tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-68993648272274204042024-03-13T17:20:11.696-05:00Dan's BlogDanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05141516926297034833noreply@blogger.comBlogger152125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6899364827227420404.post-22863457239490772032010-12-29T22:54:00.002-06:002010-12-29T22:57:43.135-06:00New Location!Ryan and I have combined our blogs (see post below for additional info....). The blog is called "Little Mews On The Prairie," and can be found at www.ryanvanzant.blogspot.com<br /><br />Sorry for the confusion.<br />-D-Danhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05141516926297034833noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6899364827227420404.post-85965505443135838392010-10-28T16:18:00.001-05:002010-10-28T16:20:12.260-05:00Blog updateFirst off, i just want to say thanks to all the people who shot me PMs, asking that I keep posting in the old bloggski here. I'm glad at least a few people enjoyed reading it, as much as I enjoyed maintaining it. Unfortunately, life is still pretty stinkin crazy right now, and I just don't have the time it requires. See, I used to do all of my updates at work (inbetween projects of course:)!!), but Magellan has blogs, forums, facebook, etc, etc blocked from access, so the opportunity isn't there anymore. When I get off work, I go hawkin and do family stuff, and don't usually get on the computer at all. This is the way it's been for a minute, and that's why I just didn't/don't have time to keep her updated. Anyways, my sponsor Ryan is sort of in the same boat (as far as having a blog, but no real time to maintain it), so he had the great idea of combining them. The way we look at it, between the two of us, we SHOULD be able to keep some type of consistant blog going. It will probably be more interesting with more than one contributor anyways, so we are going to give it a shot! The inspiration came from Stephen B.'s blog, which is set up in the same manner...Thanks for letting us steal your great idea!!! SOOOOOO, if you all feel the urge, check out Little Mews on the Prairie (www.ryanvanzant.blogspot.com). For the time being, that's where my accounts of hawking goodness will be found. <br /> <br />Since that's the plan, I thought I would get everyone caught up on what's been going on down in my neck of the woods. Right after I made those last posts, but before I put the bird on the permit (we have a few days before the paper work has to be sent in....I was in that aloted time, don't worry.....), the decision was made to send Peachs on her way. She would have been a great hawk, but I wanted a male....wanted one all summer, and I just needed to be patient. Long story about how everything went down, but in the end, I pushed her up a few hundred grams above her trap weight, dosed her for parasites, and said "see ya later!" The cooler weather pushed in, and it was no time at all, before I had a nice little male chillen in the mews. I still havn't given him a name (other than little $hit, which he is refered to as quite often.....), but he will get one eventually. My first post over there will be an update about the season thus far, so I look forward to seeing you all over there. Until next time my friends, Cheers to you all!<br />-Dan-Danhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05141516926297034833noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6899364827227420404.post-22557815912703190772010-09-25T18:01:00.003-05:002010-09-25T18:13:39.581-05:00Depressing updateWell, it seems life still does not want me doing a blog....I'm, again, about to be laid off from my job. The company I work for pretty much put all their eggs in one basket, and it didn't pan out.....they will be closing in the not too distant future. So, the job search is back on again. Blogging is now pretty much off the priority list, which should be understandable to most.....Having to time do my falconry birds justice this season is going to be hard enough as it is....free time that used to be available for the blog, will now be taken up with hawkin, being a good dad, loving my wife, and trying to get life back to some what of a managable (sp?) state. Hope everyone has a great season, and I will get back in touch someday.<br />-Daniel-Danhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05141516926297034833noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6899364827227420404.post-19984076681817203532010-09-18T19:40:00.002-05:002010-09-19T11:29:19.107-05:00Moving Right Along<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgmNMmj6bb7Fl-3BAxk-bMK7snjqd5NvqczxDOaSdtLix3LAYQi69QSS4zchFIl6xtLgRxZty0iiCXYom1_C9QyslFrDPj4qotKoR9eZwfC_mLiBTJInEID0fFWQD2gehx6G3tENxCSg/s1600/078.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgmNMmj6bb7Fl-3BAxk-bMK7snjqd5NvqczxDOaSdtLix3LAYQi69QSS4zchFIl6xtLgRxZty0iiCXYom1_C9QyslFrDPj4qotKoR9eZwfC_mLiBTJInEID0fFWQD2gehx6G3tENxCSg/s320/078.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5518421016906044914" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwpyqK9_ybs_-91U6VqLYj0vL26XhpRb3bD7L8lDUNZmSba6FfSRxCKRwLI_86AjLTkmLpAKVcGJ7SUMf2q9FUOp1EIqwSi0u-9mqXEzmLRh0NC0SiiyVBDFgxLzvEgOgY9NodWhc-bw/s1600/012.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwpyqK9_ybs_-91U6VqLYj0vL26XhpRb3bD7L8lDUNZmSba6FfSRxCKRwLI_86AjLTkmLpAKVcGJ7SUMf2q9FUOp1EIqwSi0u-9mqXEzmLRh0NC0SiiyVBDFgxLzvEgOgY9NodWhc-bw/s320/012.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5518421005779016738" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9A0qBc_MOLAP5jYbdw6rh8NuG9IfBUv4khB9llQWdBL107A01vz3o4GWygbEz4djr3v_bTcPMycBzfGv9oyzIERSq-eSqazkmT0B-qBqDHFRM-cZN0ONXOl8SjR6JutoV5-0J1ZGdnA/s1600/015.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9A0qBc_MOLAP5jYbdw6rh8NuG9IfBUv4khB9llQWdBL107A01vz3o4GWygbEz4djr3v_bTcPMycBzfGv9oyzIERSq-eSqazkmT0B-qBqDHFRM-cZN0ONXOl8SjR6JutoV5-0J1ZGdnA/s320/015.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5518420995066207874" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkuHLhalp2mh6_qJxkp-O1FL7w7zEcYmanekUkeGE34VSumXa9aq1l9BegS1RxWW4CynpK-3XqHFsFwowUyz09hFIEkUn52LewUPVd3GIYLSxIGMWWGa0fvv81IgBCQ74vJdTmOcfhhA/s1600/016.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkuHLhalp2mh6_qJxkp-O1FL7w7zEcYmanekUkeGE34VSumXa9aq1l9BegS1RxWW4CynpK-3XqHFsFwowUyz09hFIEkUn52LewUPVd3GIYLSxIGMWWGa0fvv81IgBCQ74vJdTmOcfhhA/s320/016.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5518420987244711746" /></a>Danhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05141516926297034833noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6899364827227420404.post-36616525368077015952010-09-17T22:18:00.004-05:002010-09-17T23:13:31.028-05:00Peaches<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3aIFPU5x2n2IbAz2kSywWN7tP07GIJLekrbW2x5cE7lJ2zgzVijAym8qn9dF-3vxSIibGr-K21nXiPG_0eS003mtphyphenhyphenhLB-O72jrJgkZ6NHRuJHVlxgb7S8Sf0oxP8dFc7MD6Eyrjww/s1600/059.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3aIFPU5x2n2IbAz2kSywWN7tP07GIJLekrbW2x5cE7lJ2zgzVijAym8qn9dF-3vxSIibGr-K21nXiPG_0eS003mtphyphenhyphenhLB-O72jrJgkZ6NHRuJHVlxgb7S8Sf0oxP8dFc7MD6Eyrjww/s320/059.