Well the first free flight is in the books.
Hajimete no free flight wa seiko shimashita.
We didn't hunt since I was getting out later than I thought I would and I didn't have time to do much scouting. There was a slight breeze and I forgot my telemetry but I thought, "What the heck, I'll give it a go..." She did fantastic. It would have been slightly less nerve racking had I brought my telemetry along but there really wasn't anything to worry about. I brought her out of the box, readied myself and turned into the wind. She opened her wings, sped off down wind and then turned into it and worked her way over to a perch. There was a lure malfunction so I tried to work that out but as soon as she saw the lure she was on her way. Since she was coming with the wind she was really moving so I tossed the lure to the ground and she pounded it. My worst fear was realized when she was able to get the tidbit off of the lure but she only hopped a foot away and kept eating. She looked for me when she finished and came right back to the glove for another tidbit. I faced the wind again and she opened her wings and hovered over me for a couple seconds before working her way back to her perch.
Kari jyanakutte, tobashita dake desu ga yokatta deshita. Hasshinki wo wasureta kedo "Ma, ii ka?" to omotte hanashimashita. Kaze ga chotto atta node tsubasa wo hirata shunkan ni sugu sujyu meteru hanarette ikimashita. Shikashi touku made ikanakatta. Lure wo dashitara sugu modorimashita. Lure ni tsuketta niku wa hanashite shimatte doko ka tonde itte tabettara saiaku to omotta kedo doko nimo ikazu sono mama tabette kuremashita. Tabe owattara mata te ni tonde kimashita. Mouichidou yaro to omotte kaze ni mukatte mata tobashimashita.
I worked on getting another tidbit on the lure but she must've seen it and came zooming in to grab it before I'd prepared myself. I let her have it and then called her up to the fist again. Just then a girl came running across the field straight at me! Must've been late to class or something because she ran right on by but Dulcinea didn't like that too much. I figured I'd better not push my luck and fed her up.
Konkai lure ni niku wo tsukeyo to omotta aida lure wo mite shimatte tonde kimashita. Anmari kirei na lure flight jyanai kedo tonikaku kimashita node yokatta desu. Sono ato kyu ni jyousei no kata ga boku no hou ni hashitte kimashite amecho ga bikkuri shimashita. Bikkuri shite iru aida tobasu nowa anmari yokunai node nokori no esa wo yarimashita.
So it wasn't a hunt but I'd say it was a successful first free flight. Amazingly no matter how many times I cut a bird loose for the first time I always get the jitters but not having telemetry on the bird made it that much worse. I'll be hunting this weekend for sure.
Dakara kari jyanai kedo hajimete no free flight toshite wa yokatta. Nankai yatte mo hajimete taka wo free ni suru to kinchou shimasu. Konkai hasshinki mo nakutte toku ni kincho shimashita. Shumatsu ni kari shimasu!
Thursday, November 06, 2008
Wednesday, November 05, 2008
Okay, I lied...
The truth is I spent the weekend in Kansas hunting pheasants (with guns) with my father. I took the bird along so my wife wouldn't have to "bird-sit" and couldn't pass up the photo op. :-) All in good fun. Now for the real update:
Shojiki na hanashi ni yoru to jitsu wa otoosan to issho ni Kansas shu ni itte jyu de kiji kari wo yatte kimashita. Okusan ga taka no esa wo yaru no wa kirai node amecho wo motte itte, ikka no shashin wo kiji wo jyu de totte kara satsue shimashita. Jissai ni amecho de kiji wo toru koto ga dekittara sugoi kedo uso wo tsukimashita. Kono ato honto no hanashi wo shimasu:
The day I left to Kansas I took Dulcinea out to my sponsors place to see how she'd do on a bagged sparrow outside. This was to be her first attempt at a sparrow outside and at somewhere around 91g things went less than smoothly. We went to a park near the house, tossed a weighted sparrow on the grass about 50 yards away and I started walking toward it. I had the creance on the bird because I didn't know what she'd do with a sparrow...that was a mistake. She didn't go after the sparrow until we were about 10 feet away and then veered off at the last second. She flew up around the small tree where we'd placed the sparrow tangling the creance in the branches. She wasn't hanging or anything but we knew she'd have trouble coming down. We got it an untangled as we could and then she dropped out of the tree on to my glove when I called. It's been a few days so I don't remember how, but she ended up on the ground shortly after and a big ol hag red-tail flew over us and landed in a big tree next to where we were trying to do the sparrow. That freaked her out pretty bad and she wasn't going to do anything with that red-tail there so we packed up and went to do a quick pigeon flight with my sponsor's praire falcon.
