590 Grams Luscians First Duck Hunt!

With the weather getting a little better this morning I decided to go get Luscain on my lunch break and take him out after work. I had been talking with a friend about a little creek area that someone had talked to me about and this friend lived close. He says that he sees ducks there all the time and discribed the area that I had never seen. He was right on the descriptions. Open field for 20 yards on both sides and houses after that. After work we both went down there and the site looked a little more industrial than I thought but deffinatly workable.

After scoping the area out and pin pointing some ducks down in the gully (the creek is in a canyon like area. The water is a good 20 feet down the hill) we got back to the truck to get Luscian. Walking out Luscian kept bating off as if in a normal hunt for rabbits and perching at the bushes. Once we got to the first site 200 yards in front of the trucks (the trucks are parked paralel to the Creek) Luscian prematurly bated up to one of the bushes near the edge of the hill down to the creek and I think his bell warned the ducks. The ducks launched up and Luscian quickly in Tow but into the wind was the disadvantage to the situation. Luscian quickly gave up and went to a tree and the ducks who where RED HEADS headed off down streem and dove back to the water. I figured we had a bit and got luscian to the fist and put on some jesses as I wanted a little more control. I didnt have my sissors so I couldnt get the bell off at this point. While walking I cut away from the creek a bit and let luscian go as he was bating alot to get away and I didnt want to reinforce a negative thing about being on the fist. while we where walking he took to a tree above the creek. I figured we had a good 100 yards before we saw the ducks again so I left him there to follow as we walked back to the truck to get the wire snipps to cut the zip tie that holds the bell to Luscians Anklet. Soon enough after a good 20 yard walk Luscian takes off of the tree and is hugging the miniture valle wall, Passes us and whips a hard left going down streem against the wind. I told my friend I had no idea what he was after but he saw something. All the sudden 3 Ducks Lift up and take off into the wind with Luscian very close to making a deal. Unfortunatly these ducks had more power into the wind than Luscian. The ducks again went down the creek and dove back down. From there we walked back to the truck and took off Luscians bell. Yes he was wearing Telemetry.

While I cut the bell off my friend scoped out and found ducks down streem a good 40 yards. 3 Birds. We walked around far and started walking in towards the creek a good 10 yards down streem of the ducks. Luscian bated a few times and it felt real nice not to hear bells and I think this saved our future flights for the Hunt. As we got to the edge we couldnt see the ducks. Crouching we both scanned the water and I saw a duck head behind some weeds that where a good 5 feet tall. I motioned for my friend to stay put as I started to go down the hill in stelth mode to get a little closer. Just as I started that some guy in a truck stopped about 20 yards behind us. He wanted to see the hawk so I motioned for him to stop and wait a moment. He was curtious to this and could see what was going on as he snuck to us to see what was going on. Cool dude. Anyhow I get 20 feet down the hill and start walking on a game trail and get with in 10 feet of the ducks! I CAN HEAR THEM! Crouched I jump up and the ducks rise. Luscian has chosen the one he wants and it is the fastest. The first two would have been better as they where slow Mallards. 2 hens and one Drake. The third is the fastest and banks right going straight up stream! Luscian hot on his tail and within a good foot the whole way! At one point I thought all it would take was for Luscian to reach out and grab it but alas he didnt and got smoked after 60 yard flight with the wind! Both birds where in hyper spead and it was amazing.

After that I got 2 more slipps down stream another 100 yards down but the wind was not our friend and those ducks know how to fly into it and make a great escape. After the last flush Luscain took to a tree near a bridge. I started to walk back to the truck with my friend and this guy in tow. Luscian is till in the tree and I hear movement in the bushes down by the creek . Wouldnt you know it a fox jumps out. I started running as it was going towards Luscian and then I started freaking out yelling as Luscian took from the tree and took off after the fox! It was a red fox and Luscian seemed to want it so with my screaming and pulling the lure as I ran somehow I got Luscians attention to come for a DOC instead of the Fox. Thank you Falconry Gods!

I think I need to get a baggy duck just to reinforce the grab. I think he may have stalled a little bit on the one that he should have had. Maybe a little afraid of this other big bird but still fun to chase.

What a fun Day. Next time Im taking video. Though I did get Video of Luscian in the tree and some ducks in the water a good 60 yards apart at one point.

590Grams Luscians first Adult Jack Rabbit

We where out looking for Cottontail chases and maybe a little video and I got lucky and shot this video of Luscian and his first Adult JackRabbit!

593 Grams

Well finally we have gotten to hunt in the past few days. We had a week and a half with temps so low we couldnt get out. I mean temps that never got above 10 and lows as far as -17. So far for the past few days we have been skunked but we have also been flying with a second Harris Hawk. Luscians brother Gizmo. Luscian wont leave him alone and goes after him constantly. Sooner or later they have got to start to get along. Ill be working more on lowering Gizmos weight and maybe getting Luscian and him together to feed more often hoping that they make nice. In the mean time I have a video I did today of the TPerch that I use for Luscian.

678 Grams Redtail Attack!

Even though the winds where at 20+ I still took Luscian out to hunt. Traditionally I dont find any rabbits when it is windy but I wanted to take the chance and at least get some excersize. Off to the college we went. The hunt started as normal with the patern that we have grown to find that works hitting certain areas first and working in a path that is almost becoming Deer like only Falconer like. We had only one chase at a cotton tail after we got a good mile away from the truck and Luscian crashed the bush too early and the rabbit took off without him seeing it go. Even with me making the game call he was still too interested in the bush and its possible contents. Like hunts past I have seen this Hag Redtail but it only messed with us a couple times and never seemed too aggressive. I saw once again this bird and didnt think much of it.
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With Luscian following me we started to walk back to the truck for the end of the hunt. The spot we where hunting in had some perching spots and trees but it was a good 150 yards to the next spot with them and Luscian took off to the tree line out in the distance. As I walked a hill blinded my view of My little harris hawk but I didnt think anything of it as things have gone so well and he has seemed to figure out the routine in this area. As I got to the top of the hill and still a good 60 yards to the spot I saw a bird hovering above the tree. At first I thought it was Luscian and was proud that he was taking some time to stretch his wings while he waited for me but alas, It was the redtail. It stooped the 5 feet he was from Luscian who was sitting in the top branches of the tree and barely missed my bird. I started Yelling and Running as fast as I could and thankfully the Redtail took off for the next tree and shortly leaving out of my site towards the buildings of the college. I didnt have Jesses with me like an idiot so I decided that I must have scared the redtail away and that we would finish the quarter mile treck back to the truck as normal. Luscian followed nicely as if nothing had happened and landed on a pole as we walked. At this point I had open eyes and soon enough I noticed that the redtail was coming in again and pretty quick despite it was coming against the wind. Instantly I pulled the lure and just as fast Luscian came in for it meeting me at the ground and safe from the Redtail. I threw up my ski pole and yelled alot and the redtail took off half a mile to a tall Radio tower and landed. At this point we where only a good 200 yards to the truck and I decided to make a run for it giving Luscian tidbits on the way as he followed as in this area he doesnt like to stay on the fist. I know i should have just put him in my vest and kept going but I had an eye on this redtail off in the distance and felt safe finishing our task at hand. Luscian followed well and next to the truck is a baseball field with a wall that he likes to perch on. At that point I started to video Luscian flying in the wind and following me while I also kept an eye on the redtail on the pole. As I was 25 yards to the truck I noticed on the tower the redtail come off and Luscian coming in to the truck. At that point I stopped video as I wanted to hurry and open the truck to get Luscian in. Its at that moment that while I was watching the other redtail and Luscian closing in to with in 15 yards of the truck that a SECOND REDTAIL in a full stoop slammed into my Luscian as he was almost 20 feet into the air. This redtail was a female and knocked my bird down pretty hard. Luckily he was able to catch himself before hitting the ground. The redtail didnt bind but smacked my bird pretty good. Luscian came to the fist instantly. I didnt even have a chance to yell really before this other bird hit Luscian and I have no idea where it came from. Thought my eyes where open but you can never be too careful. Next time Ill have jesses in the vest at least and ill deffinatly count my blessings that Luscian came home safe and seemingly un offended. He is still squacky and wanting his food so I think he is just fine.
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Last time Ill hunt the College for a while. Scary to think of having a cast and not having the controle that you have of one bird.