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5518090343534152530" /></a><br />Yeah, I know.....It's sorta like my first bird Delicious....just don't ask :). We almost don't even stop to look at her. It had been a long, unsuccessful day of trapping, and we were more into laughing at the podcast, than we were looking for birds. We both saw her at the same time though, and Ryan commented how she looked weird. She looked weird to us, b/c she was the first passage bird we havd seen in weeks! I glass her, and of course can't tell. She then drops off the perch, and hits the ground with a purpose....mousin! I guess it was the angle or something, but neither of us got a good look of her on the way down, so we anxiously watch the spot for her to fly back up. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4B5yQI7YCAYSSUiiKcpFr6M1JbBmWEaSYffJwyXxJElloT171SioONE7pWELQhtG1pQ_5qfSISOOiRdik1lL0ZJ_9_4szGyuvjUO5XwQI-0eaXhlqyOkxsVNIxAvgKGYBEvoiYW4P3g/s1600/064.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4B5yQI7YCAYSSUiiKcpFr6M1JbBmWEaSYffJwyXxJElloT171SioONE7pWELQhtG1pQ_5qfSISOOiRdik1lL0ZJ_9_4szGyuvjUO5XwQI-0eaXhlqyOkxsVNIxAvgKGYBEvoiYW4P3g/s320/064.JPG" border="0"alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5518090337354742514" /></a> Then, just like that, she flies up to the pole....banded tail just dancing in the air. Ryan hits the gas, and my window is on it's way down. Toss the trap as we go by, and wouldn't ya know....it lands right side up :). Before we can even get the car turned around, she is on the trap, and we are again, anxiously watching a spot. All of a sudden, I see the flip of wing, and I'm yelling "GO!!!"<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-kLpM5Elc8GS54Weov3NmsNGF-G9BPYscWHUj2eu5V2BRVCpbCJEkvEoEpTc-ionTw0TzdCanqAD3KQnnkuVRuvNvKHILPoKi7AGgb7oWlOstcQiMqS4ljmgIkjxjK76rST-jePhg-A/s1600/061.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-kLpM5Elc8GS54Weov3NmsNGF-G9BPYscWHUj2eu5V2BRVCpbCJEkvEoEpTc-ionTw0TzdCanqAD3KQnnkuVRuvNvKHILPoKi7AGgb7oWlOstcQiMqS4ljmgIkjxjK76rST-jePhg-A/s320/061.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5518090325187953522" /></a> I bail out of the car, and run over to pick her up. The haste was not needed though, b/c she was ALL SORTS of hung up on that trap. Got her hooded, and we took care of the tangled mess back in the car. Went ahead and geared her up right there also, and after getting settled in on the fist, rode the whole way home without incident. She was pretty stinkin jumpy at first, but chilled out after a little bit. When we got back to Ryan's place, we decided to tape her tail, for the ride home in the GH. Spent a minute doing that, and she ended up just knocking it off on the ride back :). I swear, I have never once gotten that blue tape everyone likes to stay put.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha0L8B8WAsoUC5iZvvAMXxQ_htG3N-Fm3XqFsGSRKeMGZWVAkY5HhbxIJ3Ncgp7rR5f2w15Av9tr6NhRAjJfPaGVNK_IW-D53D2cfAXpdjRDGrFoJPeVjFdvMm35zun8zVHjqYF6kvtw/s1600/076.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha0L8B8WAsoUC5iZvvAMXxQ_htG3N-Fm3XqFsGSRKeMGZWVAkY5HhbxIJ3Ncgp7rR5f2w15Av9tr6NhRAjJfPaGVNK_IW-D53D2cfAXpdjRDGrFoJPeVjFdvMm35zun8zVHjqYF6kvtw/s320/076.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5518090316937630450" /></a>. Got her home, and she chilled on the block that night. Had a 20 something gram casting the next day, so she had a FULL stomach when we trapped her. That means she's greedy, and I like that! Going to have to stay on my toes with this bird though. Dee Dee was pretty laid back, and I think I was a little spoiled. This bird has an attitude (for a red-tail) and razor sharp tallons to go with it. Anyways, pretty psyched about this coming season! Now, if we can just get rid of this hot weather......Danhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05141516926297034833noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6899364827227420404.post-87354012162547341932010-09-17T07:20:00.002-05:002010-09-17T07:30:20.862-05:00UpdateMore to come........<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK_dlfKV-kD86jSs5iDn41I1NnAdtIZLoKM80GdZ8khBZw-DCP1FYFgEFU2WyYH6v9Zt8m5cTJZjXbDquQn91G4h5Ld5_W5AxjtDwELKIbZWwTkTIiQQCHcOKOpo2c7-J7YXPFt1W2zw/s1600/054.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK_dlfKV-kD86jSs5iDn41I1NnAdtIZLoKM80GdZ8khBZw-DCP1FYFgEFU2WyYH6v9Zt8m5cTJZjXbDquQn91G4h5Ld5_W5AxjtDwELKIbZWwTkTIiQQCHcOKOpo2c7-J7YXPFt1W2zw/s320/054.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5517857963993578226" /></a><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpuE-orWqqVK-5RKNn4cZvxO1_mI5vCbhe7EvD1y954YGfb6g51z8ncEGVNoApZkXBE0VzJmAr4adkCvWNkI3kxGwLHKEfFLAYf3U7rHfsbjxy1tQfAl-TOJgdxqlH1SZRz2PDQ8wOTQ/s1600/055.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpuE-orWqqVK-5RKNn4cZvxO1_mI5vCbhe7EvD1y954YGfb6g51z8ncEGVNoApZkXBE0VzJmAr4adkCvWNkI3kxGwLHKEfFLAYf3U7rHfsbjxy1tQfAl-TOJgdxqlH1SZRz2PDQ8wOTQ/s320/055.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5517857954410225218" /></a><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVJEvW2XcFYKX25wmG66Ym-qnabpvSfFBB_R2JvMWEeT4dzUBuP3UsDnxdvTdFh8cZYoA_JgyPw-3ePYGmmTrtT-moL_qz0cczbmse3mgJ6jKtY2hjn4yG6pKy99VOx_nj9oGXRKw6VQ/s1600/058.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVJEvW2XcFYKX25wmG66Ym-qnabpvSfFBB_R2JvMWEeT4dzUBuP3UsDnxdvTdFh8cZYoA_JgyPw-3ePYGmmTrtT-moL_qz0cczbmse3mgJ6jKtY2hjn4yG6pKy99VOx_nj9oGXRKw6VQ/s320/058.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5517857941596696034" /></a><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQw9kPAp9vEQ16sc2wE8_X47xrCUuXkuZRFEOErqqtnKaHJd5wKaGNEgzu8a9BKozI_AfVqPuUbFob3sjG0OZxWKsmKHzbkuVsCQC7f46H4ML8Zp5IjYF9DmJUIFu7kLycK_Quo6aW8g/s1600/58989_159183574099053_100000222332480_540446_6652771_n%5B1%5D.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQw9kPAp9vEQ16sc2wE8_X47xrCUuXkuZRFEOErqqtnKaHJd5wKaGNEgzu8a9BKozI_AfVqPuUbFob3sjG0OZxWKsmKHzbkuVsCQC7f46H4ML8Zp5IjYF9DmJUIFu7kLycK_Quo6aW8g/s320/58989_159183574099053_100000222332480_540446_6652771_n%5B1%5D.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5517857932981311986" /></a>Danhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05141516926297034833noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6899364827227420404.post-26067295470568985042010-08-16T20:49:00.003-05:002010-08-16T21:02:48.262-05:00Goodness<A href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNkiphO_vHS5t7M34Sy0wu4r_DU-yjglUAvgA0QmC-DsZRdy4SzWnHfxCa5DxSO3spX4u8A5YPNiSPTR3D7VuVDJX5lU5sIlybiGIq_mczDf1-RUcNlXaGh7QXJWRr-hb4JprQbZriMQ/s1600/087.JPG"><IMG id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5506191091153910610 style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNkiphO_vHS5t7M34Sy0wu4r_DU-yjglUAvgA0QmC-DsZRdy4SzWnHfxCa5DxSO3spX4u8A5YPNiSPTR3D7VuVDJX5lU5sIlybiGIq_mczDf1-RUcNlXaGh7QXJWRr-hb4JprQbZriMQ/s320/087.JPG" border=0></A>Danhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05141516926297034833noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6899364827227420404.post-76930871438872704172010-08-05T10:05:00.003-05:002010-08-05T10:18:10.579-05:00Another Crazy TurnLife is full of them, and I just had another....this time, it's for the better! I finally found a job that I can be proud of.....tommorow is my last day at GRC, and I start a new systems analysist job on Monday. It will take me a few weeks to get into the swing of things, but hopefully the world will slow down afterwards. Trapping season opened down here on August 1st, so I'm pretty psyched about that. Been out most days since, and have been havin a blast. I have some buddies coming to town on Saturday for a visit with a coops on the agenda, and we are going to be out trappin all day! Should be good times, and I may just find the time to post some pictures later on. Other than that, I'm just waiting for this 100+ degree weather to go away, so that I can start thinking about trapping a bird for real. Have my eyes set on a male RT to kick the season off with, and I'm really looking forward to it....that is, unless I get distracted by kestrels in all this heat, and decided AC car hawking is the way to go!!!! That's all for now<br />-D-Danhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05141516926297034833noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6899364827227420404.post-66245409503870249472010-06-01T21:18:00.002-05:002010-06-01T21:21:22.278-05:00Kent's videoThis is a video my good buddy Kent made of the OFA meet last year.....he got a clip of Dee Dee when she scored her third rabbit....pretty sweet!