Today dawned nice and clear, and warm for this time of the year. Both Hope and Bud were 'ready ' to hunt. Connie was going to go home today, but stayed to hunt with me.
A bit before noon we went to Arock to try our luck at a spot that has never failed us. Hope needed to find something to catch. The scarcity of game is degrading her hunting style a bit, so I hoped to get some good opportunities for her that could result in a kill. There are a number of Brush Bunny's there, but they rarely open themselves up to being caught. They stay within 30 yards of the Lava Rocks, and its rare for her to be able to bring one to bag. The Jacks tend to jump so far ahead that it is rare that she really gets a fair shot at them. Today was no exception as all the Jacks were a minimum of 100 yards away when they began their run. We had three chases like that with little hope of her getting a clean shot at them.
We did get two Bunnies up, but they were so close to their lava lairs that Hope didn't have much of a chance. After completing a mile and half circle, I jumped a Bunny that had held until I almost stepped on him. This one, she caught. He attempted to run through a 18 inch high Sage that had a bunny sized hole in it. Her long legs caught his butt before he could clear it.
We were 1.65 miles from the car, so while we saw a few, there wasn't all that many Rabbits in the area.
Connie was picking up a cute little kitten to take to a Cancer patient in Eugene, so we stopped by Sue's House, (The gal that found Jessie, and has since become a friend ) She also just happens to have a small pond by her house that I hoped to hunt Bud on. After his performance the other day, it was time to see if he could catch a wild one. With the right set up and a little cooperation from Bud it looked possible. I am glad that there was nothing on it. We picked up the kitten and headed home.
We dropped the kitten off at the house and went over to the ranch to try one of the small ponds over there. I turned Bud loose and he sailed off to play in the thermals. Most falcons study their surroundings quite a lot so as to know ( my guess or opinion which ever you prefer) where you are and will generally come back there at least once before they stray off. Bud was obviously looking for a thermal and he joined a Golden and two Redtails loosely in a group of thermals to the West of us. He got high enough and far enough off that it was tough to see him, even with bino's, but we still had a telemetry signal on him. I normally get impatient and break out the lure of something in order to get a falcon back, but I was determined to wait him out. As long as I had a good signal I wasn't worried. The Golden is (he said optimistically) is a pretty laid back bird, and he wasn't showing any signs that he might be a threat.
Bud eventually started working his way back in our general direction, but across the flat and about a mile or more away. I began to swing my lure, but got no response. Eventually the signal indicated that he was at the gravel pit above the house, and soon the signal was lost. The sucker had gone home!
We loaded up and went home ourselves and as soon as we topped the hill at the gravel pit the receiver began chirping again. He was sitting on the Hangar waiting for us. I called him down to the lure, and the day was over. I guess I am going to have to start tossing some pigeons for him whether I want to or not. I have never had a falcon do that before. He had the nerve to complain at me when I shorted his rations.
Fun day!
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