580 Grams

The weather today was just beautiful. No wind to speak of but just a breeze. I took Luscian out to one of my northern most fields. It is known for cotton tail and jacks with small numbers of quail.There are no trees so Luscian has to stay on the fist or follow as we walk long distances.
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When we first got to the field I went right to the cotton tail honey hole only to find out that there where none there. At least that I couldn't find. The cover is short but the cover is full of spikes and painful to walk through. The spines go right through my jeans and make the walk Very uncomfortable. There is a wide open area between cotton tail areas. I'm guessing its at least half a mile. As I walked the direction to the second field I busted up a few Jacks. The first just smoked Luscian but the second ran with the slight wind and was doing pretty well till it decided to hide behind a sage bush. Luscian whipped around and I saw the Jack run out the other side with Luscian attached to its back end! With some tumbling and spinning the jack worked itself loose before I could even get close enough to help. I really should have taken a picture of all the fur that was pulled on that one. The third jack had a similar outcome but less fur was pulled. Before we got to the Cotton field we ran into a mouse running through the grass and it became a quick tidbit. At the Cotton tail field of second chance we had a good half dozen shots. Seems Luscian takes off and lands 20 yards off just as I hit a bush and a rabbit comes out. That is so frustrating and I ended up holding his Jesses to help our odds. Not sure what that is all about but it was annoying. One of the cotton tail chases took a couple re flushes all in a non stop action. The cotton tail would bail to a bush and I would hit it as Luscian pitched up. Then to the next bush. Finally after the 3rd bush Luscian was High and the rabbit ran to the open for a hole. Luscian hit the ground hard just as the rabbit hit the hole. I got there quick to find Luscian mostly in the hole with his wings and head hanging out. I worked very carefully to pull him out. He had a hold of his Knee, he must have thought he had the rabbit but the other foot had nothing. He took a bit to let go of his own leg. On the way back to the truck we caught another mouse. HMMM.... Proud of my little guy grabbing a jack. Hopefully he will be flying in a cast within the next 2 weeks with Gizmo.

LuscianStop!

Photo of Luscian at a stop sign as he followed from one field to another. Seems he is smart enough to follow the Law. LOL

570 Grams

570 Grams
Todays hunt started late and we only had a good 45 minutes. We hit all of our normal areas with a few chases but no luck. The last area we went presented a bunny that ran for the cover of baseball fields paved area before you go to the bleechers. I had to find another way in as there are fancy barrs and a gate to get in but when I did I found the rabbit hiding behind a statue. I came from behind and with luscian in place. I Flung out my stick and the rabbit took off towards the barred fence with Luscian closing in fast snagging it up just before it got through and possibly to safety. I gave Luscian the front leg and all his tidbits before we went to the truck. Short and sweet to hunt as the sun is setting.

555 Grams

I freaked out today when I weighed Luscian. I couldnt believe my eyes when I saw the scale. I rushed out to go out hunting. I did manage to get Noah to come out hunting with me today. He was a great help today. Luscian flew like a complete champion today and very deliberate and forcefull. He pulled fur on 2 cotton tail and caught another. The rabbit that he caught was stopped in a willow grove and took a few minutes to find where he was. When we did find him he had the rabbit killed and started to eat the chest. I traded him off and took off for more hunting. At the end of the hunt I let him have his rabbit back to eat off of for a minute before I pulled a front leg to let him finish. Maybe I need to have him lower like this to get some real action. I figure the 575 to 565 range.

593 Grams First Rabbit Double!

Photo of Luscian after his first bunny catch. I had to take off my jacket as 39 degrees F was too warm to hunt with a jacket.



Todays Hunt went by pretty quickly. Luscian was super screamy today and when we got to the field it was nice to hear silence. We went to CSU and started our work near the baseball field, luscian following my by changing position on the wall. I got to the end of one of the sides of the diamond and all the sudden I hear a rabbit screaming behind me. WOW I was only 30 yards away and after a few steps I stopped to hear if everything was still on so that I could locate them. The cover was super dense. Not bushes but lots of weeds. I got to Luscian and he had a great hold onto this decent sized rabbit. I figured we where only out for 3 minutes so we where going to go out and work on more bunnies.





As we cleared out of the heavy cover we started on a hill with some cholla. We got one chase right away but the rabbit made it to a rat nest and I didnt feel like working the nest. I am trying to enforce rabbits and not rats right now. While Luscian was still on the nest I walked foreward. 20 feet later I got another one up and made the game call. With the rabbit running down hill and luscian following in hot persuit I ran like no other. The rabbit made it to another cholla and Luscian pitched straight up a good 30 feet giving me time to run in and reflush. I got to the cholla seeing the bunny the whole time. I hit the bush as soon as I got there so that I could give Luscian the best advantage. The rabbit ran full tilt but with a hawk coming in from straight above it had little chance. Luscian hit it hard and the fight was on. This rabbit wanted to kick my birds butt pretty bad and was doing a good job of it till I got there. Stretched Luscian got to eat the front leg. I really am proud of my little guy!

596 Grams

I only had a hour to hunt today. I took Luscian out and forgot to bring the magnet to turn on the transmitter but I wasn't to worried and flew anyhow. It was a little windy and that made for some interesting kiting. Today was the first day for him to do this. He would just sit 20 feet or so above me and watch what I was doing. While he was up in the air I managed to get 2 cotton tail running with an instant chase, unfortunately it was into the wind and it seemed too strong for him but one of the chases was just so close to make that an excuse. We also utilized the trees at one point. Most of the trees are almost bare now but the cover on the ground is still in full force. Soon enough here we will have a good frost to knock that all down not to mention the areas that I am hunting are getting knocked down a little just from me being there. This year the college seems to be a pretty good place to find bunnies despite all the development going on. Maybe its just that the cottontail are being concentrated into certain areas. One of my favorite areas has work being don't to it now putting down a sidewalk for a trail. That hurts my heart but we will have to adapt.

