I was so excited for this hunt. Our last Kingstree hunt was such a success where Rebel had bagged a squirrel, a woodpecker (I think, couldn't identify and Rebel ate it in the tree) on the wing, and a quail in one day. I couldn't wait to see what we would do today. Ernie invited all of us including families out to his farm for a pig roast and a little hawking. Unfortunately only one other falconer could make it that day with the holidays and everyone's family commitments.
It was overcast and windy when we got there and as we pulled up, we saw a huge bald eagle sitting in a pine tree across the lake. He had apparently raked the lake for fish earlier that morning and was enjoying his catch. Fortunately he moved on before we were ready to head out. Still made me a little nervous. My bird doesn't back down from a fight with larger RTs, I pray he wouldn't be that stupid with an eagle...
My buddy's RT was a little high still so we decided to fly Rebel first. I headed to the truck to get prepared only to find that I have left my food in the fridge back home. Doh! Okay not all is lost. My buddy has a piece of squirrel in his truck that I can cut up. Okay. Back in business. Wait. Where is the lure? Back at home with the food. Sonofa....
Now Rebel had flown like a fighter pilot yesterday. He was zigzagging all around the woods flying as hard as I have ever seen him. His fist response was perfect and his following was spot on. He seemed to be anticipating me very well yesterday, getting into good positions for flushes and everything. Today he weighed the exact same and I really wanted to fly him badly. I know better than to fly unprepared but I decided that the squirrel tail would make an excellent lure and full of confidence, I said we would fly anyway.
I am sure you can see where this is leading. I got Rebel up in a tree and we quickly flushed the first squirrel. I ran and shouted ready for Rebel to swoop in. Nothing. He sat there staring at me. I shook the vines, I beat the tree, I stood on my head... Okay I didn't do a headstand but I would have if it would have helped. Finally Rebel left his perch but he went the other way. I thought maybe he had been watching something else so I followed. Nope new perch in a tall pine.
The weather was weird, my bird was weird, and I wasn't completely prepared. I decided to call him down and maybe we could take Al's bird out. Of course, he wasn't coming down to the call so that made things difficult. at first I held out hopes of just tid-bitting him down and letting him cool off in the truck until my wife, who was meeting us out there for lunch, could bring the rest of my gear. Well he wasn't coming down for tid-bits so I decided that I would walk back to the truck and call him down to the squirrel tail lure.
Well he followed a bit and sat on the edge of the woods in a tall pine watching me. I pulled out the squirrel tail and blew his lure call and nothing. Nada. I repeated several times but nothing. I was getting frustrated at this point but i kept telling myself that it was my own fault for being unprepared. Finally Rebel left his perch to soar over the lake. It was so windy that he was just gliding around against the wind enjoying himself. He took interest in the coots on the water and perched in a fir on the edge.
I borrowed Al's lure but no luck. Finally I garnished the glove with all of the squirrel I had left and he came down. Whew. He wasn't happy when I leashed him and put him up. Another lesson learned.
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