Urban Hawking at its Finest!

Today was urban hawking at its finest. The kill was just too funny.

We had just had a slip at some sparrows feeding near some bushes in a shopping center, she had missed and landed on a parked car. I was trying to call her back to the fist as I walked toward her and usually she's pretty quick at coming back but this time she was bobbing her head and looking off into the distance.

Suddenly she launches off the top of the parked car heading toward these two girls (15-16ish) walking along the sidewalk. She's done some odd things before, like almost landing on a lady's head once, so I had no idea what she was up to but she was headed for them like a bat outta hell. They were about 50 yards away from where she launched and walking no more than a foot apart. Dulci was on a collision course but at the last second her wings went vertical and she slid through the tiny gap right in between the two girls! It looked like something out of a Starwars movie!

The girls flipped out, they kicked their legs in the air and screamed "AHHHHH BIRD!!!" She picked off the sparrow about 10 feet in front of them! I don't know if she was using the girls for cover as she approached or what but it was pretty amazing to see her split the uprights like that. Words don't do the girls' reaction justice.

I didn't know she'd caught something so I was chuckling to myself as I jogged over wondering what the heck that was about then I heard the sparrow squeaking and saw Dulci finishing it off.

"Did she get it?" I asked as I ran up to the girls.

"Is that YOUR bird?!?" they asked.

"Yup, sorry she freaked you out" *chuckle*

"Yeah, she got it..."

And they continued on their way. I gathered Dulci up, took her over to where my car was parked and let her feed up as I took some pics with my real camera that I happen to remember this time (rather than the last few that have been with my cell phone). If only I'd been able to have film that flight! Not one that I'll easily forget though, I was laughing all the way home!

Vacation Grand Finale

Yesterday was quite the day. It was my last day of "vacation" (if that's what you call paternity leave...) so I thought I'd make the most of it.

As we headed out looking for our first slip we spotted a pair of bald eagles soaring over the highway. I've been seeing lots of those lately but they don't seem to bother the kbird and these ones were probably too far away for her to worry about anyway. Before long I spotted a couple of starlings feeding with some robins near a hedge in an industrial park. Dulci took the slip and much to my surprise smacked one of the robins! I saw her connect but it appeared as if the robin just shrugged her off and hopped up into the hedge. The starlings of course, headed for the hills. Not exactly what I had planned but an encouraging start to the day!

Our next slip came as some starlings were drinking in some melted snow in another parking lot. The starling Dulci had her sights set on panicked and ran itself right into the tire of a parked car! I thought that the mistake would seal the deal but the surprisingly resiliant starling bounced off and headed in the opposite direction just as Dulci arrived making it an extremely narrow miss.

The third starling did almost the same thing, only this time smacking into a light pole but again recovered just quickly enough to avoid the incoming talons.

I headed over to a nearby waste station where there are always LOADS of starlings...on the wires...but occasionally I find them in slippable situations so its worth a check. There were even more than usual there this time and they were milling around on the ground in an area that looked promising. I parked the car and tried to figure out the slip when suddenly the flock exploded back up to the wires. It looks like we weren't the only ones who thought all those starlings looked tasty. I watched as not one, not two, but THREE wild kestrels appeared and landed within a 50 yard radius (one smack dab in the middle of the starlings on the wire). I just shook my head and started the car up knowing I wouldn't be flying THAT flock today. As I pulled away I saw one of the kbirds bomb a bush and fly off with a sparrow.

I headed over to Walmart and found a decent group of starlings feeding near a dumpster. Dulci took the slip and plowed into the group. I heard the sweet song of success as a starling started screaming its head off but my view was obstructed by the dumpster and when I finally got around to where I could see Dulci was in the air again. I know she caught one but it must've gotten itself free somehow. Bummer!!

With a record 4 slips in one day, and connections two of those times, I thought for sure that if I found one more slip we'd put one in the bag. I headed over to the shopping carts in the same WallyWorld lot and just as I expected found a small group of sparrows. With people walking all around them these sparrows are pretty oblivious. Dulci picked one out sitting on the bottom rack of a cart that had its back toward her and I know I saw her hit it. I don't know if it "falling" from the rack toward the ground when she hit it made her lose her grip or what but the result was another hit and miss. Dulci flew up to a parked car and I walked over to pick her up. We'd been gone for three hours so I called it a day.

The last week and a half have been fantastic. I've been able to hawk for a couple hours each day and I'm finally starting to find starlings in slippable situations on the ground. We've been getting more slips than ever before and we've been able to put some game in the bag. My confidence in Dulci is such that I even took her out in 30mph winds one day (not recommended) and while there was one tense moment when she went up about 100 feet and drifted out of view over a movie theatre, I've still never had to use telemetry (although we always fly with it).

While I have to go back to the 9-5 grind as of today with the days getting longer I anticipate having continued success for at least a few more months. I'm still undecided as to whether or not I'll fly her through the moult or release her but she sure has been fun thus far!

Sparrow #2

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!! :-(

A GREAT couple of days

Wednesday morning=Fly fishing:

Thursday afternoon= Starling #2 (3rd head of game) taken right out of the air as it flushed in front of us:

Every night:

I could get used to this...

New Eyas

Hatched at 10:14 on Jan. 30th. 5 lbs 10 oz. but I think she'll fly a little higher than that. I'm planning on tame hacking her for 18+ years and we'll decide what to do after that. ;-)

Hunting in a suit

Saturday was a little disappointing. I didn't have much time so I zipped over to the sparrow bush thinking that after last weeks success she'd dive right in. Didn't quite work out though. She was maybe .5g higher than last week and I suppose that made the difference. She chased them off the top of the bush like she usually does but was reluctant to go in after them. I tried feeding her into the bush through one of the openings but she'd just hop right back out looking for a tidbit.

