Rebel was actually ready for free flight after the third week, but we had to put it off due to a family emergency. When we got back to town, it took a few days to dial Rebel back in, but it was like falling off of a bike. He knew exactly what to do. The biggest hurdle became finding time when both Al and I could be off together to have Rebel's first flight.
It finally came together on Oct. 8, four and a half weeks from the day I met this bird. That morning, I was a little scared because his weight was too high and I didn't think it would come down to where I wanted it, but as usual, Rebel surprised me with his compliance. When Al got to the house around 6:30 PM, Rebel was at the perfect weight 37.4 oz for his first flight.
I have to admit that I was a little nervous. I did go ahead and attach his transmitter, much to Al's chagrin. Al doesn't use telemetry and doesn't really believe in it. He feels that if you pay attention to the details, you should never be in a situation where it needs to be used. I am in agreement, but I look at it a little more like an extra insurance policy. If I have done something wrong, I can at least have a chance to locate the bird and try to get it back down to me.
Not that I think this will happen with this bird! The more I work with him, the more I am concerned that maybe he was a late hatch bird. I swear he is acting a little more like an imprint! He is becoming more vocal, more territorial and I have to really watch for bad behaviors and aggression issues to stop them before they start. That being said, he has been amazingly easy to train and his responsiveness is near perfect.
Well, the first flight was also close to perfect. I let him off of the leash and put him on his creance perch so he could at least start from a place where he knows the rules of the game. I walked about a hundred feet away, garnished the glove, and he came spot on to the whistle! Awesome!
I don't know why it was different than creancing; after all, Rebel has been deciding to come to me of his own free will for weeks now, but somehow knowing that he could fly off at any point, and yet chose not to do so, was amazing. I couldn't take the grin off of my face if I had tried. Laura later said that watching my face during that first flight signified the first time that she was actually glad I had started this pursuit.
Rebel went on to follow perfectly. He was totally in tune with me. I put him in a tree and began to walk. I would turn my back and Al would keep an eye on Rebel. I wouldn't stop until he left his perch to fly to a tree just behind or ahead of me, then I would call him down to the glove for a tidbit. We kept at this for about an hour, sometimes having him follow two or even three trees until he was called down for a reward. He was perfect. I never had to go back for him once. He stayed right with me and tuned in.
Al and I were both amazed at how scripted everything seemed to be going.
At one point, Rebel was perched high in a pine tree in the back yard. A curious squirrel started climbing up to investigate. The brave / stupid little guy started barking at Rebel and I thought for sure Rebel was going to give chase. Al really didn't want Rebel hunting yet as he feels it is important to learn to follow appropriately before hunting as it can lead to bad habits otherwise. As such, I called Rebel down before he could engage, but it was funny. Second squirrel with a death wish living in my backyard…
I was pretty proud of Rebel so we called it a day and cropped him up on the lure to enforce his lure bond. All in all, I couldn’t have been more proud, although secretly part of me wanted him to get his first squirrel on his first day of free flight. He has been so precocious on everything else, I figured why not?
As it turned out, Rebel still had a lot of surprises in store for me.
No comments:
Post a Comment