2012-2013 Season - Final tally = 30 kills

Season's over for us. Sgian went out and missed two slips, and with the weather being warmer and nicer, and she being hormonal with Spring, decided to be a brat and not come back to the glove, despite being at weight or hunting. Threw out the lure and she refused it on the ground, would only come down when I had it in hand and called, and even then, she buzzed it a couple of times before deciding she wanted the wings on the lure. Clipped her off and decided we were done for the season since this is the second time in a row she's ignored the lure and calls to the glove, and needing five, ten minutes to decide to return. The joys of flying a hormonal female kestrel. =) It's definitely Spring. I only wish I could breed her and raise little kbirds. So, official 3rd season tally is 30 kills. Five less than last season, but with work and a back injury slowing me down, I think we did awesome. On to making new equipment, new gear, during the molt, and LOTS of manning and physical training until next season.

#30

Very quick, very easy trade off. Unfortunately, it was raining and we were getting wet and cold, so the next slip she had was a bit lackluster and she pouted in a tree for a couple of minutes before she bothered to come down to the lure. We called it done and went home. We'll drop her weight a bit before heading out tomorrow...but #30 this morning. =)

#29

#29 this morning. The ones we found previously were easily bumped. Not sure if it's because they're in smaller groups now, more are just in pairs...but they're a lot more easily spooked.

Well, this flight was awesome to see. She went after a group of four...coming in low, skimming the grass...and she seemed to go nice and easy, then kicked on the afterburners, SLAMMING the starling and rolling with it. When I made in, she had a bad hold on it, but I helped secure it and she moved up to grab onto its neck and head for a better grip.

 

#27 and #28

We had #26 two weeks ago, but I've been busy with work and trying to get my ducks in a row for a mortgage loan, so I've not reported in or gone hunting.

This morning, we met up with another woman falconer by the name of Gretchen. She's rehabbing a merlin and wanted to know what it was like to micro hawk. She's only flown larger birds so this is her first time out with a micro. We had a great time with her and we chatted away about our obsession...falconry. =)

We also hit another double. The first one was a miss, but recall was perfect. The second slip was a success, and we still had time, so I decided to try for a double. Sure enough, the third slip we came across, she hit the second starling of the morning.

Rather than tempt fate, we called it good, since Sgian wasn't all that thrilled with not getting the head of the first starling when she knew darn well she'd caught the darn thing.

Gretchen has pics, we didn't get any pics ourselves since the camera was misplaced in the truck. I do have a pic of the two starlings in the sink before butchering. =)

#25

#25 this morning. It took longer to drive to the hunting grounds than it was for us to find a slip, and for her to catch the starling. If we hadn't had other things to do today, we would have continued hunting, but life got in the way today, since we only have Sundays and Mondays off. We're 10 short from meeting last season's catch, but I can keep going until she drops a feather. =) On a side note, we did see that male kbird again. I am SOOOOO tempted in dropping a BC under it to see if it wants to come home with me. TEMPTED...but waiting until we can manage to get our own place before I decide if I fly another kbird or go for a bigger bird with a mews in the back yard. While my parents think it's cool and all, we don't want to impose by building on their property.