2014 Shin

[jeffandheidi]

Bad weather today, so no hawking. I fed her on the lure in the basement and she was a complete Butthead. She flew down to it and then took almost 20 minutes to eat the 23 grams attached. Once the meat was gone she still flipped it over several times, tried to drag it around and mantled and screamed over her shoulder at me. She isn't aggressive around the perch, but has gotten a little sticky footed when I weigh her in another room, trying to drag my thumb along with her.
She should be down to 158g tomorrow. There are more storms forecast but I'm hoping for a chance to fly her, and want to get out of the problem zone ASAP.

[BestBeagler]

Bad weather today, so no hawking. I fed her on the lure in the basement and she was a complete Butthead. She flew down to it and then took almost 20 minutes to eat the 23 grams attached. Once the meat was gone she still flipped it over several times, tried to drag it around and mantled and screamed over her shoulder at me. She isn't aggressive around the perch, but has gotten a little sticky footed when I weigh her in another room, trying to drag my thumb along with her.
She should be down to 158g tomorrow. There are more storms forecast but I'm hoping for a chance to fly her, and want to get out of the problem zone ASAP.

Sometimes I think the problem zone is an age thing. Let me share my ONE experience with my male imprint sharpie. I finger fed the bugger from day complete food association he trusted me implicitly and he killed many hand tossed sparrows in a big room. I never really touched his weight if I remember right. I just let him do his thing in the confines of a big room. At first he never carried and every time he killed I would leave him alone not approach him till I could tell he was ready (at first he was didn't care if I approached right from the beginning then I had to be more careful) I always used the same pickup method with him. He caught, I would dispatch it or he would, I would let him break in then I would offer a whole plucked enticing sparrow on the glove. He would always drag the kill to me and trade off as sweet as could be. So this continued wonderfully with no weight reduction. Then one day he just started carrying, weight wasn't any different, same situation, same methods used. One day he just didn't trust me it was very strange. Playing with the weight, lowering it, didn't help and I didn't like what I was seeing. So I went the route of treating him like I would a passage bird that likes to carry. I continued the same process got him excited about eating and showing him the plucked sparrow he came around after awhile but he carried with the best of them for awhile (all in the big room I didn't trust him on wild game with his attitude on carrying) soon he was back to his old self same weight maybe higher no carrying except carrying to me for the whole sparrow. He trusted me again and saw me as a good guy and protection, he did this at first to carrying his kill to me using me as cover snuggling up so to speak. Then we started hunting, no weight reduction. I took a different road than most. I was a one slip, one flight, and one kill. If he missed I always called him to the glove to a whole sparrow and called it a day. I was able to fly him with no weight reduction for the most part and it was a pure joy the funnest day's I have ever had. The flights I saw were amazing he hunted like a wild bird. Amazing long flights (sharpies aren't supposed to do that) and we really bonded. He always came back because he knew he would get a good meal and he hunted hard and had amazing flights because that's what sharpies are hard wired to do (simple uncomplicated creatures its what makes them a joy)

So with this thing about carrying, I have had a good talk with a friend of mine about it we think they are hardwired to carry it's apart of their survival technique it's hard to break and it seemed almost that despite all the positive reinforcement and creating amazing foundations for not carrying it happens anyway (a simple creature so hardwired can't help it) so once he hit that stage I had to rebuild (easy to do because the foundation was there) the trust and get him to overcome his instinct.

Just my thoughts and I loved the results I had so much I would almost consider raising a gos the same way (maybe even a coops, don't know about that one yet :-) )

I just wanted to share. I'm enjoying the thread.