Kansas shu ni iku chokuzen tomodachi no tokoro ni suzume wo tsukamaseyo to omoimashita. 91g de ii kana to omotta kedo dame deshita. Suzume ni ikezu ni ki ni tonde itte shimaimashita. Te wo dashitara sugu modotte kimashita ga sono ato yasei no red-tail ga tonari no ki ni arawaretta. Red-tail ga ittara zettai tobanai to wakatta node tomodachi no Praire hayabusa wo mi ni ikimashita.
We tried the sparrow again in the field where we flew the praire falcon but she was still too freaked out from the RT to do anything and may have been a bit high for the circumstances so I fed her her rations and called it an unsuccessful day.
Praire wo tobashite kara mou ichidou suzume wo yaro to shimashita ga mada mada red-tail wo kowagatte shoshite taijyu ga chotto takakatta node ikenakatta. Esa yari dake ni shite owarimashita.
The next four days were spent in Kansas and I didn't do much with her. She got to eat some tasty pheasant heart and liver though and I got a great hero shot with her on a rooster pheasant (see the post below).
Tsugi no 4paku wa Kansas shu de kiji kari wo yatte imashita node kunren wa nanimo shinakatta. Ikka no shashin dake wo totte, kiji no naizo wo tabesashimashita.
We got back in to our regular routine yesterday and at 91.3g she was as good as I could ask for. She came multiple times while I was trying to get set up but a gentle toss sent her right back to her perch. After quite a few tidbits she was being a bit stubborn and wouldn't come to the glove but as soon as I tossed the lure out she was in the air again.
Kino kara kunren wo tsuzukemashita. 91.3 gram de honto ni yokatta deshita. Sukai yobazu ni tondekimashita. Ippai tabette kara mou ikkai yobou to omotte te ni tonde konakatta kedo lure wo dashitara sugu ni kimashita node yokatta desu.
Today was probably the last day of creance work. I took her down a half gram to 90.8g and she did awesome. There was a stiff breeze blowing and when she came with the wind she was really hauling butt. Again, it was hard to get set up without her coming to me before being called! When I would send her back to her perch she'd catch the wind and go up 20 or 30 feet and buzz over to her perch and then smack the lure when I brought it out. She never tried to go anywhere even with the wind and while there isn't anything to get caught on out in the middle of a soccer field the creance really wasn't necessary.
Kyo wa sen wo tsukeru saigo no hi deshita. Mou chotto taijyu wo herashite 90.8g de tobashitamashita. Kaze ga chotto tsuyokatta node tonde kita toki wa sugoku hayakatta. Kaze ni mukatte tondara su meteru agatte perch ni modorimashita. Doko ni mo ikou to shinakatta node kore kara sen wa iranai to omoimasu.
I'd like to do some baggie starlings with her but don't want to wait too long if I can't get any. Tomorrow I'll use my lunch break to scout an outskirt of campus where I've seen tons of starlings on a billboard and may try and slip her at one if I can find any on the ground. Wish me luck!
Kore kara kari wo shitai to omoimasu ga starling wo sakasenakucha. Ashita kara sagashimasu! Kinchou suru kedo ganbarimasu!!
