Today was almost too quick. First slip of the day in a Walmart parking lot not 5 minutes from my house. She took this one out of a group of about 6 sparrows hanging out near the rear end of a parked Lexus (what a Lexus was doing in a Walmart parking lot I don't know...). She dragged the sparrow from the back end up to the front tire as I approached but as soon as I flashed a small mouse on my glove she brought the sparrow right to me.
I think we're finally figuring this game out. I knew if I just had more time to go hawking I'd start putting game in the bag. Oh how I wish I didn't have to go back to work on Thursday!! :-(
4 comments:
Issac,
Looks like your hawk is doing a great job. I had no idea that they could be trained to such a high degree!
Regards,
Albert A Rasch
The Rasch Outdoor Chronicles
Proud Member of Outdoor Bloggers Summit
Southeast Regional OBS Coordinator
Thanks Albert,
I suppose I should mention however that a bird bringing the quarry to you is not the norm. I just happen to be lucky that my bird is greedy and saw the mouse on my glove as an easy addition to the food she already had in her feet.
Most of the time the quarry our birds catch is too big for them to move and we have to go to them. The fear with smaller quarry (like sparrows) is that the bird will be able to carry the prey to a location that we can't reach them and eat as much as they want. Since most of our training is based on food, a fat bird can be difficult to retrieve and possibly be lost.
I feel fortunate to have had positive results from flying sparrows thus far.
#4, right? Awesome!!!!!
Glad to hear your having success. Wish Fidget was still around to trade stories with ya, although we never had any luck with sparrows.
Keep up the good work!
Angela
#4 is right Angela! I was sorry to hear what happen to Fidget (Coops, right?), I love to hear kbird stories.
I've been super nervous about flying sparrows but so far so good. I figure if sparrows are available might as well fly 'em right?
Take care,
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