Comparison's

I pulled Jez from the Mews yesterday. he weighed 680 grams.

Amazing how much he has changed in a year.

Here is a  side by side comparison taken by my wife.

Old and New

I had 2 transmitters lying around doing nothing. Both were the FMV 1/3N Transmitter nice transmitter but since moving over to Marshall Scouts i have not had the use for them. I also prefer the screw caps to secure the batteries.

With having the Kestrel these where way to big a friend lent me what i thought was a FMV mini but it turns out to be a MX Mini 377 which is even smaller. He needs it back to fly a merlin so i went on the hunt for a new transmitter and in the price range i could afford (which was about $100). the MX Mini 377 was out as that is around $170. with just moving house money is tight.

I first tried the FMV mini , this might be ok for the merlin’s or coopers but no good for a kestrel.

The specs for the mini are good and if i was flying something bigger i think i would come back and look at a mini again, the price isnt to bad either at $104 dollars but whilst it is light 4grams with battery it is has a large form factor.

So the other option was an LL electronics Merlin Special. They have two options available but i went with the great range and lighter weight 14 miles and 3 grams with battery. the price was $129 which was right at the limit of what i wanted to spend.

 

So once it arrived i dully tested it and made sure it worked. I plan to use it on a neck mount which from what i have read from other falconers shouldn’t be an issue.

 

AK Training

She’s flying to the fist quite happily but that’s all she wants to do. So from today we are not flying to the fist she either has to fly to game or a lure, she has started to fly to a lure (10 feet) but doesn’t really chase it, she will pounce on it if it’s like a foot away. The same goes for a sparrow. she won’t chase it but will pounce if its right at her feet. I let her have an English sparrow and make in. I don’t think she has ever caught a sparrow so right now it is getting her weight dialed in just right and presenting lots of sparrows for her. right now she is a 96.6 so i have reduced the one gram decreasing to 1/2 gram decreases.



 

AK well feed on sparrow.

(incedently i wouldnt normally let her crop up on this as there is a risk of sour crop but to get her switched onto sparrows i let her eat what she wanted)

 

My wife has been doing some amazing photography during training.

 

 

 

 

Harris Training

 

I'm in no hurry to get started and want to bring his weight down more slowly. currently he is at 700grams , im aiming for 640grams. We should be there by the end of the month . i want to try and solve the screaming that he was prown to last season in the mews (but not in the field)

The season is slowly starting

We moved house and we are still unpacking, i'm racing against time to get all the hunny do list completed. Jez is weight is starting to come down.

A short while ago i took on an imprint kestrel. some family had taken it in, they panicked when they found out it had to be licensed and tried to get rid of it, it flew back..... being an imprint that's really no suprise but they didn't know that.

 

The idea being to get her flying and hunting and then release her. Apart from the imprint screaming i'm pretty pleased with her progress. Almost got her ready for Lure flying and then onto catch some sparrows and starlings. So far she is at 101.6 grams ( was 110grams) when i got her.

 

I have finally had some success at sparrow trapping thanks to another friends pointers on funnel traps. I've been using elevator and V traps with little success , so i turned the V trap on its side, instered a funnel and closed the rest of the opening and success.

 



Changes

Lots of changes going on not just with hawk but with the hunter too.The molt is progresing painfully slow , dog training has started in ernest. Pigeons have been breeding like crazy. 4 months left  to get ready for the season and we start again. New goals, new objectives.

Falconry is not just for me

when your out in the field its easy to forget the people that have supported you in your effort to get there. have all your stuff together and then make sure you get out in time.

Often the spouses of a falconer put up with allot like dogs and birds handling things they really wish they had not. My amazing wife is one of those people. My wife is not a hunter or an animal person but puts up with me in so many different way. She expects her meat to come on a shelf in a plastic wrapper and not worry about the animal it came from. She also doesn't want to scoop out dog poop or chase after them to retrieve one of the kids toys back.

So it always amazes me when she goes the extra mile and out side of her comfort zone to help me with some of the passions i have. Today she took me to buy a water trough so Remington and Bella could cool off in the heat and sun. She cleaned my game fridge and wiped/cleaned my cutting board and game scissors. On days i'm not present she puts the dogs out cleans there yard and feed them. She never wanted pets or animals but she does want me. For some very strange reason shes prepared to put up with the mood swings when we don't catch the determination to do better. the politics of small clubs and stubborn men. All of this just so she can be with me.  Something i have only really grown to appreciate recently. I leave you with a video of Remington with his new bath. 