<br /><object width="640" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/d2HZCF3T3bE&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xd0d0d0&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/d2HZCF3T3bE&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xd0d0d0&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always" width="640" height="385"></embed></object>Danhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05141516926297034833noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6899364827227420404.post-56746863871468392412010-05-08T16:25:00.004-05:002010-05-08T16:47:15.933-05:00Don't ya just love it!Little known fact, but I lost ALL of my pictures from last season. Yep...pretty much sucks. They where all on my work computer, and when I lost my job, I lost all the pics (LONG story for why I couldn't get them, but that's for another day, and another time....).....if it wasn't <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwvrakGVLLEwrDRFIlWxEc16fwYUvZ6oHiOQWfPiMfI28Z7PKjIuUHXyC2se0_WdeIhiK2-9um5Nv733dkDrlJwrxMRPSZ1Iz27oOL0IhG3TShdOsxfpRRWhKgXwwcoDow7BAX7aNlAw/s1600/Dee+Dee+(jeff).jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwvrakGVLLEwrDRFIlWxEc16fwYUvZ6oHiOQWfPiMfI28Z7PKjIuUHXyC2se0_WdeIhiK2-9um5Nv733dkDrlJwrxMRPSZ1Iz27oOL0IhG3TShdOsxfpRRWhKgXwwcoDow7BAX7aNlAw/s320/Dee+Dee+(jeff).jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5469018185114210306" /></a> already posted on the blog/facebook, then they where gone. Anyways, I have been going around forums and what not, trying to collect as many pictures as I could to commemorate my first season, but had pretty much decided that there wheren't any more to be found. I had given up the search over a month ago, and had accepted the fact that I had all the pictures that I was going to get. Well, I was going through some of Jeff's old posts on NAFEX this morning, and guess what I found?!?!?!?!? Yep, ANOTHER PICTURE!!! With thoughts already turning toward the new RT I will be kicking next season off with, finding this picture just got me more psyched! Hope the moult is flying by.<br />-D-Danhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05141516926297034833noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6899364827227420404.post-86104073084805332662010-04-13T11:33:00.003-05:002010-04-13T11:45:01.813-05:00Jeff still out there tearin it up!<OBJECT class=BLOG_video_class id=BLOG_video-d1d588988e440ad1 height=266 width=320 contentId="d1d588988e440ad1"></OBJECT>Well, I tried my best to upload these onto photo bucket and image shack (so that I could dump them onto Jeff's NAFEX thread)...they uploaded fine, but just wouldn't play properly SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO, I'm posting them here. Again, my video taking skills are more than lacking, but at least the quality is better now (we got that flip camera for Christmas ya know!). Both flights are pretty generic, and I even missed filming the kill shot on one of them, but it shows some of the points that Jeff hits upon in his thread (slipping once your past the birds, etc, etc).<br /><OBJECT class=BLOG_video_class id=BLOG_video-9c188ed7505ee13f height=266 width=320 contentId="9c188ed7505ee13f"></OBJECT> For anyone still paying attention to this blog, I released Sayda a little bit ago, and she has paired up with a nice looking hag male about a mile from my house (those harris hawk feathers make her pretty easy to spot...). Hopefully she will fare well with her first nest, and keep this territory for many years to come. If she sticks around, I will be trapping one of her branching babies in a year or two, and see what an early trapped RS is like. Until next time my friends.<br />-D-Danhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05141516926297034833noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6899364827227420404.post-41276796220078631002010-03-18T10:29:00.002-05:002010-03-18T11:28:04.129-05:00Startin to get that jittery coops feel!I have been down in norman for the last week or so helping out Ryan with some shows. Since we had a lot of down time, we went searching for coops nests. Little known fact, but this happens to be one of my favorite spring time activities, and I'm psyched for the next few weeks. Gary is the one who got me hooked on nest searching, and it just happens to be a favorite past time of Ryan's as well. Ryan has "the eye" for finding nests, and I have been trying my best to soak up his tricks like a sponge. Any who, last year my neighborhood coops nested north of me, but I have been seeing them mainly to the south this year. Went for a quick drive this morning, and located the pair hanging out in a Sycamore a couple blocks from my house. I quickly located what I "thought" was their nest, and sat back to do a little bird watching.<OBJECT class=BLOG_video_class id=BLOG_video-86735d518df22442 height=266 width=320 contentId="86735d518df22442"></OBJECT> They sat their preening and soaking up the son for a good five minutes or so, and then the male started bouncing around. He flew back and forth around the female a few times, and then went over and plucked a stick from a branch near her. He took off, and headed in the opposite direction of what I thought the nest was, and pulled up to what looked like a flat topped squirrel nest. Weird huh?! Last year we found a GOOD number or nests, and I have developed a pretty good image of what they look like.....this one just breaks the rules. Sat and watched for another ten minutes or so, and the male made numerous trips back to the nest bringing sticks (about 8 or so). The female just continued preening in the tree, and didn't seem at all interested in helping out. I don't know anything about bird nesting behavior, but I guess I just always assumed that both birds built the nest....maybe they do, but def not today!Danhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05141516926297034833noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6899364827227420404.post-11490517793556144202010-02-27T13:11:00.003-06:002010-02-27T13:26:40.010-06:00Somethins just gotta giveLife is a whirl wind right now. With everything going on, I have found myself with less and less time to spend on the computer, and the blog