Luscian The Harris Hawk

Rest In Peace Luscian

2010-09-26T11:02:00.000-07:00

Thank You to everyone that Followed Luscians Blog. Sadly He gave his life for the hunt today. Ill get a new Blog started up soon for My new Female Harris hawk at www.GhostHawking.Blogspot.com Ill miss ya Luscian. You where amazing.

2010-09-20T18:29:00.000-07:00

624 Grams

2010-09-17T09:34:00.000-07:00

Today we found lots of rabbits to chase but the downside was that they where near a prairie dog town and we lost most of them. We hunted for almost an hour and a half. Towards the end we had a couple young prairie falcons following us around and I thought that was just way too cool but Luscian didnt like it at all. Finally Luscian made it to a power pole and I kept on walking I got about 60 yards away and saw a bunny in a bush. Instead of busting it and teaching luscian a lesson I decided to Call him in. I waited for that perfect moment as he was sailing in to come to me and I busted the bunny out. It ran hard accross a hill and Lucsian changed directions on a dime closing in with his speed from the power pole. I really love to watch these kinds of flights as Luscian overtook the rabbit as it passed a bush, spinning both himself and the rabbit. I made in real quick and dispatched with the idea in mind that I was going to let him crop up real good for this hunt. I want to reward him well for this hunt as he really gave me his 100%. This also affords me to spend a day or two with Sonya, my new female Harris hawk as I want to hopefully get her outside on the creance soon.

I cant wait till it cools off. It is so hot by 10 am and no fun at all in pants and snake guards.

623 Grams

2010-09-06T10:11:00.000-07:00

Luscian and I went out today to my Percell field. Its about 40 acres and deffinatly a bird of the fist field with little as far as poles for perching. Luscian and I where out for 30 minutes and only saw one rabbit before the kill shot. Coarse Luscian was dinking around a bit and i didnt really go crazy flushing bushes if he wasnt going to be around. I know that beating the bush even when he is not on the fist is important but I am trying to teach him that flushes happen when he is with me and rarely not when he is off screwing around. He is still 2/3oz over last years hunting weight but I think that this year that this may be his weight escicially when the colder weather comes. Coarse I could be wrong but he is doing so good now.

Our kill of the day was a CottonTail Rabbit that didnt make it but 20 yards as it worked a small circle and cut with the wind giving Luscian a great chance to get to him before he made it to the hole. I am so impressed with that Last Second Commitment that I have been seeing out of him and in videos of other harris hawks. It seems that, this last second or milisecond the bird really turnes it on hard for a good 5 feet and the Nitrous launches them foreward and the landing gear come out. I really do love seeing this from a side profile as you get to see the catch from another light as most of the catches are from behind. Today as I may not get to hunt tomorrow for the first time of the season, I let Luscian crop up nicely on the rabbit before I hooded him up and walked to the truck. Quiet as a lamb all the way back home and on the perch for the photo of the day. Thats when he started making a little noise.

627 Grams

2010-09-05T08:48:00.000-07:00

Luscian was on fire today. Though he only caught things that I didnt want him to catch or things that I couldnt have imagined him catching. The wind was light but just enough to keep my bird wanting to keep his wings out on the T-Perch. We chased a few cotton tail and one jack with no luck. Luscian then turned his attention to a couple unmentionable birds. Caught one in the air and another in a cactus as he slammed the cactus to catch it. I did not reward him for either catch. Shortly after his second bird he caught a Baby Prairie Dog. WHAT? Yep, I said it. A baby prairie dog. Weird. Anyhow, all went well and I traded him off to the lure for the prairie dog as I thought I may be able to save it but Luscian did just the right amount of dammage. What the world was a baby like that away from the nest. It was a good 7 inches long. Anyhow, we got some excersize and it was a pretty day. Who could ask for more?

636 Grams

2010-09-03T10:22:00.000-07:00

Luscian 636 Grams

Todays weather is much better especially as far as the wind goes. I got up around 7 and was out of the house with Luscian by 745 am. We got out to the field and started walking around. I have used the T Perch more so far this year and it seems to really be a nice addition to the arsenol. Luscian takes off after a flush before I get a chance to see it and todays flights where really great. Luscian is starting to show me some of his moves from last year and he is getting great excersize out of it. We chased a few jacks but I think his weight is still a bit high as he didnt really give them the good job that he did with the cottontails. Cover is really thick and the rabbits have got themselves lots of holes to escape into this year.

The populations seem to look good though as we got to chase a good 6-7 cottontail and a good dozen jacks in the area we used last year. We did manage to hunt around an area that I havent played in too much and i find that it is ok but not as good as the other. Luscians kill today was a good flush from right at my feet. The rabbit took off for the left with Luscian coming in HOT behind him. They both went behind some large cactus and I couldnt see the connect but I heard the tell tale sound of a cottontail getting grabbed and when I got there I see Luscian in one side of the cactus and the cottontail coming out the other side. Surly Luscian had a great grip as I reached in to help and get them both out of the Cholla Cactus. Trade off to the front leg while I went and cleaned the rabbit. The walk to the truck was a long one today but we got there happy and ready to kick back and rest for the both of us.

First Day of the 2010 Season!

2010-09-01T10:10:00.000-07:00

Luscian 624grams

Todays first day of the season ended off with a BANG!

