tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37200348182151384302024-02-07T08:43:10.989-05:00Falcons & FishingEric Edwardshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11132283389353072699noreply@blogger.comBlogger49125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3720034818215138430.post-48736329797675756902011-04-06T10:07:00.002-04:002011-04-06T10:09:31.868-04:00Claire's APLA Hunt TestWell, we went to our first APLA (American Pointing Labrador Association) Hunt Test last weekend. Originally, we were only going to go to see the test and not enter Claire. I was very hesitant to enter a test that I've never even seen. But we decided to give her a try, she had been doing great in training. Then she got sick and had surgery and lost nearly a month of training. We only had two weeks after surgery to prepare and she was almost there but not quite. Her issue before leaving for the test was that she didn't want to bring birds all the way to me. She would run out any distance or swim out and bring birds to within five feet of me but would then just play around with the bird for a while. As you'll see in the video this is what lost her the CRP title. <br /><br /><br />Claire ran the upland portion first and she did okay. We were looking for Chukar in the field and she had only seen one chukar in training. She winded the first two but got too close and flushed the birds. She pointed the third bird great. She held point for much longer than the required 5 seconds. Then she lurched in and caught the bird when the gunner approached. On her simulated retrieve she went out and got the bird but was VERY slow to bring it all the way to me. <br /><br /><br />The judges decided to send her on to the water portion. They thought that she did great, had a nice natural point but stated that she would have to run the water portion perfectly or risk a cooperation score below a 2 which would fail her. <br /><br /><br />Her issue was still there and she wanted to play with the duck and wouldn't bring it all the way in. She failed Cooperation and failed the test. Oh well. <br /><br /><br />It was a great learning experience and we know what to work on and we'll get the next one. <br /><br /><br />Anyway, here is her run. <br /><br /><iframe title="YouTube video player" width="640" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/fLjH_17sg9s" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>Eric Edwardshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11132283389353072699noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3720034818215138430.post-89496902241803469392010-12-06T17:00:00.003-05:002010-12-06T17:03:12.946-05:00NAFA Meet / Amarillo, TX 2010Had a great trip as usual out west to hawk with friends. Started out at the NAFA meet in Dodge City, KS and stayed there until after the board meeting Tuesday night. We headed out first thing Wednesday morning for Amarillo. The usual crowd was in attendance at Jimmy & Karen Walker's, Matt Mullenix, Brian Millsap and daughter Katie, Matt Reidy and this year Chris Lynn joined us with his girlfriend Steff. Here's a video of the weekend. <br /><br /><iframe src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/17402369" width="400" height="300" frameborder="0"></iframe><p><a href="http://vimeo.com/17402369">NAFA Meet / Amarillo TX 2010</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/user2738806">Eric Edwards</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com">Vimeo</a>.</p>Eric Edwardshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11132283389353072699noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3720034818215138430.post-62263031339897032642010-08-25T11:21:00.003-04:002010-08-25T11:29:20.289-04:00Claire, 5 monthsClaire is 5 months old now and last week we joined a great dog training club. The Central Florida Field Trialers club is in Lake Wales, FL and is 500 acres of dog playground. They have big flight pens with 1,000 quail for training and shooting. Ponds for retriever training, shooting ranges, RV sites with hook-ups and a club house. <br /><br />Here's a video of Claire at the club. You can't see some of the points because she's behind a bush here and there and the quail also moved around on her a bit. But she's doing great and learning the ways of the wily quail. <br /><br /><object width="640" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/-2eVTwI6mxI?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/-2eVTwI6mxI?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="385"></embed></object>Eric Edwardshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11132283389353072699noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3720034818215138430.post-68149779038341943562010-08-06T09:47:00.002-04:002010-08-06T09:49:09.157-04:00More QuailClaire is still doing great on the planted quail and very soon I'll be taking her out to a dog training club near Lake Kissimmee where they have a pen of really good quality Bob Whites for training. <br /><br /><object width="640" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/62f2h4BldUw&hl=en_US&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/62f2h4BldUw&hl=en_US&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="385"></embed></object>Eric Edwardshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11132283389353072699noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3720034818215138430.post-52683605487893005412010-08-06T09:41:00.004-04:002010-08-06T09:46:30.642-04:00Dog ParkSince Duncan's passing, Claire hasn't had any furry friends to play with so we thought she would do well with some socialization. So, we joined a private dog park. She was VERY nervous of the larger dogs at first, there were 2 mix breed dogs there the first day. And the followign days there were several labs, a large bully of a german shepherd the enjoys pinning her to the ground, a boxer that she loves playing with and a few other odd dogs. <br /><br /><object width="640" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/DdRinKK7wHw&hl=en_US&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/DdRinKK7wHw&hl=en_US&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="385"></embed></object>Eric Edwardshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11132283389353072699noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3720034818215138430.post-8546789506276624222010-07-22T12:27:00.004-04:002010-07-22T12:32:35.414-04:00Claire's Introduction to QuailLast weekend Claire met her first few planted quail. She did great. I put a bird out in the field and hooked Claire up to a check cord to keep her from being able to catch the bird. We started 100 yards down wind and started working towards the bird.