Post by Latrell Brown-Olner.

More Photos

Some more pictures of Rivington and Liverpool from my visit with my family. Really enjoying using Film to create these images.

 

Photography ~ Old School

I have been a pro photographer for over 10 years its only been in the last few years that i could make more money supporting my family by going back to the Information Technology World (20 years experience in Application Development). I have pretty much done every kind of photography sports, fine art, landscapes and commercial but i enjoy Architecture, Landscapes and Still Life Photos the most.

Digital Photography really got me into commercial photography, actually getting paid to do it and making a living. But since i was a young child if have always loved the excitement of B&W Film Photography. My Dad has always been influential as he is also a pro photographer and has even photographed royalty , amazing landscapes (Greenland) and micro photography that has documented engine failures for the RAF.

The problem with Digital is that its becoming to instant and the value of the photograph gets lost. After a while the photographer gets lazy and just takes so many pictures hes bound to get one that's right... right ?

I have had a Hassleblad Medium format (120 Film) Camera for some time. i have one 50mm lens. For this Camera that's all i need. You get 12 shots per roll of film so it discipline the user in to composing the shot and taking great care in what they are taking a photograph off. When i wanted the film developing in the past I would give my film to my dad to process(he's brilliant) and then scan the negatives in. Moving to the USA meant i lost that, so then what to do with all this unprocessed film. If i send it away it will cost a fortune in development costs and may get lost. So on a recent visit to see family i got my dad to teach me how to develop my own film.

I also have 2 5x4 cameras (a studio 5x4 and a field 5x4 camera) that i want to use for landscapes again i just want to do black and white film and then scan it in for myself.

A Stream In Meltham , United Kingdom.

My Growing Sons in Meltham , United Kindom.

I have an idea for a study of taking a picture of every falconer in Oklahoma with their current bird. don't want it to be an action shot just a portrait. One of the Bird and One of the Falconer and his bird. It wont be color it will just be black and white.

There are two reasons for this, first it will be a permanent record for future generations to view. Digital is not permanent storage and files can easily be corrupted and lost, film is more permanent in that there will be always something to scan it it can be stored without worry of degrading (there are negatives over 100 years old)

So in the future there will be more B&W shots displayed on this blog

And that's it for this year

Photo By Jan Martin McGuire

 

Photo By Latrell Olner

Its that time of the year where the days are getting lighter and the "honey do list" is starting to rack up. Commitments and compromises so that i can do this amazing sport start to take priority so with that in mind, on Sunday i decided it would be the last time we would go out for the year.

I have been contacted by a local Artist Jan Martin McGuire and her Husband James Hines as to whether they could tag along. I also decided i would like to take Bella my English Pointer out to see at 6 months how she would do. My amazing wife Latrell also agreed to come out with me even though it was her birthday.

We headed to copan not to hunt rabbits (as they have all started breeding) but to try some bird flights. I have a couple of Covey of quail that sometimes if I'm lucky we can bust. Quail Numbers are so amazingly down in Oklahoma that if you come across a covey it tends to take you by surprise. For Falconry Quail Season ends on March 31st. We are very fortunate in Oklahoma to get an extra month of Quail and Pheasant hunting at both the beginning and end of the regular quail season.

So we entered the field and started walking through brush. initially we didn't see much and things where looking pretty bleak. But then like other times it happened. One step towards some seed scattering weeds and a cop of small trees and suddenly there was hugh explosion of noise and flapping of wings 15 quail took to the air and it was glorious. As with before i think Jez gets overwhelmed by whats happening and took of from the T-Perch late. In the fall i will probably get some captive breed quail and bag him on a few to work on this.  A lost opportunity but very rewarding.

We then continued waling through tall grass that's is common to the copan area. Sparrows had started to pop up in the odd location. Normally on these flights Jez waits for them to put in and then he hits the ground hard. We had a few chases like this. The sparrows how ever have a plan , hit the grass and freeze like stones using there feathers to blend in and then running though the grass to safety. after looking and not finding anything we would move on.

