Great day, great action, first kill...

[squirrelhawker08]

Today was a very eventful one. I have been trying to get my bird going on squirrels and today was the first day that she chased one. The squirrel ran to the nearest tree and went around the backside. My bird was wondering what the heck happened. That's normal at first. I hit the squirrel with a marble from the slingshot and off he goes through some thickets to a nearby creek. As the bird and I move in that direction I notice a pair of Mallards in this creek that's about 10' wide and about 10' down from where we are. I start moving in that direction and before I can get 5 steps I hear the bells and next thing I know Gambit hit's the water like a Japanese Zero plane. The ducks do not try to fly off instead they go under the water. I notice she had the Drake by the tail and as he came up out of the water he was able to fly off leaving feathers in the water and a soaking wet bird. I was excited that she made the attempt and I couldn't help but laugh at the site of a wet bird trying to climb out of this creek. After I found a place to cross I got her to the fist and hooded her. I met some new friends who in this whole process I ended up on their property. Very nice elderly couple and before you know half of the neighborhood came down to talk with me and my soaking wet bird. It was a good experience because they all share a common hatred for the squirrels in the area so I don't have to worry about the few times I may have to hop a fence!

At this time the squirrels had seemingly taken to their dens as the wind was picking up and the sun was getting high in the sky. I decided to take her out of the woods and head to a nearby rabbit field. Walked into the field and she immediately took a great perch. Worked around and didn't kick anything up in the usual areas. She then moved to a wooden fence and we kicked up a bunny but it beat her to the Cedar tree. I called her back to the area and I was downwind of her so she overshot me and ended up on the roof of a two story house that backs up to this field. I typically hawk the back of the fenceline to this neighborhood as the rabbits tend to hide their and dart off into this massive field. I didnt' see the rabbit take off but I noticed her staring ahead of us about 30-40 yards and off she went. I looked to where she was heading because I didn't see anything moving and I caught glimpse of the rabbit a second before she slammed it. The rabbit was stationary and she must of picked it up before it stopped. When I arrived at the both of them she had both feet clamped on the rabbits head. The transfer went great and I am a very excited and relieved that she finally got a kill. This was the 4th hunt and 2nd attempt on Rabbits. We only flushed 2 and she killed the second one. I'll post pictures in a minute when I get them.

[kenbro77]

Way to go. Glad to see we have another successful Texas Falconer. Glad to see Gambit is working out for you. Hope to hunt with you soon.

[Falcon Boy]

Congrats!

[SimoneBird]

Hey congrats on the bunny!!! That's AWESOME about the duck as well. Don't ya just love red-tails??

[squirrelhawker08]

Yes. She chased another duck today. This slip I was able to setup. There were a bunch of ducks on a pond and she took a pass at them and I really didnt want her getting wet again. It was a windchill of about 8 degrees.

So the way it set up was she took the pass at them and they huddle together. She took to a lone pine tree amongst some red oaks on the edge of this pond. I walked around the pond to the other side. As I got further away rounding the pond she laddered up higher in the tree. She ultimately reached about 70-80 feet in this tree and over these ducks. So the ducks are between her and I and I start shooting my sling shot into the water near them and split the group up. 3 go to one side and I keep shooting the water and finally they get mad and flush! She hesitated for a second and off she went into a power stoop and they were flying upwards to clear the trees because this pond is surround by trees there's no clear way out. She targeted the female mallard and right at the point where they would of met she was about 2' short. She continued to chase but they were too fast.

It was a very excited flight to watch and it was awesome how the slip fell into place. There is no doubt in my mind 2 months from now when shes in better shape and has some notches on her belt she would of taken that duck in the similiar situation. It was fun anyways.

Going to feed her up tonight as the weather is going to continue to be too cold and I need a day to finish shopping. I've flown her 7 out of the last 9 days.

I'll post an update after Tuesdays hunt!

[tampamatt]

Man, thats my dream slip for a RT. Hope you can make it happen... and video it!

[harrishawker]

Dec 20, 2008 15:58:25 GMT -5 squirrelhawker08 said:

Today was a very eventful one. I have been trying to get my bird going on squirrels and today was the first day that she chased one. The squirrel ran to the nearest tree and went around the backside. My bird was wondering what the heck happened. That's normal at first. I hit the squirrel with a marble from the slingshot and off he goes through some thickets to a nearby creek. As the bird and I move in that direction I notice a pair of Mallards in this creek that's about 10' wide and about 10' down from where we are. I start moving in that direction and before I can get 5 steps I hear the bells and next thing I know Gambit hit's the water like a Japanese Zero plane. The ducks do not try to fly off instead they go under the water. I notice she had the Drake by the tail and as he came up out of the water he was able to fly off leaving feathers in the water and a soaking wet bird. I was excited that she made the attempt and I couldn't help but laugh at the site of a wet bird trying to climb out of this creek. After I found a place to cross I got her to the fist and hooded her. I met some new friends who in this whole process I ended up on their property. Very nice elderly couple and before you know half of the neighborhood came down to talk with me and my soaking wet bird. It was a good experience because they all share a common hatred for the squirrels in the area so I don't have to worry about the few times I may have to hop a fence!

At this time the squirrels had seemingly taken to their dens as the wind was picking up and the sun was getting high in the sky. I decided to take her out of the woods and head to a nearby rabbit field. Walked into the field and she immediately took a great perch. Worked around and didn't kick anything up in the usual areas. She then moved to a wooden fence and we kicked up a bunny but it beat her to the Cedar tree. I called her back to the area and I was downwind of her so she overshot me and ended up on the roof of a two story house that backs up to this field. I typically hawk the back of the fenceline to this neighborhood as the rabbits tend to hide their and dart off into this massive field. I didnt' see the rabbit take off but I noticed her staring ahead of us about 30-40 yards and off she went. I looked to where she was heading because I didn't see anything moving and I caught glimpse of the rabbit a second before she slammed it. The rabbit was stationary and she must of picked it up before it stopped. When I arrived at the both of them she had both feet clamped on the rabbits head. The transfer went great and I am a very excited and relieved that she finally got a kill. This was the 4th hunt and 2nd attempt on Rabbits. We only flushed 2 and she killed the second one. I'll post pictures in a minute when I get them.

That's a great yarn

congratulations