<br /><br />Claire was bouncing around, mostly playing in the field as we worked towards the new smell. The instant she picked up the scent her attitude changed, for the first time she turned into a hunting dog. She first held her nose high in the air and then hugged the ground searching for the source. When she got close she locked up on point for several seconds and eventually flushed out the bird.<br /><br />Here's a short video we shot of her second quail.<br /><br /><br /><object width="640" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/3Vug4Cihpks&hl=en_US&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/3Vug4Cihpks&hl=en_US&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="385"></embed></object>Eric Edwardshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11132283389353072699noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3720034818215138430.post-90250260669153493242010-05-19T14:54:00.003-04:002010-05-19T15:24:13.186-04:00New Pup<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfqw77kl6HtqRc7oSIz8DcCtXZLHMoJcuuqir4DRUoBMcEsucNKRxWZ2XzISU1ucKgv50zK_GJBUzK8CkhUPqwXouMv5gSURBeNJGCA9zR1Qbs8WTIlEhDtOTv9UBATH22AOK-yyfcp3uh/s800/Claire5-18-10FirstWalk-82.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 800px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 534px; CURSOR: hand" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfqw77kl6HtqRc7oSIz8DcCtXZLHMoJcuuqir4DRUoBMcEsucNKRxWZ2XzISU1ucKgv50zK_GJBUzK8CkhUPqwXouMv5gSURBeNJGCA9zR1Qbs8WTIlEhDtOTv9UBATH22AOK-yyfcp3uh/s800/Claire5-18-10FirstWalk-82.JPG" /></a><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgljIDWUqpFHsXzlMigEM_E4IAiFH9ZqbQ0IN8ExRPFksueocX6-gqMNTJeaG05tRc-WPR_kZZ3a_r2mxx3JqWDrkKAJzZF-dCObo8JfyUja_jw2lIudk9iWm4Fv4jREKyknn-f3JDgoG1y/s800/Claire5-18-10FirstWalk-157.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 800px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 534px; CURSOR: hand" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgljIDWUqpFHsXzlMigEM_E4IAiFH9ZqbQ0IN8ExRPFksueocX6-gqMNTJeaG05tRc-WPR_kZZ3a_r2mxx3JqWDrkKAJzZF-dCObo8JfyUja_jw2lIudk9iWm4Fv4jREKyknn-f3JDgoG1y/s800/Claire5-18-10FirstWalk-157.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgezXBvpFrPo-1DVmvAoykYRKv2GME4gG_Lx4KcF9-iNfIMfhV8rJpz4dOkmvsSbkvQfv38NfRXMzWMYDWbrRu0Tmr9hkr9YyXaCkOOK0IjdJyZAxM0LILoErBRYA4EROQpisI5TYuSAJbF/s800/PuppyFirstDay%20056.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 800px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 534px; CURSOR: hand" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgezXBvpFrPo-1DVmvAoykYRKv2GME4gG_Lx4KcF9-iNfIMfhV8rJpz4dOkmvsSbkvQfv38NfRXMzWMYDWbrRu0Tmr9hkr9YyXaCkOOK0IjdJyZAxM0LILoErBRYA4EROQpisI5TYuSAJbF/s800/PuppyFirstDay%20056.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB6S3O2Xd53r7EcLMj4DvwYAZCjwLzunQUoGNHI9yuLOS0gPPNo-agv0CTYvG7aRTebY8hLcMF4ARtGGSBqYSkbeMKDA-P0E0bl7ClDjxxgZzdDRs8zvrcUNjQQ_KrleZLdrWixtxN0qpA/s800/PuppyFirstDay%20030.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 800px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 534px; CURSOR: hand" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB6S3O2Xd53r7EcLMj4DvwYAZCjwLzunQUoGNHI9yuLOS0gPPNo-agv0CTYvG7aRTebY8hLcMF4ARtGGSBqYSkbeMKDA-P0E0bl7ClDjxxgZzdDRs8zvrcUNjQQ_KrleZLdrWixtxN0qpA/s800/PuppyFirstDay%20030.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><div>A few weeks ago we learned that our chocolate lab Duncan has cancer. We discovered this after he nearly bled to death after a tumor ruptured in his spleen. His spleen was removed and biopsied and it wasn't good news. </div><br /><br /><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><div>He's undergoing chemotheropy now, but even with that his prognosis is 6 - 12 months. So we thought it was time for a new pup. </div><br /><br /><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><div>Claire, our new chocolate lab arrived on Sunday and has been loads of fun. She is a Pointing Lab just like Duncan, she was the pick of the litter female and both of her parents hold 2 Grand Master Pointing Retriever titles. Claire's mother has the same father as Duncan, Grand Master Pointing Retriever "Cajun of Black Forest". In all, there are at least 5 GMPR titled dogs in her pedigree. It should be a fun summer getting her ready for snipe fields. </div><br /><br /><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><div></div></div></div></div>Eric Edwardshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11132283389353072699noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3720034818215138430.post-20936175393516271792010-02-22T18:19:00.001-05:002010-02-22T18:20:55.064-05:00End of Season<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0rmPOdvcCbFjZ5it2RAYjmfP9yn_c8KBw6CvLYGBcNngaw0W9Dnwl2ywxscZHwvN8i5hnr9jd_NM64-x9pfqU-S9Dou0Tb41FT9AM68MyvnmWChD-7Jpy5FnySIHaaY2WFDrOIUUcZFTG/s1600-h/Doc(Joel)+(1+of+1)-2+%5B1024x768%5D.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 346px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0rmPOdvcCbFjZ5it2RAYjmfP9yn_c8KBw6CvLYGBcNngaw0W9Dnwl2ywxscZHwvN8i5hnr9jd_NM64-x9pfqU-S9Dou0Tb41FT9AM68MyvnmWChD-7Jpy5FnySIHaaY2WFDrOIUUcZFTG/s400/Doc(Joel)+(1+of+1)-2+%5B1024x768%5D.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5441211728666484882" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Verdana;font-size:13px;"><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; ">Snipe season has come to an end and birds have been tough to find so I hung up my glove for the season. But, what a season it was. My good friend Joel Volpi, from GA, joined me for the last few hunts and as usual Doc flew great. </div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; "> </div>Doc caught his first snipe on Dec 6th and in the following 50 hunts he went on to take 32 head of game, including: 24 snipe, 2 doves, 1 Bob White quail and 5 Misc birds.