is having to suffer. The bird is coming along really well, and I have been getting in daily sessions. I'm not sure when I will be able to get back into the groove of things (as far as posts go), but it will happen sometime....Probably once I get a job nailed down, and get back into the rythm of life. If I'm still crazy busy by then, then it will probably just be the sporadic update until next season. Anyways, with everyones hawking season drawing to a close, I just want to wish everyone the best of luck with the moult/new eyasses this summer, and hope everyone accomplished their goals for the season. I plan on flying through the spring, and hopefully will be able to capitolize on the fresh batch of youngsters that are about to be hopping around everywhere. Until next time my friends<br />-Dan-Danhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05141516926297034833noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6899364827227420404.post-90672953093127708012010-02-17T18:17:00.004-06:002010-02-17T19:27:59.295-06:00UpdateWent out hawkin with Jeff yesterday. He showed me LOADS of good pigeon spots, so hopefully I will be able to give Sayda more slips now. Jeff has been pushin his girls weight up little by little in order to find her top end, and I'm thinkin he pretty much found it.<OBJECT class=BLOG_video_class id=BLOG_video-8bda1b6181fdd181 height=266 width=320 contentId="8bda1b6181fdd181"></OBJECT> Her recall was a little slow, but she still did well. Put a few starlings in the bag, and it was good times for sure! As you all have figured out, my camera is pretty weak, and my picture taking/video skills are lacking as well....but I still managed a few videos that didn't turn out TOO bad:). Pigeons where not being helpful yesterday though, and we didn't put any in the bag. We had one slip that was pretty long, but she just didn't see them until she was already out the window. Pulled up to the top of a power pole, and I called her down without too much hesitation. Continued on, and we found a group of about four or five milling around on the ground. They where in a sorta awkward position though, which forced me to slip her a little bit earlier than I had wanted to.<OBJECT class=BLOG_video_class id=BLOG_video-7e6c30ae7d5ea29a height=266 width=320 contentId="7e6c30ae7d5ea29a"></OBJECT> They saw her as she left the window, so she only put in a half hearted attempt at them. Flew up into a tree, and didn't want to come down. Ended up flying across the street, and we had to drive over there to call her down to the lure. She was at 607 grams again, so I was thinking she should do well, but she didn't. Last time, she had had 36 hours between feeds, so she was dynamite. Yesterday, she had less than 24 hours between the feeds, so she just didn't "feel" as hungry, even though her weight was the same. Headed back to the house, and there was THE PERFECT SLIP right at 71st and riverside. Though she had had her full amount of food, I knew it was still in her crop, so I slipped her anyways. She hauled balls at them, and just BARELY missed. Called it a day, and I planned to have her slightly lower for the session today. My math was correct, and she was at 597 grams this morning, so we headed out looking for birds.<A href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkKLQmZOT2GoowmAoMDSUYt3Ti4zkv_ORJ7bpAWXkH0QHRivyZlqZOVLC_ytDu0mDwxldXEsRjUaUAJyQ7e6CwyhqAQvODpkEbwyCuhw6gURgLH7zivFwpv1GBkFmfEJbCVEL1tpw0fA/s1600-h/016.JPG"><IMG id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5439383958338404850 style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkKLQmZOT2GoowmAoMDSUYt3Ti4zkv_ORJ7bpAWXkH0QHRivyZlqZOVLC_ytDu0mDwxldXEsRjUaUAJyQ7e6CwyhqAQvODpkEbwyCuhw6gURgLH7zivFwpv1GBkFmfEJbCVEL1tpw0fA/s320/016.JPG" border=0></A> It was nice and sunny today, and the wind wasn't blowing as hard as yesterday, so the birds where out in force. Unfortunately, the pigeons where not! They where all flying around, and enjoying the nice day, and didn't want to come down and play. Found four really good slips over the course of the day, but they all got messed up one way or another. The first was a group of about ten or so milling around on the ground right next to the road. Flipped the car around, and was about to go slip her, when I truck pulled up RIGHT where they where, and a dude got out to get the mail. WEAK! They all busted, so we moved on. Found another single next to the road, but that one also busted before I could get back for the slip. Headed down to Jonathan's neighborhood, and I found a nice single milling around, and AGAIN, it was busted by a passer by. WEAK! Headed back toward "the pigeon spot", and we found a group of five hanging out in a planter next to a building down town. Went around the block, and we where coming up for the slip, when someone parked on the same side, and then walked right through the middle of them....busted again....WEAK! Ended up just giving her a bagger b/c she had been so patient with me, and I'm hoping for a better session tommorow.<A href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhARNNc643YOYzjdy7XU05kAFsva85f5JtGoeoyJEVdlCwsgkUbJR1LWFqOsYvPW8AvR_zlt_1whL_WAmcN5KvYiQz_2KZrkj9KxcvixpZVFLNA3LIqQWy6g8N7Q5CH0S_7OYBh-cxJCg/s1600-h/021.JPG"><IMG id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5439383977389249346 style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhARNNc643YOYzjdy7XU05kAFsva85f5JtGoeoyJEVdlCwsgkUbJR1LWFqOsYvPW8AvR_zlt_1whL_WAmcN5KvYiQz_2KZrkj9KxcvixpZVFLNA3LIqQWy6g8N7Q5CH0S_7OYBh-cxJCg/s320/021.JPG" border=0></A> I think the weight she was at today was perfect...she was sleeked down and looking out of the car the entire time, and bated LIKE CRAZY at anything with a wing on it. Going to have her at the same spot tommorow, and hopefully Jeff, Ryan, and I are going to have a good car hawking session. HOPEFULLY, they will hawk their kestrels at the same time, and we can get some cool videos of the birds going out both sides of the car at the same time....fingers crossed for some goodness! Though we didn't have any slips today, I wanted to show my buddy a good time, so when we saw a hag coops fly across the road, I couldn't help but toss out a bagger for it. It came down without hesitating a bit, and we got to watch her eat it....pretty neat for sureDanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05141516926297034833noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6899364827227420404.post-7443840373633292922010-02-15T15:31:00.002-06:002010-02-15T16:01:03.618-06:00OH $hit! She is turning it on!!!!I'm so proud of my little girl!!!!! It has been a long journey, and there have been a lot of ups and downs, but it's on now! Sayda weighed in at 607 grams when I decided to go fly today. When she caught and carried the starling, she was at 587 grams (so quite a bit more than then), but she was bating and talkin like crazy, so I decided we needed to fly. Headed right across the river first, but we just didn't find any pigeon slips....TONS of starlings, but no pigs. Headed out to west Tulsa around where the dumpsite is and what not, and again....no pigs...just starlings. Found a NICE slip on three crows, but they where mixed in with the starlings, and i just didn't want to take it. Continued on, and we headed down the access road that runs along 