Troy,

Yes, two of the same sex often select different birds to fly. With all our predators that can be a gut wrenching experience. I well remember two tiercels I had that went for different birds and I started to walk for the far bird then recalled that the one right in front of me was the better hawk and stayed with him. I stewed for a while as he ate when the far hawk cam sailing in above and brought his kill right in at my feet to eat.

Here Jamaica Smith flew a tiercel and I a falcon and they usually flew the same quail but often enough they went for separate birds so we separated. The problem was that my pointer liked to run with her dog and I was left without help in relocating and reflushing. In this desert that is no simple matter.

As I'm sure you know some aplos tend to disperse if flown a bit heavy so experimenting with weight after the beginning of the season can come with a price. From my experience 250 is a good average weight for a tiercel.

I know I'm preaching to the choir but the aplo is about like the Cooper's in their inherent differences. As one British wag once said the difference within species is greater than between species. The aplo is a good example of that. To know one is not necessarily valid in judging the species.

Harry.