The best flight of the day was not because it resulted in a English Sparrow from being caught but because of the the way it was caught. Jez chased after it like normal (over a distance of about 30 yards) and then struck it with his body knocking it to the ground and then did a 180 flip to turn around and grab it. I let him have his reward because i most defiantly want those types of flights

Bella had been with my wife so by this point we decided to let her run and see how they would react together. For a first time out they didn't do to bad. She's young and wants to chase birds so half the time she would end up pointing Jez and then the other half pointing something else.

So the plan for the summer is to get her (Bella) trained properly. Dog and Hawk used to one another and then hit the Quail and Pheasants fields in October.

This is my first season with a Harris and i got to say regardless of whether you think they are beginners birds or not they kill and catch stuff and a wide variety of things. Modern day hunting requires a Versitle Dog and also a Versitle hawk. I think i well eventually have the right combination.

So the final head count was .

• 22 Rabbits.
• 2 Virgina Rail
• 50 Pack Rats.
• 100 Mice and Voles
• 12 English Sparrows.

For the first time in 5 years i have a freezer that's pretty full.

We have also had some good chases on Pheasant and Quail and a couple of chases on Dove and Duck.

So by my standards i couldn't be more pleased with a great year and a great hawk. I had thought about getting a second and hunting them in a cast but i decided to put that off for another year. My reasoning being 1 hawk takes a considerable amount of time , with Jez being a first year bird i want to build on what we have achieved so far rather than the distraction of a second bird. I want great hawks not average hawks. To get great hawks you have to put the time and miles in. I don't want a bird that just hunts lots of rabbits but will take other quarry and not just by luck or accident too.

the Ultimate Dirthawkig boot

The ultimate dirt hawking boot should be able to with stand two seasons of thrashing briars , wood piles and pretty much anything. Because of a week ankle from breaking it when i was a teen ager ( chasing a girl called Niki at the Logos School in cyprus) i have increasingly needed a supportive boot.. This year i turned to Redhead brand.

I bought the redhead tracker 6" boot.

They was on sale for $90. Waterproof and very comfortable.

The laces where the first to break but that's to be expected and I'm on my third pair of laces.

 

The seam on the toes has come away.

 

the side seams have started to break.

 

 

So my quest this summer is to find the ultimate Dirthawking boot. I really want something that can withstand allot of abuse but last more than one season.

Not much going on

The season is closing in fast. work once again got in the way and will do again at the end of the month. In a month im off to the UK for 2 weeks part work part family but by then ill have put Jez up for the molt. Finally managed to get out for a few hours sunday. we both enjoyed the chase and both ended up tired. Weather is now in the upper 70's . Rabbits are wise and weary chase are few in comparrions to a ew weeks ago.

My son has been taking Falconry classes in the UK. Its pretty awesome he has been able to do this. cant wait to see him in a few weeks.

OFA Winter Meet

I headed off to Fairview with Remington and Jez. This would be our first OFA meet and iw as quite excited and i was headed to a part of Oklahoma i had never visited before.

We arrived late in the evening set the tent up as the temps where going to be in the low 40's and i quickly got Remington and jez out for a hunt. I was in a a field that had been planted and had some alfalfa. There was no cover at all in this field and so we walked along the perimeters of the field but saw nothing. The sun set so Remington and i curled up in the tent. Remington growled at something int he night and then later we smelt that awesome smell of a skunk. By 500am the temperature suddenly dropped to 25c the dog and i retreated to the car and headed for some hot coffee and something to eat. I checked on Jez and he seemed to be ok so we headed of the meeting point at 8am.

I decided i didn't want to hang out with the normal dirt hawkers and people i have met before but to visit with the Long Wingers and people i had heard great things about. With that i meet with Mitch Wishom and Rob Rainey and we went off with Oscar Pack, David Price and Lee Granter. Our first outing was a few miles outside of fairview on a country road. Lee had got permission on some property but was concerned because he couldn't find any ducks. At that moment 25 lifted from a nearby pond and landed in one near by. None of the 3 birds flown cooperated in any fashion they either didn't like the number of people of the number of pointers in the filed. Ducks would be flushed and land on another pond and then the same would happen again back and forth. We then Meet up with Daniel Murry and Eric Pribill

David Price seemed to have an interesting flight with his bird but again no ducks in the bag. I started joking with them then saying for trying to convert me to the dark side and fly longwings this wasnt working very well. The laughing response that came back was i was being mean and too hard.