<br /><br /><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; ">I'm looking forward to a speedy molt and another great season. </div></span>Eric Edwardshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11132283389353072699noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3720034818215138430.post-6966107919136919292010-02-18T13:44:00.001-05:002010-02-18T13:46:19.195-05:00Amazing Hunt<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiw4a2UDcfzVfBtNUtjNw5IGkQl33gwGAKarrpexdlaRrqueOVBhyphenhyphenOt2KAA2htQzBQgjyOiPgrh38rUvC1wdQ1ZgiCpaLJFFoN1ghLHI52b4Vl61mg8TGTUAP5anJqda0qaFiSYYEf3dJv/s1600-h/DocQuailSnipe+(1+of+1)+%5B1024x768%5D.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 373px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5439656670039339490" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiw4a2UDcfzVfBtNUtjNw5IGkQl33gwGAKarrpexdlaRrqueOVBhyphenhyphenOt2KAA2htQzBQgjyOiPgrh38rUvC1wdQ1ZgiCpaLJFFoN1ghLHI52b4Vl61mg8TGTUAP5anJqda0qaFiSYYEf3dJv/s400/DocQuailSnipe+(1+of+1)+%5B1024x768%5D.jpg" /></a><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEIHw_H89imCGbRtrbFY2gn9yUPNLbd3qjASRMq-9LWrSKWY7oa2XPRxW1RXgOUVhmqg4L_J5qYNHLFC4tedfhK3c6EUc-0vhbIuy1IewKe-JkvYchhYScj6sQ9bjNCvRxemihiayAwp2H/s1600-h/DocQuailSnipe+(1+of+1)-2+%5B1024x768%5D.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 252px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5439656665573582274" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEIHw_H89imCGbRtrbFY2gn9yUPNLbd3qjASRMq-9LWrSKWY7oa2XPRxW1RXgOUVhmqg4L_J5qYNHLFC4tedfhK3c6EUc-0vhbIuy1IewKe-JkvYchhYScj6sQ9bjNCvRxemihiayAwp2H/s400/DocQuailSnipe+(1+of+1)-2+%5B1024x768%5D.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><div>The weather was cold, the skies were clear and the wind was calm, the forecast called for pain. Doc flies at his best in these conditions, and this hunt was no exception. Doc left the fist and rang up in small circles, following the dog and I out into the field. When we were 100 yards out from the truck Doc was up 500' and waiting patiently. There was a slight breeze and Doc was staying just up wind of us, when he circled he was come right over head and then circle back upwind and come right over again. I saw Duncan begin to get very birdy and looked up to see where Doc was, he had just begun to swing away from us when a snipe flushed out of the cover.<br /><br />Doc immediately folded up and 100 yards out, just before impact the snipe slammed into high cover and Doc pitched up. Duncan and I made our way to the spot while Doc rang back up. he was 200' when the snipe reflushed and this time he followed it into cover fast and hard. He missed the snipe and they were both on the wing. The snipe got a good jump on him coming off the ground but Doc tried to make up the distance. He chased the snipe up 300' and eventually gave up chase after a few minutes.<br /><br />Doc headed back toward us while we made our way back to the the spot we flushed the first snipe. We worked the area again with Doc 500' overhead and soon flushed another snipe. It headed to a saw grass pond with head high grass and shin deep water. Doc stooped but the snipe made it to the pond. Not to let another get away Duncan and I headed into the pond to find the snipe. Doc circled overhead and we soon reflushed the snipe. It headed out of the pond but swung around trying to come back to safety when Doc struck the snipe with a loud thump. He knocked the snipe back into the pond and I found it floating in the water. I picked up the snipe and looked up to see Doc climbing again.<br /><br />When I got out of the pond Doc was 300' up and climbing so we headed out to find another snipe. After 5 minutes of looking for birds I was running out of field and started to tie a piece of meet to my lure to call Doc down. Duncan swung around towards a patch of tall grass and flushed out a small covey of quail. Doc was now 500' up and straight overhead. He came sizzling down and plucked a quail out of the air 50 yards out and 30' up. Doc set his wings and glided to a high patch of ground.<br /><br />I've caught a few quail with my merlins but this is the first one with a big falcon. I never find them in hawkable situations here. One snipe and one quail, not a bad day. </div></div>Eric Edwardshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11132283389353072699noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3720034818215138430.post-226860022104653872010-02-11T17:05:00.002-05:002010-02-11T17:10:18.590-05:00Snipe 2-6-10<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQYtka6oekvyZmX3ZmpOVmHfv7zuImZiee_Bba3-WJkOYqUBJ2wuOBLCkapljgmD1Rup1tap2AiagiUlzf6JXOFhOP6outfNC1tLAfdGTWlyfixI2vX4Adpt9LjAfIFrgwJ3ARMsPTHSI9/s1600-h/SnipeIssac(2-6-10).jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 333px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5437111671700875906" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQYtka6oekvyZmX3ZmpOVmHfv7zuImZiee_Bba3-WJkOYqUBJ2wuOBLCkapljgmD1Rup1tap2AiagiUlzf6JXOFhOP6outfNC1tLAfdGTWlyfixI2vX4Adpt9LjAfIFrgwJ3ARMsPTHSI9/s400/SnipeIssac(2-6-10).jpg" /></a><br /><div>Isaac Nichols, a falconer from Colorado was in Florida for a week of training. He rented a car to come over and see Doc fly and he was not disappointed. </div><br /><div></div><br /><div>We flushed a snipe while driving in the field and parked 50 yards from the spot it landed. Doc took a nice 500' pitch and we headed in to flush. We over shot the mark and we ran around in the wrong spot for several minutes. We lost sight of Doc and finally had to stop and search the sky. While we were looking for the snipe Doc was climbing, he was WAY up and directly overhead. </div><br /><div></div><br /><div>On a hunch I moved back towards the truck and kicked up the snipe. Doc came sizzling down and the snipe bailed into a small patch of cover with Doc right behind. The snipe flew out and the chase was on. Doc put it back in a few hundred yards away. </div><br /><div></div><br /><div>Doc mounted back up over the spot while we ran to flush. He was a few hundred feet up and we reflushed the snipe. With a thump, Doc claimed snipe #21. </div>Eric Edwardshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11132283389353072699noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3720034818215138430.post-424040949289917352010-02-11T17:01:00.002-05:002010-02-11T17:04:58.476-05:00Now for a little Fishing<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxdWCfl0NUyYOtISyWuUF8_ydMUKTBuYkT05qRcviQ0d8S4GQJ1klQ5HevgEr49cz0lsoLym56Ge6Mtbth-jekSP7pqucnUijPEA1AJBnMgaXNS9Qj3fmyKB5l-eqxwRxYhChzqtPPxu_S/s1600-h/Shad2-8-10+003+%5B1024x768%5D.