Shojiki na hanashi ni yoru to jitsu wa otoosan to issho ni Kansas shu ni itte jyu de kiji kari wo yatte kimashita. Okusan ga taka no esa wo yaru no wa kirai node amecho wo motte itte, ikka no shashin wo kiji wo jyu de totte kara satsue shimashita. Jissai ni amecho de kiji wo toru koto ga dekittara sugoi kedo uso wo tsukimashita. Kono ato honto no hanashi wo shimasu:
The day I left to Kansas I took Dulcinea out to my sponsors place to see how she'd do on a bagged sparrow outside. This was to be her first attempt at a sparrow outside and at somewhere around 91g things went less than smoothly. We went to a park near the house, tossed a weighted sparrow on the grass about 50 yards away and I started walking toward it. I had the creance on the bird because I didn't know what she'd do with a sparrow...that was a mistake. She didn't go after the sparrow until we were about 10 feet away and then veered off at the last second. She flew up around the small tree where we'd placed the sparrow tangling the creance in the branches. She wasn't hanging or anything but we knew she'd have trouble coming down. We got it an untangled as we could and then she dropped out of the tree on to my glove when I called. It's been a few days so I don't remember how, but she ended up on the ground shortly after and a big ol hag red-tail flew over us and landed in a big tree next to where we were trying to do the sparrow. That freaked her out pretty bad and she wasn't going to do anything with that red-tail there so we packed up and went to do a quick pigeon flight with my sponsor's praire falcon.
Kansas shu ni iku chokuzen tomodachi no tokoro ni suzume wo tsukamaseyo to omoimashita. 91g de ii kana to omotta kedo dame deshita. Suzume ni ikezu ni ki ni tonde itte shimaimashita. Te wo dashitara sugu modotte kimashita ga sono ato yasei no red-tail ga tonari no ki ni arawaretta. Red-tail ga ittara zettai tobanai to wakatta node tomodachi no Praire hayabusa wo mi ni ikimashita.
We tried the sparrow again in the field where we flew the praire falcon but she was still too freaked out from the RT to do anything and may have been a bit high for the circumstances so I fed her her rations and called it an unsuccessful day.
Praire wo tobashite kara mou ichidou suzume wo yaro to shimashita ga mada mada red-tail wo kowagatte shoshite taijyu ga chotto takakatta node ikenakatta. Esa yari dake ni shite owarimashita.
The next four days were spent in Kansas and I didn't do much with her. She got to eat some tasty pheasant heart and liver though and I got a great hero shot with her on a rooster pheasant (see the post below).
Tsugi no 4paku wa Kansas shu de kiji kari wo yatte imashita node kunren wa nanimo shinakatta. Ikka no shashin dake wo totte, kiji no naizo wo tabesashimashita.
We got back in to our regular routine yesterday and at 91.3g she was as good as I could ask for. She came multiple times while I was trying to get set up but a gentle toss sent her right back to her perch. After quite a few tidbits she was being a bit stubborn and wouldn't come to the glove but as soon as I tossed the lure out she was in the air again.
Kino kara kunren wo tsuzukemashita. 91.3 gram de honto ni yokatta deshita. Sukai yobazu ni tondekimashita. Ippai tabette kara mou ikkai yobou to omotte te ni tonde konakatta kedo lure wo dashitara sugu ni kimashita node yokatta desu.
Today was probably the last day of creance work. I took her down a half gram to 90.8g and she did awesome. There was a stiff breeze blowing and when she came with the wind she was really hauling butt. Again, it was hard to get set up without her coming to me before being called! When I would send her back to her perch she'd catch the wind and go up 20 or 30 feet and buzz over to her perch and then smack the lure when I brought it out. She never tried to go anywhere even with the wind and while there isn't anything to get caught on out in the middle of a soccer field the creance really wasn't necessary.
Kyo wa sen wo tsukeru saigo no hi deshita. Mou chotto taijyu wo herashite 90.8g de tobashitamashita. Kaze ga chotto tsuyokatta node tonde kita toki wa sugoku hayakatta. Kaze ni mukatte tondara su meteru agatte perch ni modorimashita. Doko ni mo ikou to shinakatta node kore kara sen wa iranai to omoimasu.
I'd like to do some baggie starlings with her but don't want to wait too long if I can't get any. Tomorrow I'll use my lunch break to scout an outskirt of campus where I've seen tons of starlings on a billboard and may try and slip her at one if I can find any on the ground. Wish me luck!