595 Grams

Photo of Luscian with his Mouse.
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I am working on bringing Luscian down for reasons that I want him to have a little more sence of urgency. He is catching but a good portion of the time he is pretty lax and picky on how fast he will get out on a chase.
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Today I had to go to Denver to pick up Luscians little brother at the airport. I got into town a good 6 hours early and made a call to Becky to see if I could come and Visit. Ended up that they where going hunting. That sounded fun so I offered to go along and beat the bush for them. Richard and Becky thought that it would be a good idea to fly her new HH Tonic in a cast with Luscian. We went out and first birds to be flown where the HH's. The two did pretty well only crabbing twice and neither being anything major. They are both young and not sure what they are suposed to be doing so I have no ill will towards that. There where no Bunnies flushed but the flights together where pretty nice. Tonic is Glued to Becky and that is nice to see. He just needs more bunnies put under him and he will be a real good bird to fly. At one point while Luscian was on a tall dirt mound and Richard was at the base hitting weeds, Luscian saw a mouse and had to take advantage of that. I told my sponsor and he sent me a cool quote.
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"It is better to catch a mouse when there are no bunnies than to be out and catch nothing at all" - Unknown Author

603 Grams

Luscians Toe isn't that bad today and I can barely notice the swelling. After work I met up with Rick to go to the college and see if we could bag us a bunny. He also brought JayLyn with us. It is nice to have extra flushers for sure. The wind was picking up so I figured to stay close to the college and not go out into the prairies. We stayed around the wooded areas of the baseball fields and got some real beautiful flights. The cover is still very high and hard to get that final commitment when the rabbit just disappears. We also got buzzed a few times by a local resident redtail Hag but she left us as she didn't care for our screaming and throwing of ski poles into the air. I really thought it was close once but luscian took off and evaded the inevitable screaming and coming in to me.
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I do find it interesting Lately and I have been paying very good attention. Luscian is quite vocal at home and in the truck to the fields. I have also began to learn how to differentiate whether his scream is for calling me or just for chatting. I can tell at least 3 different vocalizations now and really it is cool. This bird for sure is teaching me allot.
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We closed off the day with a Cottontail making the wrong decision of running into a tennis court and not being able to get out easily. Luscian was on the fence and was anticipating that the rabbit would go one direction so he went there. Unfortunately the bunny couldn't because of the fence and Luscian acted very confused and didn't want to play in that area. Eventually the bunny made it out to the open and that's when Luscian came in for the final kill. After all was said and done I lost my iPhone and we spent the next 2 hours looking for it in the dark. Thank the lord we found it . Rick barely saw the light from it but it was in an area that I thought that it had to be. WHEW!

600 Grams

Today's hunt was very eventful. We ended up in a field that I deemed unhuntable anymore as I couldn't find any rabbits last year. This year they seem to be in real good numbers. The one advantage that they have and they used it was the holes. Luscian also gets juked almost on a regular basis by the rabbits when they jerk around a bush and hold tight for a second. It is as if he is saying, Well it got away. I'm thinking I may crank his weight down just a little to see if I can get a little more passion. at the end of they hunt it was almost completely dark and we ended up getting a good chase on a bunny but it made it to a rat nest before luscian could get there. I started to work the nest and a Huge rat runs out. I weighed this rat after we got home and it was 417grams. Unfortunately Luscian got bit again pretty good and I ran my bird home with a bloody foot thinking of the worse. Well after we got home and I cleaned the wound and put neosporin on It didn't look that bad, just bled good. The swelling isn't getting that bad so we will see for tomorrow.

605 Grams

Well its taken 5 days to get Luscian back down to 605 grams. I'm thinking I may want to drop to the 600 range as it seems to really be a good number for him. I took Luscian to the college today and we had a great time chasing bunnies that bordered the golf course. Those bunnies though knew just where the holes where at the fence line and Luscian just had too much trouble with the heavy cover before the rascals got away. He was definitely hot to trot though as he chased with real zeal. At one point I flushed a jack right at my feet. That rabbit ran pretty fast and next thing I knew they where 30 yards away. Luscian has started to stray off after a bit when chasing jacks but today he really seemed like he wanted to get one. Ok, so the jack took off and was 30 yards off and instantly stopped and hid behind a cholla bush. Luscian instantly pitched up a good 25 feet and dove straight down behind the cactus. Next thing I hear a jack scream and suddenly I see a jack running with a Harris Hawk attached to its Back! Wow was this almost comical watching this rabbit run full tilt screaming and Kicking like a Bronco! It was only another 30 yards of that and Luscian let go. He didn't seem any worse for the wear so I gave him a generous tidbit for his actions. Towards the end of the day we got to a stream that had a bunch of trees around it and they where all big. The leaves where dropped for the most part and Luscian took to them and climbed quite nicely. The fun part was that there where 2 rabbits that where in this area that was maybe a quarter acre and they wouldn't leave the saftey of the trees but there where no hiding places either. They would move around getting chased by the hawk and juke him enough to get away making him re perch in the tree. There was allot of cover but no holes. They also would move real slow if I didn't put real pressure on them. Eventually they both took off and made it to safety. On the way back to the truck we pulled what I would call a Jo now as we caught a mouse. Funny think is that it was so small I cant imagine that it was weaned from its mother. LOL. Good times but No camera for the day.

625 Grams

Today Ill post a few photos along with the story. We did end up empty handed but then we are also about 30 grams High as well. Luscian chased well on a few bunnies but just couldnt close the deal. The first bunny that was flushed took off after a bush and as luscian was closing in to reach out the bunny instantly stopped forcing Luscian to hit the ground after he passed the critter up nearly getting a head shot. The first photo is of Luscian coming to the fist after the first chase.




In our second photo here we where done chasing bunnies as we where basicly done with this portion of the field. We must have flushed a good dozen rabbits but they have holes very close and Luscian still wants to get out and stretch his wings instead of sit on the fist where he will get a better vantage point durring the hunt. Here he is at a rat nest. He really gets worked up about rats. I didnt work them today as I really want to reinforce the chasing of rabbits.

Our Last picture here is Luscian diving after a sparrow that bailed to the bush. For some reason he will crash a bush harder for a sparrow than he will for a rabbit. Those little vitamin pills must be pretty tasty for all the work he goes through to get them.

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Todays hunt basicly other than 2 good rabbit flushes was basicly excersize and fat burning activities. I really love that we can do this with excelent responce and following. This is such a fun bird and a great change from last year. I need it for sure.

