Jeff, how is this cooler weather working with your charge? Am sure I'm not the only one wondering about the season
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Jeff, how is this cooler weather working with your charge? Am sure I'm not the only one wondering about the season
Sorry I haven't updated in a while...my wife and I welcomed our son into the world on October 3rd, so things have been a little crazy for the past few weeks and my hawking schedule hasn't been as consistent as I'd like.
Right before the baby was born Apache was in a groove. I had dropped his weight to get him serious and he was really beginning to focus on sealing the deal. When the baby arrived, he was fed up for about a week and a half until things settled down. The good news is, on nights where I was bouncing back and forth between the hospital and home, my 7 year old daughter took care of him for me. She would take a quail into his mew, wait for him to hop to the tire perch, CR, and hand him his meal. She loved it.
After things began to calm down a little, I started playing games with him again. He was hog fat and well over 800g. Once he got back down below 800g I couldn't take it anymore and we hit the woods hunting. He wasn't interested in catching at that weight, but he was chasing and doing great hunting with my female gwp. Our first evening out we flushed a LOT of squirrels and had some fun flights with several catch and releases.
The second night I took him out, he was almost eaten by an immature Bald Eagle. The eagle came in with full intent on catching him. He FREAKED out and with the use of telemetry I located him about a mile away. When he came down he was nervous and still in "freak out" mode. He was jumpy about everything and I knew hooding wouldn't go easily. I had to make a decision at that point. I could either carry him unhooded in 'freak out' mode back to the truck or I could hood him and risk some potential negative associations. I opted to hood him. It didn't go on easily as usual, but I finally got it on and figured I'd have some training to work through later.
Once he was calmed down, I put him back in the mew. I flew him the next day and he was not quite himself. He was more jumpy and less inclined to chase. I ended up calling him down early. He didn't want to take tidbits from my hand and had a little fear from being hooded while he was in the mindset he was in on the previous day.
Because of this, I have dropped his weight and been playing games with him the past couple days. He is back down 770g. Any sign of fear is gone and my old bird seems to be back. I haven't reintroduced the hood yet, but will bring it back in over the next week or so. We should be back in the woods tomorrow afternoon.
Not sure where all the squirrels went, but we have only flushed 1 squirrel in the past 2 days. This is really odd for around here, usually we flush too many and the bird has to decide which one to chase. Apache is following better and hunting great with the dog. He is coming instantly to an ungarnished lure and then hopping to the fist. He has been a little more vocal lately (vocal not screaming)but that should subside as he gets more hunting experience. We'll be back out tomorrow looking for squirrels.
He is hunting at 760g right now...
Worked hard and found 3 squirrels tonight. The first one escaped by the skin of it's teeth. The second sold it's buddy out and left him with a goshawk and wirehair to deal with.
I was on the phone with a falconer friend when I heard Apache's bell. I turned around and he was pumping straight at me. I was about to poop my pants thinking I was getting a face full of goshawk when I realized my wirehair was chasing a squirrel on the ground. Apache was is hot pursuit. The squirrel ran up a tree and into a nest, when a second squirrel bolted. The flight went from the ground to the tree tops multiple times. He would barely escape the jaws of the dog only to run back up a tree and have to deal with the goshawk. It was AMAZING! I watched Apache climb vertically while circling the tree. It was the best squirrel flight I've ever seen. Somehow the squirrel managed to get to a hole and disappeared.
I called Apache down and gave him his daily rations. It is only a matter of time. He was serious today about killing that squirrel.
That sounds awesome Jeff! As others have told me...where's that gopro on your hat? :D;)
While hunting?! frus)Quote:
Originally Posted by rocgwp
If it helps, we were talking about where I was hawking and if he was going to come join me or not...Quote:
Originally Posted by sevristh
Just a quick update...I'm still looking for that first kill. Apache has come really close. Today he pulled a squirrel out of a tree, lost it, and barely missed it in the mass of vines on the ground. If I'd had my dog with me today, it may have been a game changer. The second squirrel we flushed today tried a flying squirrel move. Instead of running, it bailed out of the top of a pine and hit the ground running. Apache hit the ground and got up atleast three times as he chased it along the ground. It won't be long until Apache connects. He was 790g today and I really liked his attitude and response. He responds instantly to an ungarnished lure then hops to the fist for his meal or tidbits. I still hand him food as he eats.