Kore kara kari wo shitai to omoimasu ga starling wo sakasenakucha. Ashita kara sagashimasu! Kinchou suru kedo ganbarimasu!!
Friday, October 17, 2008
Baggie #1
I had to be at a conference all day yesterday so I gave her a quick mouse head to hold her until I got home in the evening. She weighed in at 96g at 8:00, the lowest I've had her. I picked up some sparrows on my way home and wasn't intending to use them until the weekend but thought, "Meh, might as well give it a go."
Kino shigoto no kaeri ni tomodachi kara suzume wo te ni iremashita. Shumatsu made tsukawanai to omotta kedo, kaette taijyu hakatte kara 96g deshita. Ima made ichiban hikui taijyu dakara "Ma, yatte miyo ka?" to omotte yuwaku ni makemashita.
Iroiro manabimashita. Mazu taijyu wa mada herasanakyucha. 30byo gurai kakatte suzume wo yatto kogeki shimashita. Taijyu wa atte ittara sugu kogeki suru hazu desu. Taijyu dake jyanai kamoshirenai kedo are wa ichiban. Hitotsu no ii nowa suzume wo doko ka ni motte ikou to shinakatta desu. Atama wo tabette kara boku ga hizamazuite te wo dashitara naita kedo ugokanakatta. Suzume no ashi ya katapo no tsubasa wo hanashite suzume no karada wo betsu no heya de wakeyo to omote, amechyo wa hanashita suzume no tsubasa wo heya no kado made motte ichatta kedo, shinzo ya mune niku wo misetara tsubasa wo sutete te ni tonde kimashita.
Things will definitely be different when I head outside with her, more distractions and a greater temptation to carry I'd imagine, so again, her weight needs to come down but I think we're headed in the right direction. Fun times ahead!
Soto ni dettara iroiro muzukashikunaru to omoimasu. Shuchuryoku ga tamesareru shi, suzume wo doko ka ni motte iku yuwaku ga 10bai gurai tsuyokunarimasu. Dakara taijyu wo herasanakyucha kedo kari made wa sou nani toukunai to omoimasu. Saiko 2shukan gurai kana.
Kino shigoto no kaeri ni tomodachi kara suzume wo te ni iremashita. Shumatsu made tsukawanai to omotta kedo, kaette taijyu hakatte kara 96g deshita. Ima made ichiban hikui taijyu dakara "Ma, yatte miyo ka?" to omotte yuwaku ni makemashita.
Iroiro manabimashita. Mazu taijyu wa mada herasanakyucha. 30byo gurai kakatte suzume wo yatto kogeki shimashita. Taijyu wa atte ittara sugu kogeki suru hazu desu. Taijyu dake jyanai kamoshirenai kedo are wa ichiban. Hitotsu no ii nowa suzume wo doko ka ni motte ikou to shinakatta desu. Atama wo tabette kara boku ga hizamazuite te wo dashitara naita kedo ugokanakatta. Suzume no ashi ya katapo no tsubasa wo hanashite suzume no karada wo betsu no heya de wakeyo to omote, amechyo wa hanashita suzume no tsubasa wo heya no kado made motte ichatta kedo, shinzo ya mune niku wo misetara tsubasa wo sutete te ni tonde kimashita.
Things will definitely be different when I head outside with her, more distractions and a greater temptation to carry I'd imagine, so again, her weight needs to come down but I think we're headed in the right direction. Fun times ahead!
Soto ni dettara iroiro muzukashikunaru to omoimasu. Shuchuryoku ga tamesareru shi, suzume wo doko ka ni motte iku yuwaku ga 10bai gurai tsuyokunarimasu. Dakara taijyu wo herasanakyucha kedo kari made wa sou nani toukunai to omoimasu. Saiko 2shukan gurai kana.
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Lure Introduction
At 98g she flew several times across the room before being offered the back half of a mouse on the lure. While she ate on the lure I walked away to get a tidbit and when I walked back she had finished with the mouse so I held out my hand and she jumped right up. Can't ask for a better lure introduction than that!