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5437110260246306178" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxdWCfl0NUyYOtISyWuUF8_ydMUKTBuYkT05qRcviQ0d8S4GQJ1klQ5HevgEr49cz0lsoLym56Ge6Mtbth-jekSP7pqucnUijPEA1AJBnMgaXNS9Qj3fmyKB5l-eqxwRxYhChzqtPPxu_S/s400/Shad2-8-10+003+%5B1024x768%5D.JPG" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRpWIFlvDqSzgpY4QvR_19BTdCjF6oEYLELXusfyo76HgiqeDhaWfHpITCDttcSxAj2-LIGkCLLJtw-tUR4z-4_rjaCb1rt6GC8aDu0qdgJVZ4uGVhPmCuYXnyXk2VMf__mXYBz_DXwRlV/s1600-h/Shad2-8-10+002+%5B1024x768%5D.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5437110249873523906" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRpWIFlvDqSzgpY4QvR_19BTdCjF6oEYLELXusfyo76HgiqeDhaWfHpITCDttcSxAj2-LIGkCLLJtw-tUR4z-4_rjaCb1rt6GC8aDu0qdgJVZ4uGVhPmCuYXnyXk2VMf__mXYBz_DXwRlV/s400/Shad2-8-10+002+%5B1024x768%5D.JPG" /></a><br />The shad run beginning on the Saint John's river. A few weeks ago we gave it a try and came up empty handed (a little too early). But last Monday Diana and I headed over and I hooked 8 shad and landed 6 nice fish. I also caught 3 nice size Speckled Trout.Eric Edwardshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11132283389353072699noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3720034818215138430.post-50484059028741106682010-02-03T13:19:00.003-05:002010-02-03T13:26:43.862-05:00Winding Down<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxt6Oxi3xU-GS57gYKq_FxhJx5bZDMO1QfnMZV0KKOjkSVSRL24sVbn3xfl0WubTPNroP7UOo3ZkPP7r_qII33aAAiQgz1apW3b5XeihsyT6lj7awrv4P6grnlDJfRoyJ4FMXJxCvmnbxs/s1600-h/MikeDupuy.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5434085272031981778" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxt6Oxi3xU-GS57gYKq_FxhJx5bZDMO1QfnMZV0KKOjkSVSRL24sVbn3xfl0WubTPNroP7UOo3ZkPP7r_qII33aAAiQgz1apW3b5XeihsyT6lj7awrv4P6grnlDJfRoyJ4FMXJxCvmnbxs/s400/MikeDupuy.jpg" /></a><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaHBsgyAmJj-LV-C0eQ16dv-3sNMv5GALNigZ45VGO0lZ522PVz12-zvL6gfT_JFa3yVabLHiDCHUXw0AYi7dFZ8_CQMEdKx0enYlkHGQPsEDp9TelagmrxseyeG4X_ZQUZNAwjDzuKYXl/s1600-h/DianaEric.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 225px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5434085262536164210" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaHBsgyAmJj-LV-C0eQ16dv-3sNMv5GALNigZ45VGO0lZ522PVz12-zvL6gfT_JFa3yVabLHiDCHUXw0AYi7dFZ8_CQMEdKx0enYlkHGQPsEDp9TelagmrxseyeG4X_ZQUZNAwjDzuKYXl/s400/DianaEric.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><div>I fear the season is near the end. I'm having a tough time finding snipe and Doc has given up on me a few times and flown off to chase distant birds (successfully one time). </div><br /><div>Doc did fly great today he waited on patiently and nice and high and eventually caught a miscellaneous bird that we flushed while walking through the field. </div><br /><div>Last weekend Mike Dupuy was visiting for the weekend, we had a great time and Mike got to see Doc and Bubba fly. We flew in a very stiff wind (close to 15mph) that I probably wouldn't have flown in if Mike wasn't down. </div><br /><div>In typical fashion I had a minor screw-up while gabbing with Mike. I had my yearly telemetry malfunction (I didn't turn it on). Naturally, Doc saw something downwind and we lost sight of him chasing a flock of blackbirds. This is when I realized that my telemetry wasn't on. But luckily we drove down and he flew right in and landed on the lure. </div></div>Eric Edwardshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11132283389353072699noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3720034818215138430.post-31985933461691125272010-01-28T16:39:00.002-05:002010-01-28T16:42:44.359-05:00Weekend Hawking ClipsThe birds flew good this weekend. Here's a video with some clips of Doc's flights.<br /><br /><object width="873" height="525"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/sMSls5Htsfk&hl=en_US&fs=1&color1=0x006699&color2=0x54abd6&hd=1&border=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/sMSls5Htsfk&hl=en_US&fs=1&color1=0x006699&color2=0x54abd6&hd=1&border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="873" height="525"></embed></object>Eric Edwardshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11132283389353072699noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3720034818215138430.post-15400881286852396602010-01-09T13:46:00.001-05:002010-01-09T13:47:55.948-05:00Rainy Day Snipe<a href="http://www.merlinfalconry.com/images/falconry09-10/IMGP6731%20[1024x768].JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 1024px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 685px; CURSOR: hand" border="0" alt="" src="http://www.merlinfalconry.com/images/falconry09-10/IMGP6731%20[1024x768].JPG" /></a><br /><div><a href="http://www.merlinfalconry.com/images/falconry09-10/IMGP6725%20[1024x768].JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 1024px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 685px; CURSOR: hand" border="0" alt="" src="http://www.merlinfalconry.com/images/falconry09-10/IMGP6725%20[1024x768].JPG" /></a><br /><br /><div>I woke up this morning to the sound of rain on the roof, it was 36 degrees outside, raining and windy. Under normal circumstances I would have rolled over and went back to bed. But a falconry friend, Jonathan Millican, was in town for the weekend before being shipped out with the Marines for a 6 month deployment. So, I drug myself out of bed and headed out.<br /><br />I wasn’t expecting much under the conditions but as usual Doc exceeded expectations. I launched Doc in a light drizzle of cold rain and when he was only 50’ up something caught his attention downwind and he was on an obvious mission towards something. Several hundred yards out he pitched up and circled over a spot in the field. He started making his way back to us and I saw a Harrier get up from where he flew to. Not sure what that was all about but he was now ringing up and heading back.