We then moved on to fly Rob Raineys Aplomondo Falcon a really pretty thing. We hoped to find some quail but the drought in this area had really taken its toll. I was up next as we tried something different with trying to fly Jez on small ponds with ducks we had one good flush after driving and walking around alot but Jez only half hearted went for them. He was 15 grams under at this point. Then it was time to head back and go to the meet dinner. I was amazed at the number of none OFA members there with lots of people i had never recognised.

Eric and his brother had offered for me to stay with them which was awesome of them to do so. So the rest of the evening was talking about falcons and drooling over a fine Prairie and Tundra. In the morning i wanted to head for Drummond Flats i had heard there was pheasant there. The wind was picking up but i thought i would give it a try. Sadly no one wanted to go with me ( 30 minute drive) and they really did miss out.

I arrived at a bunch of maze fields parked up and let Remington run. He pointed some Meadow Larks and some Pheasants. We got a flush of a couple of pheasants and at that point i decided to get Jez out.

We moved to anther field and flushed 12 pheasants in a massive explosion jez chased and put in after one but for some reason didn't connect. We tried re flushing but never got another. We also chased quite a few rabbits but the cover was pretty dense and Jez couldn't break through it. By this point the wind had really picked up. Just trying to hold the T-Perch up was hard and the gusts would pull jez of the perch. At that point a game warden turned up wanting to know what i was doing and wanted to see my permits, Nice enough guy but that the wind i decided then to call it a day

So my plan for next year is to really get Jez and Remington and Bella working together. Drummond is only 2hrs away and would make a great day trip. There is plenty of game there and it would be well worth going again.

I got to say the meet was very well organised with maps that could be loaded into GPS devices, A2 scaled maps of locations. There was plenty of ducks, rabbits, jacks and pheasants to please every one just a dam shame no one caught anything. The glass mountins are amazing and an awsome place to hunt. I learnt alot and found out alot about flying long wings , Thanks to all for letting me tag along

One other thing was on the way back. I dint often see a union jack flying in the middle of Oklahoma so i was interested in what was going on. I discovered a young teenage had passed in 2005 only 18 years old. he played guitar and was well loved. They had a chalk wall with lots of messages. So i left a message from one fellow Brit to another.

30 minute hunt.

the wife was ill and today was going to be hit or miss. the weather gave us a break in higher than normal temperatures (30F) so i seized the opportunity to get out for a short while.

We where working along a tree line that we had already flushed one rabbit. Fresh rabbit sign was everywhere. The sign was all on fresh snow and it was amazing what was about. The first rabbit tried sneaking behind us but Jez was on it and the rabbit didn't get 10 feet. Because my wife was sick and we have three rowdy kids i decided to head home. We had been in the field exactly 15 minutes.

The second rabbit we flushed in front of us on the walk back it decided to run between to young spruce trees. Jez rolled it and hung on. the rabbit hadn't got 20 feet. 2 rabbits in 30 minutes.

This makes 20 and 21. My target was to reach 20. This is a young bird and i wasn't sure of the rabbit numbers in my area. Where we lived before this many rabbits would never have been in our wildest dreams. The variety of items this bird will go after just amazes me. In a few weeks i plan to fly him on Pheasant at the OFA winter meet that's being held in Fariview Oklahoma. I'm hoping the weather will warm up a little as we will be camping. I'm actually quite excited about going as this will be my first OFA meet.

and that would be 19

So early Saturday we had sleet and drizzle. The result was ground that resembled an ICE rink on the roads. The air temps where high so I went hawking anyway. Jez flies best at 30+

We had some good chases; the brush was thick and his timing a little of from not flying for a week. It was interesting being in the middle of this field and hearing all the emergency vehicles running there sirens for people that had been driving too fast and now needed assistance but at the same time the peace from the field my hawk flying overhead seemed a little surreal.

 

Sunday I met up with Ryan Van Zants, Daniel Murray and a couple of their friends that were visiting from Canada. Duck is currently closed till mid Feb so they wanted to see some rabbit chases.  Jez ended up catching 2 rabbits (both by the head) and having some amazing flights on some other rabbits. I was hoping for a couple of bird flights but Jez seemed totally dialed into rabbits on the day. (Sorry No Pictures) So that drings his tally up to 19 Rabbits.

