Busy weekend

 One of the new people that attended and contributed to the overall success of our fly-in, came for this last weekend. Ed Phillips, besides wanting to fly around the area, likes to hunt, especially Coyotes. His wife had a prior commitment, so he came to do some hunting. Hope had not been able to connect the day before and was still down to weight, so we took her out in a spot that I had not hunted before. I was seeing a few Jacks in the field next to me, so I felt that we could find a few Jacks there that had not been hunted.

We drove to the end of the runway to begin our hunt. I was explaining to Ed how to hunt Jacks and how if we could get a close 'slip' Hope would almost always catch the Jack. If they had a longer distance to plan, they would almost always get away. Most people have no idea how well adapted Jacks are to survival. If  you remember on my last post I spent a bit of time with the proposition that most of the catches by a Hawk are because the Jack has a physical factor that interferes with their ability to evade capture. 

I have learned that one of the techniques that they use with good results is to just hide until you pass on by them. So I walk a bit then stop. That will make them think that you have seen them so they flush. If they are close enough the Raptor has an improved chance of catching them. Hope's reaction time is excellent and anything within 30 yards is at the very least going to lose some hair if not its life.

That very thing did happen within a few minutes of entering the field. A half grown Jack busted from cover, and Hope had him before he got to the first large Sage bush. My impression that it was a Brush Bunny. The one question that I did not have the answer to, was how Leah was going to react to a screaming Rabbit in Hopes grasp. 

  I guess I needn't have worried, neither Hope or Leah seemed to think that it was a problem. In this case there was nothing wrong with the Jack other than the fact that it was young. I was a very happy falconer. It was also the first young Jack that I had held in my hand in years.

Our next days program was to call a few Coyotes in to the rifles. We went over to the Ranch and set up in a good spot. On the way we saw and were seen by five or more Coyotes in the fields as we drove to our set. We walked back in to a lake to call. Apparently we were seen as the Coyotes began howling. We started calling and what I would call a second year Coyote came to within about 300 yards of the call and paid the price for it.

The next day, we again drove down to where we had caught the young Jack just as we got into the field. I felt that we hadn't really walked through any of the real area at all. We put in 3.7 miles and only got two or three long slips at Rabbits during the two or three hours that we hunted it. Now I am back to the previous doubts that I am going to find enough rabbits to hunt.