New start

Jessie began dropping weight in the last month or so and didn't seem to want to eat. We took her to the vet last Thursday. My suspicion was that she had the internal variety of Frounce. He checked her over pretty well and could find no abnormalities, so he gave her an antibiotic and a pill that I was supposed to administer for four days. She has picked up some weight, but still not where I think she ought to be. It could be that she is just old and wearing out. What ever, I will hang on to her as long as I can. She has been a great Hawk, none more gutsy than she has been.

So with nothing better to fill my fall time, I decided it was time for a new Hawk. So I did some checking and was referred to Bob Armbruster, by a very reputable source, as having Harris's with good hunting background. I have had a fair number of Harris's the last few years, but nothing that matched what I am looking for. I guess I am a bit spoiled, but at my age I can't afford to waste my time with a hawk that doesn't live up to my expectations. Not all hawks are created equally, I have found the same with humans.

I tempted Bob and his wife Mary into bringing the bird to me, with the lure of lots of Jack Rabbits.

Of course being used to falconers tall tales he hesitated, but I at last managed to tempt him enough to give it a try.

This is "Hope," I have named her that in the hope that she is the last one that I have to buy. She weighed 874 when they took her out of the mews. She was hatched April 27th and is 17 weeks old. She has a bit of an attitude, ( which I like) and appears to be afraid of nothing. I carried her on the fist through two evening hunts and nothing really seems to upset her so far. She is not bothered by the dogs or much of anything else for that matter. She stepped up to the fist yesterday and ate her meal in the middle of  gathering up everything to go home.

Bob and Mary have about 6 pairs of breeding birds so food is always a consideration. Any Jacks that they could bring home would be a boon to their breeding project. Now normally I would not ever consider shooting something that I could catch later with a hawk, but this time is different. I have never seen so many rabbits anywhere before. There are so many that they cannot last. There is no chance that they are not going to either starve to death or die off from disease. We went in a field below Tami's place and the field was squirming with Rabbits. I stood in one place and killed about 15 as they wandered by. I think we ended up with 24 from one middle of the day shooting. We killed 20 with the guns and four with two of his Harris's. This is just one days harvest.

I assure you this is just an insignificant scratching of the surface. The rabbits would run out of the bottom fields and up the bare hill in herds. There were so many rabbits that the birds were a bit flummoxed by the amount. There were a lot of young ones that really didn't know enough to be afraid of us and would just meander off in such a manner that the hawks were bemused by their behavior and would not even chase them.

We hunted hard for three days and even though his birds were just out of the molt and were too fat to really hunt, I think they killed about 10  or 12 Jacks with them. We managed to shoot a few more and Reuben, next door supplied another 12 Jacks to the count. I think they took about 40 or more Jacks home with them.

We will see how she turns out. I have high expectations for her. She has the same laid back attitude that was so prevalent in Lee. It is my personal belief that is the one major trait that allows a hawk to be a truly great falconry bird. It may be a handicap for a wild bird, but it is a plus for one that you need to hunt with you and actually become a hunting partner. Time will tell.

New start

Jessie began dropping weight in the last month or so and didn't seem to want to eat. We took her to the vet last Thursday. My suspicion was that she had the internal varity of Frounce. He checked her over pretty well and could find no abnormalities, so he gave her an antibiotic and a pill that I was supposed to administer for four days. She has picked up some weight, but still not where I think she ought to be. It could be that she is just old and wearing out. What ever, I will hang on to her as long as I can. She has been a great Hawk, none more gutsy than she has been.

So with nothing better to fill my fall time, I decided it was time for a new Hawk. So I did some checking and was referred to Bob Armbruster, by a very reputable source, as having Harris's with good hunting background. I have had a fair number of Harris's the last few years, but nothing that matched what I am looking for. I guess I am a bit spoiled, but at my age I can't afford to waste my time with a hawk that doesn't live up to my expectations. Not all hawks are created equally, I have found the same with humans.

I tempted Bob and his wife Mary into bringing the bird to me, with the lure of lots of Jack Rabbits.

Of course being used to falconers tall tales he hesitated, but I at last managed to tempt him enough to give it a try.