645 Grams

Even though Luscian had a casting from yesterday and was a bit over weight we still went out for some excersize. He chased pretty well concitering the rediculous cover that we where walking through. It isnt often that we hunt from trees so it was nice to see him climb up and up. There was one point when a squirel started chattering. Luscian took off after it as I screamed NO NO NO not HO HO HO!. The Squirel got to a nest and Luscian landed on it and did some work trying to tear at it. This is the first time and hopefully the last. I really dont want to hunt tree rats with him. We ended up chasing 5 cotton tail and a handfull of sparrows. So much for 45 minutes of light for the hunt. Here is also a Moon shot from tonight. Full Moons are so fun

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Luscian : 602 Grams

10/31/09 : 602 Grams

Activity :
9:35 AM 602 Grams

Luscian and I have not gotten to hunting in a few days due to snow, wind and allot of cold. After weighing him I decided that we would hunt today for sure. He was pretty wound up and that helped with the decision. I thought of the field that I used to take Maynard to and remembered of the honey hole that it was. The college has lost most of the best hunting areas but this one is still there. There are lots of trees and when I got there I noticed that there was allot of heavy cover too. We worked one part of it chasing lots of sparrows. I wasn't seeing any rabbits but I was seeing lots of sign. While luscian was in a tree I flushed a bunny and made the game call. Luscian came in closing the distance quite quickly missing my mere inches. I watched the bunny take off and slow to another area. After luscian came back to the fist we walked to the area. There was some thick willow in front of us and as we came to it luscian left the fist full tilt. He flew just past the willow banking a hard left and out of my sight as he tear dropped to the ground. Sweet sounds to my ears followed with the scream of a bunny! I had to really listen hard for the bell on luscian to find him at the catch site. When I found him I sat down to stretch the bunny. I won't get to hunt tomorrow so I felt a big reward was in order. Luscian ate so much that he acted like he was having trouble breathing. Then he sneezed and blew a bunch of liquid on my glasses. Funny but then not. The walk back to the truck was uneventful and the perch was real welcome for a good feaking. Here is to Luscian!

594 grams

Photo: Luscian watching as I work a Rat nest for a Quail or a Rat.





Todays day was real short till the eating time came up. I picked him up at lunch and put him in the truck so that we would be ready to hunt after my meeting at work. We got out shortly after 4 which gave us right around 2 hours to hunt. We started off in a pretty thick area and I started to hit nests working to see if any quail or rats would come out. The second nest we hit had a rat and we caught that with a bit of work. This rat was real smart and needed a few flushes to get him in the bag. He ended up bailing and running for another nest but just couldnt outspeed Luscian. I traded him off for a DOC. Then we started walking and within maybe 40 steps we got a cotton tail up. The rabbit should have kept in the thick portion of the field but broke for the less thick area. Luscian got to him after a good 50 yard flight. By the time I got there Luscian had the rabbits gut torn open and the rabbit was still alive. I made in quickly to dispatch and traded him off for a Jack Head. He traded off pretty well but wanted to take the cotton tail with him to the jack head. He only needed a few seconds and decided he wanted the trade off more and I got to take care of the cotton tail. Luscians beak is almost back to normal now and having a few heads to work that beak has been a great help.


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Tomorrow and thursday are supposed to be snowy and lots of wind so I dont think we will get to do much hunting. This head should hold him till thursday and The weekend should be much better.

610 Grams

The weather was just perfect at 55 degrees and absolutely No wind. Luscian and I went out despite he was 15 grams up. Somehow he didn't drop weight last night and he had no casting. He even stayed outside for the first time ever. What are ya going to do? We went to a totally new area that was at least 50 acres. The cotton tail where everywhere and we must have chased at least 20. We pulled fur on one cotton tail and would you know it, even a Jack. Luscian still doesn't understand or doesn't have the foot eye coordination to get that bunny in the bag. He is still young though and learning and so am I with this little guy. The weight though seemed to give us energy to really chase hard and far today though. Crashing in the bushes was not a problem today. At one point , the first covey of quail he took off and crashed a cholla at some scaled quail. A good dozen birds busted out and when I heard no bells I thought he might of had one. Nope. Just a fist full of a cholla branch that had basically stapled his foot shut. I got that pulled out with my hemostats and off we went. We ended up chasing 3 coveys of quail today too. Round and Round we are chasing almost everything. Just waiting for a little more experience to help. That and maybe a little cooler weather.

Alamosa Field Meet

Photo Credit: Jenni
Edited by Chuck

This past weekend Luscian was awesome with his weight management and his talkativeness. He didn't necessarily fly like he meant it and it could be attributed to a few things. We are not used to flying as many hours as we did and he did manage to get some pretty good casting. There where mice, chipmunks, Sparrows, Pigeon, Cotton tail and Jacks. The First day out we chased lots of cotton tail. The scrub was just way too thick for him. He still hasn't figured out that he can get in the same place the bunny went into when it comes to the bushes. He pitches up and stays up there till I can come in for the re flush or he ends up going somewhere else. Sometimes I think that once he cant see the bunny, It has disappeared and he will not get it so he will stop the chase. I'm sure that with a little more experience he will get that under control and will show the world what a Harris is supposed to do. He did manage to take a sparrow in great form with his dive into the bush. I could hear the tell tale sound of the bells that he was plucking. I let him have that and we went on. He then caught a Pigeon that was trying to get out of a railroad car that is on a property for storage. I had to climb on top of the car to get him and trade him off to a DOC. The second day he chased a few times good but for the most part with all the casting he didn't show that real zeal to get the bunnies. He did manage to catch a Mouse though so then he had more casting material. Man when the meet was on I couldn't keep Casting out of my bird. I wish that it would have been more productive with bunnies but I have to remember that he is a youngster and will chase anything and unfortunately the little things will get caught easier. The third day I just couldn't get enough game under him and it really was not productive.
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I did have tons of fun though as I had some of the best company to share the weekend full of hawking. Roger with his Goshawk, Dan and Deanna with their Red Tails and Jenni with her GYR/PERIGRINE. What a time and now I cant wait for our second meet this year in Burlington.

Luscian : 593 Grams

10/14/09 : 593 Grams

Activity :
4:47 PM 593 Grams

I waited a little too long to get out today. When I decided to get out the wind had picked up at 1pm. According to the weather at 1pm the wind started a down slope. At that point the temp was at 64 degrees and with the 20-30 mph winds by 2pm it was 82 Degrees! WOW! We still flew through it as I was not finding any rabbits. I figured the exercise would be well worth the day out. It was not all in vein though, we did chase a good 4 coveys of quail. A couple of the flights went down wind and Luscian had a decent chance but just couldn't connect. He follows well to the bush they went to but when they bust out he stays put on the second flush as though to think that one is still there. That may be the down fall of hunting rats as that is almost always the case so we will stop hunting rats for now. I have a few quail left alive so I may just bag him a couple times to get his confidence up to catch and eat.

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Good Lord I hate the strong wind for its deterrent to bunnies.

Luscian : 604 Grams

10/13/09 : 604 Grams

Activity :
11:08 AM 604 Grams

Finally after days of the cold and wind We got a chance to get out. Back to the Honey Hole we went and found lots to chase. The first chase was yet again another Young Jack rabbit that managed to use the obstacles of the cholla to its advantage seemingly like it knows that Luscian hasn't figured out how to do a 180 out in the field yet. Luscian got back up after that juke but lost it to the speed of the rabbit running into a 10 mph wind. We chased a few Cotton tail after that with lots of zeal but some of them just disappear and I cant even find the hole they went into. Its as if they are ghosts.
*
On to the catch of the day. As we where walking down a hill I was humming and making a little noise to assist in the flushing. At the bottom of the hill a cotton tail flushed out with Luscian in tow. The rabbit ran for 40 yards out in the open to another hill. It was running to another hole but it over shot the hole. Luscian reached out to grab it as it did a 180 to get back to safety. With that happening Luscian lost his grip and the rabbit tore off for the 10 yard sprint back to the hole. That wasn't enough though as Luscian really wanted this bunny and made it to the rabbit just as it made it to the hole. When I got there the rabbit was mostly down the hole with Luscian attached to its rear. I pulled them both out and layed them on the ground for a little one on one time after the dispatch. I traded off with a DOC shortly after Luscian ate a little off the bottom Jaw so we could hunt tomorrow. Luscian is starting to figure things out pretty well and his response was awesome! 5 days of not hunting really got him super hyped up, more than Id like to see. Seems doing jump ups on the off days doesn't do what is needed for the soul with this little bird so we will have to figure out what we will do when the temps really drop this season.

