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Here's a story I thought I'd pass on from a guy who flies goshawks.
We had our first snow of the winter this morning and by the time I
got home from work it was breezy, a couple of inches and 22 degrees.
Just as I came around the corner by the dairy farm, three roosters
and a pair of hen pheasant came scooting out of the drainage ditch,
flew right in front of me and put in on the far edge of the apple
orchard.
Yea!!
Quickly , at home ,I put on the snow pacs, grabbed the telemetry , a
pick up piece, and headed for the barn. Gruff, the male Wire-haired
Griffon, now three, got an instant contact, had it figured out and
was standing by the tailgate as I loaded Teja into the hood. It was
going to be a quickie as the sun was lowering itself and the snow was
beginning to fall again.
Teja was doing the snake-necked craning stare as we easied down the
lane with Gruff trying to sort out the maze of tracks and scents.
Near he far end of the orchard, and just as we started into the
overgrown raspberries spreading into the field leaning over the
decaying barbed wire, he quivered and was on point.
It was one of those points where the wind was kind of swirling over
the tops of the blackberries and backwashing the scent down upon the
dog, who was standing on his tip toes trying to inhale every particle
of scent, head stretched out and his jowls slowly pulsating
in and out. Teja too, is learning to read and trust Gruff and knows
that good things happen when he is motionless.
The eruption was both expected and shocking at the same time as eight
or nine pheasant all clawed for air in unison desparate to escape,
wings everywhere, several roosters cackling the alarm. The sudden
recoil as she left the fist caused me to re-focus on her and watch as
she singled out one of the roosters and mounted her attack.
Suddenly about twenty five yards out, in what was going to be a
long tail chase, she did a quick wingover, checking off the noisy
cock, smashing a late flushing rooster dead center. It exploded, not unlike how a falcon decimates a bird from it's stoop.
In the minute it took me to absorb what had just happened and to get
to her, she had killed the bird and was busy mantling it , trying to
conceal it from Gruff who wanted to see if this was the rooster that
had many times in the past put the slip on him.
Kneeling down next to Teja, I called him to me and we quietly watched
her take a full crop of warm meat, as I fed him small torn off bits
from the pick up piece, his reward for a job well done.
I think winter is going to be fun this year.
Barry
We had our first snow of the winter this morning and by the time I
got home from work it was breezy, a couple of inches and 22 degrees.
Just as I came around the corner by the dairy farm, three roosters
and a pair of hen pheasant came scooting out of the drainage ditch,
flew right in front of me and put in on the far edge of the apple
orchard.
Yea!!
Quickly , at home ,I put on the snow pacs, grabbed the telemetry , a
pick up piece, and headed for the barn. Gruff, the male Wire-haired
Griffon, now three, got an instant contact, had it figured out and
was standing by the tailgate as I loaded Teja into the hood. It was
going to be a quickie as the sun was lowering itself and the snow was
beginning to fall again.
Teja was doing the snake-necked craning stare as we easied down the
lane with Gruff trying to sort out the maze of tracks and scents.
Near he far end of the orchard, and just as we started into the
overgrown raspberries spreading into the field leaning over the
decaying barbed wire, he quivered and was on point.
It was one of those points where the wind was kind of swirling over
the tops of the blackberries and backwashing the scent down upon the
dog, who was standing on his tip toes trying to inhale every particle
of scent, head stretched out and his jowls slowly pulsating
in and out. Teja too, is learning to read and trust Gruff and knows
that good things happen when he is motionless.
The eruption was both expected and shocking at the same time as eight
or nine pheasant all clawed for air in unison desparate to escape,
wings everywhere, several roosters cackling the alarm. The sudden
recoil as she left the fist caused me to re-focus on her and watch as
she singled out one of the roosters and mounted her attack.
Suddenly about twenty five yards out, in what was going to be a
long tail chase, she did a quick wingover, checking off the noisy
cock, smashing a late flushing rooster dead center. It exploded, not unlike how a falcon decimates a bird from it's stoop.
In the minute it took me to absorb what had just happened and to get
to her, she had killed the bird and was busy mantling it , trying to
conceal it from Gruff who wanted to see if this was the rooster that
had many times in the past put the slip on him.
Kneeling down next to Teja, I called him to me and we quietly watched
her take a full crop of warm meat, as I fed him small torn off bits
from the pick up piece, his reward for a job well done.
I think winter is going to be fun this year.
Barry