This is "Hope," I have named her that in the hope that she is the last one that I have to buy. She weighed 874 when they took her out of the mews. She was hatched April 27th and is 17 weeks old. She has a bit of an attitude, ( which I like) and appears to be afraid of nothing. I carried her on the fist through two evening hunts and nothing really seems to upset her so far. She is not bothered by the dogs or much of anything else for that matter. she stepped up to the fist yesterday and ate her meal in the middle of  gathering up everything to go home.

Bob and Mary have about 6 pairs of breeding birds so food is always a consideration. Any Jacks that they could bring home would be a boon to their breeding project. Now normally I would not ever consider shooting something that I could catch later with a hawk, but this time is different. I have never seen so many rabbits anywhere before. There are so many that they cannot last. There is no chance that they are not going to either starve to death or die off from disease. We went in a field below Tami's place and the field was squirming with Rabbits. I stood in one place and killed about 15 as they wandered by. I think we ended up with 24 from one middle of the day shooting. We killed 20 with the guns and four with two of his Harris's. This is just one days harvest.

I assure you this is just an insignificant scratching of the surface. The rabbits would run out of the bottom fields and up the bare hill in herds. There were so many rabbits that the birds were a bit flummoxed by the amount. There were a lot of young ones that really didn't know enough to be afraid of us and would just meander off in such a manner that the hawks were bemused by their behavior and would not even chase them.

We hunted hard for three days and even though his birds were just out of the molt and were too fat to really hunt, I think they killed about 10  or 12 Jacks with them. We managed to shoot a few more and Reubon, next door supplied another 12 Jacks to the count. I think they took about 40 or more Jacks home with them.

We will see how she turns out. I have high expectations for her. She has the same laid back attitude that was so prevalent in Lee. It is my personal belief that is the one major trait that allows a hawk to be a truly great falconry bird. It may be a handicap for a wild bird, but it is a plus for one that you need to hunt with you and actually become a hunting partner. Time will tell.

Catch up and a video

I have had no word concerning Lee. That can be good or not. It can either mean that he is making his way in life with no real problems, or that he died quickly before he could look for help. I prefer to believe the former. He should have had at least a weeks worth of failures before it got critical. Prey for Raptors this year is better than I have seen it in a long time. A family group of Red Tails was fledged down by the creek, and I never heard a hunger cry from any one of the three. That is unusual, normally they are begging constantly for food.

So, I have kept busy working on my plane, which seems to be somewhat constant, painting outbuildings, and staying inside while it is hot. My hydraulic brakes on my plane was a pain. It seems that one of the master cylinders worked fine, the other not at all. I ordered rebuild kits, and being mechanically challenged as I am, took about three tries before I found the right combination. I should also mention a quart of brake fluid when all it really needed was about 2 oz. Sigh! I got it all cleaned up though.

Most of my flights around here have been in the one hour range. A few out further, but for the most part I get a cramp in my butt, and most of the things that I want to see are within that range. I decided yesterday that I wanted to fly the length of the Oregon Canyon Mountains. I decided to carry 2.5 gallons of fuel extra, fly the length of the mountain, checking out the area between the Nev border and the Mountain. I would then land at McDermitt, refuel, and then come on home. The forecast was not all that favorable due to the winds and their direction, but when I got up in the sky it was windy but smooth at the same time. I decided to continue with my plan.

https://vimeo.com/176667136  - owyheeflyer

I don't mind the wind, if it isn't churning all over the place, You are a bit like a fart in a windstorm with my plane, so I prefer to fly when I am not bouncing all over the place.

On another note, I have put a deposit on a female Harris Hawk. Hopefully I can get her here in a reasonable amount of time with a minimum of trouble. Hopefully this one will posses the attributes that I am looking for. I have liked all of the Harris's that I have had, but I am afraid that I was a bit spoiled by the first one that I had. She was a dynamite hunting hawk, and none while pretty good, have met my expectations. I am getting a bit too old to settle for less than what I want.