Ive been working Luscain for a couple weeks getting his weight down and excersizing him in the back yard and it all payed off. Luscian played the game like he never went through the moult and showed me that he was well worth his salt as a falconry bird. We flew for just about an hour and grabbed 2 jacks and ended the day with a cotton tail. The cottontails that he chased early on in the hunt where really not that lucky as Luscian seemed to have forgotten a few of his moves and didnt really turn it on till the end when all the sudden it seemed that he remembered a trademark tactic and excecuted a perfect wingover with a slide under a bush to grab his bunny just as it was hitting its Hole in the ground. Luscian was rewarded with a front leg and a nice walk back to the truck.

Awesome first day of the season!

Fresh Trapped Starling

2010-05-11T16:19:00.000-07:00

Trapping Starlings

2010-05-11T15:59:00.000-07:00

Ok here is the trap im using. It does require all my attention but hey, Im on Vacation! Waiting for my wife to go into labor affords me time to do this, lol.

2010-04-29T20:06:00.000-07:00

Well the new Mews is done and Luscian spent his first day in it. By the end of the day he was quite comfy in the new enclosure that measures 12x16. He wasnt too interested in eating but he did preen quite a bit and dropped 2 more secondaries. We are now up to 8 secondaries and 2 tail feathers. We are getting another freeze warning tonight so Luscian will be spending the night inside where it is warm. He should be pretty happy. I know I am!

Luscians New Mews in the Making

2010-04-11T18:10:00.000-07:00

Luscians New Mews is in the making. It will be 12d x 15.5w

Large mews big enough to moult 2 Harris Hawks with ease. Maybe some day it can be a breeding chamber.

Couple Photos

610 Grams

2010-02-19T09:55:00.001-08:00

Well its been almost 3 weeks since I have gotten to take Luscian out. The first week I was dealing with the death of my Father and the next two I was dealing with being on graveyard shift and inventory for work that involved 12-13 hours a day.

So Today We finally got a chance to get out. Today was a good day for a little industrial Hunting. I went to the CSU with Noah and he had a friend that could get us into an area that is normally locked and fenced. That seems to be the area that all the rabbits run and end up healthy to live another day. This area has a large shed that the rabbits go to. Surrounding inside the fenced area are large poles and a playground of sorts for adults that want to be high up in the air practicing climbing and such. Luscian was very anxious today and seemed great for a good time. Once we got him out to the field he was very active, changing positions often and following every step we made. We started on a rabbit that we saw run out to the edge of the field near the fence line. Well the bunny got flushed and ran for the fence with luscian in tow. Luscian ended up hitting the fence as the rabbit went under it. The rabbit went under a evergreen tree and we got luscian back up on the fence. Once lusian saw the bunny as we where working on the right slip, Luscian took off after it in the tree and lost it but nearly had it. The rabbit then ran for the large shed. We got Luscian up on one of the poles that was at least 50 feet up. Noah and I got the rabbit running and I think Luscian traveled farther than the bunny did. Luscian wrapped it up nicely. Noah got to the catch before I did and grabbed the back legs passing it to me when I got there for the stretch. I let Luscian pluck fur for a few and pulled a leg for him to eat after a few minutes. I thought that the hunt was over so we did some jump ups where I threw food up in the air for him to go catch. Noah had a couple of his friends along and they really enjoyed watching the event. On the way back to the truck I noticed 3 new culverts that where put in, in the past couple weeks. I looked in 2 and found 2 rabbits. Well with Luscian having a good amount to eat I decided that we where going to still try it. We got out the mechanical Ferret and Luscian took off super fast as it exited the pipe. the rabbit was running towards another evergreen and it was a new one so the grounds people had poles in the ground to help support the new trees. Just as Luscian grabbed the bunny, not 40 feet from me he hit his wing and possibly his leg on this wood dowel that was as thick as a baseball and spun, loosing the rabbit but taking away a whole fist full of fur. Instantly he pulled up a leg and started talking to me as I came to him. I think he may half been hurting but the good tidbit showed me that everything was in working order as he came for more food. So my bird is ok and he did bag one bunny. We needed that as we have had a dry spell finding bunnies. We are both happier for that for sure.

2 Short Videos

2010-01-16T19:30:00.001-08:00

Ive been working on bringing Luscians weight back down and in the mean time Ive taken a couple videos. He is now at weight so we should hope to have a kill soon.

640 Grams

2010-01-13T17:59:00.000-08:00

Yesterday Luscian was at 650 grams and today 10 down. I know now that this is above his higher weights to do any decent hunting. I have showed Luscain in the past 2 days a good dozen rabbits in the short 45 minute hunts that we have after work. Nothing but a mouse kill today. I really am hoping for some nice weather to stick around as having the Hawk on the perch sitting waiting out a cold spell really drives me a little nuts.

Hopefully to have the weight down with in the next few days and hunting hard and acting like he has a sence of urgency.

2010-01-06T17:30:00.000-08:00

Luscian coudnt hunt today due to weather and my schedual. So we go to eat a Jack rabbit head and work on that beak. Afterwords I replaced the bath pan and he spent a good half hour in the drink. Couple photos for today as we are bored, needing the weather to warm up just a bit and the wind to go away.

