More hoods

I've been hood making today, wanted a spare

Weighed 979 grams, fed her another 120grams of beef heart and had her in the weathering area all day. Hopefully this will sort things and i can bring her back down again. She starts talking every time i go into the weathering area and has got very social recently which i like.

Something not quite right

We have decided to put Zoie up for a few days, her mutes are still very very runny. She seems to be taking allot of water on board when she is in the weathering area, we also think this is then interfering with how much i feed her based on her weight. Until we can get to the bottom of it i think its best i don't hunt her. her weight 939 ( whether that's a true weight is another matter) so fed her 120 grams of beef heart, will do the same tomorrow to see what happens.

Lack of squirrels

This morning i awoke to an eruption of shit. We think its just the pigeon she has had is a bit rich so I've put her back on beef heart. mutes later on in the day where a little better but its something we are going to keep an eye on. We want to take her to the vet anyways and get her check over so that should happen in the next few days

We went out pretty much all day today. I thought that part of my problem was that i was hitting the woods where i live to late in the afternoon. Well i can truly honestly say there are no squirrels in that particular section of the woods. There are a number of nest but but apart from 2 squirrels all day we never saw anything else. there are nests by the thousands but they are truly empty having managed to strike a few off them with sticks . I never saw any running on the ground which in other areas i have. I also heard from one deer hunter that when they get board they take out the squirrels to practice on.

We did have two great flights though one was over 600 yard through the canopy again by the time i caught up she was on the ground looking for what ever she missed. After 3 hour of nothing else in the spot we moved onto another area.

The second was a proper hunt with me more involved i manged to kick up a squirrel and keep it moving for about 20 minutes. She slammed into some dense tree/brush/vines and it managed to get away. i kept working it but we lost it where ever it went. We kicked around for another couple of hours before calling it a day.

I then drove home with her on the stirring wheel to see if we saw anything on the way home but again nothing. I'm going to start checking out some other areas after tomorrow as i think we are both getting a little frustrated.

New Arrivals

Not much has happened the last two days, Zoie has been out in the weathering area. I have had to work late. Hoping to get her out tonight and we will head of squirrel hawking. I've been feeding her up a bit as her weight dropped a little and we are trying to get a balance. Last night she was at 960 (to heavy for hunting). She is getting more and more used to the weathering area and is now spending all day out in it. I'm still bringing her in at night but i feel safer about that anyway.

The weather looks good for hunting all this holiday week with the average temp around 65F until Sunday when there is a 40% chance of a Tropical Storm.

At the moment i am trying to find out as much as i can about squirrel habitat and there daily life cycle. For instance at the moment i notice come 3.00pm most squirrels are in there nests, now does this change as the winter moves on and they have to forage for more food, Zoie See's the odd stray when we go hunting after work but hasn't connected with one yet. So its all a learning game for both of us at the moment. My sponsor recently had a good conversation with the Corps Park Ranger in charge of where we go hunting and basically we can hunt anywhere even areas not strictly set aside for hunting. He is very fascinated by the sport and even wants to come along.

On another note my pigeons have started to lay eggs. Which I'm very delighted about. Two eggs where laid yesterday. so in about 19 days we should see a chick or two... I am hoping to get there coop sorted this weekend and get them all moved into it so they can start flying about more during the day time

Second Kill

Pictures courtesy of oknsakes.org

We have been hunting for squirrels and rabbits the last few days. She def seems to know what squirrel woods are and what nests are. So far we have been unable to connect. Wild Red-Tails where soring over ahead so all squirrels where holed up tight and good and i couldn't kick up a rabbit to save my life. We where in a little creek area and Zoie was up a tree and she flew away from me with purpose. i managed to get to her minutes later thinking initially it was a mouse only to my horror to find it was a snake. I broke the head with my t-perch (pushed the head into the ground) Not know what sort of snake at the time it was caution on my part. I traded her off to the lure and we headed home.

New Hood

Today the weather was against us and i had a few errands to do. One of those was to stop by Hobby Lobby and see what leather they had, I needed a new hood for the weekend. they had some 4-5oz tan leather. They had an 8x11 piece for $7.99 it was a little on the thick side but will do for now. The result is the following

It's basically an Anglo Indian but with a feather plume twist. Need to work on my piping a little but it is a good fit and will work until she has another pissy fit and destroys it. I finally worked out how braces work. I quite pleased as this is only the 4th hood i have ever made.

Tomorrow we are off out hunting, so i just fed her 40 grams of squirrel.