44. Tons of pigeons up on the wire by "the pigeon spot", but none where on the ground. Lindz needed to leave for work at 3:30 PM, so around 3:10 or so, I gave up and decided to give her a bagger. Did great on that, but I only gave her half a starling breast on the lure, and then hopped her up for a leg. We where heading back toward the high way (which passes by the pigeon spot), and guess what???? Yup...ten of them where pecking around on the ground. As we where approaching, another five or so flew down, and Sayda started bating like CRAZY. I was like...what the heck....so I decided to fly them. Incase you don't rememeber the setup, I will refresh your memory. There is a building whose parking lot is sorta dug into the side of a hill....it has concrete walls surrounding it. Anyways, the access road to this building runs just to the left of the top of the wall, and the spot that the pigeons are always at is hidden from view when you start driving down the road. Sayda had seen them going down though(plus we have done this slip before), so she new EXACTLY where she was going. Slipped her out of the window, and she cruised in low, and then dipped hard below the wall. The pigs saw her coming when she crested the wall, and all scattered up into the air. Sayda had gone below the wall (so I couldn't see where she was), and then she came shootin STRAIGHT up into the air underneith the group of pigeons. She flew up between 10 and 15 feet into the air, shot her feet out, and slammed the pigeon from underneith...they cartwheeled through the air, and came to rest on the ground. I lept from the car, and jumped down from the top of the wall into the parking lot. They where fighting it out on the ground, and then I see her shoot a foot out and secure it's head. I get about five yards from her, when out of no where, a cat comes shooting out of a bush STRAIGHT for Sayda. I'm thinkin there is about to be a dead cat if I get there quick enough, but the cat closed the distance quicker than I did. I'm yelling and waving, and the cat hesitated JUST for a second. That was all Sayda needed, b/c she released the pigeon, flipped around, and shot a foot out and grabbed the cats nose. It wasn't a committed grab...she just footed it, but that (combined with my arrival) was enough to send that pussy runnin! Sayda flips back around, and starts looking around everywhere in the pile of feathers (I guess she was thinkin this bird would be attached to a string like the others, and it SHOULD still be there....nope!). It was pretty funny...you could pretty much see the wheels spinning in her head like WTF?!?!?!?!? I know I just had that pigeon right here.....all that's left is a pile of feathers.....where did it go???? She footed around the feathers for a good minute or two, before she gave up, and hopped to the fist for a nice reward. SOOOOOOOOOOOOO....I'm gonna count it. I wasn't going to at first....but I'm going to. She earned it. She caught it IN the air, brought it down, and had it under control....there was no way she would have lost it had the cat not tried to jump her, and had I somehow made it to her quicker....it would have been in the bag.....I'm counting it....talk noise if you want, but I'm counting it! So recap...first slip last time...caught a starling. First slip today...caught a pigeon! The ball is finally roling! Didn't feed her too much, so as long as it's not too crazy windy tommorow, I'm going car hawking with Jeff in the morning. Fingers crossed we will catch another one!Danhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05141516926297034833noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6899364827227420404.post-6394615268536883332010-02-13T21:42:00.002-06:002010-02-13T21:58:36.400-06:00Good dayJeff met me at my house this morning at 6:30 AM (thanks a TON man!), and we headed back to Sayda's tree. She was still there when we arrived, so we tossed a starling in the yard across the street, and then waited for the sun to rise. This starling was DEF doing it's job, and he flapped around tirelessly the whole time. Pretty much right as the sun was beginning to rise, I stuck another one out there in the yard that the tree was in, just to give her some options (and to guarantee at least one would be flapping all the time). All of a sudden, a bunch of starlings broke out of the tree, and Jeff thought that was a good sign that she was waking up. Sure enough, a few minutes later, she comes flying out of the tree, and hits the starling we had set up across the street. She was REALLY jumpy, and after letting go and recapturing the starling a couple times, abandoned it, and flew across the street to the other one. Couldn't really figure out why she did this, but now that I think about it....that starling was under a tree.....she felt more secure on that one (even though she was still out in the open....)....that, or else me getting out of the car bumped her off of the first one, but I don't really think that's what caused it. Anyways, grabbed the starling she didn't end up with, and stuck it back in the car, and then I meandered my way to her, and secured the starling. Quick dispatch, and then I traded her off to the lure. I had A TON of food on there from yesterday, so I let her eat a tiny bit, and then I hopped her to the fist for a starling leg.....over all, she just didn't get much food. Later I discovered this was DEF a good thing, b/c she weighed in at 643 grams when I stuck her on the digi. FAT GIRL! All's well that ends well I guess, and hopefully she will have a huge casting, and be down to weight tommorow. Went to Bartlesville with Jonathan the rest of the day, and we hawked bunnies with Kent. His harris had a NICE flight that was at least a hundred yards or more. He closed the gap quickly, and we heard the squeel of the rabbit. Unfortunately, he got kicked off, but remounted and put in a pretty good chase after it. Had more slips, but that was def the most memorable of the day. Headed to a dif field that has only been flown once (Dee Dee caught a rabbit there), and we flew Shaung for a bit. There are cedars EVERYWHERE, and the rabbits have def figured out how to utilize them. Shaung had some nice chases, but didn't manage to connect. Took a break for lunch and to do the whole reset on Shaung, and then Jonathan headed out to a dif field and scored a bunny (like...number 35 or something....heck ya!!!!!). While he was doing that, I went car hawking with the VanZant family, and Gizmo scored some more starlings for the tally board. Had a really neat flight where she whipped up under a deck chasing a bird, and then they both came out the other side....Gizmo tight on it's heals. Once they broke the cover though, the starling skied up, and the kestrel pulled off for a fence perch....still a pretty tight flight! Imped the last three bad tail feathers on Sayda, and then we headed on back to T-town. Good day for sure, and I'm psyched for the upcoming week of hawkin.Danhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05141516926297034833noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6899364827227420404.post-54131136503221668602010-02-12T22:30:00.003-06:002010-02-12T23:17:20.173-06:001st Kill! Bitter SweetSayda weighed in at 587 grams at 11:30 this morning. I was pretty psyched on doing some field