I reintroduced the hood and it has gone really well. While he ate his meal today I practiced hooding him several times. I used a Layman technique that turns sloppy hooding into an advantage. While the bird eats, I put the hood in the way. He then reaches down for a bite and I chase his head up as he raises back up. If the hood goes on, great. I CR, take the hood away, and let him get a bite. If it doesn't, I CR, take the hood away,and he still gets a bite. It turns the whole experience positive for the bird. I acquired a hood from Larry Ray and really like it. It has a gape opening big enough that he can cast and pant after exercise. It also has an accordion back.
I thought it was going to be decent squirrel year, but I think the drought has had an effect. We are finding squirrels, but in lower numbers and we are having to work a lot harder to find them.
Here's a pic of the new hood:
http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/n...p/d2f09dd4.jpg
Great looking hood and fit Jeff, looks very familiar!
I've had a blast flying Apache lately. He has been chasing hard and I've seen some amazing flights. He has taken several to the ground, but let go on the ground. At this point it is obvious he is releasing when he doesn't have a good grip (which I like). It is also obvious that he loves to chase. It appears at times that he pushes the squirrels to make them run and see what they will do next. I get the impression that my goshawk is pushing them to their limits to see what they're made of. I think my gos is an adrenaline junkie.
So far, it also appears that Apache learns in fewer repetitions than other birds I've flown. He is constantly trying new things on squirrels. Today he had a squirrel pinned and it wouldn't move and he couldn't get to it. He flew to a nearby tree and turned his back. When the squirrel moved, he was right back in the game just as he planned. Yesterday he laddered up in a tree next to the one the squirrel was in and then ambushed the squirrel from above. He also tried the coolest barrel roll maneuver I've ever seen that resulted in grabbing a squirrel midair as it bailed. I've seen other birds do these things, but after a lot more repetitions and chases.
No game in the bag yet, but man this is fun...When watching a goshawk fly squirrels the common phrase is, "Did you see that?"
Good job man. You and Apache will do it well when the time comes. When it does come, watch out!Quote:
No game in the bag yet, but man this is fun...
Drove out to west Tx for Thanksgiving hoping to get Apache on some rabbits. After several days of trying hard, we flushed no cottontails or jacks. Apache rode the fist well.
I scouted a couple ponds with ducks though. I'm beginning to hate coots. On each slip the coots were the slowest to get up. Apache was on them before they could clear the water and it ended in a rat hunt.
I've got a couple more days out here, then it's back to squirrels...
We are back in east Tx chasing squirrels again. This morning was the craziest and most impressive squirrel flight I've seen yet. Apache caught and released the same squirrel 3 times. Each time he had it by the rear end as it went in vines and he released (as I hoped he would).
In started in a big hardwood. Apache was giving it fits in the canopy and I was preventing it from running down the trunk. Finally it bailed and landed about 5 ft from me. After dealing with Apache in the tree, the squirrel refused to climb another one. He was running from briar patch to briar patch as I busted it out and Apache mirrored it overhead looking for a shot through the brush. We finally got it to a fence row that was thick with briars and lined with tall pines. One side was an open field and the other a country subdivision road. I pressed the squirrel from the road side and Apache from above. As I pressed it, it was forced to climb a tree. Apache came in to take it and it would bail. This is when Apache grabbed it by the rear as it was going in vines and let go. From there, the squirrel started to climbing again. Apache pushed off the ground and flew up at the squirrel. The squirrel went to the backside of the tree, but so did Apache. He made 2 full revolutions around the tree as he was flying up chasing the squirrel! It was nuts!!! Within 15 feet of the ground he was on the squirrel and it was forced to bail again. This repeated itself 2 more times before the squirrel finally got away. Apache was exhausted and sat panting with wings drooped. I've never seen a bird spiral it's way 15 feet up tree trunk from a stand still on the ground.
From what I have seen, it's not the goshawk speed that impresses me. It's the maneuverability that impresses me. WOW! These birds are unreal.
By the way...the dispersal phase is definitely over and Apache has established his winter hunting territory. He flew this morning at 820g. I will now increase his exercise routine and recovery rates. In the evenings after he has flown for the day, we will do a lot more short exercise sessions of working him to exhaustion and letting him recover.
