Greetings Richard, I am familiar with who you are. Yes, I know Mike Houser very well. Before he came down to see you I tried to help him find a RT here. He picked one the scarcest years I have seen to trap one. He did everything right and got close but just didn't score. I talk to him every couple weeks or so. He and the bird are doing fine. I will let him fill you in. I also know Bryan and have corresponded a little with Rio via this board. Haven't heard much from Bryan. Rio has her bird out flying regularly and seems to be getting things figured out. I wish Bryan had kept better in better touch during the fall and I had known that Rio was looking for a bird because I trapped and released a bunch of them this season. It was the most RTs I have seen here in the fall. It makes sense since we are at all time vole highs, are near the peak of the SSH cycle, and had a warm dry summer.

The other falconer who took a bird out of TX a couple years ago was Gary H. I'm not sure if he is on this board or not. He is a friend of mine and ended up with a large gorgeous female with the help of Jack Mangum. I think it's okay to mention Jack as I have seen him post in the forums about it. I think she flies at around 1300g. Gary and his bird are doing well when they can fly. It is very cold in the interior of our state during winter (-30 to -40 for weeks) and will preclude flying anything except GHs.

My current RT was trapped here and flies right at 1000g or just over 35oz for you ounce guys like me. If we were still flying I think her weight would have come up another 1 -1.5oz. This is slightly heavier than she was trapped at. Hawking hares here means usually flying in thick cover, snow can be deep, and daylight hours short. It can be challenging for sure.

Next time I speak to Mike I will mention you asked and that he needs to update. Talk to you later.