I guess the little shit got lucky.
I’ve been playing phone tag with Mark for a while now. He has been in and out of town. The first egg was laid two weeks ago.
This is really late in the year. It’s pretty typical for a pair that’s laying for the first time, but established, captive breeders are usually laying in early April or even March. Being so late, it’s really tempting to take one of the young birds as that means I’m starting with all the baby bird training in the second half of August rather than beginning of July and my entire summer isn’t lost, BUT…
I’ve already called the year. I gave away - and culled - my whole flock of homers so I have no pigeons. I’m taking a few years - or longer - off from falconry. Tough decision — I still think of flying birds every day and the urge gets stronger those Tuesdays I go over to Bozeman for the falconer lunch with those elderlies once/month or so, where we talk birds an hour straight.
I just don’t feel I’m chasing anything any longer. I’ve had both great and horrible seasons, but the last couple - even though they weren’t the ‘best’ by head count - were excellent (aside from the many non-hunting headaches). No ‘rat hawking’, no killing game from piddly little pitches, etc. - just high flying, hard stooping, absolutely classic game hawking. I've had a few good birds, but none that have ever flown with such gusto as Roach.
And, it is hard. It is five month, six months, or longer - especially the first year with a young bird - of every day 'work'. There is no leaving or taking time off (if it can be helped), not unless I'm willing to a 'pet keeper' - or close to it, anyway - which doesn't work for me — like most things I do, its balls-to-the-wall or nothing. I have been able to make this work with my job for over a decade, and I could continue making it work, but it's hard, and it can be stressful.
So, that's a wrap, the end of my stories of bird-on-bird violence here on HuntTalk. I'll be a real falconer again one day. Who knows, I may get sucked back in quicker than I think. I still have the elderlies and their birds to watch fly during the season. I'll probably head out to falcon camp again this year - without a bird - to see which of those elderlies are still kicking and hear their old stories for the 100th time. The elderlies have also convinced me to stay on the Board of the MT association - a position they shamed me into a few years ago - even though I am not going to be an active participant in the sport (I think they just like the fact I know how to do the confuser stuff for the club). There it is, I guess.
Fin.
