Veronica's Sunday Hawking Post
Veronica guest-blogs again on a recent hawking adventure. Here are some pics to go with the blog: Veronica's Gallery
Up at 5am…Mark arrived at 6am (probably wanted to make sure I was suitably attired – i.e. waterproof footwear!)…set off for Carpinteria – arrived by 7.30am – met Dave Roth (Master Falconer) and his Goshawk ‘Cisco’ and beagle ‘Bailey’. Using Dave’s vehicle, set off to Goleta, checked out a few duck ponds. Chose suitable spot and Dave’s plan involved picking up a few rocks for me and Mark to pocket for use in helping to flush the ducks while he and his bird hid in the bushes. Before taking the hooded Cisco out of his traveling box, Dave prepared the transmitter devise and attached to Cisco’s ankle, and checked the transmitter frequency. Unfortunately, Cisco somehow managed to get his hood off during this process which meant ‘no duck hunting’. Evidently, once Cisco is ‘unhooded’ he expects to be immediately released, NOT rehooded, so there was no chance Dave could creep toward the pond and hide or for us to make our way to the other side with our ‘rocks’ and act as flushers. We had to switch to plan B…rabbits, not ducks! Dave let his bird loose and it went up to top of nearby building and the three of us, along with Bailey set off into heavy dry dense brush. Bailey had his own plan for flushing rabbits, meaning he doesn’t come when called! Cisco flew to nearby telephone pole and closely watched all three of us while we tramped through the undergrowth kicking bushes and trying to just rouse anything that would move. I couldn’t see a rabbit anywhere and was literally getting covered from head to toe in prickly burs. Meanwhile, Cisco is flying gracefully and swiftly from one pole to another. It was quite strenuous keeping up with this hawk. The hard part is trying to watch where you’re walking so as not to trip and fall, as well as looking up to keep track of your bird. This is obviously where telemetry is crucial. It’s really neat to see your bird looking down at you understanding your movements are helping it hunt. You can tell from the hawk’s posture if it sees something moving in the brush and several times Cisco took off and swooped but never landed. Just on to another pole further away….urgh. Whenever your hawk takes off in pursuit of quarry, it’s customary to call out - ”ho, ho ho”…but I think this will take a bit of getting used to for me as I’m too excited watching the flight to remember to call out in a timely manner. Finally, one of us, or maybe Bailey, must have flushed a rabbit as Cisco took off and literally zig zagged in and out of the bushes faster than a speeding bullet! It was all over in seconds as I heard the squeal of the rabbit. We made in carefully and Dave told both of us to stay back while he killed the rabbit and felt it was okay to approach his eating hawk. Something I learned here was most interesting.
The noise/screaming you hear when the hawk pounces on the rabbit is not from pain at being attacked. The sound is sent out to attract other predators in the area, be it fox, coyote or other bird of prey which, when/if it arrives, will confuse and/or scare off the hawk releasing its grip on the rabbit enabling it to escape. Anyway, while Cisco was getting his fill and after Dave felt he was almost satisfied, he offered it delicious quail breast on his glove which was readily accepted and, at the same time, deftly removed the remaining rabbit hiding it in a back pouch. This has to be done secretly as you must not let your hawk think you’re taking away his prey. You could be viewed as competition, causing resentment. Also, at the same time, this is when you get your bird leashed to the jesses and back to the fist. It’s a lot to remember all at the same time….whew.
This was very different hunting from ‘fist flying’ when we used the mechanical ‘run’ lure for the passage red tailed hawks. I’m figuring that depending on what type of hawk/falcon you fly, and what kind of quarry you hunt, it’s not always going to be fist flying.
I will be attending my first annual California Hawking Club Field Meet in Sacramento Jan 10 -13 as follows:
……..Each year the CHC holds a Field Meet where falconers come to fly their birds on wild game, attend clinics and workshops on falconry equipment and husbandry, enjoy speakers who discuss these and other topics concerning raptor conservation and public education at the nightly meetings, purchase falconry equipment and artwork, and test their luck during the raffle(s), culminating in a Saturday night banquet and awards ceremony…..
I’ve already been invited to accompany some of these falconers while they hunt so my anticipation and excitement is mounting daily. Hopefully I will return with some great photos and tales to tell.