Hoods and Leather Conversion

Well I'm in the middle of making a new hood, i also need to buy some more leather. One of the issues i have with all the leather suppliers is they measure there leather in different thickness. It took a while but i finally found out what the difference was and found a conversion chart

Leather Conversion Chart

Inch	Ounces	Irons	Millimeters
1/64	1	0.75	0.4
1/32	2	1.5	0.8
3/64	3	2.25	1.2
1/16	4	3.0	1.6
5/64	5	3.75	2.0
3/32	6	4.5	2.4
7/64	7	5.25	2.8
1/8	8	6.0	3.2
9/64	9	6.75	3.6
5/32	10	7.5	4.0
11/64	11	8.25	4.4
3/16	12	9.0	4.8
13/64	13	9.75	5.2
7/32	14	10.5	5.6
15/64	15	11.25	6.0
1/4	16	12.0	6.4
17/64	17	12.75	6.8
9/32	18	13.5	7.2

The modern apprentice has a link for Slijpers Hood software.
Slijper's Cannon Indian hood pattern software - shareware

She did kill somthing but not what i wanted

We headed out to platter tonight to look for squirrels, I have seen a number in a small wood that is near one of the bunny fields. We pulled up and immediately i heard one bolt from the hedge row. My wife was bashing one side of it whilst i got zoie in position and then the flight was on before it put in again. We both tried to reflush but the hedgerow was way to thick and what ever was there was long gone, We tried entering a wood that i have seen plenty of squirrels in. Zoie was all about this and followed very well. We couldn't see or hear anything so headed back to the field that had the bunnies in but nothing. As the sun went down again and nothing in the bag zoie got fed up and frustrated and flew to my left elbow and grabbed it we tried flushing again in the brush piles but nothing. I hooded her up and we headed home.

On the trip home she decided to show her displeasure with lots of banging about.

This is all that's left of her hood. I fed her up extra and she responded to the lure in an instant, I put her up for the night. We need to find some game and find it fast i think we are both getting a little frustrated.

If your not bleeding....

my sponsor has a saying if your not bleeding your not hawking.

Today i raced home, food was already weighed out this morning and she was spot on weight come time to go. Decided to go up near the airport. The filed i wanted had been mowed so i went 300 yards into another field. It was tough going. the thorns and black berry brambles where waist height. My knees are cut to ribbons. Zoie had two flights, the ground was dense so I'm assuming they where mice, the first was a dive straight into some long grass and she came up short and did the what teh hell happened look. The second was an awesome wing over into some dense bush, she got hung up in it and again ended up short. We walked the field and then went around the back of some old hangers. She followed pretty well and again was happy to land on the T-Perch. The sun started to set so we headed home, i fed her up the rest of her ration and tossed her lure out she hit it pretty hard , i messed up the trade off but we got there eventually.

Tomorrow I'm going to head back to platter and see if i can do a bit of squirrel hawking

Zoie was spot on at 940 so Latrell, Shelby and i headed to our field in platter, the weather was cold. We had two good flights on something, she started using the T-Perch and i could feel her strength through the pole, she followed a little more closely. We watched the sun go down and it was was time to head home, fed her up on some squirrel and pigeon and then did some hop ups to the T-Perch once we got home. Ill probably go on my own tomorrow or look for some nearby squirrels

All Washed Out

It was the last day of my 5 Day Texas Hunting Permit, Well last day of my available time. We headed to a field that is my sponsors , sponsors sponsors (Jay Lehmer). Fort worth, McKinney and Frisco all have areas that are classed as flood plains. Building has forced rabbits into these fields as these are the only available fields left. Today we headed to one of these fields. Last year we were tripping over bunnies in this filed and it was decided that it would be good for me and zoie to try it with Jays approval. This year the field had changed mainly because they had cleaned it up, many of the wood piles had been moved.

Zoie was a little heavy at 953 grams but we gave it ago anyway. My wife Latrell came with me along with my middle daughter Shelby. This is Shelby's second time in the field and Latrell's first. We had 3 flights two barley missing on a caught rabbit. It was so close that in both cases the rabbit got away with just an inch separating the pursued from the pursuer.

The only complaint i had was zoie kept going back to the location of the second flush and not following us to were the rabbit had put in. In the field she came back to the glove no issue at all but often got out of position. Part of our team building is slowly coming together but we both learn something each time we go out together.

Some people would say it was not a successful outing as no game was brought home, i would beg to differ in that we had two near misses, i can trust her at a slightly heavier weight and I appear to have a very versatile hawk.

Our last flush we thing was a rat or a mouse , on all three occasions zoie ended up looking at me with the "What the hell happened look" at this point the heavens opened and in no time , Latrell , Steve ,Zoie and myself where drenched to the skin. It was time to call it a day and head home.

Once home i got Zoie out and she was still wet after an hour in the car. Fed her 33 grams of squirell and 18grams of pigeon. She seems to burn of pigeon alot faster than anything.

Tomorrow if Zoie is at weight we start to hit more local fields on our side of the red river.

One thing i did notice, Squirrel is to hawks like porridge is to man, it sticks and burns of slowly.

