A Most Excellent Day . . . and Burdock Part II
Sometimes I am in awe, and feel most fortunate to have found falconry, and to have been mentored into its fraternity where there are such outstanding people. Perhaps it may simply be that the one who taught me is such an outstanding person, who associates with others of the same personality, or perhaps, just maybe, the whole art of falconry, and the demands it makes upon those involved, makes for people of high character, responsibility, integrity and honor.
I had a most excellent day today hawking in Sun Prairie with Dave Noble, my sponsor, his good friend, Dave Zilker, and a new gentleman I've not met previously, Mike Barlow. We each flew our birds, all red tails, and every bird took a bunny today, with Dave's bird scoring a double.
We flew Mike's bird, Ruby, first. We started at the field they refer to as "Enzo's Field", a brushy slope, rising up onto a tree and brush covered hill, where there are many bunnies. This is the location where, unfortunately, a good friend of these gentlemen, and a falconer, passed away some few years ago from a heart attack, as he was about to enter the field to hawk. The place is indelibly etched into the memory, because of a terribly tragic event.
We were uncertain if we would be able to hunt this location, for as we walked up the hill, and Mike was about to release his bird, we heard a hunter's whistle, and saw dogs up on the hill. But after awhile we observed that the dogs moved off, and were called by their master to leave. So Mike put his bird up. We worked the hill some, and then pushed the brush on the slope pretty hard. After a short time Ruby flew out over us, and took a tree some distance away. And from here she then dove from her tree, and did not come back up. Mike went to investigate, and then informed us that she caught a bunny. So the first bird had success! We decided to move fields now.
We stopped for some lunch then went to the same field I hunted with Dave and his friends during the Wisconsin Falconry Meet two weekends ago. Dave Zilker hunted his bird, Honey, next. And a honey of a bird she is! She moved around, following her falconer, having about 5 slips, before connecting with her bunny, the second one of the day for the group, out in an open field. Dave Noble followed suit, with his bird, Giddy, and she caught her bunny among the briars, holding onto it through all the briars. In fact, she had crashed this bunny, and missed the first time, only to come back up and crash again, this time getting her bunny. So, three birds, and three bunnies. The luck was in the air!
I took Abby out to hunt, and hoped the luck would extend to us as well. At first, when I cast her off, she very quickly discovered a rotting deer carcase. Great! Just what I need! A bird cropping up on carrion. And she would have been happy to do so. I quickly lifted her up, and walked her away. The guys covered up the deer so she wouldn't see it. I then put her up a tree, and she slowly moved to a nice high perch, so she could watch the entire field. We all moved around, working the field, but she didn't see anything. After awhile, she did fly from her tree towards a tree line, and took a good perch. So we all moved, and began pushing towards her direction. At this point, I made my mistake for the day, and decided to carefully push through a large thicket of burdock. I should have known better! I did manage to get a bit into my hair, but most importantly, about this time, I saw Abby crash straight down, and I knew I needed to go find out if she caught anything. I hurried out of the burdock plantation a bit too quickly, and not as carefully, and managed to take several burrs across my face. I would spend a good portion of the following evening pulling splinters from my face. But at the time I didn't care, for as I raced across the field, and went over the fence, there my Abby was, in the thick brush, holding her first head of game. I lifted her out, as the other three falconers joined me. I was able to transfer her onto her lure, and very shortly, I had a fresh bunny in the pouch in the back of my vest. BUNNY #1 for Abby!! She is now officially entered as a game hawk!! After some teasing from the guys, and pulling burdock from my hair, we packed up and decided to move down the street and explore a new field, and see if Giddy would take a second bunny.
The new field did turn out to be pretty good, and we didn't even work much of it. In pretty short order Giddy grabbed a second bunny among the cattails. She's quite an awesome bird, but she has a good falconer who was able to make the most of her natural talents. She might have gone for a triple, but our time was running short, and we had to leave. We returned to Dave Z.'s house and sorted out all our stuff, but not before I was able to get everyone to line up so we could take a picture.
