Some major updates!

I know it's been a while since I've wrote. Since the last time Mattie has flew the length of my garage. She has also been outside doing creance ( 75ft of masonry line tied around PVC pipe attached to her jesses).

The biggest update is that she flew free and followed from tree to tree yesterday for the first time!! Today she did the same thing! 

To step back a little bit I never thought that she was going to jump to the fist at all. One night she decided she was hungry enough and it's been running with the wind at our back since then!! 

We are going on our first hunt on Monday, I can't wait!! Hopefully I have pics of a kill to share! 

Mattie doing a little creance work. 

Until next time! 

Making progress

Mattie ate from the fist yesterday. I tried to get her to hop from a perch to the glove today but she was not interested enough. She still is very fat and has quite a bit of weight to lose still. She absolutely hates her hood. I have been trying to work with her on that but she is not giving in very easily. 

Just a quick update for y'all. Until next time! 

Grabbing the bull by the horns!

Well I did it! Caught my first Redtail yesterday! Trapping weight was 50 ounces, she has some killer feet on her! My sponsor says she'll have no problem with rabbits and squirrels!! I'm so pumped! 

Her first time out of the hood from trapping. Taking that hood off was like grabbing a bull by the horns. She did not react as I thought she would. She only bated (tried to fly away) 3 times. Once I got comfortable with her I left my sponsors house with her in the giant hood and me feeling like a million bucks!! 

She was still trying to decide if I was going to try to eat her after I got her out in my garage. I sat with her for about 2 hours and we only had two bates, which is pretty good from what I am told. 

You can see here the size of her feet and the damage they have already done to my glove! I cannot wait to get her put hunting. 

I manned her for about an hour today. She took a tidbit off the end of a stick with me rubbing it on her mouth. Then she took one about an inch away. Unfortunately I had to go to work, but she will be waiting when I get home tonight!

 

I would like to formally introduce Mattie the Redtail to my readers. Looking forward to the adventures we will have! 

Until next time! 

Trapping success!!! Kind of...

Well on Thursday, 10/26, I loaded up the BC trap, mice, giant hood and everything else I could imagine that I would need to trap a hawk, including my 5 yr old son. We drove around for hours scanning the trees, skies, and poles for an immature Redtail. No success was to be had this day. With redtails at least. We saw one haggard bird near a paper mill, threw the trap and she just ignored it. 

Finally my boy started to say he was hungry and wanted to go home. By this time I was pretty discouraged, but I convinced home to let me go down one more road. 

About halfway down this road set a haek in a small tree, just far enough that I could not tell with the naked eye what it was, of course I forgot the binoculars! So I decided to throw the trap. We got the trap out the window and drove away to turn around. Once we got turned around I realized the hawk could not see the trap from where it was. I made the decision to go move the trap. 

Once the trap was repositioned we had just turned around and BAM! the hawk had hit the trap! I couldn't believe it, my first hawk I caught and all by myself at that! We drove near the trap, got out and realized that the hawk we had caught was a Red shouldered hawk, close but no cigar. 

After carefully working it loose from the trap, I held its feet and let my boy touch it's back. I let it go and it took off without hesitation! 

I still cannot wait to trap a redtail, this experience just got my ambitions up even higher! 

Until next time! 

Some updates

I have been absent lately due to some work and family events. I finally got my permit. I am officially an apprentice falconer in Kentucky!!  

I have been out trapping twice so far with my sponsor. So far we have only seen a few haggard birds. So I'm still waiting to find my bird. 

Today however was the first time that I have been hunting with my sponsor, we got in a field that was absolutely covered in rabbits. He has an eyas goshawk that caught her first rabbit today that was not a baggie. 

  

I was so impressed with the speed of this bird off the fist! It is truly a spectacular flight to witnessed. I also was able to watch another falconers 3 year eyas goshawk take two rabbits from the same field. 

Until next time! 

Patiently waiting

I recieved an email from the fish and wildlife early last week that my permit had been issued, and that it would be sent out soon. I'm still patiently waiting! It feels like Christmas Eve night.

Our trapping season opens today here in Ky. I was at my parents last night and an immature redtail roosted in a tree in thier yard, figures since it wasn't season and I don't have my permit yet. That's a bout my luck lol! 

This is my giant hood I worked on last week. It is 24"x24"x12". I just need to stain it. The inside is painted dark to make it as dark as possible so that the bird will be calm. 

Until next time! 

Why falconry?

Some people may be wondering why someone would want to hunt with a wild bird of prey.

I don't know about anyone else but for me it is partly the tradition and partly because it seems cool as can be! Ever since I read "My Side of the Mountain" I have always wanted to be a falconer. 

My first experience with a falconer was about a year ago. He has been a falconer for 30 some years and has a GyrSaker falcon. He also makes some of the best hoods I have seen!  I though it was the most interesting thing when I walked into his living room and there sits this magnificent falcon! 

Until next time! 

One step closer!

I contacted Fish and Wildlife today. They recieved all of my paper work. Now I'm just waiting on it to be processed. I feel like it's Christmas Eve. I'm pumped. 

I am going to start posting pictures of my equipment and facilities as I can. Here is my Mews, it is 8 x 10. It is situated in my backyard with a window facing East and one facing South. I cannot wait to have a bird in this! 

Until next time. 

Chasing dreams

I have been chasing the dream of becoming a falconer for a very long time. I have finally came to a place in life that will allow me to make that dream a reality. I passed my state falconry exam and facilities inspection this past Friday. 

Now to mail the paperwork off tomorrow. 

Also I'd like to introduce myself. I'm an outdoorsman who grew up chasing ducks in the sloughs of western kentucky every winter and fishing in farm ponds during the summers. My dream one day is to take ducks with a falcon. 

I'm writing this blog to share my experience. Ian in no way claiming to be a professional, I still have a lot to learn! 

I look forward to sharing my falconry adventures as well as any other adventures that are worthy of sharing with ya'all.

Until next time. Keep your powder dry.