.JPG)
Saturday was the big day. I worked all week to try to bring Musket's weight down just another ounce or so. I got half an ounce, and that was with her eating only every other day. She's been spending most days with me in the office, so maybe this inactivity has her holding on to those ounces. I'll try to leave her at home most of this week and see how it goes. Ahh... the joys of weight manipulation, it's really an art.
Well, I got in contact with Rudy, my sponsor, and he was gracious enough to let me come to his house and hunt one of his squirrels. I wanted his moral support since this is still new to me. His calm attitude about the bird flying helps to keep me calm. Hazen and I woke up at 6am to head out to Rudy's place. We got there just after the sun came up and the critters were starting to move. There were three squirrels in Rudy's front yard right as we got there, so after we greeted him, he instructed me to let the bird go. I got myself together, pulled Musket out of her box, and turned her loose. She went right up into an oak and started working her way up the tree. The three squirrels stealthily slunk away and Musket didn't see them.
After a while, we decided to head to the back yard. To get Musket to follow us, I flashed the lure at her. She came right over and landed in a tree above us. Then, we started looking around for squirrels, eventually, we saw one sitting stock still on a branch. All of our moving and shaking could not get this little fellow to budge. We finally decided that we would wound him to see if that movement would get Musket's attention. Rudy pulled out his high-powered air rifle and shot it in the leg. The Squirrel, injured, tried to climb out of the tree, fell, and Musket saw him! She came shooting over and the squirrel scampered up a tree to potential safety. Musket landed in the branches near the squirrel and he stopped moving immediately. He was pretty clever, hiding behind the trunk of the tree just out of Musket's view. Apparently, she's not very skilled with squirrels. She never did manage to get this little guy. He found a woodpecker hole and ducked in to escape.
Bummed, we moved off further into the woods to scout out another squirrel. We finally found one way high up in the small branches of an oak. Now the trick was to get Musket down to where she could see this squirrel. I went and flashed the lure at her again, it took her a little bit to decide to come to me. I put it away and she landed in a tree above me again. She was still not following, so I flashed the lure again and she came down to my glove! Perfect!
Bird in hand, I walked her over to where we saw the squirrel and she put herself up in a low snag. Rudy, following the same procedure as before, tried to wound this squirrel to give her an easier target while we are training. Well, he has a really nice air-rifle and a good aim, because with one shot, he killed the squirrel. It was dead before it hit the ground. Strike two. Musket was way out of range and didn't even see the squirrel fall. I went and gathered the squirrel and we tried to decide what to do.
Musket came over to us on her own this time and landed on a tree above us. Rudy and Hazen were working out how to do a mock hunt with the dead squirrel and I decided to go check and see if that other squirrel we had wounded was feeling brave enough to come out of hiding. Musket came along behind me and landed in a nearby tree. I moved forward again, and so did she. This wasn't just a fluke, she was following me! I was amazed.
Eventually we decided to tie a string to the dead squirrel and loop it over the crook of a tree. I held Musket on my fist and Rudy and Hazen readied the "hunt". She saw the squirrel and immediately grabed it out of the tree, taking it to the ground. We let her sit with it for about 10 minutes as she held it unmoving. I slowly worked my way in there, and she gave me some worried looks and started making small squeeking sounds. Eventually I offered her a whole chicken neck on the glove and she actually left her squirrel to hop up to get it! Rudy said that the fur on the squirrel is a lot of work and they prefer the easy meat of raw meat to having to work through a tough hide.
I still think that we had a successful day. We didn't get anything alive, but she followed me. Rudy was even pleased with it, he says we are moving along quite nicely and gave me a pat on the back.
Hazen took a picture of her on her squirrel that I'll try to add to this post soon. We're going to try again next Saturday at this 1,000 acre place that Rudy has access to.
Fun fun!!
Well, I got in contact with Rudy, my sponsor, and he was gracious enough to let me come to his house and hunt one of his squirrels. I wanted his moral support since this is still new to me. His calm attitude about the bird flying helps to keep me calm. Hazen and I woke up at 6am to head out to Rudy's place. We got there just after the sun came up and the critters were starting to move. There were three squirrels in Rudy's front yard right as we got there, so after we greeted him, he instructed me to let the bird go. I got myself together, pulled Musket out of her box, and turned her loose. She went right up into an oak and started working her way up the tree. The three squirrels stealthily slunk away and Musket didn't see them.
After a while, we decided to head to the back yard. To get Musket to follow us, I flashed the lure at her. She came right over and landed in a tree above us. Then, we started looking around for squirrels, eventually, we saw one sitting stock still on a branch. All of our moving and shaking could not get this little fellow to budge. We finally decided that we would wound him to see if that movement would get Musket's attention. Rudy pulled out his high-powered air rifle and shot it in the leg. The Squirrel, injured, tried to climb out of the tree, fell, and Musket saw him! She came shooting over and the squirrel scampered up a tree to potential safety. Musket landed in the branches near the squirrel and he stopped moving immediately. He was pretty clever, hiding behind the trunk of the tree just out of Musket's view. Apparently, she's not very skilled with squirrels. She never did manage to get this little guy. He found a woodpecker hole and ducked in to escape.
Bummed, we moved off further into the woods to scout out another squirrel. We finally found one way high up in the small branches of an oak. Now the trick was to get Musket down to where she could see this squirrel. I went and flashed the lure at her again, it took her a little bit to decide to come to me. I put it away and she landed in a tree above me again. She was still not following, so I flashed the lure again and she came down to my glove! Perfect!
Bird in hand, I walked her over to where we saw the squirrel and she put herself up in a low snag. Rudy, following the same procedure as before, tried to wound this squirrel to give her an easier target while we are training. Well, he has a really nice air-rifle and a good aim, because with one shot, he killed the squirrel. It was dead before it hit the ground. Strike two. Musket was way out of range and didn't even see the squirrel fall. I went and gathered the squirrel and we tried to decide what to do.
Musket came over to us on her own this time and landed on a tree above us. Rudy and Hazen were working out how to do a mock hunt with the dead squirrel and I decided to go check and see if that other squirrel we had wounded was feeling brave enough to come out of hiding. Musket came along behind me and landed in a nearby tree. I moved forward again, and so did she. This wasn't just a fluke, she was following me! I was amazed.
Eventually we decided to tie a string to the dead squirrel and loop it over the crook of a tree. I held Musket on my fist and Rudy and Hazen readied the "hunt". She saw the squirrel and immediately grabed it out of the tree, taking it to the ground. We let her sit with it for about 10 minutes as she held it unmoving. I slowly worked my way in there, and she gave me some worried looks and started making small squeeking sounds. Eventually I offered her a whole chicken neck on the glove and she actually left her squirrel to hop up to get it! Rudy said that the fur on the squirrel is a lot of work and they prefer the easy meat of raw meat to having to work through a tough hide.
I still think that we had a successful day. We didn't get anything alive, but she followed me. Rudy was even pleased with it, he says we are moving along quite nicely and gave me a pat on the back.
Hazen took a picture of her on her squirrel that I'll try to add to this post soon. We're going to try again next Saturday at this 1,000 acre place that Rudy has access to.
Fun fun!!
No comments:
Post a Comment