December Falconry Hunt 2006
Veronica sends us another account of her progress as a falconer. Enjoy! Note - you don't need to log-in to see the pics - just follow the link and click.
Link to Pics > December Falconry Hunt
I was fortunate enough to go hunting several times during the latter part of December, thanks to time off for the holiday season.
Christmas Eve day, we set off for Santa Clarita, the Sand Canyon area. It was a beautiful day but a little windy. Once unhooded, Wiggs immediately took off towards a huge tree and it took several minutes to reach his location as the surrounding brush was extremely dense and unfriendly. Mark and I each had a long extendable pole. One end is for thrashing bushes to flush quarry, the other has a perch on top covered in green astroturf and can be used to retrieve your bird during inaccessible situations. The three of us worked together as a team and I was thrilled that Wiggs was observing my actions as well as Mark, particularly as we were quite some distance from each other. However, the two times I called ‘ho-ho-ho’ while flushing rabbits, Wiggs wasn’t paying attention and at one point I fell down a rabbit hole….yes, right up to my knee! Did I feel like a fool but I bravely hobbled on. Eventually, after a lot of swooping and soaring, Wiggs finally caught his rabbit. I have learned that I cannot go rushing in to ‘help out’ but need to stay back and let Mark either open up the rabbit for Wiggs to eat or furtively remove the rabbit (for later use) and replace with alternate fare.
A few days later, we all went out again to another desert area and hiked to a nearby hill in the hopes of some soaring slope flying. This was my first time watching a bird ‘wait on’
(they are flown in a “waiting on” style, in which the falcon climbs high above the falconer, waiting to “stoop” at game flushed beneath it.) I couldn’t believe my eyes as I thought only falcons waited on, not hawks, but I guess Harris Hawks are an exception. It was windier this time and the telemetry came in handy because Wiggs disappeared over the ridge and did not really need our help flushing prey. He managed quite well on his own as, by the time we heard his bell, he’d consumed quite a chunk of rabbit! No accidents to report on this outing but one pair of filthy sneakers might not see daylight again!
Christmas Eve was another exciting and unpredictable adventure as we hiked through the Tujunga Wash for nearly an hour before unhooding Wiggs. This time I don’t think his weight was low enough because he just seemed to take us for a joy ride and had his own agenda. I would have been quite happy to go along except for the rocks, uneven terrain and deadly cactus bushes. You really need a lot of stamina to keep upright and I was doing great until this one giant cactus “attacked” my leg. It went through my jeans puncturing the skin and took for ever to remove the spiny needles. I had them everywhere, stuck to my glove, my jacket and even my leather boots. I tried to soldier on, once again hobbling in pain and have never been so happy to hear the squeal of a caught rabbit! However, even after more than two hours of hunting, Wiggs decided he didn’t want this prey and flew off again. Does this bird know when I’m at the end of my staying power! Eventually, as the sun was setting we made it back to the truck and I got my first compliment from my sponsor…he said…’you did real good out there today’!
Veronica
Veronica sends us another account of her progress as a falconer. Enjoy! Note - you don't need to log-in to see the pics - just follow the link and click.
Link to Pics > December Falconry Hunt
I was fortunate enough to go hunting several times during the latter part of December, thanks to time off for the holiday season.
Christmas Eve day, we set off for Santa Clarita, the Sand Canyon area. It was a beautiful day but a little windy. Once unhooded, Wiggs immediately took off towards a huge tree and it took several minutes to reach his location as the surrounding brush was extremely dense and unfriendly. Mark and I each had a long extendable pole. One end is for thrashing bushes to flush quarry, the other has a perch on top covered in green astroturf and can be used to retrieve your bird during inaccessible situations. The three of us worked together as a team and I was thrilled that Wiggs was observing my actions as well as Mark, particularly as we were quite some distance from each other. However, the two times I called ‘ho-ho-ho’ while flushing rabbits, Wiggs wasn’t paying attention and at one point I fell down a rabbit hole….yes, right up to my knee! Did I feel like a fool but I bravely hobbled on. Eventually, after a lot of swooping and soaring, Wiggs finally caught his rabbit. I have learned that I cannot go rushing in to ‘help out’ but need to stay back and let Mark either open up the rabbit for Wiggs to eat or furtively remove the rabbit (for later use) and replace with alternate fare.
A few days later, we all went out again to another desert area and hiked to a nearby hill in the hopes of some soaring slope flying. This was my first time watching a bird ‘wait on’
(they are flown in a “waiting on” style, in which the falcon climbs high above the falconer, waiting to “stoop” at game flushed beneath it.) I couldn’t believe my eyes as I thought only falcons waited on, not hawks, but I guess Harris Hawks are an exception. It was windier this time and the telemetry came in handy because Wiggs disappeared over the ridge and did not really need our help flushing prey. He managed quite well on his own as, by the time we heard his bell, he’d consumed quite a chunk of rabbit! No accidents to report on this outing but one pair of filthy sneakers might not see daylight again!
Christmas Eve was another exciting and unpredictable adventure as we hiked through the Tujunga Wash for nearly an hour before unhooding Wiggs. This time I don’t think his weight was low enough because he just seemed to take us for a joy ride and had his own agenda. I would have been quite happy to go along except for the rocks, uneven terrain and deadly cactus bushes. You really need a lot of stamina to keep upright and I was doing great until this one giant cactus “attacked” my leg. It went through my jeans puncturing the skin and took for ever to remove the spiny needles. I had them everywhere, stuck to my glove, my jacket and even my leather boots. I tried to soldier on, once again hobbling in pain and have never been so happy to hear the squeal of a caught rabbit! However, even after more than two hours of hunting, Wiggs decided he didn’t want this prey and flew off again. Does this bird know when I’m at the end of my staying power! Eventually, as the sun was setting we made it back to the truck and I got my first compliment from my sponsor…he said…’you did real good out there today’!
Veronica
posted by Amy Ries at 8:15 AM
0 comments
