Eagle Journal

Hello everyone,

Many people are asking about our move to Oregon and how it’s all going. Well, things are a little behind schedule. Our contractor is moving at a snails pace but we are still planning on making the move soon. Cordi and I just returned from the ranch and had some discussions with certain people and things have picked up, so we’ll see.

JH:

JH was not pleased with the fact that he didn’t get flown for the past 8 days, something he made very clear in the field today. It’s weird, when I leave in the middle of flying a bird I always find myself thinking. Will they forget everything and fly off when I return? Or, even worse, will the bond between me and them be gone? What will they remember? Will I have to start over reestablishing our connection? Well, they don’t forget. They may look at you a little funny but will generally pick right up where you left off. It was after dark when Cordi and I returned home on Wednesday from Calgary and I said one word to the dogs and both Widow and JH called out. So that was a nice welcome home — at least they recognized my voice.

In the morning JH stepped up on the glove like old times and acted like I’d just flown him the day before. I went to the larger alfalfa hay field and found it to be under water, so off I went to the postage stamp field. I no sooner walked in the field when a jack exploded up and ran dead straight away. JH caught this rabbit before it had a chance to do anything other than run. JH was giving me some trouble getting off the jack but eventually stepped off. It was at this point I think JH decided he did not want to give up his jack and threw a major fit!!

The idea of more hunting was not something he was in the slightest bit interested in. He wanted the hind leg from his jack rabbit and wanted it now! Wing-whipping me, trying to strike at me, walking down the glove, I was very thankful that JH had a new STRONG pair of cuffs on him. An equipment failure now and I would be in serious trouble. JH was not showing any signs of settling down so I put the hood back on him and gave him some time to calm down. Nope, that didn’t work! I then unhooded him and started to hunt, thinking he would come around. Nope, in fact, this may have set him off even more. I kept walking, still with the idea that he would cool off. He didn’t. I know this because he reached over and bit me on the neck, then tried to strike at me with both feet, and wing-whipped me again. At that point I started thinking, if I do flush another jack and he catches it, great. But if he missed I would find myself in a situation that wouldn’t be good.  I would have a loose, pissed off eagle that wants the food that he knows I have, and is willing to fight for it. The idea of turning an eagle loose that is trying to grab me in the face didn’t seem like a smart idea. So I fed him up and went home with an eagle hickie on my neck. Sometimes it’s better to live to fly another day, is what I say.

Hope all is well,

Joe

Pic 1:  The little darling and his jack rabbit. How about those red hood braces!