Zoie was to heavy today and even though she was at 958grams and her target is 940 i just didn't want to risk it, so today we stay home. I'll feed her 40 grams of squirrel tonight in preparation for tomorrow.

I did pick up some road kill however. On the way back from the shops i saw a squirrel get run over, so slammed on the brakes and tossed it in the back. Its now in the Ice box and will be consumed eagerly by zoie in the next few weeks.

First Kill

Same drama with family started this morning but eventually hawk , gear and me were in the car to pick Steve up. We headed down to Dallas to a bunny field many apprentices first start out in.

She weighed in at 940 grams when i left which was spot on for the day. Walked into the field and un-clipped her and away we went, Initially she just stayed on my fist but after a while flew up into a tree. We started walking the field only to find a Red Tail hunting the field, everything started to go to pot in that zoie wouldn't follow or was very hesitant and it took a while, almost to the point i thought shit we wont get her back do i through the lure out now...

We came to a railway embankment and i flushed the bottom of a small gully whilst Steve flushed the top. This is where a rabbit bottled up the embankment with zoie on its tail. The rabbit headed into dense brush and no matter what Steve and i did was not going to reflush.

At his point i get caught short, nerves and cold ( as was a little nippy) and half a bottle of Dr Pepper, But just as I'm taking quick leak zoie spots a Squirrel and decided to chase it ( Moral to story go before you hunt !)

Believe it or not there is a Buck Squirrel in the fork of a branch. Zoie gets into position and i manage to move it and then she was on it for one of the most amazing flights ever cork screwing down the tree truck.

We made in trade of was a bit messy but that was down to me , so first kill and we all came home safely.

Day 20

Tomorrow will be the 3rd week i have had Zoie, Tomorrow she free fly for the first time. Tonight she weighed 925 spot on for our target. she was flying 150 feet and hitting my glove hard. after about 10 solid flights with some in field distractions from a dog and some kids skateboarding Steve my sponsor was satisfied enough with her progress and its off to the bunny field tomorrow. We came back home and fitted the Larry Cance bells i had got some time ago. We feed her 50 grams of washed beef heart and 20 grams of pigeon on the lure, she hit the lure very heard and was all about that.

She maybe ready but i guess i have the apprehension of all new apprentice about to turn their hawk loose for the first time in the filed, the mind says yeah lets hunt the body says no don't do it what if she don't come back. I really hope we get her onto her first bunny tomorrow, if not there is always Saturday and Sunday !

oh yeah after today i wont be labeling each post Day this and Day that, This part of Zoie's training is over and the next stage is just about to begin.

Day 19

Her weight was down to 920 a little low and it showed in her response to i fed her extra and today we will see what she is like. shes flying to 100+ on the creance , she is bond to the glove and the lure now. hasn't quite got the hang of the T-Perch but its coming. providing i don't screw up her weight we should be hunting tomorrow. We have decided for now her target weight will be 928 without bells ( because we haven't fitted them yet).

Day 18

Weighed her this morning and i knew she was going to be under the 20's tonight so gave her 7 more grams. by 5.00pm she was at 925. Took her too the local city park and set up for some 100 foot flights, i barely got 50 feet and she was following me. Wasn't hitting the glove hard but we did have a number of very good flights Fed ehr 40 grams of Beef heart and 15 grams of pigeon. Tomorrow we are going to put her bells on and fly her in the park again

People in glass houses should not through stones

An interesting article appeared on fox news concerning Dominique Swain spokes woman for PETA One wonders how these people are so out for animal rights yet cant look after there own pets. The ethical thing would have been to have her dog spayed if she didn't want puppies at least she didn't give them to her own organisation to be euthanized.

http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/2009/11/09/dominique-swain-dumps-unvaccinated-puppies-shelter-says-shes-broke/?test=faces

Day 17

Well I'm still getting up around 4.30-5.00am to man her an hour before work. to be honest it probably the best time i have with her sat on my fist as we watch the early morning news, everyone is asleep in the house and its just me and zoie. Something very relaxing having a wild animal that weighs just under 2lbs on ya fist.

After work i rushed home as usual to catch the evening suns rays, get zoie out and see where we are at today. She weighed 928, a tad on the low side we wanted her 935 and 925 on Friday so zoie got two sessions today, 50 feet flights and lure training and then later that evening i was getting her to hop or fly to my T-Perch and then to the lure. I think the cold front dropped her too much and she cast the feathers from Sunday. So 25grams of beef and 20 grams of pigeon should pull her back up a little.

Dreading Friday in a lot of ways, and i guess it's something every falconer goes through but in other ways i cant wait for us to both start getting bunnies and squirrels

Day 16

Steve came over at 1pm and we got Zoie out. she was a little heavy from the pigeon yesterday at 951 (had not cast yet) . We did some 40 feet flights and some lure training. We reckon she will be hunting by next weekend so the plan is to bring her weight down to 925 ready to go.