597 Grams

The weather has been terrible the past few days with freezing rain leaving ice all over everything and snowing this morning. After I got out of work I met up with a friend who was down in Pueblo Hunting with his Red Tail. He caught a Jack and a cotton tail and gave me the Jack. Thanks Dan.

So after I butchered the Jack I set aside 30 grams of jack cut up in tiny half bean sizes. My ceiling is only 8 foot in the house so the jump ups weren't that high but they where many and they managed to work Luscian enough to get him to quiet down. We ha vent been able to hunt in 3 days and he is getting noisier and noisier. Tomorrow morning we will get out for sure after the sun comes up. It is supposed to be sunny most of the day and I am hoping for a little warmer day and more rabbits for Luscian to chase.

Luscian : 596 Grams

10/7/09 : 596 Grams

Activity :
5:36 PM 596 Grams
8:19 PM 650 grams

Sorry for the late post on the hunt. My computer is weirding out on me and I have to do this in safe mode till I can get it looked at.

*

Our first Day out Since the Bite went quite well. Luscian and I went out to our normal area. The other day I took another Falconer out to this area as he brought a magazine writer and wanted to see how this little Harris would do. Well we didn't get anything that day but then we also didn't go check out this new part of the field. I went there today with Luscian. We only had an hour of light to hunt and the walk was a good mile off. When we got there we instantly flushed up a Jack. Interestingly enough the rabbit took off with Luscian stuck in a cholla that he got stuck in after chasing a sparrow. Luscian watched the jack as it ran but it didn't have any urgency and seemed to be changing direction allot. Luscian took off after it and the darned think took to a bush. Luscian instantly pitched up as if to tell me to hurry and get there. We got the jack out but it hauled butt to the next county and Luscian just didn't want to chase it that far. Not 5 minutes later with Luscian on the fist, We where walking through some tall grass when 20 feet ahead of us we saw the grass start to sway and move. Sure enough it was a cotton tail and with luscian in tow. Luscian climbed up to about 20 feet as he followed the disturbed grass and just at the right moment he instantly swung and teardropped to the ground with an instant scream of a bunny! I made in pretty quickly and cleared the grass so we could have a pleasureable feast. I let him crop up good on this bunny, Gutting the rabbit as he ate.

*

The weather the past few days hasn't given us much to work with and tomorrow (10-10-09) isn't supposed to get over 40, so here is hopes that maybe at least it will be dry and we will give it a go again. For now it is wet and cold so I'm going out with another friend and our guns to see if we can get a couple ducks.

611 Grams

I have decided to give Luscian one more day to rest the foot. He looks almost 100% better. The swelling is gone and the puncture wounds look great. He was pretty vocal today. I know he wants to be out flying. Tomorrow I promised him.

Luscian : 627 Grams

10/5/09 : 627 Grams

Activity :
4:32 PM 627 Grams

Luscians toe looks alot better today and most of the swelling has gone away. The bite wounds look clean and uninflamed. He doesn't seem too offended by it and is squawking a bit now expecting to go hunting. Not in this 30+ winds though, it just wouldn't be fun. That and after yesterdays meal he is at 627 grams though I doubt id loose him anyhow.

*

I was pretty worried for a bit there.

Lucsian : 586 Grams

10/4/09 : 586 Grams

Activity :
4:13 PM 586 Grams
8:08 PM 714 Grams

Personally I think I brought Luscian down a little too low today. He flew pretty much half power, though not kicking up any cotton tails didn't help that much. We did kick up a few covies of quail but without doing a baggie lately giving him something to catch a little easier he seems to not want to chase. The weight thing may be an issue there too. We did end up getting a rat out of a nest and catching it as the only catch of the day but there was a down side to that too. The rat had a pretty good hold of luscians first toe so I jumped in right away and smashed the rats head but the damage was already done. While I did that Luscian grabbed my middle finger and put the clamps down so we both got a jacked didgit now. I cleaned his toe when we got home but it is a little swollen. Fresh blood came out of it when I cleaned it and applied neosporin. I'm sure it will be OK as the bite was not that bad and he doesn't seem to care about it even when I was cleaning it. Pending on how it looks tomorrow he might just get a day off tomorrow. He did get a little extra cottontail today along with a day old chick so getting a good dinner hopefully will help too. These stinking rats can be as bad as a fox squirrel at times as far as their bite. Their fight though is like a cotton tail, usually giving up fast. Here is to tomorrow looking better and healing good to hit the fields for more game.

Lucsian : 607 Grams

10/2/09 : 607 Grams

Activity :
8:24 AM 617 Grams
10:18 AM 607 grams

Luscain and I went out to the stomping fields for a mix of jack and cottontails. Things went well and we chased a good dozen cottontail but they where just too good for this little Harris this early in the season. Not to say that he didn't try, he just got skunked on cotton tail. As far as jacks go we did manage to have a fun show. We got up 4 jacks all of which Luscian chased. The last one though was pretty interesting how it worked out. Luscian came in pretty fast and as the rack was running straight my Hawk latched onto that jacks Butt! The jacked hunkered down but kept trying to run with this little Harris In-Tow. Luscian wanted to get up to the head though and reached up just grabbing the shoulders. That's when the Jack spun and lost Luscians grip but not His determination to get back up and try for round 2. Well now Luscian only went another 30 yards and decided that it really wasn't worth it but it was a good experience and I know that if I get a few more young Jacks up then we might just seal the deal with the bigger ones later. Its not that I want to hunt jacks like crazy with my little Hawk here but if he will be successful at it then I have no problem helping him with his cause.

Lucsian : 593 Grams

9/29/09 : 593 Grams

Activity :
3:24 PM 593 Grams
7:28 PM 558 Grams


The wind today was pretty strong but I wasn't going to let that get the better of us as we really are doing great about muscling up and learning the fundamentals on chasing and paying attention to the ski pole and other participants out in the field.