<br /><br />He was half way back to us and 200’ up when he went into a stoop back in the direction of the harrier. I heard the call of Greater Yellowlegs and saw that Doc was after one flying low. The Yellowlegs headed to the ground and Doc was strafing him in the field and the Harrier was flying toward the scene. Jonathan and I were running to the spot when I saw Doc start flying back towards us and Jonathan saw a Yellowlegs flying away. I don’t know what exactly was going on but we headed back to the snipe field.<br /><br />When we got back to the snipe spot Doc was back up high but slightly downwind when the first snipe flushed. Naturally, the snipe flushed straight into the stiff wind but Doc was folded up and falling fast. They were 200 yards out when Doc closed the gap and the snipe bailed into cover. Doc pitched back up and I decided not to run all the way over for the reflush. I wasn’t able to mark the spot and the odds of finding it again were slim.<br /><br />Doc remounted back up to 500’ and was waiting on tight, right overhead. When the next snipe flushed I looked up and Doc was already folded up tight and dropping straight down. His tactic looked like he was falling straight down to build speed then at 100’ he leveled out towards the snipe. He was closing fast and when he was only a few feet from impact the snipe bailed with Doc right behind. The snipe jumped back up and Doc flew him down again. The snipe bailed into cover under a palm tree and Doc was right behind again. He missed it again on the ground and the two were back on the wing. The snipe went to the ground a final time and Doc claimed his meal.<br /><br />Under adverse conditions, Doc again exceeded expectations and put on quite a show. </div></div>Eric Edwardshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11132283389353072699noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3720034818215138430.post-26132650797239599772010-01-07T13:43:00.001-05:002010-01-07T13:44:39.142-05:00First Double<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGiDDsuR1R_JqSYvnjLaIbAgjzJeqnY9s645wfSN1nZ_1LJQkVk3l5RUMSBhn7zqziLpknAk7_UDZN3Xd9dtwnL4F1T5rZtpFKMfc0p9FX2SXCZZkV1D5IOtWXrRe2co3IlqhheSZ-MNgA/s1600-h/DocDouble1-7-09+(1+of+2).jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 267px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5424070675557380050" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGiDDsuR1R_JqSYvnjLaIbAgjzJeqnY9s645wfSN1nZ_1LJQkVk3l5RUMSBhn7zqziLpknAk7_UDZN3Xd9dtwnL4F1T5rZtpFKMfc0p9FX2SXCZZkV1D5IOtWXrRe2co3IlqhheSZ-MNgA/s400/DocDouble1-7-09+(1+of+2).jpg" /></a><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeTtLl3XUp5Eh5FgJDqrFasat53hrGwzqN81SlIAu4v9XM5YN6OluOZstxRORHWfATTtsfWu_kTsPIlB30L_71bn3y8ZN6yEY62fe0vxpnCw1AoFoIwAX2j4CKOC3bzTwLW23Zx1G3CJXc/s1600-h/DocDouble1-7-09+(2+of+2).jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 267px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5424070668785021474" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeTtLl3XUp5Eh5FgJDqrFasat53hrGwzqN81SlIAu4v9XM5YN6OluOZstxRORHWfATTtsfWu_kTsPIlB30L_71bn3y8ZN6yEY62fe0vxpnCw1AoFoIwAX2j4CKOC3bzTwLW23Zx1G3CJXc/s400/DocDouble1-7-09+(2+of+2).jpg" /></a><br /><br /><div>All season Doc has been putting on quite a show and we’ve had a lot of good flights with a few great one’s mixed in. Today was one of the GREAT ones.<br /><br />It was 29 degrees according to the truck thermometer when I pulled into the field. The sky was blue and there was very little wind. Doc was quick to leave the fist and quick to get up to 500’ and then on up to 1,000’.<br /><br />We were hunting a depression in the field where there is a “u” shaped pond that’s only about 30’ across at its widest and it's about 50 yards long. The inside of the “u” is muddy and holds snipe. The first snipe flushed across the water and Doc put it into cover and headed in after it. He missed it on the ground and I ran around to try to reflush it. The snipe put in to a thick briar patch that I kicked around the edge but didn’t find the snipe.<br /><br />I ran, with the dog, back to the muddy area as Doc went back up to 1,000’. We soon flushed another snipe that took out across the field and Doc was folded up. The snipe was over 100 yards out when he was about to crush it, and the snipe bailed into cover. By the time we got there Doc was ringing back up. I wasn’t quite sure where the snipe was, I wasn’t able to mark the spot he put it in. We kicked around a few minutes and then headed back to look for more.<br /><br />When I got back to the snipe spot I looked around for Doc and couldn’t find him in the sky. I pulled my sunglasses up to see if that helped and I finally saw a small flickering of wings straight up, right over head, I don’t know how high he was but he was WAY up there.<br /><br />The next snipe flushed across the muddy area and across the water and turned left along the bank. Doc came sizzling down and chased the snipe into a tall patch of grass. The snipe jumped up and Doc was right on his tail. They both flew toward us along the bank of the pond. Doc grabbed it right as it was landing in the water and they both settled down in the pond. Doc let go of the snipe and flew a few feet over to a patch of lilly pads, leaving the snipe floating in the pond. As I waded in to the snipe Doc took to the air again, pretty wet. I picked up the snipe and put it in my bag. I was waist deep and it was 29 outside.