After we put Zoie away we headed out to a field I'm planning on hunting in. Steve's wife and my step daughter came with us. IT was Shelby's first time out in the field and she did brilliantly. It public land near lake texoma. We saw a lot of sign of rabbits as well as deer. We flew Smash Steve's Harris Hawk who caught a few grasshoppers, 1 mouse and 2 birds, We had 5 slips of bunnies but we really need a dog to flush them out as they would wait for us to pass before bolting. So a pretty good day all round and it was very very good to get going again.

Day15

I had to work at a re-enactment of the civil war in McKinney , The magazine i work for wanted pictures of 4 particular people. It was a real i opener as to how people lived and the fact that on weekends people dress up and live like that today.

anyway managed to get done and back home in time to find the dog had been sick everywhere in the house, our bed, the living room and my step daughters bed. not sure what caused it but it had to be all cleaned so zoie came out later than i wanted. Zoie weighed in at 930 grams at 5pm

Tonight we spent time on hooding and the lure, with both she was very much "what the hell". she was also introduced to pigeon i was putting that on the leg and she was hesitant to start with but was then "oh yeah baby" and couldn't get enough. We hope to get her on the creance tonight and get some 100 feet flights so made sure that was all ready

This morning she weighed 951 a little heavier than yesterday at about the same time but she hasn't cast (pigeon) and it was a little warmer last night than the day before. I cut up the remainder to the pigeon for today and will mix it with the beef for the next few days.

Day 14

Cant believe it is nearly two weeks since Zoie came into our lives. She has changed the house hold so very much. Tonight i rushed home from work but got caught up in traffic and then had a chore to do. Finally got her out with 20 minutes before the sun set so it was a quick and successful session. Had her flying to 40 feet again but instant response and was starting to slam the glove. at one point there was a commotion in the filed next to us a a large crow mobbed a redtail hag(hen) it was hugh. the hag flew off and the returned a few minutes later roosting in the trees 300 yards from us. Zoie was well behaved in all of it and stayed focused on me. She never bated once leaving the house or whilst on the perch. I fed her up (40 grams) and put her away for the night. She was 947 grams which was 3 grams under where i thought she would be. I'm predicting she will be around 939 by 8pm tomorrow night

Tomorrow will suck some in that i have to go to McKinney and be there for 10am and wont get back till around 8pm. If she had been able to hunt i would have taken her with me but alas we are a few weeks away from that. so tomorrow i want to concentrate on getting her hooded and taking the hood, we have had some minor success however I'm sure I'm doing something wrong. I plan to have her out on the perch before latrell leaves for drills and until i have to go. Then when i get back ill have her out again and hooding will commence

Day13

She weighed 959 grams at 4.30 tonight, took her outside and had her to 40 feet pretty consistent, response was fairly instant but she wasn't hitting the glove that hard. I think it would have been better if she had lost a few more grams however she didn't burn off as much as wanted her to this afternoon. I need to start hooding her getting her back in the house causes an instant bate. Tried to get her to fly to Latrell but that was just not happening so carried on as we were.

Issac over at another falconry blog suggested this falconry video site, there was one clip from the BBC that was just out of this world and i had to share. The put mini cameras onto a goshawk and a peregrine. The results totally amazing.

Day 12

She weighed 965 grams so we took her outside, steve couldnt make it, she was very distracted but eventually came round. She bated a few times due to the distractions. Was very pleased with the results all things considered.

Day 11

zoie weighed 981 grams at 6.00pm tonight. She was very responsive flying before i had even whistled or raised my glove and sometimes before i had even got into position. She is in fact flying the full lenght of the living room. Spoke to my sponsor and it looks like we will be taking her outside tomorrow evening for some 25+ feet flights

Day10

More of the same, she's at 990 grams and hitting the glove harder, still batting occasionally however i just hold my glove out and she returns, which makes life easier.

On another note, if you heard that GEOCITIES got shut down and I'm sure Matthew Mullenix knows that his site/log went off line. However there is a new website called REOCITIES set up by disgruntled GC users and they move his site to :-

http://www.reocities.com/matthewmullenix/falconry/

Day 9

In between photo shoots this afternoon i took a picture of zoie for this blog. She was kinda like what the hells going on but i wanted to replace the picture (which i didn't take) of the falcon that was at the top of the blog with one of zoie. Needless to day i'm sure there will be other studio shots of her in the coming months.

Continued the training at 12 feet today, her weight is down to 1000 grams, she is starting to hit the glove with a bit more force and reconsiders baiting when on my fist. we are aiming for an initial weight of 950ish in the next few days and then i can start taking her outside. Fed her 40 grams of washed beef heart and put her up for the night. I have noticed i am very unfit, this training lark is starting to work up a sweat.