hawking, so I called my good buddy Judah to see if he wanted to come along. He said he was down, so I went and drove around the neighborhood while I was waiting for him. The starlings where out and about, and it didn't take long before I found the perfect slip. There where two starlings in the grass next to the road, and another about to hop up there from the street. I drove up next to them, and Sayda was slicked down and watching....once we passed, their heads went back down. That's when I slipped Sayda. She came out the window pumping hard, and dropped like a rock onto the unsuspecting bird. Right at the last minute, the starling lifts its head and lets out a panicked scream. It was too late though, and the scream was cut short by Sayda's feet slamming it's head into the grass! Sayda's head immediately goes up, and I flip the car to the side of the road. I whip the door open, and fly out of the door..........and she is no where to be seen. Sayda hates being out in the open, so I half expected this to happen. I pull out the receiver, and start walking around looking under all of the bushes. Can't find her, so I do the walk about, and zero in her location. She was either in the back yard of the house she caught the starling in, or else one of the houses on either side. I knock on the first two houses, and no one answers. I hop back their and peek around really quickly, but don't do good enough of a job to find her. Knock on the third house, and I see a kid moving around inside. He doesn't answer the door though, so I don't go check out that yard. I wait her out for a good hour and a half...maybe two hours and the signal stays exacltly the same. FINALLY, she flies up into one of the trees, and I attempt to call her down. The problem is, I couldn't really get anywhere near the tree she was in, and the call was just too far for her. She had a nice crop, and she didn't really want to do anything. She ignores me, and eventually flies off. It takes me a good thirty minutes or so to track her down, and I eventually glimpse her in the top of a tree. She flies off before I can even get out of the car, and I loose sight of her. I'm messing with the telemetry, when I hear a bunch of blue jays making noise. I drive over to them, and I find Sayda sitting up in the tree. For the next three hours, I sit there and watch her. She won't come to the fist, ignores the lure, AND ignores the live lure. About an hour or so before dark, she decides she is done preening and chillen, and she flies off again. I track her down again, but can't get a visual on her. I drove around in the same circle probably three hundred times...I knew what street she was on, but I just couldn't find her. Once it got dark, my good buddy Jeff showed up, and he brought his marshal receiver. It has a pretty sweet function where you can set in on near, regular, and far (or something like that), and in no time at all, he had her zeroed into a specific tree. Lucky for me, it's a tree in a front yard, and we will be back there at 6:30 in the morning to try and get her down. It's supposed to get pretty chilly tonight I think, so hopefully she will be hungry enough...if not, then we may have to wait till after she casts. SOOOOO....we finally caught something. It ended up pretty bad, but we caught something. Guess I'm going to have to limit her to pigeons and crows from now on, but now that she has caught something, I'm hoping it got the wheels spinning. Going to stay away from areas with back yards for a good minute too :). What's interesting, is that she is at the exact same weight that she flew off the first time...like EXACTLY. Now that she is responsive, I have been pushing her weight back up until she messed around...I guess I found the top end of her weight! LOL. Still psyched about the way she reacted to the rabbits yesterday, so I may do a little more field hawking than I had planned on. Anyways, fingers crossed I get her back in the morningDanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05141516926297034833noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6899364827227420404.post-32506303841830548992010-02-11T13:46:00.003-06:002010-02-11T14:50:18.474-06:00Update<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc7nMQUHokEcLczgHMeyoOUs7AvdKF_0i2MbzEPSk-NZ5IzJJB0zH5pCiThhFFhKj0B6FSHzP1thzxSMDzDeb_ImmME5E6N-_GQE9CHd_ZFbbanbbSVj8JIjKm54WBlnWUEsVvYPqygQ/s1600-h/004.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc7nMQUHokEcLczgHMeyoOUs7AvdKF_0i2MbzEPSk-NZ5IzJJB0zH5pCiThhFFhKj0B6FSHzP1thzxSMDzDeb_ImmME5E6N-_GQE9CHd_ZFbbanbbSVj8JIjKm54WBlnWUEsVvYPqygQ/s320/004.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5437090669396506306" /></a><br />Well, Sayda is doing well. I have been working her everyday, and we are easing back into car hawking. She is actively looking for starlings, and she is back to chasing hard. I have continued with the baggers, and it seems to be working well. Drove around FOREVER today, but couldn't find any slips. It was pretty weak, so I decided to take her to the field and see if we could find some rabbits. She did really well, followed a little bit, and I was able to kick up two rabbits for her. She didn't see the first one, and the second occured while she was on my fist. I tossed her at it, but she just wasn't ready. She flew up into a tree, and was looking around everywhere. I went down and started kicking around, and I managed a reflush after five minutes or so. She took off hauling, and chased it clear across the field. When I finally made it to her, she was up in a tree looking intently toward the ground.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrCLqlxnaBGOqDr-ejyOFHFF0x2jtUHYW6s_bhzOz5rPeJ-l-uxwE9UcWz7Q5T-P6PzcIkY-4yGZP-GhG6mlUgTzuYPO1YJyzaZi5mhN08X-dDgfK9rz-pWjBSX3WzBadavylQ_-1mkA/s1600-h/005.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrCLqlxnaBGOqDr-ejyOFHFF0x2jtUHYW6s_bhzOz5rPeJ-l-uxwE9UcWz7Q5T-P6PzcIkY-4yGZP-GhG6mlUgTzuYPO1YJyzaZi5mhN08X-dDgfK9rz-pWjBSX3WzBadavylQ_-1mkA/s320/005.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5437090678595776722" /></a> Good day, and I tossed six or seven starlings for her in there for her to chase. I let he catch two of them, and it really got her focus off of me, and into hunting. Both trades where good, and I was pleased with the session. I'm going to do the same thing tommorow (look for slips, then field hawk if I need to), and I will end the session on a drag bunny if we end up field hawkin. It was really good gettin out into the field! We got half of Sayda's tail imped the other day. It is blatantly obvious that her manueverability is much better now, Im hoping this will translate into "she barely nabbed it" instead of "she barely missed it!" Here are a few pics...they are harris hawk feathers.Danhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05141516926297034833noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6899364827227420404.post-82818556892026074492010-02-08T10:32:00.002-06:002010-02-08T10:39:21.196-06:00Little updateIt's been pretty crazy for the last few days around here. Sayda and I have continued on with the plan, and we have just been reinforcing her on starlings. I can tell her focus has been switching back to where it needs to be, and we are about to be out hunting again. I was wanting to get out