[jeffandheidi]

Thanks for sharing, Isaac. I'm going to be very selective with where and when I can fly. My area has a lot of medium sized fields that are loaded with small birds, and all surrounded by dense woods. As a result there are coopers and great horned owls always nearby. Even when we don't see one, they are there. The other day I was feeding up on the lure and we could hear a great horned probably within a half mile. Just reminding us he was there. Ruby will bate off her perch a few times in the evening around 9pm then she tucks her head and goes to sleep until I weigh her at 10pm and feed a gram or two to make a target weight the next day. Spaz, the male from last year had to go into his box at dusk everyday, he just wouldn't sit still. When walking toward the giant hood I had to keep my body between him and the box or he would bate toward it, he wanted in! Just another example of hard wired hide at dusk behavior I guess.

[BestBeagler]

Thanks for sharing, Isaac. I'm going to be very selective with where and when I can fly. My area has a lot of medium sized fields that are loaded with small birds, and all surrounded by dense woods. As a result there are coopers and great horned owls always nearby. Even when we don't see one, they are there. The other day I was feeding up on the lure and we could hear a great horned probably within a half mile. Just reminding us he was there. Ruby will bate off her perch a few times in the evening around 9pm then she tucks her head and goes to sleep until I weigh her at 10pm and feed a gram or two to make a target weight the next day. Spaz, the male from last year had to go into his box at dusk everyday, he just wouldn't sit still. When walking toward the giant hood I had to keep my body between him and the box or he would bate toward it, he wanted in! Just another example of hard wired hide at dusk behavior I guess.

Yes, my male was the same way come evening he wanted to go into his giant hood. Looking back I think I would have tethered him up when much younger maybe (I don't know). I found a way that worked for both of us.

[jeffandheidi]

159 grams last night. We had quite a bit of rain over the past 24 hours and there were some big flocks of starlings down. The first flight was at a group of around 20 in short grass, the were bouncing all around each other and being noisy. Ruby went after them pumping hard but they saw her right away and took off. She got confused, changed targets a couple times and then just landed in the grass footing a clump of dirt. I scooped her up, drove for a while more and found another smaller group in a ditch. This time she stared at them for a few minutes before trying, but she didn't let go of my thumb, they scattered and she didn't go anywhere. I think she thought I held her back, she had the angry accipiter pose for a few minutes so I pulled into a parking spot and just waited until she was calm.

We drove a while more to another empty parking lot, found one starling near a couple doves, she flew hard again but tried for the farthest dove, missed of course, and ended up chasing some sparrows around the top of a big tree. I dropped the lure and she came straight down. Nice!

It was getting late so I decided to head back over to the area where she blew her chances before, but on the way saw a big group if sparrows on the ground near some bushes behind another empty lot. She was out the window faster than I expected, missed two on the ground, and caught one near the base of a small tree. The instant acceleration and 90 degree turns these birds can do just doesn't seem possible. It's incredible!! I didn't see the catch, but I could tell she had one because of the far away look in her eye, just as I stepped out of the car she went straight up into the tree, about 3 feet out of my reach. She sat there with it in one foot looking at me and the lure for maybe 3 minutes before the sparrow struggled and she dropped down in front of me. I leashed her up, backed off a few feet while she plucked, then traded her the lure and fed up while getting some strange looks from people driving by.

I think I will bring her down another gram or two and see how she acts, she's hunting very hard but still didn't want to stay in the ground with that bird.

No pictures this time, my adrenaline was too high!

[460shooter]

WHEW!! Man I HATE when little birds carry! Makes me nervous, as it does everyone else I'm sure.

Glad ya got another kill, and your bird back!! Like my sponsor told me years ago...

"Its always a good day if ya come home with your bird."

[Huntndad1]

Looks like your doing a good job with her Jeff!

[jeffandheidi]

We had a short and successful hunt today. The only starlings we saw were pretty far in a field but I let her try anyway, they saw her quickly and she didn't really have a chance. I scooped her up and drive to a nearby, new field that looked promising.

We had walked about 50 yards when a large field bird took off and she was right behind it. She closed the distance very quickly and it tried once to outmaneuver her but it didn't matter, she was faster. This one was too big to carry and I think she appreciated me a little more today. She happily transferred to the lure and fed up. We will try again for starlings tomorrow. I really, really like this bird!