593 Grams

2010-01-02T19:34:00.000-08:00

I took Luscian out again today for more duck hunting. Unfortunatly a dirtbiker buzzed through and broke at least 3 good flushes before I even got a chance. By the end of the hunt though we did get a chance at a couple teal with no luck. They both went both ways except in my birds feet. Luscian did chase good for a 20 yard dash but gave up on those little speed deamons. Ill keep working on that area and see what happens. I do love how he follows and when I bring friends like today Luscian really makes me look like a great falconer. Thanks for coming Dan and Rick!

590 Grams Luscians First Duck Hunt!

2009-12-30T16:29:00.000-08:00

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

2009-12-18T21:00:00.000-08:00

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

2009-12-17T19:58:00.000-08:00

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!

2009-12-02T18:07:00.000-08:00

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

2009-11-30T18:28:00.000-08:00

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!

2009-11-25T07:53:00.000-08:00

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

2009-11-22T06:49:00.000-08:00

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

2009-11-20T18:49:00.000-08:00

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!

2009-11-16T15:53:00.000-08:00

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

2009-11-13T10:29:00.000-08:00

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

2009-11-11T22:15:00.000-08:00

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

2009-11-07T19:29:00.001-08:00

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

2009-11-06T19:29:00.000-08:00

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

2009-11-05T18:04:00.000-08:00

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

2009-11-04T19:11:00.000-08:00

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

2009-11-03T18:03:00.001-08:00

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

Luscian : 602 Grams

2009-10-31T11:20:00.001-07:00

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

2009-10-27T21:49:00.000-07:00

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.

*

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

2009-10-20T19:11:00.000-07:00

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

2009-10-19T16:37:00.000-07:00

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

2009-10-14T15:47:00.001-07:00

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.

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

Luscian : 604 Grams

2009-10-13T19:39:00.001-07:00

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

2009-10-11T18:22:00.000-07:00

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

2009-10-07T19:20:00.001-07:00

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

2009-10-06T19:03:00.000-07:00

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

2009-10-05T15:33:00.001-07:00

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

2009-10-04T19:09:00.001-07:00

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

2009-10-02T19:38:00.000-07:00

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

2009-09-29T18:29:00.001-07:00

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

2009-09-25T19:10:00.000-07:00

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

2009-09-24T19:16:00.000-07:00

Lucsian : 593 Grams

2009-09-24T19:15:00.000-07:00

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!

2009-09-22T18:48:00.001-07:00

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

2009-09-21T19:57:00.001-07:00

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

2009-09-19T19:30:00.000-07:00

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

2009-09-18T10:38:00.000-07:00

Lucsian : 590 Grams

2009-09-18T10:30:00.001-07:00

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

2009-09-17T12:28:00.001-07:00

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

2009-09-16T14:58:00.001-07:00

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

2009-09-15T21:14:00.001-07:00

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

2009-09-14T10:02:00.001-07:00

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

2009-09-13T10:49:00.000-07:00

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

2009-09-11T19:43:00.001-07:00

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.

2009-09-10T20:29:00.000-07:00

2009-09-10T20:25:00.000-07:00

Luscians First Kill Video

2009-09-10T20:03:00.000-07:00

Lucsian : 601 Grams

2009-09-10T19:14:00.000-07:00

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

2009-09-09T20:29:00.001-07:00

Luscian's First Hunt!

2009-09-09T19:39:00.001-07:00

9/9/09 : 594 Grams

Activity :
4:54 PM 594 Grams
8:38 PM 618 Grams fed 24 grams

Today was more fun than I could have imagined! Our first hunt was in the evening after 530pm. We spent the last 2 hours of daylight flying, chasing and coming back home together.

First Ill start at the beginning. We got to the field and the anxioty of the first flight was really getting to my head. We did a couple flights to the fist on the creance and I decided I was going to GO FOR IT!. We put on the new flight Jesses and did a couple flights to the fist and I was ready to get knee deep in it. As we walked to the field Luscian couldnt resist the urge to go catch some grass hoppers that where jumping all over the place. A couple bouts at that and back to the fist we went. Then He took off after a butterfly and caught it and ate it quickly. First Catch? Ill count that as a MISC. Once we got into the part of the field that I wanted to be in Luscian noticed that there where little sparrows and that he wanted a go at them. He flew a good 40 yards for them. Not getting them after he crashed the bush he flew back to the fist without being called or offered a tidbit. Couple more sparrow chases incured before we got our first Chase at a Mourning Dove. Luscian flew for a good 60 yards before giving up on that and when I saw him turn off the burners I whistled and he started towards me. Well he was coming with the wind and ended up coming at me at MACH 1 so he overshot me and turned around without touching the ground and came to the fist. The first Bout with Scaled Quail was pretty fun. I busted a covey and Luscian took off after them right away. He chased one to a sage bush and crashed the bush in almost redtail style. I cant believe how hard he crashes on his first time out! Anyhow, I didnt see the quail come out so I came over for a reflush. Luscian got to the fist instantly and I hit the bush for the flush. Quail bailing at a blur of a speed, Luscian chased only to be burned in the long run. Im not to worried though as he doesnt have the muscle or lungs to deal with that yet. But he will soon enough. Our second bout with quail was when I was walking and noticed Luscian bend over straight and start cocking his head. I looked to see what he was looking at and noticed a covey running and jumping up into a cholla cactus. Luscian left the fist and gained speed. Now I watched him hit the sage a few times earlier but I was not ready to see him crash a huge cactus. It was just the right shape as Luscian busted through the other side of the bush he hit it so hard. His footing will eventually get better and his cordination will grow but I was scared about how much Cactus I was going to have to pull out of him. Ended up not finding any. So whew.. The third covey of quail just took off and left Luscian in thier dust. He was deffinatly working for his money today.

