Hi guys,

I've been a daily reader on this forum for a while and think it's time i introduce myself. My name is Dillon, and I started my falconry career in southern Nevada where I grew up. I have lived in Florida and travelled extensively for work for the past six years.

When I lived in Vegas, I used to complain about the heat and the lack of game in the thirsty Mojave-- that was until I moved to Florida!frus Some falconers do well there and are happy, but for me it was impossible to adjust to the enclosed landscape, humidity, cover, private land, etc. The good news is that I've finally managed to make it back to the wide-open desert of Tucson. It seems like there are quite a few falconers from the southwest on here.

I've flown CB/ passage HH's, passage RT's, an eyas tiercel prairie, a passage merlin, a passage prairie, a gyr/barbary tiercel, a female barbary, a baja anatum tiercel and a rocky mountain anatum tiercel. I also spent two seasons teaming up with another falconer and flying an imprint female gos.

I got dirthawking out of my system years ago, and from what I've read, it should be a bumper year for all three species of quail in AZ due to three consecutive years of above-average rains. All three species of quail are within 100 miles of me. I know I'd be smart to fly a passage male HH or female coops, but I'm a longwinger at heart with a soft spot for prairies, so I'm going to try my damnedest to trap a passage tiercel prairie and fly doves and quail while simultaneously scoping out whether I can realistically duck hawk with a longwing here. I also really like goshawks (the silent ones, anyway), and would love to try a well-taken tiercel on quail. I think a tiercel would do especially well on the Mearn's found in the grassland/ oak savannas an hour's drive away, and a foot slip at cottontails with a gos on the fist is far more thrilling to me than a coursing flight at jacks. Too bad a passage probably wouldn't do well with the mild weather here.

Anyway, I feel extremely fortunate to be in this fantastic state where I have access to so many native species of hunting hawk as well as fantastic quarry species to pursue.

Thanks for reading,

Dillon Horger
Tucson, AZ