First Solo Hunt
Oak Tree Line
In the afternoon on the way home from the Hootch after a great Bird Hunting Weekend, I stopped at a favorite area for hunting and found a good tree line to walk with Tahoe. I felt she was ready, and I was ready, and today was the day to find out. Find out what? Is she ready to hunt? Is she going to respond to commands? Is she going to fly back to me? Do I have all my gear? Am I prepared? Can I find some game for her to chase?
All of these questions race through my mind as I prepare my equipment, and verify the telemetry receiver with the transmitter on Tahoe.
I find a good branch to set her up on so she could watch me walk out into the field. I called her a little ways out and she came to me. I set her off into another tree, and she jumped up off my glove. This is a good sign. I walk out a little more, find a spot under a big Oak Tree and call her with the whistle without flashing the glove. She flies towards me, but ends up taking a nice high perch in the Oak Tree. Marvelous! I walk on a little more, calling her to the next tree and she follows! I am now thinking, *This is awesome!* I move out to the next set of brush and call her towards me. She is looking around, and after a few moments, flies across the road and dives into a bush. Cool! She saw something and went after it! I cross the road to find her under a bush looking around. She has pinned a chipmunk under a branch and cannot leave it alone. I watch it escape out the other side, much to her dismay. She comes out of the bush and hops up to my glove. Wow. She is really doing well!
I get her back across the road and set her out on a post. She takes off from the post, and does a wing-over right into the grass! I look over to see what she has and her talons are empty. While she may be discouraged, I am beaming with excitement, as I definitely notice that she is in Hunting Mode. She is keen, watchful, and attentive — and fearless. She launches again out towards another tree for a perch, and I strode out across the tall grass towards another clump of brush. Tahoe takes off, and plunges into the grass again, looking for a mouse or a vole. She was unsuccessful again, and quite remiss that she can’t find it. I pick her up after some refusal, and then walk out in the tall grass again. This is where things get interesting. I notice she is distracted by mice, but I can’t get her close enough to a brush pile to look for rabbits. She takes off from my glove towards a high perch in an Oak Tree and sits. I walk along further, turn, and call, but she bolts out the back side of the tree in the opposite direction. She flies up and over a ridge, and I cannot see her! I am running up the hill to get a glimpse of where she landed. I reach the top of the hill, only to find her sitting in the mouse-bush that I just picked her up from. She is looking directly below her in the tall grass for some movement, but doesn’t see it. A very determined young hunter. At this point, it’s getting late, and I decide that enough distraction is enough and I pull out the lure. I blow the whistle and swing the lure in the air. Tahoe takes a moment to contemplate the meal to come, and after the lure swings a few more swings, she leaves the branch, makes a determined flight in my direction, and hits the lure in the air. An Air-Strike to the Lure! Great! That’s another first, and a great end to a good first hunt.
Lessons Learned
- End the Hunt when things get unpredictable. I felt I ended the hunt at the right time. She was distracted and not focused. I was getting wary of her flying off in a different direction. Ending the hunt on a good note with a lure strike is key, also.
- Allow her to hunt. Picking her up too soon could discourage her from jumping up to the glove. When the distraction is passed, move on to the next thing.
As I walk back to the car with Tahoe pulling on a tiring, I am filled with a great sense of satisfaction at the success of our first solo hunt. This is what the falconer lives for, why he/she goes out day after day, searching for game. The partnership that is forming is an exciting one, and I am excited about the journey and adventures that lie ahead for us. This was an accomplishment, indeed, but it’s not an ‘arrival.’ It’s not a goal achieved, or a milestone to be celebrated. This is a step in the journey, and exciting and personal one. The joy of Tahoe accepting me as a hunting partner is my celebration. The gift of her flight back to my glove is my reward.