Now Rabbits. 30 minutes before dark the rabbits started to come out. Luscian saw a Jack that I flushed but didnt go after it, Im glad for that. The first cotton tail that he saw he didnt go after either and it really wasnt that big. The third one though was interesting. When this rabbit flushed it ran pretty quick but stopped as luscian wasnt in tow. Well luscian watched it as it took off the second time and went into a small pile of broked up tumble weed. Off the fist and cruising pretty quickly he Slammed into the brush. I heard a scream from the rabbit and it feels like just as I took my first step to run to them the rabbit busted out the other side and Luscian was empty handed. I say he grabbed but not good enough. WOW!

Walking back to the truck I decided that we would do a small lure. I flicked out a piece of meat and Luscian was off to get it. While he was doing that I pulled the lure and walked back 15 or so feet. For the first time when I swung the lure Luscian came in Hot and took the Lure in the air. He got to eat his 4 day old quail and came to the fist for his tidbit.

Now the scary part. Not 20 feet from there I take the wrong step and I hear Rattle snake! I jumped back and instantly grabbed Luscians Jesses. Good thing as he bated towards the snakes. There ended up being 2. I took a photo just after the first one went into a hole not 10 inches away. The flash must have freaked the other one and he was aggressive as hell and we will leave what happened to him at that.

Put Luscian back in the truck and off to Home Sweet Home.

The Diversity of things chased to day was so much fun. Who could have asked for a better first free flight!

Lucsian : 591 Grams

2009-09-08T19:43:00.000-07:00

9/8/09 : 591 Grams

Activity :
4:35 AM 591 Grams
5:36 AM 601 Grams fed 10 grams on lure
5:10 PM. 595 Grams
8:42 PM fed to 620 grams

Yes, Thats right. I woke up at 4am to go to work but I didnt have to be there till 6 so Luscian and I did a lure session in the living room. Todays responce was completly instant, the best I have seen so far with the lure. Fed him up on that 10 grams of 4 day old baby quail and I was off to work.

The afternoon came and when I got home Luscian was pretty vocal. Nothing like my Goshawk but chirping more at me than normal. He was also more interested in getting to me. Bates where more than normal as he did that. Weathered for an hour or so outside before hooding up and in the truck we went. I actually had plans on flying free for the first time today but as I got out to my hunting ground the storm that looked far away before was right on my heels. Well, we ended up sitting in the truck for an hour as it rained and blew at 30+ MPH gusts. Sometime durring the rain I fell asleep in the truck and woke up about and hour before sunset. I spent the next thirty Minutes walking a portion of the field. Walking about 500 yards I got up 6 rabbits, bugged a rat out of his nest and busted a covey of Scaled Quail. When I got back to the truck I got Luscian out of the Hood, Creanced him up as it was still too windy and getting dark and we where off to a bare part of the field for more jump ups into the wind.

This was Luscians first time to a hunting field and to be honest, he didnt seem to pay any mind to the difference. As we where walking to the spot He was looking around intent like id like to see in an experienced Hunter. 10 grams of tidbits where used in jump ups right into the wind followed by a 10 gram 4 day old quail on the lure which was a great show of interest and exactly what I want to see. We did the trade off from the lure with the remaining 3 grams of food for the day. More than Id like to feed him for the day but I wanted to make sure the lure was good.

I think I may want to drop him another 5-10 grams and I think we may be on fire. Field respect will tell me more as we get to hunting. Ill be following Direction from Harry McElroy and waiting till Friday to continue my lessions and refining weight and responce. Talking on the phone with him this evening was great and from my descriptions to him he says that Luscian is showing everything he would be looking for in a passage before flying free. Thank You Harry for your Time.

Lucsian : 605 Grams

2009-09-06T20:07:00.001-07:00

9/6/09 : 605 Grams

Activity :
3:05 PM 605 Grams
9:07 PM 630 Grams

Todays Session was involved with another Harris Hawker. He told me that Luscians Keel was still very fat but was impressed as to his responce in the creance. We flew Luscian from falconer to falconer with instant flights followed by Jump ups that I have never been one for. Really the Jump ups where pretty cool as I stood on a Park Table with Luscian flying straight up to me at about 10 feet. He got pretty winded after a good 20 or so jump ups.

I was advised that as though I may be able to fly Luscian and get him back, His weight was still too high to want to go after anything and that I may need to drop him at least another 20 grams. This may take a week and thats ok. I was also told that even as tame as he is, he is still a little spooky in child hawk terms. So ill work on getting him out and see people just a little bit more and all should be ok..

Maybe Friday?

Lucsian : 612 Grams

2009-09-05T10:20:00.000-07:00

9/5/09 : 612 Grams

Activity :
8:12 AM 612 Grams
11:20 AM 632 Grams fed 20 grams

I think we may be ready to fly free. Tomorrow I have another Harris Hawker coming to town and we may just fly the 3 boys together if we dont just fly Luscian by himself. Im kind of the idea to fly by our self for the first couple flights then break in with friends.

