Thanksgiving in Ft Worth

After getting off work on Friday morning, I headed over to Ft Worth for the holiday with my sister and her family, and my dad. The meal was great, and I didn't have to prepare any of it, even though I was a bit late arriving, and got teased a bit about it. On Saturday morning I decided I'd find someplace to fly Cimarron. My dad came with me, and I headed over to an industrial park I had seen while hunting to trap a hawk. As we drove into the area, I noticed a car parked on the side of the road, and in the field, another falconer. I honked, I stopped and yelled, and eventually blew my whistle, and finally caught his attention. He signaled for me to hold back, and then released his prairie falcon. Over the hill was a pond with ducks, which shortly were in the air. The falcon stooped, but didn't make contact. As I waited for him to return, another falconer drove up. What followed was a meet and greet, and showing of birds. The new fella flies a gyr/peregrine hybrid. I didn't write down any names, and my memory is poor in such areas, so I don't remember who the two gentlemen were. They gave me some directions to a bunny field, after revealing the spot I was at was bunny-poor. I left to find the place they indicated, but didn't find that either! I drove around and eventually did find a small brushy area behind a remote industrial park. Cimarron flew well, followed pretty good, and I did flush two bunnies that he made a go for, contacting with neither . . . . but confirming he will try for them if I can produce them. At the end of the hunt I pulled the lure, and again he tried to snatch and fly off . . . . which was successful because I lost my balance enough that the rope came from out from underneath my boot. I then spent about 5 minutes pulling him out of a tree. Not good! I need to create a leash for the lure to attach to myself. It was a nice weekend, and I finally got a picture of the two of us. He's such a pretty bird! When I got home I also had an e-mail from a falconer in Ft Worth who flies multiple Harris Hawks, so hopefully soon I'll get to learn more about the husbandry of this hunting hawk.