Deep Deep Snow and Cattail Catch
Over the last couple days we have had a major winter storm move through our area. I've not heard exactly how much snow fell, but it certainly is more than 10 inches, with substantial blowing and drifting. Yesterday the roads were unpassable in most of the back roads. Only after the storm ended last night, and the crews got busy plowing the roads did travel again become possible.
The clouds cleared, and today was a beautiful day for a walk outside. It was also a good falconry day, assuming you could find someplace to hunt something. I left early enough with Nina in tow and drove quite extensively around the South side of La Crosse, looking for places to hunt. I didn't find anything suitable that had an appearance of game, and which lacked any kind of signs indicating 'no tresspassing'. I must have driven around for about 2 hours, just listening to the radio. After a quick stop by my home, a laundry trade out, and a glass of eggnog I decided to just try one of the little patches nearby. I've already pulled one rabbit out of it. Usually I don't like to pull too many bunnies from one site, taxing the long-term sustainable population. But upon second thought, I don't plan to hunt next year, so pushing too hard on the game in the one spot will really not matter for next year, and it is a residential area, so I'm sure there are plenty of other bunnies to fill the niche for any that I take away. There is one living underneath my mews right now! I see the hole in the snow, and the tracks. Little foo foo doesn't know how close to danger he lives!
I geared Nina up and then trudged across a large field to get to the brushy area. I park my car back behind Hillview Nursing Home, as it offers the best place to leave my car. This was fabulous exercise for me, the snow sometimes being up to my hips, most of the time up around my calves. I got to my destination and struck Nina's hood, and sent her off. She immediately took a tree, and then moved around a bit following my progress. I walked around for probably about 20 minutes or so, whacking brushy areas with snow covering them, hoping to maybe find one rabbit to jump out, but not succeeding. I really wasn't too motivated to try too hard as this was just exhausting for me. I mostly planned to let her get some exercise, and then call her down to the lure. Special note here, the snow had melted down a bit last week prior to this new layer. I believe that ice crust may be for the most part resolved. Now it's just dealing with DEEP snow!
I made a large loop, and approached a cattail bed last. I could see trails moving into this thick bed which were too small for deer . . . as I had seen quite a few deer tracks as well. Nina was a good distance away, but as I worked the bed she must have seen some kind of movement. She quickly flew back towards me, almost at me, and then raked off and took a perch in a tree. I watched her behavior, and knew she had seen something, and was continuing to watch. So I turned and pushed back towards her direction. A moment later she took wing, and then dove down into the cattails a short distance in front of me. At first, I thought she had missed, and I stood still, waiting for her to get back up, but she did not move. I then heard the bunny cry. She had managed to catch it through all that thick snow. I walked carefully over to where she was, watching my step, which was important for when I got to her, all I could see was her head. The rest was under the snow. I quickly yet carefully reached down to where her feet were, and grabbed the bunny. It would be terrible after such an effort for her to lose her quarry. I pulled her free of the cattails, set her down on an open area, dispatched the bunny, secured her, and then traded her off onto her lure, allowing her to eat.
I do so wish I had brought my camera with me. Once done, I called Nina up to my fist. She was all bristly with her hackles up, as she always is after a hunt. The day was bright, the sky blue, the snow laying heavily over everything was sparkly white. It would have been a beautiful picture!! Sometimes, this obsession gets me out of the house when I would rather just stay inside. I am forced by a sense of responsibility to hunt my bird, when it would be all too easy to just go into the freezer and give her something from there. I have many times found myself in peaceful locations, even right in towns, to experience the pulse of the wild places, with a fierce member of the community working in conjunction with me to participate in the dance of life and death. It is a singular honor that I am going to miss next year, as I hang up my gauntlet for a season to focus exclusively on my schooling.
The experiences make the sweat all worth it!
I got Nina home, took care of bunny #7 for the year, and gave her a Christmas Eve feast with the fresh bunny innards. The moisture is good for her! That was a tough catch! And a pretty one too!
The clouds cleared, and today was a beautiful day for a walk outside. It was also a good falconry day, assuming you could find someplace to hunt something. I left early enough with Nina in tow and drove quite extensively around the South side of La Crosse, looking for places to hunt. I didn't find anything suitable that had an appearance of game, and which lacked any kind of signs indicating 'no tresspassing'. I must have driven around for about 2 hours, just listening to the radio. After a quick stop by my home, a laundry trade out, and a glass of eggnog I decided to just try one of the little patches nearby. I've already pulled one rabbit out of it. Usually I don't like to pull too many bunnies from one site, taxing the long-term sustainable population. But upon second thought, I don't plan to hunt next year, so pushing too hard on the game in the one spot will really not matter for next year, and it is a residential area, so I'm sure there are plenty of other bunnies to fill the niche for any that I take away. There is one living underneath my mews right now! I see the hole in the snow, and the tracks. Little foo foo doesn't know how close to danger he lives!
I geared Nina up and then trudged across a large field to get to the brushy area. I park my car back behind Hillview Nursing Home, as it offers the best place to leave my car. This was fabulous exercise for me, the snow sometimes being up to my hips, most of the time up around my calves. I got to my destination and struck Nina's hood, and sent her off. She immediately took a tree, and then moved around a bit following my progress. I walked around for probably about 20 minutes or so, whacking brushy areas with snow covering them, hoping to maybe find one rabbit to jump out, but not succeeding. I really wasn't too motivated to try too hard as this was just exhausting for me. I mostly planned to let her get some exercise, and then call her down to the lure. Special note here, the snow had melted down a bit last week prior to this new layer. I believe that ice crust may be for the most part resolved. Now it's just dealing with DEEP snow!
I made a large loop, and approached a cattail bed last. I could see trails moving into this thick bed which were too small for deer . . . as I had seen quite a few deer tracks as well. Nina was a good distance away, but as I worked the bed she must have seen some kind of movement. She quickly flew back towards me, almost at me, and then raked off and took a perch in a tree. I watched her behavior, and knew she had seen something, and was continuing to watch. So I turned and pushed back towards her direction. A moment later she took wing, and then dove down into the cattails a short distance in front of me. At first, I thought she had missed, and I stood still, waiting for her to get back up, but she did not move. I then heard the bunny cry. She had managed to catch it through all that thick snow. I walked carefully over to where she was, watching my step, which was important for when I got to her, all I could see was her head. The rest was under the snow. I quickly yet carefully reached down to where her feet were, and grabbed the bunny. It would be terrible after such an effort for her to lose her quarry. I pulled her free of the cattails, set her down on an open area, dispatched the bunny, secured her, and then traded her off onto her lure, allowing her to eat.
I do so wish I had brought my camera with me. Once done, I called Nina up to my fist. She was all bristly with her hackles up, as she always is after a hunt. The day was bright, the sky blue, the snow laying heavily over everything was sparkly white. It would have been a beautiful picture!! Sometimes, this obsession gets me out of the house when I would rather just stay inside. I am forced by a sense of responsibility to hunt my bird, when it would be all too easy to just go into the freezer and give her something from there. I have many times found myself in peaceful locations, even right in towns, to experience the pulse of the wild places, with a fierce member of the community working in conjunction with me to participate in the dance of life and death. It is a singular honor that I am going to miss next year, as I hang up my gauntlet for a season to focus exclusively on my schooling.
The experiences make the sweat all worth it!
I got Nina home, took care of bunny #7 for the year, and gave her a Christmas Eve feast with the fresh bunny innards. The moisture is good for her! That was a tough catch! And a pretty one too!
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