Todays session was out at the baseball field. I had the perch in the middle with 50 feet of creance connected to the ring. Put Luscian on the perch and walked 20 feet before he was on his way to me and I threw out a piece of meat for him to go get. While he was on the ground I walked the other way and put 60 feet between us. Instantly he came for the fist even with nothing on it. As he hit the glove I threw out another piece of meat followed by me walking the other direction again. We did this easily 20 times today and he was interested each and every time. The wind was coming in one direction and half the time he would fly into it and the other with it. When he was flying with it the first time he overshot and landed at my Neck. OUCH .. ok.. No more glove in front of the face. Changed that Idea and now he is landing much better after a few tries. This harris will be fun to watch learn how to fly. He is so eager to do it now and im glad I have changed up the training for the past week and kept him from getting bored.

Tomorrow the new telemetry will be here and Im interested in seeing how things. go. Luscian should be around the 600 mark tomorrow.

Lucsian : 642 Grams

2009-09-04T10:15:00.001-07:00

9/4/09 : 626 Grams

Activity :
8:14 AM 626 Grams
11:09 AM 642 Grams fed 16 grams

Todays Session was pretty fun. Luscian weathered on the glove for 10 minutes or so before I put out the perch and prepped for the lesson.

Todays lesson was when he went to the perch the first time, I tossed out a piece of food. He then came to the fist for a small piece of food at which I would Toss food out once again. Sometimes food would be tossed 5 feet and another would be tossed 10. Luscian went for it instantly and came back to the fist completly ignoring the perch. Other than the first flight to the fist from the ground there where no tidbits at the fist. Luscian had to go get the food and come back to me. He did really well. When we where done, we sat in the sun and relaxed for a good 30 minutes before coming back home. Not as much as one bate today out durring training. The next couple of days Ill keep doing this.

Weight Management with this bird may take a little bit of some talking to another harris hawker. Seems I have a 30gram window that ill get good responce but My thoughts ask me what the real first free flight weight will be and what exactly I need to see with a harris to get the idea that it is ok to go out free and maybe get a chance to chase for the first time.

Lucsian : 599 Grams

2009-09-03T19:14:00.000-07:00

9/3/09 : 599 Grams

Activity :
10:43 AM 599 Grams
11:32 AM 660 Grams fed 61 grams

Session today was nice. After weathering on the fist out in the yard for half an hour or so we went to the city park. The baseball field was being used so I drove till I found a clearing in the trees but with nice grass. Perch out and beeped up we unhooded ready to get started. I had Luscian sit on the fist till he was ready, From Rousing, and put him to the perch. Instant responce and the story gets kind of interesting. Seems every time I come to the park lately Im seeing Coopers hawks. Well this particular bird I believe ive seen for 2 days in a row. Right after my third tidbit, Luscian takes off back to the perch and instantly hits the perch , pushes off right back my direction. Inside my head Im thinking, WOW man give me a chance to put some food on the glove. Turns out he hit the fist just as we got buzzed by this Large Hen Passage Coopers. She came close enough that if I took a step foreward I could have grabbed her. From there Luscian wanted to stay on the fist and wouldnt go back to the perch. We waited a few minutes as I watched this coopers and soon 3 crows that came in too. Soon enough Luscian took back to the perch. Then the coopers took off after one of the crows, not binding but buzzing the black murder member. 2 of the crows took off and one stayed. The coops came back and perched in a tree above us as we finished our session. Luscian came for a good 20 small tidbits.

The Lure was introduced today as well. I had a day old chick tied to it. Luscian didnt seem to recognize what this was and payed no attention to the Lure. Once I put a tidbit on the chick he hopped down and claimed both prizes. He really seemed to enjoy the DOC as he tore it to shreds and ate it very quickly. Im hoping to have a couple more lure sessions with a good responce before we fly free. Honestly I cant imagine that taking much longer. Not till the new transmitter comes in, thats for sure.

Lucsian : 636 Grams

2009-09-02T10:38:00.001-07:00

9/2/09 : 636 Grams

Activity :
8:03 AM 612 Grams
10:32 AM 610 Grams
11:16 AM 636 Grams Fed 26 Grams.

This morning I took him to the baseball field. First time away from home and I wanted more of a 360 degree view with some distractions to guage my weight management. Well at 610 he did ok for a little bit but once the lawn mowers at the park accross the street got working he wanted nothing to do with food or coming to the fist. The Lure was loaded with a DOC for some casting but I decided that we would save it for another day. I did try to tidbit him while the scary lawn mowers was working just to ease his mind about the situation but that didnt work. More time away from home and maybe another 10-15 grams I hope. So we packed up and went home.

I also have a dummy transmitter on him that he got just this morning. Playing with it a bit, tugging but only for a few times and short times at that. Seems my Back pack fit must be right on.
Luscian does Great on the perch inside, he gets the TV to watch for some noise and movement. He doesnt like Bonnie though. Im thinking ill do some flights to the fist involving her very soon. Fly from me to her and back. Could be fun and who knows, maybe Bonnie will want to go hunting with me more if she feels a connection.