today, but it seems to be snowing pretty darn hard right now, so the birds won't be out and about feeding. I had a little "user error" issue with my starling cadge, and all 7 of them escaped, and are now flying around in my attick. Little things are noisy as heck, and now I don't have a baggie for today's session. That's pretty weak......Danhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05141516926297034833noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6899364827227420404.post-81851510574806038432010-02-05T14:07:00.002-06:002010-02-05T14:31:39.979-06:00ExcellentSayda did great today! Decided to get out a little bit earlier than I usually do, and it DEF paid off. Ran up to Quick Trip for a little java to kick start the day (around 9:15 AM), and the birds where out in force! Being that Ryan went out and caught SIX today (heck ya!!!!!), I was thinking the falconry gods maybe smiling this morning.....so I grabbed the bird. Sayda and I jumped in the car, and off we went. I drove around for ten minutes, and probably passed up 15 slips...it was CRAZY....there where birds on EVERY single street! She was actively scanning for game way more intently than I have ever seen her, and she was bating at every bird that flew past. I FINALLY found my perfect slip, and I held her back until I had just passed the starling. That's when she slipped, and she blasted out of the window and hurtled herslef at the starling. She closed the gap in moments, and she shot her foot out JUST as the starling was leaving the ground. Unfortunately, all she managed to grab was the starlings tail, and she returned to the fist with two tail feathers in tow. SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO close! In the minute it took to get back to the house, I probably passed five or six PERFECT slips! I stayed strong though, and ended the session on another bagger. I'm psyched! We are back on track, and we are moving forward. I'm pushing her up another five grams or so, and it will be the second day in a row that she is higher. If I'm going to see a behavioral change from higher weight, it should happen either tommorow or Sunday....so I will be keeping a close eye on her to make sure we don't end up in a telemetry chase. If she does well though, then I will keep her at the same weight, and fly her there for five or six days. If she is still cranking it out, I will push her up another five grams. Going to incriment it up until she starts screwing around.Danhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05141516926297034833noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6899364827227420404.post-48203882713205469182010-02-04T12:20:00.004-06:002010-02-04T12:33:34.114-06:00Another quick sessionGoals are still the same......get her focus back on little black birds milling around outside of the window. Set up the first bagger, and we drover around for about five minutes. She was sleeked down in the car, and it seemed to me like she was actively looking for things again. Slipped her out the window, and she did great. She still doesn't like being out in the open on kills, but she is starting to get better. I let her drag this one up under a bush, and she seemed much more comfortable that way. Perfect trade off to the lure, and then she went in the GH for a reset. Got the lure and everything ready again, and we drove around another five minutes. The rain had picked up some by this point so I had to use the wind shield wipers a few time...something that normally sets her off into a bating fit. She did great today though, and didn't bate once! I was pleased, and after driving around, slipped her on the second one. She did great again, and this time we stayed out in the open. Once I got right up on her, she seemed to calm down quite a bit, and started plucking furiously. Let her eat a bit more on that one than the first, and then we had another perfect trade to the lure. Total, she got about 54 grams of food, and she is nice and fat on her pole perch right now at 623 grams. She understands the car hawking thing, and I feel pretty confident I can get her back every time now. I'm going to continue getting her confidence really high on baggers, and push her weight up little by little. Once we are back to the point where I think she is ready to be hunted again, I will bring her down a tiny bit from whatever higher weight we are at, and just see what happens. Many thanks go to my GORGEOUS wife, who helped out with the baggers today! You are a gem!Danhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05141516926297034833noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6899364827227420404.post-69389527479327300392010-02-03T14:10:00.002-06:002010-02-03T14:29:43.401-06:00Quick sessionToday was pretty quick. Headed down to Jonathan's neighborhood with pigeons on the agenda. I found a nice group of about ten or so milling around on the ground, with another two about 20 yards away next to the road. Flipped a "B", and was about to start heading back toward them to slip on the two loners, when they SCATTERED! I have seen that desperate scramble before, and when I made it back to where they where, discovered a passage coops on the ground with a struggling pigeon. Sufficet to say, those pigeons where not coming back to the ground for a long time! Continued on, and found a group of three starlings pecking around right next to the road. Took Ryan's advice, and I sat there until I was sure that she saw them. Pulled up next to them, and she pulled up into a tree immediately. Called her back to the fist for no reward, and then I just bagged her. I'm not going to hunt her again until she is automatic out the window....if it takes ten baggies in a row, so be it. We WILL get her focus back on hunting, even if it kills me in the process.Danhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05141516926297034833noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6899364827227420404.post-74428585883790452582010-02-03T08:24:00.002-06:002010-02-03T08:42:14.838-06:00Yesterday's sessionWas not too darn shabby. After talking it over with Ryan, it was decided that I needed to do some really long calls, in order to asses her condition. Since we where going out to the field, I thought I would be a good day to reinforce the whole rabbit thing. Thawed out one of Dee Dee's rabbits, cut up all my tid bits grabbed four or five starlings for fun, and headed to the field. Little known fact (smile), I get pretty scatter brained when I get excited, and I ended up leaving the rabbit and my tid bits at the house. Pulled up to the field, and all I had where starlings and my lure. Well, dispatched a bird really quickly and got my bits ready to go, and then we headed into the field to see what we could see. I decided to go to the Lowes field, just b/c there are quite a few rabbits, and there are a few pretty open sections. I was hoping to get a slip or two for her, but they just weren't in their usual spots (makes sense...the rabbits had moved in all the other fields....not sure why I expected these rabbits not to.....), so I just started tossing birds. I'll start at the beginning though.....stuck her on the roof rack of the subi, and I called her about fifty yards to the fist. Her response was def less than desirable, and she was VERY distracted. Tossed