Moving on

That is what Lee has done, whether its voluntary or not. I tend to think that he got a bit careless and was carried away by the wind. For a while one could hope that it was a transmitter failure that I was unable to get a signal, but if that was so, he would have been back by now. The only way that we will ever see him again is if he goes begging to someone, and they report it. If he had fallen victim to misfortune, the radio would have given his position away. I have flown North, West, and East with no signal at all. Yesterday I flew the 60 miles to the Idaho border and today was 40 miles North and West to the Alvord. Thursday I will go to the Nevada, border, but I think it is a waste of gas.

While it is true that I need a tiercel Prairie Falcon like I need a hole in my head, still, losing a bird this way is  a bit of torture. You always worry that you didn't do enough to prepare him for life's tribulations. While my head knows that I couldn't fly him on the quarry that he would do the best on, my heart is sad at his loss.

My original intention was to take a common Falcon, that was free, and confirm my ideas, formed over 50 years of handling falcons. With Karen's help and tolerance, I did that, and together we raised as well mannered and socially adjusted falcon that I have ever seen. I did get a bit cocky there at the end, by leaving him out longer than I should, but still, its alright. It comes with the territory.

Falcons and all Raptors are genetically imbued with the impulse to disperse, so as to keep the breed strong and free from inbreeding. Perhaps Prairies more so than some others. Eyasses kept tethered are if not carefully flown, lost on the front of a storm in early Sept. by unwary falconers.

On my flight to Jordan yesterday, the wind was calm on the ground, but at 7800 feet the wind was blowing East about 30 MPH. Today the winds were the same , but totally calm on the ground.

I have notified both Oregon and Idaho Fish and Game of his loss, and put the word out to falconers in both states. He may show up, but it is unlikely.

On my flight today, my battery apparently died in flight. I switched it off and flew back with no instruments, no big deal, but worrisome none the less. I have a new battery on its way, and I received the rebuild parts for my brakes yesterday. Apparently I now have time to fix all that stuff, and maybe go fishing.

The first video is the one that I sent you the other day. The other is the flight that I took today. Normally I don't fly until the sun is up high enough to light up the landscape, but I knew there would be winds today and I wanted to get up and back down before they got too bad. When you are flying a thistle, winds can make you pucker more than can be considered fun.

https://vimeo.com/175146420    (looking for Lee) password for both is -  owyheeflyer

https://vimeo.com/175416668

Missing!

Unfortunately it would appear that I left Lee out for one day too long. Lee left sometime yesterday and has not returned as of this writing. My assumption is that he caught a thermal, that just drifted him totally out of the area. I expected him to eventually catch something and spend a night out, but as near as I can tell he is nowhere around any more. I attempted to fly yesterday afternoon, but it was so rough that I soon gave it up.

I got up this morning and the wind was nice and calm, so I rolled the plane out and took off, thinking that if I got up high enough that I could hear a signal on the receiver. I climbed up 4000 feet above the ground and nothing but static. The neighbor needed a bit of help, so I discontinued my search and helped him out.

Wind and weather permitting in the morning I will travel East, the general direction of the wind, and see if I can get any signal, but it is my opinion that he is gone. I really don't have a problem with that as such. I just hope that he gets some breaks and can make the transition to supplying his own food. He should have a pretty good chance, as he has never been restricted as to how much food he had available, and he is a strong flyer. As of this writing the wind at 12,000 feet is at 20 MPH. There is a storm front coming through, and all of that will combine to make it harder for him to return. So I am of the opinion that he is gone for good. I would estimate that he has about a week to make a kill. That's a pretty good cushion. I wish him the utmost of luck.

My original intention was to hack a female that would fit into my Duck hunting plan. Ducks are an easy and plentiful quarry for me, requiring minimum effort on my part. Ducks are sometimes difficult quarry for Prairies, but almost impossible for a tiercel, male, Prairie Falcon. Hunting game birds such as Chuckars or Hungarian Partridge, require a lot of driving and more effort than I can produce on a regular basis. I was considering hacking him back to the wild, but I really wanted a bit more time to work on his ability to catch things. So any regrets that I have are centered around whether or not he can make the cut to survive. The stats say that 75 % of the young raptors their first year do not make it. I hope that he does.