[Leather]

Alright Jeff!!! Don’t blink and let the jaw dropping begin

[jeffandheidi]

Thanks Eric! You're welcome to come anytime, let me know when you're free.

[Breeze]

Sounds awesome, Jeff! ENJOY!!

[Leather]

Jeff,
Hey man, sounds good – I would like that, Oh just an FYI, the MFA picnic is Sept. 15th
Hope to meet up with you soon and keep up the good work

[jeffandheidi]

Thanks man, I'll do my best to make it.

Not much exercise this evening. 158 grams. She had another starling flight, it was another big group and by the time she picked one out they had already taken off. She tried hard but it wasn't happening and she turned back toward the car, based on a pole and I called her to the lure. She is still a little possessive on the ground but improving. I am also waiting until she has stepped away from the lure and is looking elsewhere, sometimes this takes a while but at least I know she can't feel robbed or rushed. Carrying smaller kills is a big concern for me.

We walked into the same field as yesterday and within probably five minutes a bird was up, tried to outclimb her, and we were done. This time she was slower to step on the lure, and still wanted to protect it. In fact once she was some and stepped off, I reached down to scoop her up, she bit my finger and ran back over to mantle over an empty lure. That tells me I screwed up sometime in the past and have taught her to be this way in addition to still being a little above hunting weight. Oh well, it is what it is. Hopefully daily kills will smooth us out. And another half gram or so lower by Tuesday.

[460shooter]

Keep going Jeff!! I have my first sharpy, and we watch for your updates every evening! I can't wait to see mine doing the flights you are describing! What a joy that must be!!!

From what I have read, these sharpies are usually pretty forgiving, and hunting / killing usually makes everything ok. I don't have any experience with this statement yet, but I have read it in a couple places, and it has been told to me by a few guys who are MUCH more experienced with accipiters than I am.

GREAT JOB!!!

[jeffandheidi]

Thanks Paul! I'm glad your enjoying the thread. It's fun to share the experience, and it's also nice to look back at how things change over a season. I'm looking forward to your sharpie thread as well!

No kill today but we had some great flights. 157 grams.

The past few days when we were successful have been mostly overcast, today was clear sunny and warm. There were 0 starlings seen which was disappointing. I tried walking the same field again but the few birds we saw were flushing 50+ yards away. Ruby finally gave one a shot but it was so far ahead she didn't have much of a chance and made a wide U turn back to me and landed on my head.

After about 45 minutes I gave up and got back in the car to try some sparrow flocks. There are a few buildings on a side road that has too much traffic during the week to fly, but on a Sunday afternoon there was nobody around but the birds. The sparrows were smart and stayed in the dense boxwood bushes and Bradford pear trees. She eventually grabbed a dead leaf at the top of a tree and brought it down to tear apart.



I let her figure out that it wasn't anything special, and got her back on my hand. We kicked the bushes a few more times before she chased another one around the tree and I lost sight of her.

Here's how I found her, there wasn't anything under there but she was certain that there was. The gap between the boards was about three inches wide, she isn't stuck. I gave her a minute or so to inspect the pallet and we moved on.


Another sparrow flight went out over a tall corn field. Before I lost sight of her she was on its tail, I was glad she missed that one, it could have turned into a telemetry chase. I had to walk about 15 feet into the cornstalks before I heard her calling. She was on the ground flapping/hopping back toward me. Pretty cool.

We drove around for another 15 minutes or so, didn't see anything else down so we went back to the flock which was now starting to roost in the trees. I wasn't sure what she would do so I got out of the car, threw a small rock into the tree and she went in after them. She missed, and I called her down to the lure to feed up.