out a starling (hoping to get her head back into the game), and she just watched it fly.....weak! Continued on through the field beating brush, and did another call to the fist (maybe 100 yards or so). Again, VERY hesitant. Tossed her back up into the tree, and then I started beating around the base of it. Tossed another starling, and this one flew pretty darn weak (it must have been one of my bait birds). Anyways, it flew up to the branch of the tree next to the one Sayda was in, but she AGAIN just watched it. Getting a little irritated by this point, but we continue on. Call her to the fist, and she flies in, and then checks up into the tree above me. Continue on, and then she blasts out of the tree heading back toward the tree she had just been in. I'm thinking we are loosing focus, but to my surprise, she bypasses her tree, and smashes into the one next to it....the one the starling had landed in! I see her parachute down to the ground, so I run over to find her under the tree holding the bird. She makes a few hops till she is right at the base of the tree, and I gave her a moment to start plucking. Once she did, I made my way in there and offered her a tid bit. She dragged the starling right to me, took the tid bit, and then scooted between my legs and started going CRAZY on the starling. I liked this, b/c it seemed to me like she felt safe with me "protecting" her. Trade off to the lure was flawless (at least I did ONE thing right with this bird!), and then I hopped her to the fist for a leg. Over all....not too bad. Even though I wasn't "directly" related to the kill (in that I flushed, she stooped, and connected), she did fly away from me and grab it, which is good. I have been workin on getting her focus away from me, so we shall count this as a good session.Danhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05141516926297034833noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6899364827227420404.post-16690066641234571122010-01-31T14:58:00.003-06:002010-01-31T15:22:30.188-06:00Prepare to have your mind blown!All of this just happened within the last 30 minutes or so....So I have the starling trap out in the back yard right....I had caught 10 or so thus far, and I peeked out the window to see if they where attracting anymore. What do I see sittin up in the tree in my back yard...a passage red tail. This was weird for sure, considering I have never once seen a red tail in my neighborhood....red-shoulders, coops, bald eagles, mississippi kites...see those pretty commonly, but never red tails. So I sit there watching it watching the starlings, and I think to myself...hm...that bird looks a lot like Dee Dee. Soooo, wild hare....I open the door, whistle, and throw my lure to the back edge of the yard (and duck back into the house).....and she flies down and grabs it!!!!!!!!! No *ucking way! Dee?????? So I open the door, and slowly start walking closer (gotta get a freakin picture or else no one will believe me), and she makes one hop with the lure, and then bails up into the tree. I run inside yelling to Lindz "Dee's back, Dee's back"! Look outside again, and she is gone. Lindz is like "do you think it's really her" giving me that look like "your freakin crazy". I don't think she believed me...anyways, so I'm talkin a mile a minute, geekin out, and freakin out, and she tells me to use my energy and go scrape the ice off of her car, so I head out front and start working on it. Suddenly a shadow crosses across the ground, and she lands in the big pine tree across the street! I grab a starling and hinder it for her, and then I toss it out in the middle of the yard yelling ho ho ho. She was on her way before it even hit the ground. She smashed it, and immediately carried it up into the neighbors tree two houses down. She tears is appart in about four bites, and then sat up there for a good ten minutes or so, before flying off. Hands down, the coolest thing I have ever experienced in my entire life. I was sitting around all bummed after our $hitty session this morning, and now I can't stop smiling! No other sport, activity, hobby, adventure, ANYTHING....nothing compares to falconry! My spirits are renewed!!!!!Danhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05141516926297034833noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6899364827227420404.post-86462014637954155572010-01-31T11:59:00.002-06:002010-01-31T12:21:33.495-06:00Def need that confidence boosterWell....she sucked today. She was at 574 grams when we headed out to look for some birdies, and it took us a minute to find a good slip. Luckily though, one of the tride and true pigeon spots came through, and she made a REALLY nice slip on them to start the day off. There is a building that is sorta "inset" into the side of a hill, and the parking lot is surrounded by walls on two of the sides. The side road that I was driving down runs along the top of one of these walls, and she had a nice height advantage when she exploded out of the window, and folded up into a bullet. She hit the center of the group of pigeons, but I'm not sure if all the wing beats confused her, or if she just missed, but she ended up empty footed, and flew off the ground to the roof of the building. Called her to the fist, and we continued on our way. She started getting really bouncy in the car, so I'm thinking that she is getting anxious for a kill. Next slip is a group of about ten or so starlings milling around some trash bags that had been set out the back door of a pizza hut. These birds paid ZERO attention to us, and I just knew this would be our kill. Dropped the window, ho ho ho, and she flew straight up into a tree. She didn't even try...I mean....straight out the window and up. Half the birds didn't even flush from the trash they where eating. THIS was the slip I was waiting for, and nothing. Stupid bird! I'm confused....MAYBE she has decided she can't catch starlings, and that's why she only went hard at the pigeons. Well, I decided it was time for a bagger, so I found a nice spot, and planted it for her. Did our approach...she was head bobbing the whole time...window down.....she shoots up to a power pole........WTF? Call her down, and we try again. Approach, head bob, window, straight up to a tree! I'm pissed by this point. Try again....she flies up to the roof of a building. I get her on the fist, and pretty much have to throw her on top of it. It's like we are back to day one....GRRRRRRRRRRRRR. This is what I think has happened (and I'm going to get a big @$$ "I told you so" from Ryan)....she is hunting the fist now....She WAS hunting birds earlier when her confidence was high from all those baggers, but ever since we have started hawking and getting multiple slips (and I let her confidence wane from not giving baggers), she has been getting her reward from coming to the fist, not from catching birds. We MUST switch that focus back to the birds....I was so worried about getting her back after each slip, that I let her train me. She figured out that all she had to do was fly out of the window, and then she would get called to the fist for food. No more calling to the fist...only lure....and I have to get her confidence back up.Danhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05141516926297034833noreply@blogger.com0