A Most Excellent Day, regardless of the splinters in my face. Such days are the happy memories we take with us, of excellent birds, and good friends! Most fortunate I am to be a part of falconry!
I had a most excellent day today hawking in Sun Prairie with Dave Noble, my sponsor, his good friend, Dave Zilker, and a new gentleman I've not met previously, Mike Barlow. We each flew our birds, all red tails, and every bird took a bunny today, with Dave's bird scoring a double.
We flew Mike's bird, Ruby, first. We started at the field they refer to as "Enzo's Field", a brushy slope, rising up onto a tree and brush covered hill, where there are many bunnies. This is the location where, unfortunately, a good friend of these gentlemen, and a falconer, passed away some few years ago from a heart attack, as he was about to enter the field to hawk. The place is indelibly etched into the memory, because of a terribly tragic event.
We were uncertain if we would be able to hunt this location, for as we walked up the hill, and Mike was about to release his bird, we heard a hunter's whistle, and saw dogs up on the hill. But after awhile we observed that the dogs moved off, and were called by their master to leave. So Mike put his bird up. We worked the hill some, and then pushed the brush on the slope pretty hard. After a short time Ruby flew out over us, and took a tree some distance away. And from here she then dove from her tree, and did not come back up. Mike went to investigate, and then informed us that she caught a bunny. So the first bird had success! We decided to move fields now.
We stopped for some lunch then went to the same field I hunted with Dave and his friends during the Wisconsin Falconry Meet two weekends ago. Dave Zilker hunted his bird, Honey, next. And a honey of a bird she is! She moved around, following her falconer, having about 5 slips, before connecting with her bunny, the second one of the day for the group, out in an open field. Dave Noble followed suit, with his bird, Giddy, and she caught her bunny among the briars, holding onto it through all the briars. In fact, she had crashed this bunny, and missed the first time, only to come back up and crash again, this time getting her bunny. So, three birds, and three bunnies. The luck was in the air!
I took Abby out to hunt, and hoped the luck would extend to us as well. At first, when I cast her off, she very quickly discovered a rotting deer carcase. Great! Just what I need! A bird cropping up on carrion. And she would have been happy to do so. I quickly lifted her up, and walked her away. The guys covered up the deer so she wouldn't see it. I then put her up a tree, and she slowly moved to a nice high perch, so she could watch the entire field. We all moved around, working the field, but she didn't see anything. After awhile, she did fly from her tree towards a tree line, and took a good perch. So we all moved, and began pushing towards her direction. At this point, I made my mistake for the day, and decided to carefully push through a large thicket of burdock. I should have known better! I did manage to get a bit into my hair, but most importantly, about this time, I saw Abby crash straight down, and I knew I needed to go find out if she caught anything. I hurried out of the burdock plantation a bit too quickly, and not as carefully, and managed to take several burrs across my face. I would spend a good portion of the following evening pulling splinters from my face. But at the time I didn't care, for as I raced across the field, and went over the fence, there my Abby was, in the thick brush, holding her first head of game. I lifted her out, as the other three falconers joined me. I was able to transfer her onto her lure, and very shortly, I had a fresh bunny in the pouch in the back of my vest. BUNNY #1 for Abby!! She is now officially entered as a game hawk!! After some teasing from the guys, and pulling burdock from my hair, we packed up and decided to move down the street and explore a new field, and see if Giddy would take a second bunny.
The new field did turn out to be pretty good, and we didn't even work much of it. In pretty short order Giddy grabbed a second bunny among the cattails. She's quite an awesome bird, but she has a good falconer who was able to make the most of her natural talents. She might have gone for a triple, but our time was running short, and we had to leave. We returned to Dave Z.'s house and sorted out all our stuff, but not before I was able to get everyone to line up so we could take a picture.
A Most Excellent Day, regardless of the splinters in my face. Such days are the happy memories we take with us, of excellent birds, and good friends! Most fortunate I am to be a part of falconry!
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