<br /><br />I was very cold and could barely feel my legs but when I looked up Doc was 500’ and still climbing. So, like a good flushing monkey I started to run to the other side of the pond, back to the muddy area. On the way we flushed another snipe and Doc pounded it to the ground 100 yards out. The then fluttered down and claimed his well deserved meal. Snipe #14 and #15 for the season. </div></div>Eric Edwardshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11132283389353072699noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3720034818215138430.post-29285800197009493972010-01-05T13:54:00.002-05:002010-01-05T14:00:44.055-05:00The Old Man<a href="http://www.merlinfalconry.com/images/falconry09-10/FleaSweater%20(2%20of%202)%20[1024x768].jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 1024px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 683px; CURSOR: hand" border="0" alt="" src="http://www.merlinfalconry.com/images/falconry09-10/FleaSweater%20(2%20of%202)%20[1024x768].jpg" /></a><br /><div><a href="http://www.merlinfalconry.com/images/falconry09-10/FleaSweater%20(1%20of%202)%20[1024x768].jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 1024px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 683px; CURSOR: hand" border="0" alt="" src="http://www.merlinfalconry.com/images/falconry09-10/FleaSweater%20(1%20of%202)%20[1024x768].jpg" /></a><br /><br /><div>My German Short-Haired Pointer, "Flea", will be 18 years old in June. Hard to believe how long he's been around. He's seen a lot and been all over the country with us. He gets a little cold in the winter so we bought him this very stylish <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_0" class="blsp-spelling-error">hoodie</span>. </div><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><div></div></div>Eric Edwardshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11132283389353072699noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3720034818215138430.post-71732701559192161082010-01-02T09:15:00.001-05:002010-01-02T09:17:21.251-05:00Snipe Hunt 12-29-09Another video of Doc chasing and catching snipe.<br /><br /><br /><object width="580" height="360"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/3BdLBsoq89Y&hl=en_US&fs=1&color1=0x006699&color2=0x54abd6&hd=1&border=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/3BdLBsoq89Y&hl=en_US&fs=1&color1=0x006699&color2=0x54abd6&hd=1&border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="580" height="360"></embed></object>Eric Edwardshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11132283389353072699noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3720034818215138430.post-66025350484069672302009-12-29T13:34:00.003-05:002009-12-29T13:37:29.606-05:00Another VideoDoc is still flying great, catching snipe most hunts. This past Sunday he had a very long hunt. He flew for over 20min and chased about 6 snipe, catching the last one. Here's a video of this hunt. And you'll want to watch this full screen in HD for best quality. The video is a little long, almost 9min but Diana shot almost 20min of video.<br /><br /><br /><object width="580" height="360"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/T5xUIQ8WERY&hl=en_US&fs=1&color1=0x006699&color2=0x54abd6&hd=1&border=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/T5xUIQ8WERY&hl=en_US&fs=1&color1=0x006699&color2=0x54abd6&hd=1&border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="580" height="360"></embed></object>Eric Edwardshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11132283389353072699noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3720034818215138430.post-62136650872575466112009-12-27T14:42:00.003-05:002009-12-27T14:55:38.210-05:00Another Snipe<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8i8MmNpsBTqIoXyYh30WStVqk164ci_YCWLCy3SUG05xj7n4J3vpmTHqHWG4Ylyo31Dc0f2xn_8rO_CEGCcwqSB9cMFBKbKZibQ3nsbVb7Woc-JOZpdkj5XB9PYv8oucfV93oHa-zoLs7/s1600-h/DocSnipe+12-27-09-40-5+%5B800x600%5D.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5420006981435938962" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8i8MmNpsBTqIoXyYh30WStVqk164ci_YCWLCy3SUG05xj7n4J3vpmTHqHWG4Ylyo31Dc0f2xn_8rO_CEGCcwqSB9cMFBKbKZibQ3nsbVb7Woc-JOZpdkj5XB9PYv8oucfV93oHa-zoLs7/s400/DocSnipe+12-27-09-40-5+%5B800x600%5D.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2Yp0yGANqHIRSbVHfj1X5hRq0bs81nAO6rZBukdmMWnXvmeCCP0P4JYoVkrtBBUGtlP2RRHZx1J80Z1C_yN3Cz7gRghAXGouEzYY1v-HOfGpYboKabJ30CpVBD6FByqzPXrVd0z_z-VsR/s1600-h/DocSnipe+12-27-09-36-4+%5B800x600%5D.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5420006984983801106" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 266px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2Yp0yGANqHIRSbVHfj1X5hRq0bs81nAO6rZBukdmMWnXvmeCCP0P4JYoVkrtBBUGtlP2RRHZx1J80Z1C_yN3Cz7gRghAXGouEzYY1v-HOfGpYboKabJ30CpVBD6FByqzPXrVd0z_z-VsR/s400/DocSnipe+12-27-09-36-4+%5B800x600%5D.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJSkahIosyIiHXPrpP_CEXQ9gV89xL9yxGWIwTFUPTI_MOmqH0zANuB7-1kEiMBTq-ookTtOSmfx9tt9LrmmuEnZFZxbNrsrlLrYuuoaiGYQMuowvK_5aSB0GyTqzeuwnPGa7NxEIJs1ca/s1600-h/DocSnipe+12-27-09-7-1+%5B800x600%5D.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5420006977671304034" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 315px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJSkahIosyIiHXPrpP_CEXQ9gV89xL9yxGWIwTFUPTI_MOmqH0zANuB7-1kEiMBTq-ookTtOSmfx9tt9LrmmuEnZFZxbNrsrlLrYuuoaiGYQMuowvK_5aSB0GyTqzeuwnPGa7NxEIJs1ca/s400/DocSnipe+12-27-09-7-1+%5B800x600%5D.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><div>Doc has had his ups and downs this week. After his last snipe I decided to try him on doves. I found a nice flock of 100 birds and Doc took a great pitch. I started flushing doves and Doc started ignoring them. He watched dove after dove flush right under him without interest. </div><br /><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><br /><div>He finally folded up and put in a half hearted stoop at a dove forcing it to cover. He remounted but continued to ignore the doves. I finally called him down to the lure. Not sure why he's hesitant about doves but this is the second time he's done this. </div><br /><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><br /><div>The next flight, a few days later, it was rainy, warmer and windy. I had a few snipe spotted and released the beast. Doc flew downwind and mounted but when he came back to me he had lost most of his pitch. He stooped a sparrow, losing the rest of his pitch. Then he just flew around my head looking for the glove. I finally gave it to him and took him home. </div><br /><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><br /><div>Today I wanted to try a spot that is wide open with very little cover. We drove into the field and immediately flushed 5 or 6 snipe. Doc took a nice pitch but started after some unknown bird way off downwind. We watched as he chased it across