Tag Archives: sabre

Sabre’s Moult

Sabre’s Moult

This summer is proving out to be a very educational one while watching Sabre moult feathers. Her blue-grey feathers are slowly starting to replace her dark-grey immature feathers.  She has a few additional tail feathers, and three primaries on each wing left to go.   We’ll start conditioning in September to prepare for October Hunting.  I am so excited to see her adult plumage I can hardly stand it.  She’s going to be quite striking as an adult!

       * Top Photo Courtesy of Lauren Anderson

Sabre’s Free Flight

Sabre’s Free Flight

A strange winter and unplanned travels and events have interfered with our training schedule more than a few times, but we achieved free-flight this week and it was very rewarding as expected.  With two solid weeks of regular training on the creance, we were able to build up a flight pattern where we could get three long flights of +100 yards with successive hits to the lure.  I was very nervous to free-fly her after our initial creance workouts.  Her attention was always distracted and was bating away on close approach.  With some additional manning sessions and the consistent training, combined with adjusted attitude, she soon got the hang of the flights out in the field.  

At +100 yards, she would fly towards me on whistle command, and take a swipe at the lure.  Early on in our training, she would get the lure each time she flew at me and struck the lure.  In order to encourage returns and second attempts, I began pulling the lure away one time.  This encouraged her to circle around and make another pass.  Each time she did, I’d provide her with the reward.  After hopping up to my glove for a tidbit, she would then alight off my glove, and return to the perch over 100 yards away!  She was training up nicely and knew exactly the routine.  After the fourth flight, usually she would lose interest, so we’d end it on the third flight with a good reward of a large quail tidbit.