And so we resume- #s 13-16
I got back on Friday, as I had said I would, and went to pick my bird up from Heath's place. She was remarkably okay with this. I'm so glad my fears of her forgetting me over the course of the week were unnecessary! The next day she was ready to go, right on schedule, so I took her out to Frog Pond 3, our usual spot. I unhooded her and she took off from the glove and landed on the ground, apparently a little bit surprised and confused by what was going on after her week off, but I walked over and picked her up and started walking, and things clicked in her head and she went right into hunting mode. It was extremely windy, and there were moments when she had trouble chasing, or coming back to the glove, because of it. There also weren't as many sparrows in the grass as usual, probably because of the wind. Nonetheless, she managed to catch two in 45 minutes, proving even more that she hadn't lost any training or ability at all in that week of downtime.
Today we tried a new field on the east side of town, on the outskirts of the industrial factories. It was extremely windy again today, and once again she bolted off the glove once unhooded and landed in the grass. Maybe because my hair was back in a ponytail? Who knows what goes on in the minds of these little psycho birds. I walked toward her, and in doing so, flushed a small bunny. She saw it and took off after it from the ground, which was not exactly an optimal location, but this field has very little cover and she caught up to it quickly. Unfortunately for her, bunnies are expert athletes that know how to dodge hawks, and it did an abrupt 360 and ran back toward me. Pele was fast, but not quite fast enough to turn and catch it, though I think she may have had a foot on it for a moment. Had I thought faster, I would have headed off the rabbit, since it was headed straight back toward me, but I was still trying to keep an eye on the bird. The bunny made it to cover, and I couldn't reflush it. We'll be back, though, bunny. One day, you will be stew. >:)
Anyway, with that over, we set out farther into the field. At one point, several sparrows flushed, and she flinched at them but didn't leave the glove. A few steps farther, and one last bird rose a little too close to us, and she bolted off the fist and hit it in the air. She took it to the ground and ate it, then I picked her up and started walking toward a ditch at the edge of the field, hoping to get another bunny to move, but no luck. She missed another sparrow, so we crossed the road and tried another ditch, and very shortly afterward she took off after something I didn't see. She stayed on the ground on the other side of the water, looking for it, while I started to make my way over, when suddenly she ran about a foot and grabbed something. I thought she had found her sparrow, but the way she was mantling and leaning back was unusual, like she was especially nervous. She carried it a couple of feet to a patch of denser cover, and when I got over to her I discovered she'd grabbed a cotton rat! The reason she was so nervous was that it was still alive, and she didn't want it to get away from her. I also saw that it had one of her jesses between its teeth. Talk about lucky - I had been really worried that it might bite her and damage one of her toes. I let her dispatch it, then traded her off for a quail head, which she was initially reluctant to accept but did so happily once she was sure the rat was dead. While normally I let her eat sparrows whole, I wasn't going to let her do the same with this rat - a sparrow weighs about 15 g, but this rat, once we got back, tipped the scales at 99.5 g. That's an entire quarter of her own weight. For me, that would be like trying to wrestle down a 30 lb dog. So, sure, it's no bunny, but I'm happy nonetheless that she caught it. It sure made for an eventful afternoon, and a fantastic way to kick off 2012!
Today we tried a new field on the east side of town, on the outskirts of the industrial factories. It was extremely windy again today, and once again she bolted off the glove once unhooded and landed in the grass. Maybe because my hair was back in a ponytail? Who knows what goes on in the minds of these little psycho birds. I walked toward her, and in doing so, flushed a small bunny. She saw it and took off after it from the ground, which was not exactly an optimal location, but this field has very little cover and she caught up to it quickly. Unfortunately for her, bunnies are expert athletes that know how to dodge hawks, and it did an abrupt 360 and ran back toward me. Pele was fast, but not quite fast enough to turn and catch it, though I think she may have had a foot on it for a moment. Had I thought faster, I would have headed off the rabbit, since it was headed straight back toward me, but I was still trying to keep an eye on the bird. The bunny made it to cover, and I couldn't reflush it. We'll be back, though, bunny. One day, you will be stew. >:)
Anyway, with that over, we set out farther into the field. At one point, several sparrows flushed, and she flinched at them but didn't leave the glove. A few steps farther, and one last bird rose a little too close to us, and she bolted off the fist and hit it in the air. She took it to the ground and ate it, then I picked her up and started walking toward a ditch at the edge of the field, hoping to get another bunny to move, but no luck. She missed another sparrow, so we crossed the road and tried another ditch, and very shortly afterward she took off after something I didn't see. She stayed on the ground on the other side of the water, looking for it, while I started to make my way over, when suddenly she ran about a foot and grabbed something. I thought she had found her sparrow, but the way she was mantling and leaning back was unusual, like she was especially nervous. She carried it a couple of feet to a patch of denser cover, and when I got over to her I discovered she'd grabbed a cotton rat! The reason she was so nervous was that it was still alive, and she didn't want it to get away from her. I also saw that it had one of her jesses between its teeth. Talk about lucky - I had been really worried that it might bite her and damage one of her toes. I let her dispatch it, then traded her off for a quail head, which she was initially reluctant to accept but did so happily once she was sure the rat was dead. While normally I let her eat sparrows whole, I wasn't going to let her do the same with this rat - a sparrow weighs about 15 g, but this rat, once we got back, tipped the scales at 99.5 g. That's an entire quarter of her own weight. For me, that would be like trying to wrestle down a 30 lb dog. So, sure, it's no bunny, but I'm happy nonetheless that she caught it. It sure made for an eventful afternoon, and a fantastic way to kick off 2012!