There was only one time when I thought she might go in. She was sitting on a nearby building and I guess a sparrow flushed out of the bush I was working and put in in a smaller bush ten yards away. She took off from the building tucked up in a super shallow stoop heading for the bush but flared right at the last second landing on top of the bush. She looked down into the bush pretty intently and I could hear the sparrow moving around but it flushed out the opposite side as I approached.

The closest we came to a "kill" was at some small bushes in a Walmart parking lot. The bird took a slip at some sparrows WAY too farout (like 30 yards with the sparrows right next to cover...). I got my bird back on the fist and started kicking bushes and bunny popped out and ran across the street right in front of a car. The bunny saw the car at the last second and kind of folded in to a ball as the front tire took off some fur. It got spun for a loop and spun perfectly in time with the rear tire just barely, and I mean barely getting out of the way!

Sunday was super cold with snow flurries. It seems like I find more starlings on the ground on days like this then the warmer days we've been having. The first group I saw bumming around a dumpster next to a bank. I was actually on my way home from a church meeting so I was dressed in a suit and tie but I didn't want to let the opportunity pass me by so I rushed home, got the bird, and headed back for the slip still wearing my suit! The starlings weren't on the gound any more when I got back but I quickly located them on the roof of the bank. I pulled in to a parking spot and watched for a few minutes and before long they headed back to the dumpster. Unfortunately this dumpster had one of those concrete walls around it with a locked fence as the only access and most of the birds were on the inside. Patience paid off though and before long two birds were arguing over a piece of bread just outside the dumpster. I rolled down my window and began my approach. As I got about 15 feet away I was thinking that this was going to be good since both birds had their backs to us. Out the window she went...just as the bird she was going for disappeared behind some low shrubbery. It was only a few inches high but I guess it threw her off just enough since she overshot the bird. The rest flushed and that was that.

I headed back out after church, this time in proper hawking attire. A quick stop at the sparrow bush yeilded a pretty good flight as probably 30 sparrows were away from the bush feeding at the feeder. The main group got up probably 5 feet in front of her but she plowed into some long grass under the feeder and for a second there I thought she had one. She hopped back up and followed one over to the bush but didn't go in after them. With a bit of daylight left I figured rather than trying to get her to go in the bush after them I would go look for starlings and come back if I couldn't find any. I headed over to a nearby industrial park and did my usual route. On the very last leg I found about 6 starlings feeding in a grassy strip behind a building. It was an absolutely beautiful slip! I was sure wewere going to get one as I rounded the building, unhooked the kbird and prepared for the kill I was sure was coming...But I swear I am the unluckiest falconer on the planet. Just as I got lined up all but one bird flushed for no apparent reason. W.T.F!! The last bird was jumpy and flushed shortly after. Dulci was out the window but the starling had agood 10 yard head start. It was a good 75 yard chase but she was beat before it started.

I called her back and we headed home.

#2...Finally!!

The starlings have been rather uncooperative as of late. I see lots of them on the power lines and in trees but haven't been able to find them on the ground for the life of me. After driving around for a couple hours and having the only starlings I saw on the ground head to the trees as I turned around I decided to head to the ol' reliable sparrow bush.

This is a bush in a small shopping center parking lot that is always LOADED withsparrows (there's a feeder nearby). We've had lots of flights out ofthis bush but hadn't connected for one reason or another. What usually happens is I slip her from the car on the first go around when the sparrows are out near the curb, over at the feeder, or sitting on top of the bush. She would pitch up into the tree above the bush or fly to one of the nearby buildings if she missed and I would flush the birds toward her resulting in more chases. The buildings were just a bit too far away for her to have a good chance from there and there's another bush that the sparrows dodge into before she can get a good shot at them from the tree. I noticed last time however, that the sparrows hold really well in the bush after the initial slip. It's a thick evergreen bush and I can imagine they feel pretty safe in there. I figured that if there was some way I could get my bird actually in to the bush though we'd probably catch one.

Well it happened just about like I thought it would. On the initial slip she chased a sparrow under a parked car but the sparrow hit the ground and bounced out going the opposite way back to the bush. Not to give up so easily my bird came out from under the car hot on it's tail and hit the bush just behind it. She was peering intently down into the bush as I pulled the car into a parking spot. Usually this is where she flies up to the tree or one of the buildings and I thought I would have to call her to the fist and kind of insert her in to the bush. As I exited the car though she suddenly ducked in tothe bush on her own!

I would say the bush is about 6' wide by 10' long and holds well over a hundred sparrows on a good day. This was a good day and I could hear the sparrows going nuts. Due to the thickness of the bush I couldn't see much but kind of tapped on the bushes to herd the sparrows to where I thought my bird was. I ducked down to see if I could see anything from a lower angle just in time to see my bird snag one as it tried to dash past her. Wahoo!

I've always been nervous flying sparrows because of the possibility of carrying. Catching them in the bush prevents that but fishing her out took a bit of work. When she could see me she tried to snag the tidbits off my glove and drag the sparrow toward me but it was so thick in there that the sparrow got snagged in the branches. I got her out though and she finished the sparrow on my glove.

Hopefully she's realized that she can be successful in the bush now. If the starlings won't cooperate then the bush is almost a guaranteed meal if she'll regularly go in after them.

Here's hoping #3 doesn't take as long!