5:44 pm Bird of Prey Training
Jem’s training of Thorgrim the female Harris Hawk until she was entered.
Oct 1st
Picked up bird 8.45pm from a breeder in Chester. Jessed, belled and boxed and taken the three hour drive home. Left her in the box overnight.
Day 1
Picked up and weighed. Weight 2lbs 4oz. manned for one hour.
Day 3
Weight 2lbs 1 ¼ oz. Fed on fist today, ate two chicks. Manned one hour.
Day 8
Weight 2lbs 1oz. Introduced the pointer. She screamed at the dog the entire walk. She jumped to the fist from a post at the end of the walk five times. Fed two chicks.
Day 12
Weight 2lbs 1 1/2oz. Flown on the creance four times to the fist about six feet. Still not instantaneous. Calming down now, not bating as much.
Day 14
Weight 2lbs 0 1/4oz. Boxed taken out and flown on the creance five times, twenty five yards. Having trouble getting away from her as she is coming as I walk away. Fed two chicks.
Day 15
Weight 2lbs 0 ¼ oz. Boxed flown on creance full length four times.
Day 17
Weight 1lbs 15 1/4oz. Disaster, flown free in a small wood and I got it wrong. She would not come back. It took me an hour to get her down luckily I had a dead rabbit with me which she eventually came down to. Back to the creance.
Day 20
Weight 1lbs 15 ¾ oz. Flown on creance full length six times and hitting rabbit lure well. Ok now with both the pointer and the spaniel. No screaming at them.
Day 24
Weight 1lbs 15 1/4oz. Hunted in a wood with the pointer. Chased one rabbit and missed then tried to do a mugging on another and missed. Fed only one chick as going out again tomorrow.
Day 25
Weight 1lbs 15 1/4oz. Boxed and taken to an estate at Aldbourne. Tried to bolt some rabbits with ferrets but the rabbiting was not good, they were hole hopping. Tried her on some pheasants which one she nearly had. She seemed to ignore the close ones and try for the harder ones. Fed her up.
Day 27
Boxed and taken out with the spaniel. Put several rabbits under her which she didn’t seem to see. I tried three different places. At the third place she chased a rabbit the dog put out and put up in a tree. Worked the dog back to her and she dropped catching the rabbit in the brambles. Fed her up. Whilst doing so a fox came walking round the corner.
Now looking forward to the rest of the season.