When we first got out we started an area that we have worked a couple times and been successful once. The area is full of cholla and normally we can get some good flushes. Coarse this is from only a couple hunts but today all I could get was jacks to get up and run. Luscian chased after 2 of them and seemed real interested in one of them but eventually pulled off after 60 or so yard. After we had walked most of the area that was full of cholla and found no rabbits I was thinking that once again the wind has kept the cotton tail under and I might go home empty handed. I decided then that we where going to go after a rat and once we found the first nest we worked it with success catching a small rat. I traded off Luscian to a DOC and decided to go walk another area a good 400 yards off. It didn't have the same cover mostly grass with a few cholla. Eventually after no luck I found an area with lots of weeds. These weeds where real poky and not the most comfortable to walk through but A few times I could hear rabbits inside but couldn't get them into sight. Towards the end finally we got a flush. This rabbit ran out into the open grass area towards a prairie dog field going full speed. Fortunately Luscian was of the mind to pump like I have never seen him pump before. He kept with that rabbit not letting it juke him with its zigs and its zags. I was running full speed as well but in no way could I keep up. The chase was a good 70+ yards and as the rabbit got to the Prairie dog town I saw Luscian pump from his 3 feet above ground to the Zero mark and spin that Cotton Tail. As I ran I could see them struggle together but I got there fast enough to grab the back legs as Luscian already had it by the head. I made it a point that I wanted to touch his feet and play with the rabbit a little too which he seemed to not care about at all. After the dispatch I let him pick at the jaw as I put some rabbit meat the size of a racket ball on the lure. Trade off was simple and graceful allowing me to bag the bunny for the following trip back to the truck just in case we got another flush.

First Double- What an honor and privilege.

Lucsian : 587 Grams

9/25/09 : 587 Grams

Activity :
10:42 PM 593 Grams
4:39 PM 587 Grams
8:10 PM 687 Grams

Todays First Jack!

Rick and J came with again today for the hunt and I couldnt have been happier. They really come out with the intent to help and we get the bunnies moving. The weather was pretty warm today and even though we got out before 5 it was pretty easy to get hot. We went to the same place as yesterday as we did not go but a good 30 yards into the field for yesterdays rabbit. Luscian got up and flew after a full sized jack shortly checking off. We only saw one cotton tail but it was far out and Luscian didnt see it.

*

Todays catch was pretty interesting. First of all I was half way up a hill hitting some brush while Rick and J where at the bottom hitting bush there. We where looking for cottontail. All the sudden this rabbit jumped out about 3 feet away from me and started running up hill shortly changing its mind to go down hill when it saw I was there. That was the time needed for Luscian to launch off and latch onto this jacks BUTT! As they tumbled down the hill with the jack kicking and screaming I had a couple seconds in my head that ran like a car accident. I was thinking "What the Heck is going on here? How come this rabbit is kicking and screaming like a baby?" shortly followed by "oh SH** I got to move and get in to help!" I only had to jump down a few feet before I grabbed the Jack by the legs. We had another 15 feet to go down to the bottom of the hill to get to some flat ground. Once we where there I held onto the jacks legs and compressed the heart to dispatch. I let Luscian pluck the face a bit before I traded off to a front quarter of the rabbit from yesterdays kill.

*

Now this Jack is no monster but it is deffinatly bigger than our Cottontails. Holy smokes, How fun was that.

Luscians Second Bunny Video

Lucsian : 593 Grams

9/24/09 : 593 Grams

Activity :
3:32 PM 593 Grams
8:13 PM 634 Grams

Photo of Rick holding the rabbits legs for Luscian.

Well Luscian did it again today showing lots of chase and following. Lets start from the beginning.

*

We got out to this new field of mine that realistically holds at least 300 acres. We walked one section today that seemed to have almost no life whats so ever but we did get a real good chase on a dove there that was a hard flying 50 yard flight before he broke off and landed. Luscian seemed today to not want to hunt from the fist. He kept popping off the fist and flying out onto a hill or just on the ground. I gave no reward for the flights only to land on the ground and walked away. He followed well even if it was to the ground. Mostly though he was going to a hill that he was above us most of the time. Giving up on that part of the field, we went to the other side of the hill to the heavy cactus growth area. Lots of Cholla and sage with little amounts of Prickly pear. The first rabbit flush was within 10 yards of the new area and luscian took off after the rabbit before we even saw it. He missed it as it went to a hole but came back to the fist quickly. This part of the field he found it important to ride the fist as it was the highest perch besides the cholla that he doesn't seem to mind. As we walked another 30 yards Luscian busted off the fist with great speed. Just after he left I saw the flash of a cotton tails rear end as it ran to a large Cholla cactus. The rabbit made it to the harbor point before Luscian could get to it but he pitched up and circled the bush before he took perch on another Cholla a good 10 yards away. During all this I ran to the spot. Rick, a buddy falconer of mine (who is actually getting Luscians little brother in November) came with me to the bush. We where a good 10 yards and with the rabbit between Luscian and the rest of the Pack, Luscian took off and slammed the Cholla. He had the rabbit by the but as he held from one side of the cactus and the rabbit trying to escape pointing out the other side. There was a broken piece of cactus branch between them and I properly broke it so that I could pull out the rabbit that seemed to have a good connection to my bird. Rick has brought his girlfriend hunting with us for the past few hunts and she really got a kick out of today's flights. I can imagine her becoming a falconer some day. We let Luscian foot the rabbit for a minute before dispatching which was preformed by Rick. We let him start plucking at the fur. He started acting like he wanted to carry it to the bush so I traded him off to the lure with the front leg of the last rabbit that we caught. The trade off went very well. He tried to drag the rabbit to it once but gave up for the instant gratification of the lure. He ate the whole front leg gone and all, along with the lucky rabbits foot. Pretty sweet for not allot of walking.

Lucsian : 593 Grams A Month and a Day!

9/22/09 : 593 Grams

Activity :
4:03 PM 593 Grams
Immediatly fed Heart and Lungs of a quail for the hunt half hour prior. 4:03 PM

7:48 PM fed up to 720 Grams
Cropped up on cotton tail Rabbit.

Today is not much warmer than yesterday. When we went out to hunt it was not much more than 50 degrees and Luscian is used to hunting in the 80's. I found a field that looks alot like my sponsors best field. Lots of Cholla cactus and sage. In his field you can get rabbits up like they where roaches. Well this field is vacant but there was a for sale sign and a number to the real estate agent. I called her and after talking about what I do she granted me permission to be out there. Guess the owner doesnt even live in Colorado.

I went out and with Luscian on the fist started hitting bushes. There where lots of rat nests but I wanted to wait on them and see how the cotton tail population was first. Within 10 minutes I flushed up a dozen cotton tail and 6 jacks. Luscian flew after all but 5 jacks. A few of the cotton tail where real small and young but knew exactly where the holes where and made it to them before Luscian could make it to them. When he got to the holes it was almost a pain to get him to leave it as he peered to the depths of the black circle. He almost had a little sparrow that flew with the wind but couldnt power as much as Luscian could. That sparrow almost was dinner. Shortly after the first few flushes I had another falconer friend call me and I envited him and his girlfriend to come out and participate. Good thing, I could use the extra flushers and the socialization is great for the bird too. While we waited we went out and flushed some more rabbits. The wind was at a pretty good clip at 20 mph with gusts id say over 30. That really makes luscian work hard to get back when he gets the nerve to fly out for no reason and land on the ground. Muscles are building for sure. Just before Rick and his girlfriend J got to the field I flushed a rabbit and Luscian missed it, Loosing it in a bush as it took off to another. I watched intently as it went down hill to its hide away in another bush. Rick and J showed up and first thing I told them was that I knew where the rabbit was at. After a little work we got the reflush and Luscian took off right away. He missed the first time but with the second attempt he managed to get a hold of the Rabbit by the Head! WOO HOO! I made in quickly to help restrain the rabbit. After a little footing I dispatched and cut the chest open. Well I managed to cut the stomach open so I made the cut longer and got to the chest. With the heart still beating Luscian reached in and snatched it out followed by an eager spell of eating like he had never before. While he ate I cut the rabbit open the rest of the way and pulled the organs south of the liver. He got heart, lungs, liver and kidneys. He also ate to his liking sporting a huge crop. Trading off was pretty easy as he was so full he was almost grumling. Got him home just in time to sit on the perch. Some reason he hasnt wanted to bath in over a week so we might just have to stand in the tub tomorrow morning to get the crud off.