98g de sukai te ni tonde kimashita. Sono ato lure wo shokai shite nezumi no hanbun wo tsukemashita. Sugu tabete kuremashita. Tabenagara betsu no heya ni itte modottara nezumi wo tabeowatta tokoro dakara te wo dashite sugu ni te ni tonde kimashita. Ii kanji desu!
98g de sukai te ni tonde kimashita. Sono ato lure wo shokai shite nezumi no hanbun wo tsukemashita. Sugu tabete kuremashita. Tabenagara betsu no heya ni itte modottara nezumi wo tabeowatta tokoro dakara te wo dashite sugu ni te ni tonde kimashita. Ii kanji desu!
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Week One
Not a whole lot to report. Dulcinea and I have been working on getting acquainted and she's decided I'm not such a bad guy. She's coming about 10 feet to the fist on an indoor creance:
Hokoku suru koto wa sounani nai desu. Naka yoku suru youni douyroku shite imasu. Ima no tokoro 3 meteru gurai tondekite imasu.
Mada sugu niwa konai node mou sukoshi taijyu wo herasanakyucha. Ganbarimasu.
Hokoku suru koto wa sounani nai desu. Naka yoku suru youni douyroku shite imasu. Ima no tokoro 3 meteru gurai tondekite imasu.
Mada sugu niwa konai node mou sukoshi taijyu wo herasanakyucha. Ganbarimasu.
Sunday, October 05, 2008
Dulcinea
October 4th:
First set of the day was on a bird of unidentifiable sex, just saw it was a kestrel and tossed the trap. I pull into a dirt turn around to watch and after a couple minutes the bird makes a pass at the trap. It doesn't hit the trap though and the flare up showed me clearly that it was a male. "Meh," I think, "It's early, the bird is interested anyway, I'll let it sit for a few more minutes." I keep the binocs trained on the male as it does a few more passes and then suddenly a truck driving by slams on it's breaks and backs up right next to my trap. The male is out of there and the lady in the truck gets out of her truck. I rush over there and to my surprise, there's a female kestrel stuck on the trap! What the...?! I have no idea when it got there, I'd been there about ten minutes but I guess while I was watching the male the female snuck in! Hey, I'll take what I can get!
10/4:
Hijimete mita amechyo wa osu ka mesu ka mirenakutte toriaezu wana wo dashimashita. Mamonaku amechyo wa wana ni kogeki suru kedo ataranakatta. Tonde kara sugu osu to wakatta kedo kyoumi ga atta kara wana wo sono manna ni shyo to omotte machimashita. Sore kara nankai ka wana ni mukatta kedo naze ka ataranakutte komarimashita. Kyu ni kuruma ga wana no tonari ni tomatte jyosei ga demashita. Osu ga nigette, "Ma, shyo ga nai ka?" to omotte wana made hashirimashita. Nan to iu odoroki ni mesu ga kakatte imashita! Doko kara kita ka, itsu tsukamatta ka wakaranai kedo YOKATTA!
Now kestrel age is difficult to determine but from everything I've read for females the story is in the tail. If the last bar on the tail is more than twice the width of the other bands on the tail it's more than likely older than one year. Judging by this birds tail I determined pretty quickly that the bird is a hag (2nd year or older bird).
Shikashi, ichinenme no amechyo ga hoshikutte shippo wo mittara kono amechyo wa chotto toshi wo totte iru no ga wakatta. Ichinenme no mesu nara shippo no saigo no shima wa hoka no shima to onaji gurai no okisa. Kono amechyo no shippo no saigo on shima wa futoi:
Toriaezu mesu dakara hoka no amechyo wo minakereba kore ni suru to omotte hood wo tsukemashita. Mo shinda furi ni natta! Tonari ni oitte trapping wo tsuzukemashita.
First set of the day was on a bird of unidentifiable sex, just saw it was a kestrel and tossed the trap. I pull into a dirt turn around to watch and after a couple minutes the bird makes a pass at the trap. It doesn't hit the trap though and the flare up showed me clearly that it was a male. "Meh," I think, "It's early, the bird is interested anyway, I'll let it sit for a few more minutes." I keep the binocs trained on the male as it does a few more passes and then suddenly a truck driving by slams on it's breaks and backs up right next to my trap. The male is out of there and the lady in the truck gets out of her truck. I rush over there and to my surprise, there's a female kestrel stuck on the trap! What the...?! I have no idea when it got there, I'd been there about ten minutes but I guess while I was watching the male the female snuck in! Hey, I'll take what I can get!
