good spots from the morning's trapping outing, but I wasn't quite sure if I could find them. We drove around a bit, and I did finally locate one. It looked good . . . but turned out to not be so. It was a wide open field, with a couple trees, right in the middle of a trailer complex. But as soon as we got out and put Pente up a tree, I saw why it would not be a good area. About 10 children descended upon us . . . and it was apparent that they played in this field quite a bit. So we had lots of questions directed at us, but saw no rabbits. Pente was also not acting quite right. More reluctant than usual. I thought it might be the children . . . but I was to find out in time it was something else.

Say goodbye to Sharon and Tony, and back to my hotel to grab some lunch, and some more lure meat. I then hooked up with Bill again, and he agreed to take me to one of his secret hunting locations out near Dodge City. It was quite a long drive, but pleasant. Bill is a nice guy! And he was definitely right. The spot was perfect. We flew Pente first, and she had her chance at many bunnies. It runs along a mostly dried up creek, with many trees. For the most part, Kansas doesn't have a lot of trees, but there are some places where they grow, and that is where you should look for the bunnies. The whole area was overgrown with wild mint. Every footfall brought up the pleasant smell. It was truly a beautiful location. We flew Pente for awhile, following the creek, and then Bill decided he would go back and get KC, and work the open field off away from the creek. So I continued on with Pente, flushing bunnies from time to time, but she never contacted with them. She did manage to fur one really well . . . and I had to grab up the huge chunk of fur that she pulled, and tuckd it into my pocket to show Bill. Calls from Great Horned Owls, and its beginning to get dark, made me decide to work my way back to the van. As I got close, I called Pente down to the lure, then walked the rest of the way with her on my fist. She was breathing rather hard, I thought, and I worried a bit about that.

Once at the van I put her away, and took all my gear off. Bill was still off working the grass. The sun was going down, and there were some unidentified birds (I tried to determine but couldn't get a good look at them) singing in the bushes. It was a quiet, peaceful moment. Such moments bring me such joy. I wonder sometimes why it took so many years for me to come to falconry. There are moments like this, when out in the field, that you can feel at peace with everything, and connected. I was happy to be there, at that moment in time.

Some short time later, I heard Bill off in the field. I walked up the path, and found him with KC on her first bunny. He fed her up, and carried her back to the van, finishing her meal there. I showed him the fist full of bunny fur. He exclaimed that the bunny was going to have a very cold night . . . having lost all that fur. But it escaped with its life! I guess a good enough trade off for the bunny.

I also had the opportunity to teach Bill a new word. Here it is Bill . . . CREPUSCULAR. It describes animals that are active at the fringes of the day, dawn and dusk, as opposed to Nocturnal, active at night, or Diurnal, active dring the day. He'd never heard the word before, and wanted me to spell it for him. Useless extra trivia info stored in the brain!

We hurried back to Garden City as best we could, but even still, this was the first night I came to the evening events with my hunting clothes on. I hadn't had time to change. They had free chili, and it tasted pretty good. Vendor time, and the evening raffle, and that was the end of Day Three.

NAFA Field Meet - Tuesday

Tuesday dawned a wet, cold, and generally miserable day. The fog was so thick, and low, that probably not too many longwingers could go out. And the blowing wind made hawking a daunting task. Bill and Marcie Oakes had arrived the night before, but Bill wanted to take KC out on his own at first, before inviting anyone to come along. So, I was on my own today.

I started out by doing some housekeeping. I located and visited the local library, and checked in on my e-mail. Nothing much there. Sent a couple notes to some friends. Went to the post office and mailed out some post cards. It's the thing to do when on a vacation. I then returned to my room, and did some laundry, hoping the afternoon might have better prospects. Because he needed it, I took Rigel out to fly around the hotel, just to stretch his wings. The little guy is not trained yet to take quarry, so was coming along mostly so I could just take care of him. Well, while out flying around, we attracted the attention of the resident kestrel, who did not like at all this outsider in his territory. The wild bird attacked Rigel, and chased him off, over the field behind the hotel, over the freeway exit ramp, towards the freeway. OH DEAR!! Run as fast as you can. Hop that barb-wire fence, run across the exit ramp . . . oh where is that little guy? No telemetry, and no bells. But listen, there is the call of the wild bird. He was sitting on a sign, and Rigel was cowering in the grass below. Make in to him, and pick the little guy up, and tuck him into your jacket. He appeared very frightened . . . and was subdued for the rest of the afternoon, but otherwise was unharmed. The resident bird flew off, having defended his turf.

I had been told that to drive south of Garden City, towards Liberal, Kansas was a good area to find jackrabbits. I wanted Pente to have a chance to see them. But I was not yet trained on what kind of terraine to look for them in. I did go ahead and navigate that way, and ended up in one of the Walk In Hunting Areas. But the weather was so miserable, I questioned my sanity at thinking of hawking at all. Pente seemed to question it as well! I geared up, and took her out. Fortunately, the place I chose was right next to a rural cemetary . . . and it looked far better than the grassy area around it. So Pente went up the only tree in the area, and I began beating and making noise at all the juniper bushes. For the next half hour I did flush two bunnies, and Pente tried at them, but the wind and the cold and the wet really took their toll. I finally decided that I was absolutely stupid to be out there . . . and called Pente down and packed up to go. All my clothes were wet, my gauntlet was wet, Pente was wet. Just a miserable afternoon.