Lucsian : 589 Grams

9/21/09 : 589 Grams

Activity :
10:22 AM 589 Grams
8:56 PM 636 Grams

The cold weather coupled with rain and lightning today really made the morning not a great time to get out. I ended up calling it off for the morning. Once the evening came about we did get a chance to get out but Luscian acted like he was cold as he shivered on the fist telling me that 40 degrees was a little chilly at this weight. We only got one chase on a rabbit and lost it as luscian did not seem to put alot of effort into it. Maybe tomorrow will be better.

Lucsian : 607 Grams

9/19/09 : 607 Grams

Activity :
7:29 AM 617 Grams
1:26 PM 698 Grams
4:00 PM 607 Grams

Photo- Luscian on the right and Jimmy on the Left.

Pretty fun day today. Luscian suprisingly lost all the weight from yesterday with exception to 10 grams. Went out hawking with Mario and Brandi today and after we flew the redtail we took the harris's out. Luscian did very well and once we decided to change fields things got real fun. Luscian was paired off with another Tiercel and together they chased cottontail and both ganged a rat. We where hoping there was a rabbit in this nest as it looked like it ran into it. No rabbit though. Luscian also grabbed a rabbit that flushed at my feet. It twisted around just right and broke free. Honestly it was so fast that it could have been anything but I like to believe what I saw. We also chased some more bugs. Luscian went to get on the TPerch a couple times but the other tiercel did not like sharing and took off when Luscian came in. The end of the day Luscian took off for a bush that he liked. The other harris came in to land near and when he did was the first crabbing for the day. Luscian facilitated that crabbing and jumped up to foot the other bird just as it was coming in to land. All in all another good day but Im told his keel is still fat and ill need to bring him down more. Not much more, im getting good responce and soon enough we will kill. I want him to hunt as a pack with me and not because he is Desperate. Time will tell and the cooler weather will come soon to save the day. I hear monday is suposed to be pretty chilly.

Luscian Trade Off

Lucsian : 590 Grams

9/18/09 : 590 Grams

Activity :
7:43 AM 590 Grams
11:29 AM 693 Grams.

Today Luscian and I went out about 9 am. We went out to Pueblo West on a property I haevnt been to yet this year. We chased a few cotton tail and one of them almost met its maker. It was a real young rabbit and kept going from bush to bush. The final note for that little one was on the 4th flush and it hit a bush with luscian hitting it right behind it. The little guy came out of the bush and into a hole within 20 feet and luscian didn't even see it happen. Sometimes he hits the bush and seems to think he has the rabbit in his feet only to find out he doesn't. I'm hoping this is not killing his confidence. Ill be getting a baggie soon to help with that.

*

After a while I decided that we needed to leave so I can get ready for work so we hit the last rat nest coming to the truck. Out came a decent sized rat and Luscian was in tow. It ran to the next bush and Luscian was all about moving around like crazy to catch up. I got there and started footing at the bush. I got my new snake Gators yesterday so I feel a little more safe to kick bushes. The rat took off from me and ran right into my hawk. SQUEEK!

*

Luscian wanted to carry today So I had to make it a point right away to get the pole on the rat so that he couldn't. Soon he settled and I removed the pole while he ate in peace with my occasionally touching him and walking around him taking pictures. I felt this time he needed a good crop for his work so we ate almost all the rat. Left the back end for Reign as we traded off beautifully.

*

Now we sit on the perch nice and tall with a silent demeanor.

Lucsian : 580 Grams

9/17/09 : 580 Grams

Activity :
10:20 AM 580 Grams
1:28 PM 630 Grams fed 50 grams.

I have this friend who is a pastor at a church. The past few years he has allowed me on his property, especially his barn to catch pigeons with the occasional rabbit that was in there. No rabbits in there today, it would have been nice to have a baggie. All I need is one.

*

Anyhow, I asked Paul if he was busy and if not how would he like to get out and fly the new bird with me. He gracfully said yes and met me at his house. The barn was bare with nothing in it as his son set up a blind and had been shooting the pigeons for some time now. Sounds like the 410 worked out just fine.

*

So we walked around his 5 acre property. Through the middle of it though there is a strip that is not his. It is a trail for horse riders. Well it is in a little bit of a ditch. Not really a ditch but lower in elevation and I could imagine that in a good rain that it would fill with water. Well there was quite a bit of live tumble weed and sage bush through out the area and we started working it for rabbits.

*

Luscian earlier in the day, about a half hour before the hunt had gotten about 10 grams of quail meat and must have felt extra energy or a thirst for more because he chased much better today. A couple of the flights produced fast rabbits making it to holes before Luscian could get them. One of the flushes had a rabbit that ran into a bush with luscian stretching out to get it just as it hit the sage. Unfortunatly the rabbit ran out the other side and Luscian held onto the branches thinking he had the rabbit. He wouldnt let go for about 2 minutes. One time also took off the fist and went a good 35 yards and landed on some tumble weed. While he was footing the crap out of it I was thinking COME ON BIRD! Well One should listen to thier bird just like one should listen to thier dog pulling a sled. They know sometimes much better than you ever will. What I did know though was the rabbit ran out of the tumble weeds just behind Luscian and he never saw it go. All in All Luscian chased pretty hard today and flew for a good hour and a half.

*

Normally Ive been feeding Jack rabbit to Luscian. After I decided that I want to bring his weight up I decided to day to feed Quail. 30 Grams of adult with a little fat and 2, 4 day old quail on the lure. Im thinking I want to raise him to 595 grams and see if the quiet screaming goes away. While he is developing the thought of stopping a rabbit I may as well feed him good food to yellow him up and give him lots of energy. Lets see what happens tomorrow.

Lucsian : 578 Grams

9/16/09 : 578 Grams

9:22 AM 578 Grams

3:27 PM 608 Grams

Luscian and I hunted for almost 6 hours today. We hit 3 fields and flew like maniacs. We chased 4 coveys of quail and 7 rabbits coming home empty handed. A few of the chases where pretty good but still not with the heart that I am looking for. I am going to stall at this weight for just a little bit. The responce that I had with Luscian was pretty awesome and pending on the field he followed me every where we went. If there was nothing for him to fly from he would just come to the fist and stay with me till we got something moving. From what my sponsor tells me, Luscian is still in his play mode. Not quite in that killer mode yet. He says dont lower the weight much more and just enjoy the excersize and enjoy the personality while it lasts. Soon Luscian will come into his own and rabbits beware. Harry McElroy has told me the same thing so after this past couple hunts I am going to take the advice of him and my sponsor and just go out and fly our lungs out, building muscle and bond.