Lucsian : 624 Grams

2009-09-01T21:12:00.001-07:00

9/1/09 : 605 Grams

Activity :
10:16 AM 618 Grams
8:36 PM 605 Grams
8:49 PM 624 Grams Fed 17 grams

Today I went Dove Hunting after work with a buddie of mine so I didnt get to do an outdoor session with Luscian flying to the fist. I am off tomorrow so today we did jumpups for just enough food to tide her over till then.

Jump ups went well. Complete virticle jump ups for 17grams of food and every single one was instant. He actually was doing them so fast that a couple of them I did not have food at the glove yet. He also seemed to want to be on the glove today as he bated towards me. When I went to him with the gloved fist he instantly hopped to the fist. Today was also the first day that he would hop onto the scale. Pretty awesome I thought. Tomorrow my plans are to fly to the fist between 25 and 50 feet followed with our first introduction to the lure garnished with some casting material. Im thinking a DOC will work for that just fine.

This bird is by far the easiest and funnest bird I have trained. Watching him as he clicks inside his own head really has me thinking this will be a fun bird to get out with and hunt. I have ordered last saturday a new Scout Transmitter and wait for that to get here before we fly free. Part of me wants to fly as soon as possible and get some kills under the belt but at the same time I want to make sure that I have all the socialization done needed to assure I never loose this bird. Time and responce will tell me for sure. I have also ordered for my birthday the new Harry McElroy book in hopes that it will give me more insite into what I am getting myself into. Its going to be a Fun Ride for sure!

Lucsian : 613 Grams

2009-08-31T19:04:00.001-07:00

8/31/09 : 613 Grams

Activity :
6:24 PM 613 Grams

Fed 23 grams to 636 grams.

Luscian spent most of the day on the perch in the house while Bonnie took me to Mount Princeton Hot Springs for my Birthday. Wow was that an experience ill never forget.

So when we where driving into town I could see that it had rained like hell so I was eager to get out and do some flights for our first outdoor session.

I could hear thunder but the clouds looked as though they where going to go another direction. I had gotten Luscian to jump to the fist 3 times before we started to get sprinkled on. The first 3 jumps where at 10 feet and He instantly went back to the perch to be served again. Well we got a good 6-7 more flights and all the sudden HAIL started falling on us. Luscian didnt like the idea too much and I think it was the lesser of two evils as I got him to the fist and ran for the Door! We watched as the rain and Hail fell for a good 10 minutes before I put him up on the perch to finish the storm. After the storm ended I decided that I have never worn a hat around Luscian and he really needs to know who I am while I have one on so the hat on head we went back outside to do some more flights. Well I only got about 5 more, a couple of them instant but the last 2 he came to the fist but wouldnt take the food from the glove. He was confused as to who I was, this freaky looking dude with a Hat on. Well concitering I wear a hat almost 99 percent of the time durring the hunting season I better make sure that on all of our trainings I am wearing it. As a Harris he should be able to be cool either way but durring the first part of his life with me we will work on the side of caution.

Lucsian : 607 Grams

2009-08-30T19:14:00.000-07:00

8/30/09 : 607 Grams

Activity :
7:29 AM 623 Grams
3:50 PM 607 Grams

Fed 44 Grams up to 651grams
Washed Jack Rabbit.

This little harris took as long as a good redtail would to jump to the fist. I would expect that. What I didn't expect was for this little guy to go from 2 feet to almost 15 feet within two days with instant Flash Gordon responce by the second day of jumping to the fist. He was very interested and quickly figured out my requirement that he jump back to his perch before I got more food out. The food for today was washed jack rabbit. I just about washed the color out of the meat.

We also spent a few hours outside today. He was a little fidgity for a bit but settled down nicely. He really enjoys being in the sun and bates less outside when he is in it.

Lucsian : 622 Grams

2009-08-29T18:41:00.001-07:00

8/29/09 : 622 Grams

Activity :
2:43 PM 626 Grams
6:48 PM 622 Grams

Fed 10 grams up to 632 grams

The day started off pretty good. First thing out of the giant hood was some touch therapy making sure to get all the spots where I would come in contact tith luscian durring the back pack instalation. Everything went smoothly as I took my time to make sure it was a perfect fit. All in all it took 45 minutes. He preened quite a bit afterwards with the occasional tug at the ribbon. By he end of the day he didn't care at all and payed no attention to the forign object hugging his body.

We did make some ground today in the hopping to the fist subject. I waited till about seven and washed some quail. Put up all but 10 grams in the freezer and went to see if luscian would work today. He got his one freebee at the fist but once I put him back to the bow I wanted a hop or no food. It took him a good 10 seconds but the desire for food was too much and he hopped. From there I had about 7 more pieces and he hopped almost instantly for each piece. All hops where from 1-2 feet. Tomorrow I'll try the first piece or two from that same distance but after that we will double the distance as needs fit.

Really is nice to have him hopping now. All I have to do now is get a little more weight off him and we will be in buisness.

Lucsian : 640 Grams

2009-08-28T17:21:00.000-07:00

8/28/09 : 640 Grams

Activity :
6:13 PM 640 Grams

After luscians meal yesterday he really is in no hunger today to do what we need to progress. I gave him one chance to hop to the fist and he wouldn't do it. So we won't eat today.