the sky and then back across the sky and we eventually lost sight of him. </div><br /><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><br /><div>I saw a few small flocks of black birds swirling around where he was last seen and I started waving a pigeon around to get his attention. After quite a while Doc came flying in low across the field and I called him down to the lure and hooded him. </div><br /><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><br /><div>I decided that I'd let him take a rest and work with the Red Necked Falcon, Bubba, and then take Doc to another spot and try him again. </div><br /><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><br /><div>The second hunt was fantastic. Doc took a great pitch and stooped 4 or 5 snipe, remounting back to 500' each time. He eventually caught one in a long stoop into the wind and ended up following it in to cover and catching it on the ground. He chased two others to the ground and lost them and put in many stoops. This boy loves snipe. </div></div></div>Eric Edwardshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11132283389353072699noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3720034818215138430.post-68823221055247911722009-12-23T10:58:00.001-05:002009-12-23T11:06:25.538-05:00Snipe #5<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT2c_sgwHSP6_pp83tENTidobuTIC9QVSZsu6bc69pLGhoOw1NzJbtF57yVc9kjVbxS6s4zC01a8To1DrylMOkRzNrFsdUT8oFhz5x1MN-reMsWyhQETR7W0tt6Te10PzvFdr0uU4FI8Wu/s1600-h/IMG_1650+%5B800x600%5D.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 266px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5418463649268855394" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT2c_sgwHSP6_pp83tENTidobuTIC9QVSZsu6bc69pLGhoOw1NzJbtF57yVc9kjVbxS6s4zC01a8To1DrylMOkRzNrFsdUT8oFhz5x1MN-reMsWyhQETR7W0tt6Te10PzvFdr0uU4FI8Wu/s400/IMG_1650+%5B800x600%5D.jpg" /></a><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdTCqUiReAnRnaI3qmmaIbDAkO3myFckD0uVS5xphpo1Df-8jCoEhlLSJE5NfY1kQeFyJ6-X4XmWqestYAcdYgiSACt8u6BV1tVjDgpL9L3KQbQ21yiNjbik195jeOPmz9JBtCQbYIt9sA/s1600-h/IMG_1632+%5B800x600%5D.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 266px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5418463650622604754" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdTCqUiReAnRnaI3qmmaIbDAkO3myFckD0uVS5xphpo1Df-8jCoEhlLSJE5NfY1kQeFyJ6-X4XmWqestYAcdYgiSACt8u6BV1tVjDgpL9L3KQbQ21yiNjbik195jeOPmz9JBtCQbYIt9sA/s400/IMG_1632+%5B800x600%5D.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><div>Doc has been flying very consistent this week. I think the cold weather has really helped (tough to take a good pitch in 85 degree weather). He's flying 500' and staying very close. </div><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><div>This was the second snipe we flushed today. Doc was 100yards up wind and he closed on the snipe very quickly. The snipe bailed into shin high grass with Doc right behind him. Doc missed on the ground and the snipe blasted back up with Doc right behind. The snipe sought cover again but Doc was on his butt. </div><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><div></div></div>Eric Edwardshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11132283389353072699noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3720034818215138430.post-10787284617876051402009-12-22T14:20:00.002-05:002009-12-22T14:24:54.584-05:00Red-Necked Falcon (Red-Headed Merlin)<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijAXb3osRUWpd7mv08RD3y4cUIJAV-7_8w75oTDibgdQakVmevwqnasK1GjsAS1VjeixuHhBT3Zgx9rwGayNRw9T5brl9akTkvbuVpV_inPnT3gL2K5SsfvvHjWsnvmvsqhwELOgtKx0cf/s1600-h/IMG_1612+%5B800x600%5D.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 266px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5418143710043751330" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijAXb3osRUWpd7mv08RD3y4cUIJAV-7_8w75oTDibgdQakVmevwqnasK1GjsAS1VjeixuHhBT3Zgx9rwGayNRw9T5brl9akTkvbuVpV_inPnT3gL2K5SsfvvHjWsnvmvsqhwELOgtKx0cf/s400/IMG_1612+%5B800x600%5D.jpg" /></a><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOnn3DNHdc_awSQv3xyi_dEFsA3etRfnpceP-4mlV3hsmvwXFF9JUjI5FBoXBKOImMLwwbPThlXVkUJSy6YAKLkwbaA51YNS047Yr1_19rfq0VxXlhgd947jQxVtQdFXLnT82VO6vfFoe0/s1600-h/IMG_1599+%5B800x600%5D.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 266px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5418143704406800322" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOnn3DNHdc_awSQv3xyi_dEFsA3etRfnpceP-4mlV3hsmvwXFF9JUjI5FBoXBKOImMLwwbPThlXVkUJSy6YAKLkwbaA51YNS047Yr1_19rfq0VxXlhgd947jQxVtQdFXLnT82VO6vfFoe0/s400/IMG_1599+%5B800x600%5D.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQdrJZYezxlTbDThbd_4d1Osg1dpeI_Ur7_n_3JzUurWiwLDao-P1xPCR1mJWSVrQYeuHu1mchkVazWJAEoMt9RQp_zA0IcyfunTcWG-WtOXB5AwxKfbSZm-y0lNU_1ETFBy2pje8BHmNr/s1600-h/IMG_1592+%5B800x600%5D.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 266px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5418143700819975298" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQdrJZYezxlTbDThbd_4d1Osg1dpeI_Ur7_n_3JzUurWiwLDao-P1xPCR1mJWSVrQYeuHu1mchkVazWJAEoMt9RQp_zA0IcyfunTcWG-WtOXB5AwxKfbSZm-y0lNU_1ETFBy2pje8BHmNr/s400/IMG_1592+%5B800x600%5D.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><br /><div>My new little bird arrived last night (or rather this morning at 1:30am). He's 150g of pure coolness. </div><br /><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><br /><div>Thanks to my buddy Keith Richman of CA for sending this little fella to me. Keith has been flying him all summer and decided to let me have a crack at him. He was bred by Bill Meeker who will hopefully have some of these guys available to the falconry community soon. </div><br /><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><br /><div></div></div></div>Eric Edwardshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11132283389353072699noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3720034818215138430.post-65603559783157073102009-12-22T14:10:00.004-05:002009-12-22T14:18:31.425-05:00Snipe & Dove Hawking VideoSunday I took a small group of people out to watch Doc hunt and Diana took some video. Doc flew great putting in several blistering stoops at snipe, Diana caught one of them on video and I have a slow motion clip of the flight. When Doc pitches up you can see him do several barrel rolls as he flips over and resumes the chase. Diana didn't get the whole flight, it's VERY fast, but he continues chasing the snipe across the field.