1st PFRT

[Chappy]

4 days of hunting, 3 catches later, this is the outcome.

http://i894.photobucket.com/albums/ac143/dps465/Falconry/1.jpg

http://i894.photobucket.com/albums/ac143/dps465/Falconry/GetAttachment-1.jpg

[FredFogg]

Congrats Chappy! I know you have really been ready for this! Looks like a really nice sized bird. Is the bird on your fist in the picture, can't tell if it is or on a perch? If it is on your fist, a little suggestion, always make the bird face toward you. You can turn a bird around by gently pushing on its tail in the direction you want it to turn. Now the fun begins!

Oh yeah, we need larger pictures, we need trapping weight and definately, the trapping story! LOL

[Chappy]

She is a tank at 48oz. Its on the fist in the picture and the arm is leaning on a step ladder (2 hours of holding a 3lb bird got tough).

Thanks for the input about making her face me, makes sense when I think about it.

Bigger pics (the last one is my favorite of her):

http://i894.photobucket.com/albums/ac143/dps465/Falconry/IMG_2013.jpg

http://i894.photobucket.com/albums/ac143/dps465/Falconry/IMG_2014.jpg

http://i894.photobucket.com/albums/ac143/dps465/Falconry/IMG_2012.jpg

http://i894.photobucket.com/albums/ac143/dps465/Falconry/IMG_2011.jpg

[Chappy]

I'm generally not good with story-telling, but I will give it a shot.

On August 30th, I purchased Lucky and Swiss (wife named the bait), a white rat and spotted mouse, respectively. Trapping season starts here on Sept. 1, and I was raring to go at the crack of dawn the first day. My sponsor and I trapped a 2nd year bird, a big male, partially molted that day. Even though we had to release it, I'm tellin ya, that will be on the "highlight reel" of life for me.

Anyhow, the next several days,on the rare occasion we saw anything, we only spotted hags. My sponsor commented frequently on how slim the pickins are here, and boy was he right. Not sure if its been the overall hot weather, or just poor luck on our part, but there are hardly any passage birds around this year.

Two days ago, we had to jump a hag off the trap, and that was all we saw. Yesterday we trapped a tiny male, too small to hunt much more than mice, so we let him go.

This morning started off like all the others, at 7am looking for birds with no luck for hours at a time. I decided to try a new hunting ground about an hour and half away from the house. As I approached an intersection, where there was a bridge to Ohio on my left and a Wal-Mart on my right, I saw a big redtail flying in a small field right next to me. We couldn't tell if it was a passage or not, but for the sake of giving me trapping experience we chucked Lucky out the window. Within 30 seconds, the bird was on it and dragging it away slowly. I hopped out and to my wonder, it was a passage! And a huge one at that. So after I stopped squeeling like a school girl on crack, we unhooked her, hooded, etc., and brought her home.

So far, so good. She wants to kill me, but so did my wife before she warmed up to me.

The moral of this story? You really can get ANYTHING at Wal-Mart.

[Eagle Owl]

Congrats!!!! She is a beautiful bird. Have you named her yet?

[hawkerev]

So after I stopped squeeling like a school girl on crack, we unhooked her, hooded, etc., and brought her home.

So far, so good. She wants to kill me, but so did my wife before she warmed up to me.

The moral of this story? You really can get ANYTHING at Wal-Mart. clappclappclapp

Better story teller than you think!

The 1st season as a falconer it truly hard to put to words, trappin, training, 1st free flight, 1st kill ... truly an awesome year !

Good luck, looking forward to hearing all about your 1st !

[Squirrelhawkin]

Congrats,nice looking bird. One piece of advice though,I'd wait until it really cools off to start hunting.Bulldogs really drag a$$ in the heat when they're flushing bunnies!toungeout

[Meagan]

Great looking RT! Have fun with training her, you'll never forget your first bird. Enjoy every moment with her and take everything in for what its worth. You've got a bunch of great falconers on this site who are willing to give you some great info and insight...have fun and post more pics.

[Kephri]

She's beautiful! and looks HUGE! ^_^ gl clapp

[Chappy]

Congrats!!!! She is a beautiful bird. Have you named her yet?

Gonna let the wife name her. I think she is edging towards "Bella." She named the mice in 2 minutes, she's really thinkin this one through.

[OATS]

Oh yes, naming the mice! My little daughters used to do this until they learned not to get attached to them. Really striking looking bird! So clean, yet with such dirty feet. Never really figured out how their feet get so mucked up. Great looking thick feet too. Congrats, nice bird.

[RLD]

Good looking bird Chappy. Good luck and keep me up-to-date with the progress.