Oct 6th Opening Duck and general all around fun.

PUD AND YOGI

This morning we decided to hunt here at the house, since we weren't finding that many in last years spots. I didn't let the Chickens out since we were going to start at 9 am. It was a bit nipply, but we all dressed up for the hunt. Isabel came with Tami this time, leaving Grace to baby sit.

Unfortunately I underestimated the amount of food that Yogi needed the other day and she was a bit too light to enjoy the frosty morning. She wasn't on her best game, and Puddy still hasn't decided that she wants to put forth the effort required to catch a big Jack. Both were fluffed up and resisting my enthusiasm.

Yogi of course went first to the Chicken pen, and of course Puddy went as well. We walked on without them, letting them find out on their own that it was a waste of time. Puddy finally saw the light and joined us. Eventually Yogi came as well. We had a few chases, but it was obvious that Yogi was not on her best game. We jumped a bunny at the rim rock over the creek and both birds took off. Puddy of course was burning up the air to get to it, but I was surprised to see Yogi pass her in the chase. ( I had always thought that Puddy was the faster because she is smaller. Apparently not so. ) The Bunny escaped them both. Yogi decided to try the Chicken house again. Of course when she landed about 5 Jacks took off in various directions that didn't have a hawk in them. By that time I was getting a bit crabby about the situation. Puddy came with us so we walked down and across the creek to try the other side. We didn't get into anything until we hit the heavy Sage on the bottom of the property. Finally after a few false starts, Yogi joined us again. Puddy took off across the creek and did a wingover in some tall stuff that I could not see well. She did not come up again. Yogi also flew over there and took a perch on a Telephone pole. I was pretty sure that Puddy had caught something, but I couldn't find her. She had been so far away and the cover so deep that I couldn't be sure where she was. We looked all over, on both sides of the creek, no Puddy, no indication where she might be. Finally after about 20 minutes Tami found her under the pole. She was lying down on the ground,       ( Tami thought she was hurt, until this beady little eye peeked at her) trying hard to hide the Bunny that she had caught.

It of course was stone dead, and she was so paranoid that she hadn't broken in yet. I offered her a front leg, but it was a bit small, and she wasn't sure she wanted to trade.

I finally convinced her to take it, and then gave Karen the other one to pick her up with, when she finished the first one.

John was having trouble with his allergies, and Karen was getting pooped, so they decided to make their way to the house. Tami, Isabel and I continued on, and crossed the fence into some better Sage. We had just barely started when we jumped a close Jack and the birds were off. Yogi made an extremely long sideways reach with her leg and had the Jack in the butt. She apparently followed up with a foot to the face. Puddy wasn't about to be left out and the Jack was anchored.

  Its a bit hard to believe, but there are two Harris Hawks and an Jack in that pile. It took me a while to sort it all out and get the birds and feet untangled.

I finally figured that Yogi had one of her legs in between the Jacks hind legs with her foot on his head. Then my problem was how to kill the Jack and both of them had all four feet on the Jacks head and neck. Not easy but I somehow managed without hurting either hawk. 

We got them sorted out, and Yogi got a LARGE portion of Jack rabbit, while Puddy got to eat her almost whole Bunny. A good start to the day.

JESSIE

Around 6 PM we picked up Jessie and headed out for the first day of Duck season. Things have been going pretty well with her this year. She has put on some muscle, and has been playing the game so far. Now it was time to get serious.

The young Golden that hunts here and at the house, was apparently feasting on a Jack Rabbit close to where we normally park when we fly the headwaters of Crooked creek. He got up and thankfully cleared out of the area for us. The dogs were ecstatic at getting to go hunting with us. This is Josie's first year, but she fell right into the game as though she had been doing it all along.

We crested the hill and found that the Lake was loaded with Ducks. Jess had taken a pretty good pitch over the pond and when they busted she was among them with enthusiasm. She apparently didn't get the shot she wanted and there were Mallards crashing into trees and flying through them in their frantic efforts to get back to the pond. She went back up and I flushed again. She picked out a Mallard hen and they disappeared behind the trees bordering the Lake. The dogs and I headed that way as fast as I could not knowing how far the Eagle had gone.

  

I helped her dispatch this nice hen and secured Jess, then backed off to let her eat.

Betsy stays with Jessie and is her guardian while she eats.  Josie was having a blast and getting as muddy as she could.

John and Betsy waiting for us to get out of the mud.

Its been quite a day, and we all walked off into the sunset, tired, dirty and very happy!

Yogi on fire

We had our first HARD frost last night. We had about 22 degrees this morning, and it was a bit hard for all us old retired folks to get going, but we managed to be ready when Tami showed up at 9 am to go hawking. I wanted to try the other area that was so good for us last year. Unfortunately it proved to have suffered from an over abundance last year. The numbers are way down.

Puddy was a bit higher than she really needed to be, but Yogi was right on and seems to be on fire. So far her count is 5 Jacks and one Chicken. Doesn't get much better than that.

Thankfully the temps came up a bit on our drive to the field. I re-established permission from the landowner, and we drove to our starting point. We had not gone more than 50 steps into the field when a Jack burst from cover, with both birds in pursuit. Yogi put him in, and as she has recently learned, clawed for height, turned over and crashed through the bushes, coming out with a Jack Rabbits head in her feet.

 I had pulled them out of the bush so that I could get things straightened out. You will notice that the Jacks feet are over Yogi's, trying to push her off, but she would not be denied.

I was able to break his neck and give Yogi her treat, while I got mine.

