Cougar on the Prowl

 

It Was Just A Donation

Sunrise on the Prairie

Sometime late in 2024 I requested a week of vacation in February, which is normally a fairly dismal time of year in Minnesota. It is usually the coldest month, and is also the last month for falconry, with the season ending at the month's end. This year my falconry has been rather poor, with my managing Seneca's weight being a challenge. She became very nesty last summer, and shaving weight off to achieve good field response has been difficult with my work schedule. I have decided I will give her wild life back to her very soon.

I'm not sure when the conversation took place, but my friend Fox and I ended up agreeing to try to find and trap a Ferruginous Hawk. This is not a species that is great for falconry, in fact, is rather stubborn in its choice of ground hunting terrestrial hole-digging rodents (prairie dogs, gophers). However, it is an absolutely gorgeous bird, and would be a challenge, if trapping was successful. 

I know next to nothing about this species! I encountered my first wild bird when I went trapping (unsuccessfully) in Kansas in 2021. There are few used in falconry, and rare information on how to lure them to a trap. My go-to is to use a BC, for which I made a brand new one. We were also limited on WHERE we could go find them. This bird is a Western species. The closest they come to Minnesota on their continental journeys is portions of North and South Dakota, and Western Nebraska and Kansas. They are rather common in Colorado, and are found in the winter frequently in New Mexico and parts of Western Texas, all very too far places to drive. Trapping window is also limited in the first months of the year by the differing laws in each of these states. I ended up selecting South Dakota as our target. The fee was $200, and my permit to trap was processed surprisingly quickly.

We were relying on information from that birder's website I mentioned in the last posting. You can see this picture below. Again, not naming it by name, as birders probably don't care for falconers using their resource to find certain species to go and abduct. The center part of South Dakota is an extensive grassland with abundant entries of our target species throughout the month of January. This would turn out to be deceptive information!   

Fox and I decided to set off on our journey on Tuesday, February 4. We would make the 5.5 hour journey from her home, with an uncertain destination somewhere South of the Grasslands, which ended up being Kennebec, which had a small but comfortable (and affordable) hotel. The following morning we would navigate back roads, following up on sitings of the bird we were after, as documented on the birder's resource. I'm here to say, that resource was next to useless!!

What followed was two days of a lot of driving, and NEVER seeing a Ferruginous Hawk perched on any kind of pole or roadside post (that we could toss a trap under), which our reference database made look common. The journey was not without interest, as we did see a whole heck of a lot of other species, non target species. There were an incredibly abundant amount of Rough-Legged Hawk, a Northern visitor we do see from time to time in Minnesota. They are beautiful, but extremely useless for falconry, with their tiny tiny feet and predilection for hunting almost exclusively rodents. Some of these birds sat rather unafraid and let us get close for good pictures. Also spotted in abundance were Northern Harriers.

Another surprising species we saw rather abundantly were Golden Eagles, which are another species that mostly does not come into the Eastern portion of the US. Some are found and trapped for research along the Upper Mississippi, but they are a rare visitor. We saw quite a few on our journey. They were usually quite remote for good pictures, but many were observed.

Only late in the day on Wednesday did we encounter our first Ferruginous Hawks. It was an adult pair spotted flying over a prairie dog town. Between Fox and her incredible skills at researching and finding information on the Internet, and my viewing OnX, a hunting app I purchased just for this trip, as well as the birder's resource, we eventually found the prairie dog towns which attract those most largest of the North American buteos that hunt them, Buteo Regalis. After watching an adult pair flying, we then spotted a pair of 3 juveniles fighting over something they were eating. They were far off, down into a valley, and nowhere we could attract their attention with a trap. They were also in a valley that is Native land. All the area we were canvasing is criss-crossed with Native land, for which we did not have a permit to trap. Thus the OnX, which clearly identified land ownership so we knew where we could concentrate our efforts, and where we could not tread. Further research that night by Fox found ALL the prairie dog towns where we could occupy our trapping efforts the next day.

Ya, I look like a mess below! It was very cold, so hat wearing a strategy against hypothermia. 

The following morning, after spending a night in an over-priced hotel in Pierre (that had at least 1 roach) we were in the prairie dog towns by dawn. I was quite impressed with Fox's ability to navigate her Subaru SUV along the back roads and farm tracks. She took it slow, and fortunately (thankfully) we didn't get bogged down anywhere or get a flat tire. We would also learn that getting up early was completely unnecessary. Prairie dogs are not active when it is cold. They stay down their burrows until the weak winter sun warms things up in the afternoon. At first, in the middle of huge towns, we thought maybe they had all succumbed to plague (yes, THAT plague!) However, as the day wore on and things warmed up a little, we saw much activity. The fat rodents sit at their burrow doors, or run rapidly along little tracks from duck hole to duck hole. If you walk among them, which I did to place a trap a couple times, they alarm call down the holes at you.

We would go on to see a few more Ferruginous Hawks, flying high and fast over the prairie dog fields. Never did we find one perched on a pole near a road. It would take a whole other tactic to attempt to be successful with this unfamiliar species, with gear we did not have. Future efforts (ya right) might be successful actually trapping in a live trap several prairie dogs (I read they really like peanut butter) then using those as a lure out in the field, with nooses tied on the live traps. Studies by US Fish & Wildlife targeting prairie dogs often attract Buteo Regalis.

↓Not My Picture↓

We ended up deciding to limit our search to just 2 days. We covered the area fairly thoroughly, never seeing any congregations other than that first day. All other encounters were birds flying towards the horizon. However, the prairie does have other interesting things to see.

There were Pronghorn antelopes! The buck above stood his ground and stared at us. One of the large herds we saw ran in front of us for an interesting picture.

There was also abundant Mule Deer. I can see why South Dakota is a hunter's paradise. There was a lot of large game to target in their respective seasons. We would also see a lot of pheasants and wild grouse, to include Prairie Chickens. They would suddenly be flushed and get up and fly fast to the sky. It would be a good area to hunt with a falcon! 

Late in the day on Thursday we encountered a herd of horses on Native land. We had parked our car on the road and were just observing the valley across from this field. The mares (for they all appeared to be pregnant) made their way out of curiosity to the fence, wondering perhaps if we had any horse treats. It is a vision straight out of history.

As the sun set on Thursday, we decided to throw in the towel. We never dropped a trap under a prospective target. It was a rather last minute effort, based on limited information on what would spell success to trap this species. The journey was not without adventure, as the wide open prairie is quite stunning in its stark beauty. I did see some species not often observed, and it was quality time spent with my friend. However, ultimately, it was just a donation to the South Dakota Department of Game, Fish & Parks.

You're Welcome!