Eagle Journal

Hello everyone,

The temperature has cooled off a bit which is very nice, and sure makes lugging Widow’s 9 lbs around more enjoyable. I went to the large hay field again, even though I have been going there a lot. I like to rotate the fields that I hunt, it keeps them fresh, but seeing that Widow has settled on the longer slips (for now anyway) the larger alfalfa field offers the best chances for her. To me it’s quite a remarkable thing to watch, literally, from my arm, the transformation she has gone through, from a bird that had no clue what she was supposed to do to a bird that, the moment I unhood her, is actively hunting. By actively hunting I mean, as I am walking through the field she is searching for prey, scanning close and far, looking for an opportunity.

I probably walked 300 yards out into the field with Widow standing tall on my fist, looking everywhere — looking for the tips of the jack rabbit’s ears as they try and sneak out of the field. As hard as Widow is searching, I am as well, because I want to see what she is after. I don’t want any incidents with cats! Plus, I want to be more than just Widow’s mobile hunting perch. We’re a team, right! I could feel Widow flinch and I stopped. She was standing on her tippy toes. Another flinch. I couldn’t see anything. Then she launched, flying hard and building speed, going further and further.100 yards150 yards.300 yards. Now she was really cranking. I could see that she was getting close to what I hoped was a jack rabbit because she started to go downward in her flight.  Widow went powering into the alfalfa hay head long and, from what I could see, disappeared! I walked off in her direction, 300 plus yards. The whole time I was heading over there I was thinking she must have caught something. If not, she most certainly would have come back. When I arrived at the scene, however, there was Widow, standing on the ground, looking franticly for, what I can only assume, was a long gone jack rabbit. Widow jumped back up on the fist and we continued to hunt.

While walking along I could heard a familiar sound getting closer and closer. As a former exotic bird breeder I recognized the sound of a parakeet and, sure enough, there came a powder blue budgie, flying along with a swallow right on its tail. The budgie didn’t seem to be bothered by the swallow and made a circle, landed on the bank below the railroad tracks and began to feed. Over the years I’ve seen many budgies flying around and this little guy seemed to have things under control.

After Widow made several more long flights and came up empty, I figured I’d go to the 10 acre hay field and see what happened there.  I got Widow out of the truck, walked into the field, unhooded her, and she instantly noticed two men on top of a huge water tank at the far end of the field. Well, that was way too scary for Widow and she wanted no part of this field. It always surprises me — golden eagles, for all their power and strength, are a very shy bird. So I went to the small dry field hoping to give Widow the opportunity for a catch. I walked into the field, pulled off her hood and, at the same instant; we both saw a wild cat moving in the field, followed next by the hay farmer’s dog. It probably wouldn’t go over very well if Widow was to kill the farmer’s dog so I headed back to the truck.

I was sitting on the tail gate of my truck, feeding Widow her quail, when a huge 18-wheeler pulled up and out jumped the lady driver followed by her gray cat, Prince Charming. She was a very nice lady who was totally blown away with Widow, who, by the way, was trying to swallow the entire quail before this stranger came any closer. Well, Widow abandoned the quail swallowing for a slightly larger meal, Prince Charming! Widow tried to launch off the fist in an attempt to get the completely oblivious cat that was standing next to his owner, purring, with an I’m a much easier meal than a jack rabbit look on his face. Oh my, said the lady truck driver, your bird was going after my cat. Doesn’t it know that cats eat birds? After a second I realized that the driver was indeed kidding. Fortunately, I had a firm grip on Widow’s jesses and did not let her go. That would not have been good!! So this gal drives around the U.S. with her cat Prince Charming riding on the dashboard looking at birds, and, when the truck stops to unload whatever she’s hauling, Mr. Charming jumps out and runs around. The moment he hears the engine start, he comes running, jumps in, and away they go. The chances that Mr. Charming will come across another eagle falconer with a large, hungry female golden eagle are slim, so he should be safe.

Widow still has many things to learn. She is not a proficient hunter yet and she will need to learn to soar and then hunt from the soar.  Once she has mastered those skills she will be ready she will be an eagle. But for now Widow is Widow, a young bird trying to find her way.

Hope all is well,

Joe