Monday I wanted to get a hunt in before the weather came in. We were expecting 6 inches of snow (which hasn’t materialized) nothing much was moving unless it was in deep brush. Jez tried but couldn’t quite connect we did catch a vole as a conciliation prize. The snow Tuesday should make spotting rabbits well. Hopefully we will get out again this week.

one more day till the end of January

All week i have been in meetings or it has been too cold to fly for any length of time so yesterday it was good get out for a while. We had some good chases on rabbits and small birds. We had one rabbit that he couldn't keep hold off and it bolted into a rabbit hole with jez trying to get down the hole after it. We also had some pretty cool flights on small birds. We chased a good rabbit out into the open, Jez grabbed it by the butt and both rabbit and Harris tumbled along. Jez wasn't going to let this one go. Total count for the Night was 1 small bird, 1 rabbit and 1 vole.

If the rain holds off tonight we will see if we can put another in the bag.

a 30 minute hunt.

So since Sunday my tribe have been dropping like flies due to the Flu (finally diagnosed by a Dr yesterday) Temperatures raging between 100 and 106.8. So in the madness of it all i managed to squeeze in 30 minutes.

I went to a site that i have been before on a number of occasions. Recently 2 other falconers where spotted on the property , it was put down to falconers passing through and i never got an answer to who it was. But i noticed today No Trespass - Private Property signs were put up. So some what irritated by that as this is the ideal spot for short hunts. 3 blocks away from my home. To me it doesn't take much to ask , hey is someone already hunting there and how can i get permission. Common courtesy and respect for fellow falconers. Some falconers put great emphasis on Ethics but it seems others adopt them when it suits them.as i said its irritating.

I need to contact the land owner and make sure its still ok for me to go there but for now i backed out and decided to go else where.

So i headed of to my regular spot. I decided to go to a different part of the field, one i hadn't been to for a while. I had him at 650g the highest i have ever flown him, the first thing he did was chase after a Redtail and i was expecting a telemetry chase but after catching up with the last sport i saw him i let out a blast of the whistle and he came out of the tree's. I'm trying to get Jez to pitch high into tree's at the moment so we headed to some that covered some brush. We spotted some rabbits and he took chase. i saw him crash brush but didn't hear a sound and on catching up with him he had it firmly by the head. I dispatched it and the trade of was excellent.

Because of the kids i thought it wise to head home and call it a day, we walked past some briers and i felt the push off from the t-perch. just as i looked round there was a squeal and number 2 was in the bag.

and a great end to the weekend......

Thursday my daughter and I where sick resulting in a  3 hour Dr's wait, me getting a shot and Katie getting Anti-biotic.Friday i had to take Remington to the Vets for his monthly Percorten-V injection and his Rabies boost which should last him 3 years. Then Saturday the winds where high and going of past experience to high to fly. Good exercises but bunnies run into the wind when the winds high.

So Sunday was the first day out in a  few days. I met up with my work colleague Matt Long and headed to one of the fields i frequent. Just as we arrived a local dog walker arrived asking what we was doing and then proceeded to walk through the usual slips. I wanted to try a part of the field out that we hadn't tried before. I knew it was thick but i wasn't expecting much as the ladies dogs had probably flushed everything in our normal spot. I fitted Jez with the 808 Camera. still not happy about the weight so looking at ways to reduce it maybe removing the case or cutting parts of it out. I'm using elastic bands to attach it to the Marshall scout transmitter i use. When i want to remove the camera all i do is snip the band.

The 2gb card I'm using holds about 20 minutes of footage.I've also started using corels video suite to edit which made life a hell of a lot easier.

We had some good bird chases but didnt quite connect again the wind seemed to pick up so we head back to the tree line. Rabbits where using the thick brush so we ducked under the bridge into another field i have permission on. In the new area we had some amazing chases with some almost gos like moves flying through trees and branches. In a clearing we managed to secure our first catch of the day. A really nice chase with the rabbit trying to bolt for cover across some open ground. Trade off was brilliant and just as we stood up the chase was on again. 

We continued as i really wanted a second so at 5pm we started to head back the way we came. couple of chases on the way until we hit a spot we had flushed bunnies at before. The rabbit made the same mistake and tried to run through open cover and there was a our second double of the season.