It was nice to get one so close to the car, because I was able to take the Jack back to the car rather than having to carry it for the rest of the morning. They do get heavy after a while, and this was a big Rabbit.

Yogi's treat consisted of a front leg, which in this case was fairly substancial, so now the edge was off Yogi, while Puddy's edge needed a bit more sharpening. She did try, but she picks her shots, rather than fly with abandon. There is a difference. We were jumping enough rabbits to keep our interest, just not enough to find a stupid one. Puddy did pull hair from at least one, and had three other close calls that could have gone either way.

We were bumping a fair amount of Bunnies, as the populations do not suffer the same declines at the same time. Of course Puddy was really hot for the Bunnies, but could not connect. Yogi is a much smarter hunter, and her time in the wild shows in the understanding of where game hides

and how they are going to act when they flee. It gives her a definite edge. Yogi managed to get her feet on a Bunny in one of the rock crevices, but it was not good enough to keep the Bunny from ripping out, leaving fur behind.

It is a lot of fun to see the two birds finally working with each other, and cutting corners on the game that out maneuvers one, to set up a strike of their own. Yogi on one Jack that Puddy turned, hit the ground so hard that she rolled in the dirt, coming up and trying again.

When we reached the car, Yogi got a hind leg to eat for her efforts, while Puddy only got a front leg for the whole day. She should be a bit more eager the next time she gets a chance.

Oct 2 Puddy and Yogi

Today it was the Harris' turn. We decided to go to one of our old fields and get away from the house and the Chickens. ( they have had a hard enough time) Puddy was a bit heavier than I would have preferred, but Yogi was right down where she needed to be.

We had been in the field only about five minutes when we jumped a Jack. Puddy decided that the Jack was too tough, but Yogi gave chase. When the Jack hid, Yogi again flared up, and finding him again slammed into him in the bush. When he screamed, Puddy changed her mind and went to help.

 The way that they have always worked is a source of amazement to me. If one grabs the head, the other walks away, but if one grabs the butt, the other anchors the head. That was the case here. Yogi had dove through the bush and had managed to get a foot on the Jacks Legs. The Jack then of course started screaming and trying to pull away, Puddy then dove through the rest of the bush and had the Jack with both feet by the head.

After things were sorted out, and each had a leg to eat, we took the opportunity to sit down and rest a bit. When Yogi finished, she joined us.

After we were all on our feet and hunting again, we had a couple more slips. Yogi was trying hard to catch anything that moved. Puddy was being sly and lazy and picking and choosing which flights she would actually try on. Finally we Jumped a Bunny, and Yogi was pushing hard to catch up. The Bunny hid, and again Yogi tried to gain altitude so that she could see him. She made a shot but missed. by that time Puddy had caught up and flew down to the ground. Nothing was heard, so I strolled up to Yogi to see if I could again bump the Bunny. Nothing around, but then I noticed that Puddy was lying down on the ground. I walked over to where she was, and noticed that she had one foot down in a hole, and it was fuzzy. I reached in and the Bunny managed to get loose. I having longer reach, blocked the other end and got the Bunny by a leg and pulled him out. Puddy was glad to relieve me of my burden.

Yogi in the meantime had gone after another rabbit. Karen got Puddy on the fist with a Bunny leg, and I cleaned the Bunny. John took my Tee Perch and went off to help Yogi.

We made our way back to the car, having spent 1 hour and 20 minutes on our hunt. It was getting pretty hot and both birds were hot and thirsty. Two rabbits are enough.

Pore ole Chickens

This is the Moon rise from last night, it was just too lovely to pass up.

The Hot tub had sprung a leak and we had to go to town to get some parts. I wanted to leave early so that I could get back to fly Jessie, so I was up before daylight doing the chores. One of which was letting the Chickens out and feeding every body. I had done so and was putting the Hawks out in the weathering area, when I heard a Chicken calling for help. It is not something that you can misinterpret. I was in the shop preparing to get Yogi, and looked out the side window towards the woodshed, and saw a Coyote run down and catch a Chicken. Luckily I had not yet untied Yogi, so I took off running for the house and a gun. I grabbed my 12 gauge double and pelted out the front door.            

The Coyote was a bit preoccupied, plus he was just outside the yard, so he barely had time to spit the Chicken out and start to run. The first blast spun him around and the second finished him. Both dogs had run over to see what I was so excited about, but I was able to keep them back from him.

I had just been out there and I always throw a scoop of feed to the Pigeons, and the Chickens. The Coyote managed to kill and eat one of the feeding Pigeons, and then decided that Chicken would  provide the main course.

This is apparently where he caught the Rooster, and it was where the screams were coming from. Somehow the Rooster got away from him and fled towards the house.

You can see the stream of Chicken feathers leading away.

This is where he ended up. He was just in front of the wood shed when he caught the Chicken.

I am pretty sure that I got the right one. He was really fat and in good condition right up to the time of the shooting. I was really surprised that he would be so bold as to come right into the yard while both the Dogs and I were out there fooling around. The Rooster limped off, still alive by some miracle.

After the dust cleared and I disposed of the body, we went on to town. When we returned at 4 PM I started looking for the Rooster. Karen retrieved him from the pool, which I had drained just the day before. Apparently one of his eyes was pretty swollen, and he fell in, and wasn't able to get out. At least he had water. Karen shooed him back into the Chicken house. Hopefully he will recover. There is one small chick missing, not sure if the Coyote got him or not. Time will tell.