Shortly after I pulled him from the Giant Hood and struck his hood he casted a nice little bit. Now that he has gotten that out of the way we will be going full steam into training and if I have to have tough love then that's what we will do. No eating till he hops to the fist.

While he was bathing this afternoon I wrapped my spiked bow with some new sisal rope. What a pain in the butt that was. I'll be pulling a few splinters for a couple days I'm sure. Luscian seems to like it though so I'm glad I used it and may just rewrap my indoor bow the same way.

Lucsian : 630 Grams

2009-08-27T18:51:00.001-07:00

8/27/09 : 630 Grams

Activity :
6:16 PM 630 Grams

Fed 40 grams to 670 grams.

Back to work today so Luscian spent the better part of the day at the Bow inside listening to my iTunes library. Today I wanted to make it a point to change out his anklets so I made up the pair and started playing with his feet to get him up to speed on what I was going to do. He tends to be a little heavy footed with a hood on so I thought id try it without. Things went extreemly well. I got the first anklet off and replaced in moments and Luscian didnt bat an eye at the idea. No Sweat. The second Anklet he kept pulling his foot up not letting me work with him so I had an idea. Ive had this bird for a week and have not given him a casting. Today would be perfect. I pulled a 3 week old quail, Dispatched it and gave it to Luscian. While he was plucking and eating the top half of the bird, I got the new anklet on. Luscian didnt give me any grief for doing so. Id never would have gotten away with that with my Gos. All jessed up and bell replaced just the way I like it. These anklets keep the bells away from the feet. You dont have to worry a bit.

I also wanted to go over the weight that I got for today to start with. Yesterday I weighed him at 620 and fed him up to 625. I have been feeding him wet food and not presenting a bath pan. Yesterday after our session I presented the bathpan and Luscian drank a good 30grams worth of water. This is something that I would not have taken into account till today. Water will make a difference in the weight management. From now on ill continue to give water in the pan every day as to keep an average likelyhood known in my weight management.

Luscian ate pretty good today. He also got some casting material. From here out I am going to be not as easy going in our feeding sessions. If he does not jump to the fist he will not get fed. Im hoping that my experience with giving a good meal after days of small meals will kick start his appatite. Honestly Im not expecting a whole lot tomorrow but I will expect more by Saturday.

Lucsian : 620 Grams

2009-08-26T18:45:00.001-07:00

8/26/09 : 620 Grams

Activity :
2:28 PM 620 Grams

Fed 5 grams up to 625 grams

This birds number must be 3. It seems that anything we do takes 3 days to either figure out or to get comfortable with. The subject I am reffering to today is outdoor manning. 2 days ago he would bate constantly outside, making us only stay out for a bit. It seems cars driving by my house got his goat. Yesterday he tollerated being outside but still acted afraid and bated now and then. Today he seems to not really care and settled down nicely. We even took our picture with the boys. My son Charles, Luscian and myself. Thank you to my wife Bonnie for shooting it for us.

Luscian is really settled well I believe. He is sitting on the perch with one foot tucked up. My son who is 3 was jumping on my bed and flew off smacking his face into the dresser. Loud crying for a minute and yes Charles is ok. Luscian never as much as dropped his tucked foot! Someone must be feeling ok.

Our feeding session today may just hopefully be playing games of 3. The past 2 days I have been trying to get this little Harris to hop to the glove. He looked mighty interested today but just wouldn't do it. The start of the session he got 2 pieces of meet on the fist before he was placed to a perch. He would not jump and I did not allow a stretch take so at 5 grams of dinner tonight maybe he will be more serious tomorrow.

Lucsian : 620 Grams

2009-08-25T19:31:00.001-07:00

8/25/09 : 620 Grams

Activity :
8:45 AM 620 Grams

Inside luscian is doing great. He can be on the perch or the fist and do just fine. Not much seems to bother him while in the house. Yesterday we did minimal time outside, early in the day he was still paying more attention to me. Today he was more unsure outside. At first the sight of a car driving by was enough to evoke a bate. All his bates now are recovered without aid. It didn't take long before he settled down a bit while I read my emails at the parkbench in the back yard. I love my iPhone cause I can take a photo and have it put up on my blog in seconds. See the photo below. Anyhow he is calming down outside.

Today I plan on trying again to see if I can get him to eat from the fist. This time he will have to be on the fist.

4:15 PM. 616grams

Fed up to 639grams. Fed 23 grams

Feeding time was much better today. I fed at 5 PM. Luscian instantly took food while standing on the fist today. We did 5 small bean size pieces that way. Then I put him to the perch and got some pretty creative stretches to get the rest. A couple times it looked like he was wanting to jump but no, not today.

2009-08-25T17:58:00.000-07:00

Sitting handsome.

2009-08-25T11:09:00.000-07:00

Lucsian : 625 Grams

2009-08-24T19:49:00.001-07:00

8/24/09 : 625 Grams

Activity :
10:05 AM 625 Grams

Fed 16g from glove to 641g

Luscian is doing different things every day. Kind of fun for a guy that hasn't manned a bird in 2 years. Last night after work we did some fist time and watched the news and stargate for a couple hours. Only 3 bates and 2 recovered on his own.