Nice start to the week

Work is going to get busy again. Audits are coming so trying to get as much falconry in as possible. We got out today. I have been flying him at 630 which is about 20 grams higher than i have before and it really seems to have made a difference. Having said that he was 10 grams over that. His chasing birds and rabbits and really leaving the mice and voles alone (for now).

Today prize was different in that he was high up in a tree i had gone round the other side. i hear a whack , a muted scream. i get round the other side and Jez had got it by the head.I let him eat the heart, kidneys and liver. We had a good trade off and went in search of number two. We had some amazing flights but couldn't quite seal the deal. We also had some good long chases on small birds.

So all in all a great start to the week.

Awesome Weekend.

Yesterday i went to a friends house to site in my Bow. then after we went for a hunt.

Things had been pretty quite the entire hunt, most rabbits where not where they had been before. Matt and I walked along a cutting when a rabbit tried to sneak behind us. Jez was off after it a good 40 yard chase eventually he had it by the butt with the rabbit dragging him another 5 yards before i came running up to secure the deal. Not bad for being 30grams over what i normally fly him. I think i'm going to start flying at this weight.

Kent Carbaugh and i want to start flying ours together. After two unsuccessful attempts and trying this we decided to follow the Coulson method so after church today. Kent and I perched out Jez and one of his on the front lawn for a few hours.

We perched them out just close enough to not get each other with there feet. Proved for some amusing time. We plan on doing this at least once a week until they ignore each other and we can all go hunting together. I took Jez out later but the wind was pretty strong. He got some good exercise trying to catch up with me once he went off into a sore. Couple of good flushes but each time the rabbit just went running into the wind. Something i have noticed before.

First Double

The forecast was for freezing rain, by the time 3pm came around it was rather pleasant so i decided to go out anyway. We hit one of my favorite fields one that is destined to become a new church in the next year or so.

We entered into an area thick with briers and he was swooping down into some dense brush. The rabbit decided to go the wrong way and he had it by the back leg. I came running up to secure the rabbit. First one in the back. We had barely been in the field for 20 minutes so i let him have the heart and kidneys. Trade of was really good. So off we went again for another.

Jez is pretty good at the crash into the edge of the brush type kills. The chases over a distance have been interesting to watch him work out. We entered a different part of the field and we was off again. He grabbed this one by the butt. The rabbit took him for a ride trying to buck him off. Both seemed to roll and tumble at one point. I ran up and again secured the prize. Not bad for our first double. Cant say how much of a beam was on my face as we left the field with the sun setting.

Back on Track....and not so on track

So the last month has been interesting with the weather, new foster kids, sick dogs, new puppy and the holiday season all to boot. We have caught things just not rabbits in that time. Today was the first day in a while that the temps where above 30F so i arranged to meet with Kent Carbaugh and going hunting in a spot that's local. Kent flew his birds first and both caught decent sized rabbits. Then we took mine out ( the plan eventually is for us to fly both sets of birds together).  We where hitting some pretty dense brush and moving them about and had some good chases and some completely ignored chases. Eventually i was about to call it a day when we flushed a rabbit heading back. Jez gave good chase over a good distance and went for the grab and missed. I saw where the rabbit hid and picked Jez up for the re flush. The rabbit tried to bolt back to where he had originally came from. Jez grabbed it by the butt and being closed i ran over and secured it.  It always amazes me how a bird can tackle another animal twice its body weight.

I let him feed up on it for a change as i want to get him really turned on to rabbits. ( i also have a plan to use a dog dummy wrapped in fur for days we don't have good chases and i will drag it behind).

On the Finlay walk back he was still chasing rats even though he had a full crop. you just got to love these birds.

 

Next few days are going to be interesting weather systems again so hopefully we can get out.

 

 

 

Bella is coming along nicely i have her pointing a Quail wing on a fishing rod. and shes almost has "Sit" down. House training seems to be working and generally shes a pretty sweet dog.

 

Remington on the other has some behaviour problems we think is due to the medicine he is on. The medicine he is on has been solving the electrolyte issues to the healthy range (30) but there seems to be some stress trigger that we are now encountering. We are going to try a few different things to give him a chance. We are looking at maybe changing his medicine to a different type. Not quite ready to make that final decision.