Lucsian : 586 Grams

9/15/09 : 586 Grams

Activity :
6:56 AM 586 Grams
12:22 PM 605 Grams

Hunting the same field more than 2-3 times a week is something I normally dont like to do. We have done it this week more than that and Today we saw little to nothing at the Percel Field. We walked around for a little over an hour and only saw 2 rabbits and a covey of quail. I did not have the time like normal to go to another big field so we went to an industrial area that I have. It was only 5 minutes away so that was good. We got a couple more rabbits up and flushed 2 coveys of quail. Luscian chased a little but mostly he was playing. Following and going out and checking out this or that. HMMM..... Oh we did catch a Lizard! Pretty funny.

Lucsian : 586 Grams

9/14/09 : 586 Grams

Activity :
6:57 AM 586 Grams
11:01 AM fed up to 609 grams 23 grams.

Luscian and I went out this morning to the Percel field out in Pueblo West. Normally this field is pretty good for quail but we didnt see any today. Luscians weight was at the lowest we have been and he was a little squaky out in the field for the first 10 minutes or so. He has really figured out when I work a rat nest. Sometimes a rabbit will run out, sometimes quail will bust out but mostly it is a rat. The second nest we worked on produced a rat and we had to get it out 3 times before Luscian got it. It really wasnt that big and Luscian had it killed and partially consumed in a matter of a minute. I got him traded off to the lure beautifully like normal. A 4 day old quail seems to really get his goat. After that we went out and walked the field flushing 3 rabbits. The first 2 made it to prarie dog holes. This also got luscian wanting to go fly and catch a prarie dog with no success. The third rabbit took off and just before it made it to a sage bush Luscian reached out and grabbed it by the butt. Screaming the rabbit finished making it to the bush with the momentum it had and managed to pull Luscian off his butt before I could make it to help out. This all happened within 20 yards of me. We are flying pretty well. Not as hard as id like to see but Im keeping in mind that he is still young and needs to build muscle and after a few kills he will fly with real Heart. He is So nice to come back without me asking and when I do the responce is adoring.

Lucsian : 593 Grams

9/13/09 : 593 Grams

Activity :
7:44 AM 593 Grams
10:50 AM 605 Grams feed weight.

Luscian and I went out this morning to the college. I wanted to take him out to the stomping ground. It rained a good portion of the night so it was quite wet most everywhere. We got a couple flushes but luscian didn't really have a sence of urgency today. I may attribute that to not weathering him this morning. Luscian did chase a couple rabbits but missed them to holes. He also seems to be a straight shooter and hasn't figured out that he can turn hard durring a flight to continue the chase. One real positive today was lusians following. Luscian flew to a tree and I decided to continue on and if I flushed something I wanted to know how he would chase. Well as I walked away he followed to the next tree and so on. I may just have a natural follower. The Mosquitos where the real issue. They came at me feeling like the hundreds. I just couldn't keep them off me. I'm thinking that I won't hunt the college till the bugs are gone as they really make for a frusterating hunt. The rest of the week we have to hunt mornings and I'll do that out in the praries. I think I could use a baggie.

Lucsian : 607 Grams

9/11/09 : 615 Grams

Activity :
12:56 PM 615 Grams
3:02 PM 607 Grams
7:02 PM 625 Grams.

Today Luscian was a little heavy from yesterdays feeding off his first kill, that and it was a little windy but we flew anyhow. Not within 10 minutes did he catch a sparrow. He took it to a bush and ate it right away followed by a return to the fist. I had another falconer from out of town with me today. Bill Favreau is pretty cool and all he wanted to do was flush bunnies for me. Well we saw lots of doves and a covey of quail but only 4 rabbits and one of them was a Jack. Honestly that jack flight was super cool. The jack was young and Luscian caught up fast and overshot the rabbit when it stoped to turn. Luscian then got right back up and got juked again!. It was kind of funny to see how he responded. Almost sulking. He also chased a cotton tail that was a good 30 yards in front of us. We had no idea that it was there so I am proud of this little bird for taking the initiative to take it on his own. 2 more flushes of rabbits did not produce any chase. Im thinking the tidbitting along with the sparrow he ate may have taken the greed away. Bill says I can for sure stand to take a little more off the keel of this bird. He says that he likes the responce I am getting from my hawk. Both to the fist and the lure. He also loved how fast he was off the fist and asked me what kind of conditioning I did durring training. Oh luscian also caught a moth. He kept knocking it to the ground. He could not foot it but chased it till he could get it with his beak. That was comical and produced a great conversation about how young hawks manage to survive thier first year. LOTS OF BUGS! We also got our new Marshall Scout Transmitter in today. I like it so far. Great signal.

Luscians First Kill Video

Lucsian : 601 Grams

9/10/09 : 601 Grams

Activity :
6:47 AM 601 Grams
1:12 PM 591 Grams
8:13 PM 650.Grams fed 59 grams

Luscians Second Hunt was really a bit of fun. Unfortunatly unlike yesterday we didnt get a chance at birds but we did chase a rabbit though we lost it to a hole. Luscian doesnt have that sence of urgency yet with them but after today he might just change his tune. I had a friend from work come out. He is a Photographer too and Ill work on getting some photos from the hunt to put up on the blog. I also had another falconer friend and His girlfriend with for the hunt. Luscian was a bit vocal and that may have been due to other people out in the field too or it may just be that he was hungry and giving me the Feed me call. Towards the end of the hunt we decided to start hitting some rat nests and found one that I knew we would get something out of. It just looked right as my sponsor would tell me. Well we worked the nest and luscian payed mostly attention but would look around from time to time as to almost be bored. Once we got the rat out the first time though He took off after it right away. He missed it as it ran to another bush but was in hot persuit hitting the bush to get the furry guy. Luscian scared the rat back to its nest so back to the fist we went but now he was paying full attention to the work being done. It ended up taking 4 flushes but on the last one Luscian took off from the fist and made a laser line to the rat grabbing it by the head right away! I took my Ski pole and pinned the rat down so that it couldnt bite and also to dispatch. Luscian didnt show any attempts to carry at first but I think all the comotion with the talking hunters Luscian took the rat from me and the pole and moved a couple feet over. I repined the rat down and let him foot and pluck for a minute till I came in and started touching and cut the rats chest open so that Luscian could start eating and get a real good association with hunting and eating. I let him feed up on the heart and lungs and liver before I did the trade off which came perfectly. I had a 4 day old quail on the lure. With the rat pinned down I threw the lure out 3 feet with a perfect hop from the rat to the lure for our first real tradeoff! Bagged up the rat before he was done and called to the fist. We went to the truck and shot some trophy photos after I hooded and jessed up my hawk. When I got home I weighed the rat at 367grams minus the guts. WOW what a stout rat! All photos with exception to the one in this post will be credited to Shayne. I also have a little video of Luscian eating his first kill. Too much fun!

Luscian First Hunt Photos