Today was a great day. I drove out west and I'm camping on some national grasslands. I hunted Apache today with my wirehair. We didn't flush any rabbits, but we got into some quail. I had some fantastic points with my wirehair. We were able to get 6 flights today on quail. The first several resulted in Apache trying to catch the quail on the ground. He was left in the dust as a screaming quail flew over the horizon. I then changed how I flushed. I began rushing in hard before Apache could spot the bird on the ground. This gave him a much better shot at catching one. The first one I flushed this way dissappeared up over a tree line with a goshawk gaining on it. I had to break out the telemetry. I found Apache in a tree about 75yds away and couldn't locate the quail. The next one I was able to flush toward the open. It dumped and Apache missed it. We were able relocate it and Apache CAUGHT it on the rise!!! It was awesome.
Tonight was a falconry benchmark for me. I caught a quail over my wirehair with a goshawk. I'm gonna enjoy this for a while...
Great job Jeff! The hard work has paid off! Congrats!
Congrats Jeff! His father was a quail specialist, we had many quail dinners from the ones Lou put in the game bag.
We had to work hard to find them today, but we finally located a covey. Apache had a great flight that turned and went about 100yds. The quail put in near a pond. It took 2 reflushes, but ended with a quail in the bag. I'm headed home a cold and wet happy man.
Congrats Jeff! You are living my dream! LOL
Keep smacking those quail. clappclappclapp
Jeff,
Congratulations on the quail catches and especially off the point. We're flying my imprint daily using Vizslas and having a blast. I hope to read about more of your hunts.
Harry.
Details to follow :)
http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/n...p/3a0629df.jpg
clappclappclappclappclapp
All day this has been the scene in front of my office: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QBjpcBEugu4. There has been 200-300 ducks on the pond at any given time. The problem is I can't get a slip on the big pond. There are 2 long skinny ponds that adjoin this one, but they have been duck less...
I walked out of my office door this afternoon and there was a lone duck sitting on the smallest of the 3 ponds. I grabbed Apache and recruited one of my staff to help me flush. Apache and I snuck up on the pond, but the duck had no intention of flushing. He was caught between a goshawk on one side and wall of trees on the other. Instead he swam inside a 20' culvert to hide. I stood at one end of the culvert with Apache while my helper walked around the other end to flush the duck my way. She looked into the culvert and the duck panicked. Instead of flushing my way, he flew right back into my her face. She screamed and fell backward as the duck cleared. Apache was off and had it wrapped up in a short flight. Nothing fancy just good ol goshawk speed and passion.
His manners on the duck were great! I reached in to help dispatch it and he stepped up to the fist with ease.
Very cool Jeff... Looks pretty plump for a ringbill, or is it a bluebill? Hard to tell by the belly. I'm glad Apache is doing well for you, just hope he doesn't become wed on wing stuff and quit on fur... congrats I'm proud of you both.
btw as an after thought... divers are usually not loners, so you might be a bit careful of feeding it, migration is a long way and lots of threats along the way.
Thanks for the feedback Barry. It was a bluebill he caught. We hunted for an hour and half this morning and couldn't find any squirrels. It was windy though and I always have a tough time squirrel hawking on windy days. I'll be leaving to visit the family out west later this week. I'm hoping for some rabbit slips.Quote:
Originally Posted by goshawks00
Another fun day...
http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/n...p/0e2dd22a.jpg
HaHa he must have heard me say Ringneck... so he went and got one!clappclappclapp
In that case, how about saying 'pintail'? :D
Apache had a fantastic flight today on a scaup. We spotted 4 divers on a pond and I was able to sneak up to the steep side of the dam which would put me within about 15ft of them when we came over the top. When we came up over the top, they were a little further out than planned. Their little legs were working overtime trying to get off the water and Apache was off. Apache was almost on them when he broke left as they broke right. I was dumbfounded. Then I saw that he was pumping hard and gaining on one that tried to make a break for it across a field. 150 yds later, he wrapped it up at the tree line. :D
Nice Jeff! Those are the kind of flights I dream about! clappclappclappQuote:
Originally Posted by rocgwp
That's awesome Jeff, congrats! That's some good distance!
Sorry jeff, I had to prove your theory... I thought bluebill ... and wahla!!!
I'm now thinking bags of twenties ... We'll see. Congrats.
Apache caught his first woodcock today!
http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/n...p/a8ce0431.jpg
Wow! That's what I call success! Congratulations are in order.
Could you grace us with details about the flight? :D I'm starved of falconry, both my birds being in the moult at the moment...
Way to go bud!