She is still hanging onto my hand tightly after I picked her up. One of her misses she was hanging off the side of a bush with her tail jammed down. I'm sure she didn't have a hold of anything, but for several minutes after picking her up she was mantling over my hand and holding on really tight. Also on the lure she is still wanting to mantle after the food is gone, and bites at my fingers even after she has stepped off the lure. I've also been feeding her the 10pm top-off on the lure by flashlight. She comes down quickly and when the flashlight is turned off she is easy to pick up in the dark.

[Huntndad1]

Lol I love the ostrich pic Jeff!! That is pretty awsome to have her calling for you too! Keep the posts coming.

[460shooter]

That ostrich picture is the best!!! HAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!

[cvandermerwe]

That picture makes me really happy they are small birds. If they could take a human we would all be screwed.

Love your thread!

[Breeze]

Loving this thread, Jeff! WHAT fun you are having with your bird! Awesome!

[jeffandheidi]

Haha, thanks. It was pretty funny watching her run around that pallet so sure there was a bird underneath. When she finally settled down I picked her up and slipped it over just to be sure.

The past two days we haven't caught anything. Monday was open house at my daughters school so we just fed up with a few flashlight lure calls in the basement. Yesterday she was at 157g. The college campus was very busy with people and their dogs so I didn't even try there.

I showed her one large flock of starlings on the ground, which would have been easy for an experienced bird, but Ruby just watched them for a few seconds, then tried to chase once they had taken off.

Our small industrial park has a few fields I hadn't walked yet, and Ruby chased a robin that she saw about 75 yards away into the woods. Wild Cooper's hawks are a big concern for me, and as I got to the edge if the woods I started swinging the lure. She came back instantly, bound to the lure in the air and tried to fly off with it. I'm still seeing some possessive/aggressive stuff with her. Even when the meat was gone and she had stepped back, as I reached in behind her to scoop her up she bound to my bare hand and mantled over it for the walk back to the car. I've never fed her with my bare hands or on the fist. She is so tiny it doesn't hurt but the attitude bothers me.

We drove a short distance to another field farther from the woods and started walking. It was sunny and warm again all day, and field birds were hard to find, she had a couple good chases but they flushed so far ahead that by the time she got up they were at their full speed and she turned back to me. Her advantage is definitely to catch birds on the rise.

Light was fading by now so I started walking back toward the car when we saw some doves going down near the edge of the field. She bobbed her head and was off, I swore and then took off after her. Of course the doves were long gone, I found her in a large puddle taking a serious bath, splashing and rolling around. We were done. Back at the car I leashed her and had a couple lure calls with the same possessive/aggressive behavior. Will try again today.

[460shooter]

Well bummer!! I guess all days can't be good days. But you did go home with your bird, so that's a good day...

[jeffandheidi]

Very true, there are a lot of things that can go wrong with a micro hawk besides not catching something.

We finally got our first starling yesterday and compared to hunting field sparrows, car hawking with a sharpie may be easier, but isn't nearly as exciting. There just isn't room for her to reach full speed and there isn't much maneuvering.

They were at the edge of an empty parking lot in the grass and she waited until they saw her before she went after one. It only escaped by flattening itself into the grass at the last second, she got back up and chased a short distance and then came back to land of top of the car.

I was turning out of the parking lot, preparing to go walk a field when I noticed the same flock of starlings dropping back down into a ditch less than 50 yards away! I pulled a quick Uturn, she popped out the window and caught one 20 feet away with its head in the grass. Thankfully she had caught it by the back of the head and had it pinned where it couldn't bite or jab at her with that nasty beak. I ended the fight, let her pluck for a minute and then offered the lure. I'm sure we will still take starlings out the car window but I'm going to save those for days when we are just pressed for time, or if the weather is less than desirable for walking fields.

Just getting started:



On the lure again:


Sleeping after the evening bath:

[jeffandheidi]

No hawking today, it's already starting to rain and we had family plans anyway.