I returned to Garden City, cleaned up, and went over to the meet hall. Bill and Marcie were kind enough to share pizza with me. That evening was the business meeting for NAFA. There was lots of interesting discussions, which then closed for vendor sales, and back to our rooms for sleep.

End Day 2.

A ($70) Kansas Bunny 

NAFA Field Meet - Monday

I was up early on Monday to meet up with Sharon and her husband, Tony. I joined them in their vehicle . . . which is good . . . as it is a 4-wheel drive truck . . . which came in handy pretty quick. Many of the roads in Kansas are dirt roads. During normal weather, they are probably easy to navigate. However, it had been snowing and raining for many days previous . . . and many of these roads were extremely sloppy, wet, slippery, and very unsafe and difficult to drive on! I would not have been able to make it with my car. It seems to be rather standard falconry equipment to have big, 4-wheel drive type vehicles. Well, I'll just have to wait to add that item to my gear.

So we three were looking for a starting place to hunt. We found several locations that looked promising, and when a flock of pheasant crossed the road in one of them, Sharon was determined to hunt in the area. She wanted her Zephyr to try for a pheasant. She began asking around the houses, and finally located an owner by phone, who would not give us permission. Well . . . pass on that location. Keep looking! Kansas has an agreement with many of the land-owners to use their land for hunting. They publish a guidebook with the marked land, and the plots are also marked. They call them "Walk In Hunting Areas". While looking for one of these, my first adventure was to get very friendly with Kansas soil . . . or should I say mud! Yes, we slid off the road! Fortunately, Sharon appears to have some experience at getting a vehicle free from mud. Tony and I (mostly Tony) gathered up globs of grassy stuff to stuff under the tires, and then push the truck out. So my hands got rather muddy. Welcome to Kansas!! Once free, we went back down the road and worked one of these Walk In Hunting Areas. It was just a wet walk in tall, wet grass. We didn't stir up anything, and Zephyr just followed along wondering what we were doing. We walked back to the truck, and went looking for someplace different.

At the end of the road we had been on was a farmstead, with a pump business next to it. We stopped, and said hello to the people there. They indicated it would be OK for us to hunt their property. There were a lot of pumps and pipes, and good rabbit hiding spots, as well as lots of very overgrown grassy places. We pulled Pente first this time, and popped out our first bunny within minutes. However, this bunny, and all those to follow, knew the area very well, and knew where to run. We spent the next hour to two hours moving bunnies around the place, but not contacting any of them. A few did get furred. Pente crashed several times, but just didn't catch. These crashes were to prove significant later . . . because when I called her to the lure to put her away, I realized she didn't have her telemetry on anymore. OH NO!! So I began a telemetry chase. And on top of everything else, I was getting a low battery messages. So, while I was trying to find my telemetry, Zephyr was being flown by Sharon. Zephyr also was trying for several bunnies . . . but Sharon was able to convince her to make a go at a hen peacock (a Peahen) that was running around the property. The lady of the place said then peahen just showed up one day. If it could be caught, the zoo had already indicated they would take it. Zephyr did make a go of it . . . and the peahen made a lot of noise when she realized the hawk was after her, but she found a hiding spot. Shortly after this, Sharon helped me to find my telemetry. It was eventually found in one of the spots that Pente had crashed, and almost contacted a bunny. The fluff of fur was a clue . . . and there among the fur, was my transmitter. I was quite happy to find it . . . and promised Sharon a drink. I think I'll be putting some blaze orange tape on it . . . just in case for future losses.

We then headed back to town for some lunch, at Applebees. After lunch, we flew PeeWee in an open lot behind one of the malls, but didn't stir up anything for him. So we put him away, and went looking for something else for the redtails. One of the properties we had permission to use was owned by the Beach family. Sharon found the place, but we weren't quite sure we were in the right location. We looked around, and asked some of the hired hands if they knew anything. They did not. Fortunately, as we were driving in the area, we came across the owner. He indicated that yes, it was OK to hunt on the property. This location was a whole lot more like home. Many trees around a homestead, with grown up grass and piles of brush. Pente flew first, and after much pushing of bunnies, she made a final crash, and took her first (and only) cottontail of the week. Strangely . . . Kansas bunnies look a lot like Wisconsin bunnies! I fed her the head, and the lure, and then went back to the car, and did the Falconry 101 for some of the family members who came out to ask questions. While I was doing this, Zephyr was trying her skills out on the local rabbits. And she too caught one. So a very successful end to the day. Both redtails scored a bunny, to win a game pin.

As it got dark, we headed back to our hotels to clean up for the evening activities. Again, bedtime came late . . . and I had no problem sleeping!