10/4:
Hijimete mita amechyo wa osu ka mesu ka mirenakutte toriaezu wana wo dashimashita. Mamonaku amechyo wa wana ni kogeki suru kedo ataranakatta. Tonde kara sugu osu to wakatta kedo kyoumi ga atta kara wana wo sono manna ni shyo to omotte machimashita. Sore kara nankai ka wana ni mukatta kedo naze ka ataranakutte komarimashita. Kyu ni kuruma ga wana no tonari ni tomatte jyosei ga demashita. Osu ga nigette, "Ma, shyo ga nai ka?" to omotte wana made hashirimashita. Nan to iu odoroki ni mesu ga kakatte imashita! Doko kara kita ka, itsu tsukamatta ka wakaranai kedo YOKATTA!
Now kestrel age is difficult to determine but from everything I've read for females the story is in the tail. If the last bar on the tail is more than twice the width of the other bands on the tail it's more than likely older than one year. Judging by this birds tail I determined pretty quickly that the bird is a hag (2nd year or older bird).
Shikashi, ichinenme no amechyo ga hoshikutte shippo wo mittara kono amechyo wa chotto toshi wo totte iru no ga wakatta. Ichinenme no mesu nara shippo no saigo no shima wa hoka no shima to onaji gurai no okisa. Kono amechyo no shippo no saigo on shima wa futoi:
Toriaezu mesu dakara hoka no amechyo wo minakereba kore ni suru to omotte hood wo tsukemashita. Mo shinda furi ni natta! Tonari ni oitte trapping wo tsuzukemashita.
Not more than 20 minutes later I see a bird sitting on top of a pole. Out goes the trap and before I can even turn around the bird is on the trap. As I get out the bird's tail is highlighted by the early morning sun and by golly if it doesn't fit the description of a passage bird exactly; Last band on the tail being the same width as the rest of the bands.
20pun mo tatte nai uchi ni hoka no amechyo wo mite wana wo dashimashita. Sugu wana ni mukatte tsukamarimashita. Shippo wo mitara yatto ichinenme no mesu da! Oyorokobi!!!
Having the first bird right there to compare helped a bunch too. Wahoo! I popped the hood off the first bird, thanked her for her time and off she went.
Saisho no amechyo to kurabetara zettai ichinenme dakara sugu ni saisho no tori kara hood wo totte hanashimashita.
I expected the same comatose state when I popped the hood on the passage bird but boy was I wrong!! She fought the whole way home, wriggled out of the sock I put her in, despite the tape job, and threw the hood. I had to drive with one hand wrapped around her and the other on the steering wheel! She's got attitude, that's for sure!
Hood wo tsukettara onaji youni shinda youni narunjyanai ka to omotta kedo CHIGATTA! Zutto abaretta! Kaeri wa taihen deshita! Koitsu wa yanchan kamo!
But we made it home safe, and she weighed in at a petite 114.5g with the jesses on. She got a good deal of manning over the weekend with my 20 month old running around and she ate about 8 grams of sparrow from my finger tips the first evening. There were times where it seemed like she was actually taking the tidbits from my fingers and others where it seemed like the tidbit just happened to fall in to her open mouth...but it's a start anyway.
Buji ni kaette kara jess wo tsukette hajimete no taijyu wo hakarimashita. 114.5 gram deshita. Mesu ni shite mo chiisai! Sugu ni kunren wo hajimemashita. Saisho no yoru ni suzume no 8 gram gurai wo yubi kara tabemashita. Naka naka ii kanji desu!
I'm over the top excited about getting a passage bird and finally getting my season started. Ladies and gentleman I present to you my starling killer for the season, Dulcinea:
Yatto kotoshi no takagari ga dekiru youni narimashita. Namae wa Dulcinea desu: "Yoroshiku!"
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