My goal was to see if I could raise a well mannered falcon in ideal conditions. I have gained a tremendous amount of insight about how to do that. This is my first mistake in that endeavor. I originally intended to do this using a hybrid falcon. Lee only required a bit of effort and only bad luck mandated that only a male was available. If he had been a female, I would have played it a bit more safe. Hybrids are going for around $2,000 each now.

I have done nothing this summer but tend to Lee. I have yet to go fishing. I have not flown much at all. Every thing has been centered around him and his care. It has been worth it and I hope that my interference in his life has not been a bad thing for him, as it has not for me.

https://vimeo.com/175146420  password -  owyheeflyer

Day 75, Invasion of the drones

I seem to be a little confused occasionally concerning the days. Out of two or three mentions of the date one of them is usually right.  I think I have it right today.

I wanted to continue the familiarization with the drone, and it went quite well. It is all explained in the video, so there is not much use in repeating it.

At 11:00 am I decided to see if I could find when he takes off for the Ranch. I got a signal pointing in that direction. I went to the yard fence and the signal was still coming from the West. I kept sweeping around trying to pinpoint his location. Finally I began pointing it up and the signal got a bit clearer. I kept looking and sweeping with the receiver. One way to get an exact fix is to slowly sweep it to the side. When the signal disappears entirely the  elements of the array is pointing at the transmitter. By checking one way and then the other the transmitter can be pinpointed exactly. After quite a long time I found him circling in the clouds. He was high enough that he was barely visible. Some say that you can still see a falcon as high as 1500 feet. I do not believe that, at least for me. I would guess his height to have been somewhere above 600 and below 800 feet. The interesting part was that it was so early in the day and I never saw him flap a wing. Of course he is small enough and light enough to be compared to a thistle in the wind.

I banged on the side of the pigeon house hoping that I might see him give chase. He did come over them, but made no move to chase any of them. Finally he turned to the NW and again without moving a wing, zoomed over the horizon at a speed that only a falcon can match. I waited and kept trying to locate him. After about 5 minutes he zoomed back in and landed on the hangar. He then went to the Hack tower to sleep the hot part of the day away. Later he will go over to the ranch for the rest of the day.

In answer to several questions, I do not have any ID on him. There are few here to see him, and any who do, already know about him. If by some chance he were to fly off far enough that I can't find him with my plane, then he will go with my blessing. In all honesty, he does not fit into any falconry plan that I have. He is too small to hunt most of the quarry that is available to me. It is doubtful that he will be able to take many or any of the Ducks that populate this area. In fact, if I was half as smart as I tend to think I am, I would just fly him back to the wild. I am sure that I will not, at least for a while.

There are areas that hold small birds, Starlings and such. There are a few problems with that however in that raptors are naturally jealous and protective of their food. It doesn't matter that he has had all the food he wants and has never had any real reason to think that I envy the food that he has. It is an ingrained genetic disposition, that will not ever change. Even now I use a spike on the lure to hold him in one spot. If I did not he would carry it off to eat, then come back for more.

Hunting a raptor works best if the prey is big enough that the bird cannot readily carry it off. Once the behavior starts, it is only a matter of time before the bird is lost.

Raptors tend to specialize with what ever quarry that it first kills. All raptors are excited by upland game. They have a real resistance to catching waterfowl for some reason, I tend to believe that Ducks do not have that flurry of wings that possibly suggest weakness. For whatever reason, one of the hardest things to do is to make a Prairie Falcon to Ducks.

I will, when he is judged ready, try to give him for his first kill, one of the Pigeons that I have. I really do not want him to kill anything at all, unless I give it to him. If I can get him to pursue and catch a Duck, at that point he will exceed my expectations, and then I will be careful to not lose him. Until then he is a tool that I am using to expand my knowledge, and burn up my days.

What I intend to do is to get him to the point that he is taking the lure off of the drone. Then I will keep raising it up in the air so that he will have to climb up to get the lure off of it. I will raise it by increments to the point that he has reached a hunting height, then release something for him to catch. When he will climb to 4-600 feet and wait for me to toss or flush quarry for him to kill, then we will go hunting.

https://vimeo.com/174847873   password   owyheeflyer