Eagle Journal

Hello everyone,

I went earlier today as it is heating up around here — for the next three days 100′ plus. Hunting in that kind of heat is no fun. As I was driving down the freeway I was making up a game plan as to what field I’d go to and for how long. For instance, if the first field does not produce anything then I already know the next field I’ll go to. The most productive fields are the ones where the hay is inches tall. Jacks will go in them and stay most of the day because it is cool there and they can feed anytime they want. The largest alfalfa field is just the right height so I went there.

After catching a rabbit the last couple of days Widow’s confidence is on the up-swing. Today was, I believe, her best day in the field. In typical eagle style it took two really good, close slips to get Widow in the mood.

The first two jacks jumped up RIGHT in front of us and she never moved a muscle! But from then on she was all business, looking in all directions for jacks. When I first walk into a field I never know if I’m going to flush any jacks. I might see only one or I might get into a hot zone and flush a jack with almost every step. That is when it gets fun! I entered the field and, as always, looked for the areas that are thicker and seem like they could hold a jack rabbit. I worked the field back and forth trying to cover all the stops. I must have walked for a good 30 minutes and flushed 3 or 4 jacks and with each jack that I flushed I wondered if it was just a single rabbit or had I found a hot zone? A hot zone is what I call it when there are many jacks in a small given area. I’ve seen 15-20 jacks in a 30 foot area in a hay field many times before. Last year in a dry field I flushed 25 jacks in a half hour in one small corner of the field…THAT is a hot zone. When I get into a hot zone it is very exciting because literally with every step a jack can explode out in front of you.

I was walking into a large area in the hay that looked thick and very lush and, bang, a jack took off. Widow was on it but, for whatever reason, pulled up after only a short distance. I called her back, took one step, and another jack was up and running. This time Widow launched off the fist with more intensity and got over top of the running jack rabbit, causing it to turn rather sharply back under her, back in my direction. As Widow was flying back to me another jack was up and running … we were in a hot zone! When walking through a field with an eagle on your fist, hunting for jacks, you know they are hunting with you. Something about the way the eagle is standing on your arm…….you can sense the intense anticipation, almost feel it, like a coiled up spring ready to explode. The second your eyes see the jack coming out of the hay you can feel the eagle reacting. In a flash your eagle is pushing off your arm, driving both wings forward, powering through the air, fighting for speed and lift. I say this all the time, but it’s like time slows down. I’m watching and feeling everything as it is happening but it seems in slow motion.

Not only were jacks flushing out from under my feet as I walked but I could see them sneaking way out in front of us, 75 yards or more. Widow noticed them as well. I stopped and stood for a moment and looked in the direction she was looking. I could see jack rabbit ears moving through the hay everywhere!

With a slight wind at my back, Widow launched off the fist going off to the right in a crosswind direction, gained some height, and turned downwind, building speed. I could see a pair of ears moving on the other side of a small check that forces the irrigation water to stay in certain parts of the hay field. Watching her body language I could tell she was getting close. Her wing strokes became shorter and suddenly she folded up, stooped on the running jack, but missed! This is a funny bird. You would think, being an eagle and possessing the great powers of flight she has, that she would fly back to me the 75 yards…..no, she had to run on the ground the entire way back like a chicken!  And this was not the first time she had done that.

Eagles are not afraid to be on the ground like other raptors. Unless some animal has a death wish, nothing is going to attack an eagle! So, Widow ran all the way back, stopped at my feet, and jumped up on the fist. I could still see jacks running around and Widow got real interested in something I couldn’t see moving along the bank of the railroad tracks. She took off and flew in a straight line, went in hard into the weeds and I saw a jack jump up and out of the way, falling down the bank and running off. I could feel the heat building, and with more than a mile’s walk back to the truck, I called it a day.