Last night she had some very good chases, one after a sparrow that went deep into a blackberry/poison ivy island near the edge of a field. Just before she went in it looked like she was upside down, maybe it was just my eyes. In the open she is very fast for about 20-30 yards then she turns around and comes back to me or simply lands and waits for me to pick her up. Around cover she can maneuver and change direction faster than my eyes can focus. I need a GoPro.

Half of my most heavily populated field has been brush hogged down to almost bare dirt. I thought that might mean the remaining half would be full of birds, but it was almost empty instead. We had a total of 3 very good chases, and 2 rookie, baby hawk, what the heck are you doing kind of flights, once at a killdeer in a parking lot over 100 yards away and another at who knows what.

I pushed the hunt further into dusk than I think I ever will again. I kept hoping for one more flight. While she was feeding up on the lure I heard a gho in the woods nearby and saw one (maybe the same one?) on a phone pole at the far edge of our field.

[jeffandheidi]

Really nothing new going on, just tweaking the weight down and walking fields every day. She still occasionally goes for the birds flushing far away, I'm waiting for her to realize that's a bad idea, because invariably I flush a dozen sparrows at my feet on the way to pick her up. With the recent rain we have also had a major grasshopper hatch, she frequently jumps to the ground at my feet as I kick them up. I have to be careful not to step on her.

Yesterday there was a group of starlings in short grass on the way to our field so I pulled into a parking lot, got her out of the box and attached the transmitter and gave her a shot at them. She went out the window immediately, managed to miss one somehow, chased it under the car, out the other side and came back to land on top of the car.

We hadn't been in the field more than a few minutes when she went on one of her long distance flights. I caught up to her and she was hanging off some cat tails, I think she was trying to catch dragonflies, they were all around us. As I was picking her off the side of those cat tails some movement caught my eye, the local immature redtail was in a tree about 50 yards away watching her. Scary stuff.

She soon had a sparrow in her feet and while she ate the same redtail flew past us twice from one power pole to another.


The RT had some pretty cool markings on his wings and head, he would have been an easy catch if I'd had a baited BC on hand. When we were back in the car he flew to a nearer pole for a closer look.


She had eaten about half of her sparrow when she noticed him and went into the accipiter statue routine. After about 5 minutes I scooped her up and she finished on the glove.

She held this position for a loong time while staring at the RT.

[Breeze]

Sounds like a good hunt! Glad everything worked out with the RTH and your girl is fine! Enjoying your thread immensely, thanks for posting and sharing with us!

[HGlider]

Making me want to get a Sharpy again. One of the most fun season I have ever had was with a female imprint. Successful catch rates with those birds is unreal. Maybe next year.

[jeffandheidi]

Thanks! She is a lot of fun and I feel like we are in a good routine. She has awesome chases almost daily, and although we are still playing with the weight a half gram at a time I think we are pretty close to a good weight for her. 153 grams today.

The weather has messed us up a few times, and property owners have mowed a couple really good bird fields to useless dirt. It's frustrating to drive to a field only to find all the grass and bushes shredded. Oh well.

This summer has been very mild, until today. It was too hot and we only spent about 15 minutes walking before I started feeling it and had to stop. We hadn't seen one bird anyway and I felt like it wouldn't be long before Ruby flew off to some shade anyway.

Yesterday we had one nice flight at a bush full of sparrows, but didn't connect. There had been a thunderstorm in the area that I could hear, when I saw it we had to stop immediately. Good thing too because it was full of lightning and probably gusts around 50mph on the drive home. Before she went into the box I posed her for this shot.

[460shooter]

Nice!! Man that looks like the storms we had in southwest Kansas. Had some good twisters there now and then. Sure don't miss those! She is looking really good! I can't wait to get Twiggy going. She is on baggies now, and took her first bath this evening. Hopefully it won't be long now till we are hunting.