Veronica
Veronica guest-blogs again on a recent hawking adventure. Here are some pics to go with the blog: Veronica's Gallery
Up at 5am…Mark arrived at 6am (probably wanted to make sure I was suitably attired – i.e. waterproof footwear!)…set off for Carpinteria – arrived by 7.30am – met Dave Roth (Master Falconer) and his Goshawk ‘Cisco’ and beagle ‘Bailey’. Using Dave’s vehicle, set off to Goleta, checked out a few duck ponds. Chose suitable spot and Dave’s plan involved picking up a few rocks for me and Mark to pocket for use in helping to flush the ducks while he and his bird hid in the bushes. Before taking the hooded Cisco out of his traveling box, Dave prepared the transmitter devise and attached to Cisco’s ankle, and checked the transmitter frequency. Unfortunately, Cisco somehow managed to get his hood off during this process which meant ‘no duck hunting’. Evidently, once Cisco is ‘unhooded’ he expects to be immediately released, NOT rehooded, so there was no chance Dave could creep toward the pond and hide or for us to make our way to the other side with our ‘rocks’ and act as flushers. We had to switch to plan B…rabbits, not ducks! Dave let his bird loose and it went up to top of nearby building and the three of us, along with Bailey set off into heavy dry dense brush. Bailey had his own plan for flushing rabbits, meaning he doesn’t come when called! Cisco flew to nearby telephone pole and closely watched all three of us while we tramped through the undergrowth kicking bushes and trying to just rouse anything that would move. I couldn’t see a rabbit anywhere and was literally getting covered from head to toe in prickly burs. Meanwhile, Cisco is flying gracefully and swiftly from one pole to another. It was quite strenuous keeping up with this hawk. The hard part is trying to watch where you’re walking so as not to trip and fall, as well as looking up to keep track of your bird. This is obviously where telemetry is crucial. It’s really neat to see your bird looking down at you understanding your movements are helping it hunt. You can tell from the hawk’s posture if it sees something moving in the brush and several times Cisco took off and swooped but never landed. Just on to another pole further away….urgh. Whenever your hawk takes off in pursuit of quarry, it’s customary to call out - ”ho, ho ho”…but I think this will take a bit of getting used to for me as I’m too excited watching the flight to remember to call out in a timely manner. Finally, one of us, or maybe Bailey, must have flushed a rabbit as Cisco took off and literally zig zagged in and out of the bushes faster than a speeding bullet! It was all over in seconds as I heard the squeal of the rabbit. We made in carefully and Dave told both of us to stay back while he killed the rabbit and felt it was okay to approach his eating hawk. Something I learned here was most interesting.
The noise/screaming you hear when the hawk pounces on the rabbit is not from pain at being attacked. The sound is sent out to attract other predators in the area, be it fox, coyote or other bird of prey which, when/if it arrives, will confuse and/or scare off the hawk releasing its grip on the rabbit enabling it to escape. Anyway, while Cisco was getting his fill and after Dave felt he was almost satisfied, he offered it delicious quail breast on his glove which was readily accepted and, at the same time, deftly removed the remaining rabbit hiding it in a back pouch. This has to be done secretly as you must not let your hawk think you’re taking away his prey. You could be viewed as competition, causing resentment. Also, at the same time, this is when you get your bird leashed to the jesses and back to the fist. It’s a lot to remember all at the same time….whew.
This was very different hunting from ‘fist flying’ when we used the mechanical ‘run’ lure for the passage red tailed hawks. I’m figuring that depending on what type of hawk/falcon you fly, and what kind of quarry you hunt, it’s not always going to be fist flying.
I will be attending my first annual California Hawking Club Field Meet in Sacramento Jan 10 -13 as follows:
……..Each year the CHC holds a Field Meet where falconers come to fly their birds on wild game, attend clinics and workshops on falconry equipment and husbandry, enjoy speakers who discuss these and other topics concerning raptor conservation and public education at the nightly meetings, purchase falconry equipment and artwork, and test their luck during the raffle(s), culminating in a Saturday night banquet and awards ceremony…..
I’ve already been invited to accompany some of these falconers while they hunt so my anticipation and excitement is mounting daily. Hopefully I will return with some great photos and tales to tell.
Veronica
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