Today I'm off so I took my son to the babysitter and am spending the whole day with Luscian. We sat and watched TV for an hour or so before I got hungry and had breakfast with luscian watching me from the perch. He is now as of today jumping back to the perch after a bate though sometimes he will spend some time on the floor before returning. He is now also seeming calm enough to preen like crazy, not as much as he shakes his tail but not far either. LOL. He will put up a foot and watch me constantly and seems unbothered as I walk in circles around the perch while I talk Harris hawks with other falconers on the phone.

The subject of food for me now is that with him calming down nicely, I want him to take food from the glove. After dispatching a quail I cut up pieces the size of beans. I had about 8 pieces from part of a breast. Luscian bated from the perch as I put the garnished glove to him so I went to the floor to show him what this was all about. I ended up having to put the food to his beak and with his bite he took it. From there he took the rest of the food while standing on the ground. I did try to get him to take one while on the fist but he just wouldn't do it. I decided that he will get no more today and maybe tomorrow he will be hungry enough to bend down and eat a bit.

We are spending a good 50% on the fist and the other 50% on perch amost constantly in my sight.

The day ended off pretty well. At the beginning of the dab I had a bird that I was still fearfull to touch bare handed and bating alot on the perch. By the end of the day I was allowed to touch anywhere I wanted and the perch was held by one foot while family and myself walked by going along our daily actvities.

It's like a switch went off.

Chuck

www.ReignTheGoshawk.BlogSpot.com

www.GhostHawkPhotography.com

Luscian Getting Comfortable

2009-08-23T20:53:00.001-07:00

Lucsian : 646 Grams

2009-08-23T09:43:00.001-07:00

7:37 AM 646 Grams

Fed 20 Grams to feed up to 666grams

Todays session proved to be a step in the right direction. Getting Luscian on the fist today didn't take nearly as much work. Only 2 tries helping him to the fist and he stayed there with no bates. Luscian chittered at me most of the time with wings opened. I held him on the fist for half an hour before putting him on the perch. 2 hours later and I've only had to put him back once. Seems he still doesn't want to hop up to the perch on his own.

After today I have the next two days off and I plan on lots of socialization. I am also hoping to get him to take food from the fist along with hoping back to the perch if he bates off.

Luscian ended todays session, stepping to the glove from the floor and sat on the perch with minimal bates. He seems to be relaxing quite a bit as he puts up a foot on the perch.

2009-08-22T11:04:00.000-07:00

Lucsian : 643 Grams

2009-08-22T09:23:00.001-07:00

8/22/09 : 643 Grams

Activity :
8:55 AM 643 Grams

This morning I pulled Luscian from the Giant Hood from his slumber. His hood that he wore for the night is a perfect fit. I got it from Larry Ray. Luscian spent a good hour on the perch with the hood on inside. I'm hoping that the sounds will ease him into manning. Not sure how much I'll do that though. When I took the hood off of him he reminded me that he is CB and doesn't want to play yet. Put him on the perch only for him to bate off. I'm going to go with the leave him on the perch to get used to his surroundings. Let him relax a bit before I get too involved with him. I don't want to rush things. It really is fun to see him preen.

12:15pm 665grams Fed 25 grams

I did manage to get Luscian to stand on the fist for a good half hour with only one bate that he recovered all on his own. I was pretty happy for that but the best part was when I went to hood him up, he let me put it on with him standing. No Dodging, Ducking or Bating, Sweet!

Luscians first day in Colorado

2009-08-21T20:23:00.000-07:00

Lucsian : 657 Grams

2009-08-21T14:38:00.001-07:00

8/21/09 : 657 Grams

Activity :
3:07 PM 657 Grams

Luscians plane landed today at 1215 pm and it took till 115 pm till I got him in my care. I drove home to Pueblo from Colorado Springs and had him on the perch by 3pm.

Wow, what a bird with his long legs! He didn't like the idea of standing on the fist and with the long day he has had I decided to put him on the perch so we could spend some time just looking at each other. He didn't want to be on the perch either but that didn't stop him from preening 5 minutes out of the hood. I was expecting a bird that was afraid of the new surroundings but not quite like a fresh trap. Well honestly on the fist he acted that way but now that he is on the bow he seems more at ease.

I'll post more as the day goes on but for now I'm going to get the guy a little something to eat and spend some time with my new little hawk.

745pm
Well, I really had a rough time with Luscian this afternoon working on manning him. I attempted to man him on the fist a few times and had little to no luck with him working with me. I tried to get him to stand on the perch, with no avail he stood at the end of his leash. I also managed to get footed on my thumb, which took a little time to let go. OUCH, That was a bummer. Tomorrow is another day, Maybe some perch time to get used to me is in order.

TOMORROW!

2009-08-20T10:46:00.000-07:00

Well Luscian is coming a week early and I got my schedual all set up to be there to pick him up and spend the day with him. All new equiptment is set up and ready for him including Weathering area with perch. Ive gone through a few people with ideas on exactly how Ill start him up from the time that I get him and will decide on which way ill do that as soon as I get him home and see how his attitude is.

Crossing my fingers the flight goes well!

Baby Pics

2009-08-06T19:30:00.000-07:00

Photos of the Growing Luscian are provided by Breeder Lee Slikkers.

Luscian. One Month till Takeoff

2009-08-02T10:37:00.001-07:00