[jeffandheidi]

Today marks day 5 with no kill, and day three without any close chases. The heat is killing us, I've been hunting as late in the day as possible but there just isn't much to see. A friend has been able to switch to morning hunts and has been successful each day, but I managed to overcommit myself to church and youth group stuff and it's not an option for me. I'm stuck with evening hunts whether it's blazing hot or comfortable.

Of the 5 fields in easy driving distance, three have now been brush-hogged, one of the two tall grass fields left has recently become a four-wheeler playground. It might as well have been brush-hogged also.

My daughter and I covered every foot of the last field this evening, ending just after dusk and saw ZERO birds. Ruby did catch two big grasshoppers out of the air and dropped down to eat the first one. The second one she caught in flight and let go on the ground. This summer has been very nice and mild until recently, now it's pretty rough.

Last night and this evening when we finished on the lure she's been a problem. Mantling heavily, and tonight she jumped off the lure to grab my hand when I was leashing her on the ground. I know part of that is weight, and I think part of it has to be not catching anything. Going for a gram lower tomorrow and looking forward to cooler weather and some migrating sparrows to chase. It's been frustrating for us both.

[Paul Ward]

That's rough, hope the weather and hunting gets better for ya!

[460shooter]

Man Jeff, that's rough. Fall is already in the air here at 9500' and leaves are already starting to turn colors on some of the trees around here. Noticed it the other day when my wife and I were coming back from taking Twiggy for a drive. I've been watching for sparrows, starlings, and collared doves around here. They are almost non existent during the hottest part of the day, but then are out in full force during the evening. Granted, our heat isn't near what you have cause we don't have the humidity, thank god!!! We have been in the low 90's for the last couple months with only a handful of days hitting high 90 to low 100's.

But still, having no birds to chase sucks if its 50 degrees or 100 degrees.

[jeffandheidi]

Thanks Paul and Paul. I just re-read my post and realized how negative it sounded. I guess I was still fuming from such a fruitless day.

She is still a great bird and easy to handle at home and in the field. Lately she has preferred my daughters head or arm as a perch instead of me. When we haven't been able to produce game for her she sometimes flies a wide arc from my hand, out over the field, climbing as she goes, then turns around and floats down to someone else in our group. Our problems show up when she is on food or when it starts getting dark. Last night on the way back to the car she kept landing in front of my feet, once she landed on my daughters shoe and started mantled for a few seconds then hopped off. You can see the type of cover in my remaining field, it's a little less than ideal.


I'm going to try another patch this evening and hope for the best. The grass is up to my shoulders so I'm anticipating using telemetry if she goes down after something. Tomorrow is open house at my school so we will get a day off. I'm really ok with skipping a hunting day anyway.

[Breeze]

Hi Jeff! Sorry about issues with heat - that is the pits. Hunting repeatedly when no prey is around wears on falconer and bird.

Starting up soon myself and will have to hunt early a.m. for sure. Heat index in triple digits here. Yes it cools down some in the evening, but by the time it does it's too dark to fly in the woods! Early morning hunting, here we come! Sorry that's not an option for you and your Shin. Here's hoping things cool off and the birds start flying for you!

[jeffandheidi]

Thanks Deb. It's still summer alright I hope things start to cool down for you guys also. I'm looking forward to bunny hawking again. I miss the cold!

The new field today was a success. We had barely entered the field when a bird got up, Ruby was right on it and they came down together about ten yards away into a patch of poison ivy. I made sure it was properly dispatched, then backed off to let her pluck and settle down. She easily stepped to the lure and then up to the glove to finish eating when the lure was empty. Because of her behavior on the ground lately and the certainty of feather damage it would cause, I've decided to start feeding up on the glove. Today it worked out beautifully.




One thing I'll need to change is her transmitter placement. When hawking alone I've been zip tying her transmitter to part of her jess, only because it's easy to do one handed. Anyway, before I got her into the car she managed to get her toes around the transmitter and thought it was food. I guess. If I can figure out a way to attach it directly to her leg above the jess I think we will be ok again.

[Breeze]

Backpack?