Back in the field! #1-2
As of last Friday, Pele was back down to a nice lean 388g. She had been responding well indoors, and had one session on the creance on Thursday during which she did very well at the baseball field, so I figured what the heck, we'd go for it. We didn't manage to catch anything on Friday - good old Frog Pond 3 didn't have much bird activity, sadly, though she made some really good chases on sparrows and two bunnies and got some good exercise.
And of course she goes and blinks in the one shot that isn't blurry from her moving...
Saturday she had better luck, and managed to catch a sparrow after about half an hour. It wasn't a particularly exciting chase, but I was glad she was back on target and able to attack something that wasn't my hand for once (since when she's hungry, she loves to try and kill the glove if there's nothing else to do, and she gets very... enthusiastic). No photos as I was a derp and did not bring my camera. She got fed up nice and full as a reward, and took Sunday off as a result.
So today we went back out, despite it being 82 F and windy. Not good flying conditions for a bird who's remembering she's supposed to trust me. Her weight was a little high for the weather (395) and after she missed one sparrow, she decided to go fly into a tree and pout for a while. I eventually got her back down with the lure and headed farther out into the field. She missed several chases and was always reluctant to come back to the glove, then eventually caught a young sparrow in a totally unfair flight that only went about 30 feet, and carried it into some denser weeds. So I had to go slowly walk after her with the lure out, unable to tell exactly where she was since she often doesn't like to start eating until I'm there (even if she also thinks she should avoid me, apparently). I eventually spotted her crouched in the grass, and she dropped her sparrow for the lure, so I gave it back to her. I thought about trying for a second, and we did walk around a little bit and look, but she just wasn't being that responsive to me so I called it a day and we headed home.
Haven already eaten one meal, she just didn't look like she'd cooperate for another.
She'll have to take tomorrow off since I have class until 5, but I'm glad to see she's remembering everything from last season. It only took two weeks out of the mews to get her to this point, after all. I can't wait for the weather to cool down a little so that she'll be more cooperative because right now she'll seem hungry at home, then we go out and she isn't so sure anymore. Oh well, fall is coming soon.
And of course she goes and blinks in the one shot that isn't blurry from her moving...
Saturday she had better luck, and managed to catch a sparrow after about half an hour. It wasn't a particularly exciting chase, but I was glad she was back on target and able to attack something that wasn't my hand for once (since when she's hungry, she loves to try and kill the glove if there's nothing else to do, and she gets very... enthusiastic). No photos as I was a derp and did not bring my camera. She got fed up nice and full as a reward, and took Sunday off as a result.
So today we went back out, despite it being 82 F and windy. Not good flying conditions for a bird who's remembering she's supposed to trust me. Her weight was a little high for the weather (395) and after she missed one sparrow, she decided to go fly into a tree and pout for a while. I eventually got her back down with the lure and headed farther out into the field. She missed several chases and was always reluctant to come back to the glove, then eventually caught a young sparrow in a totally unfair flight that only went about 30 feet, and carried it into some denser weeds. So I had to go slowly walk after her with the lure out, unable to tell exactly where she was since she often doesn't like to start eating until I'm there (even if she also thinks she should avoid me, apparently). I eventually spotted her crouched in the grass, and she dropped her sparrow for the lure, so I gave it back to her. I thought about trying for a second, and we did walk around a little bit and look, but she just wasn't being that responsive to me so I called it a day and we headed home.
Haven already eaten one meal, she just didn't look like she'd cooperate for another.
She'll have to take tomorrow off since I have class until 5, but I'm glad to see she's remembering everything from last season. It only took two weeks out of the mews to get her to this point, after all. I can't wait for the weather to cool down a little so that she'll be more cooperative because right now she'll seem hungry at home, then we go out and she isn't so sure anymore. Oh well, fall is coming soon.