<br /><br />Doc ended up catching a Dove, you can barely see it on the video it's very blurry. But he stooped down and hit the dove then grabbed it out of the air.<br /><br />This video is best watched in the HD version, full screen.<br /><br /><object width="580" height="360"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/Q-cCiGXhHzM&hl=en_US&fs=1&color1=0x006699&color2=0x54abd6&hd=1&border=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/Q-cCiGXhHzM&hl=en_US&fs=1&color1=0x006699&color2=0x54abd6&hd=1&border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="580" height="360"></embed></object>Eric Edwardshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11132283389353072699noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3720034818215138430.post-68027528343900676922009-12-18T09:27:00.002-05:002009-12-18T10:01:42.455-05:00Comparison of Snipe HawksI've been asked this question several times now so I thought I'd write my thoughts here.<br /><br />"Are there differences in this passage bird versus other falcons flown at snipe?"<br /><br />Well, I am very early into my season so I don't feel comfortable making much of a comparison at this point but I do have a few initial observations.<br /><br />The first, obvious, fact is that Doc has caught snipe quicker than any other bird I've flown. I caught him on Oct 11th, he was free flying on Nov 2nd and caught his first snipe on Dec 6th and has gone on to catch two more this week.<br /><br />By comparison my best Barbary was obtained in June and didn't catch the first snipe until Nov and not another until Jan.<br /><br />Doc, as I would have expected from a passage bird, has very good flight skills. He's powerful on the wing and has a natural tendency to stay upwind of me waiting for a flush.<br /><br />When a snipe flushes there is NO hesitation, he comes down fast and determined. The tail chase he had a few days ago was nothing short of amazing. My Barbary's have tailed snipe and pushed them a few hundred feet up and forced them back to the ground to catch them but Doc's chase seemed to go on forever and he was at least 500' up, truly amazing.<br /><br />His manners are still wonderful, he hoods well and has not tried to carry.<br /><br />PASSAGE BIRDS FOREVER!!!!!Eric Edwardshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11132283389353072699noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3720034818215138430.post-60575364184079288752009-12-17T16:59:00.003-05:002009-12-17T17:01:42.245-05:00Doc, Snipe #3<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkc4_LkyVeHnTx2raxZdmEdUE9f3iQNI56UtdWy55a6RzH9KJgNQvqKMA9WxdRQNdbIezGQSJZGe_Q0K-CJApPJW_ytFIJ8c-rNiA68kQ5Po3WYBfD2dWgRj0PR3RhAwspY0L7JA4g7TDf/s1600-h/DocSnipe3+(3)+%5B800x600%5D.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 213px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5416328554831530626" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkc4_LkyVeHnTx2raxZdmEdUE9f3iQNI56UtdWy55a6RzH9KJgNQvqKMA9WxdRQNdbIezGQSJZGe_Q0K-CJApPJW_ytFIJ8c-rNiA68kQ5Po3WYBfD2dWgRj0PR3RhAwspY0L7JA4g7TDf/s320/DocSnipe3+(3)+%5B800x600%5D.jpg" /></a><br /><div>Well he did it again. Doc's flying great and put snipe #3 in the bag, that's back to back snipe days. </div><br /><div></div>Eric Edwardshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11132283389353072699noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3720034818215138430.post-56940948081905777712009-12-16T15:02:00.001-05:002009-12-16T15:03:38.855-05:002nd Snipe<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRKxQl1iaYYHkaLpLjFQgy9BJkKG7FbqkL_GMtSR4_jdbjliYP8gwKWrcXyXavSrXc5DVHcNL0MpxmIDNjqcRptdxuoRvSSX_9tDHecsUlU6DCkujBhPxpeXjvZSSv3s8YSjene8lScWEn/s1600-h/IMG_1450+%5B800x600%5D.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 200px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 133px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5415927178905333234" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRKxQl1iaYYHkaLpLjFQgy9BJkKG7FbqkL_GMtSR4_jdbjliYP8gwKWrcXyXavSrXc5DVHcNL0MpxmIDNjqcRptdxuoRvSSX_9tDHecsUlU6DCkujBhPxpeXjvZSSv3s8YSjene8lScWEn/s200/IMG_1450+%5B800x600%5D.jpg" /></a><br /><div>Doc caught his second snipe today and I saw one of the most amazing flights I’ve seen. The weather here has been way too hot for good falconry with highs in the mid 80’s and lows around 70 and today wasn’t much different but Doc flew great.<br /><br />He cast off and flew downwind and began to climb. A group of black birds caught his attention and he headed farther downwind and started circling over the flock which was now packed into thick cover. He continued climbing but stayed downwind ¼ mile.<br /><br />After about 10 min of this he finally started making his way back to me and took a 300’ pitch right overhead. The dog (Duncan) and I started running around looking for snipe. We finally flushed a bird and Doc was a little downwind but he stooped hard and was in pursuit. He pulled in behind the snipe and got very close but the snipe evaded him. But he wasn’t about to give up.<br /><br />Doc was 10’ behind the snipe and very determined. The snipe began to climb with Doc right on its tail. He stayed 10’ to 20’ behind it all across the sky. I watched the chase in binoculars as they climbed up to 500’ and started coming back towards me. After a good two to three minutes they were now flying right over my head 500’ up. As they passed over me the snipe began to pull away. I yelled and waved and Doc pulled off the chase. It was the most amazing snipe chase I’ve seen, I couldn’t believe how long he pressed this snipe.<br /><br />Doc was now right over head 500’ up and circling for the next flush. We ran around frantically searching for another flush. A sparrow flushed and Doc made a short stoop, losing some pitch. Then another snipe flushed and Doc was locked on. Just as he was about to close the deal the snipe slammed down into a small marsh 300 yards away. He hovered over the spot but wouldn’t go in after it.<br /><br />Duncan and I ran over as Doc remounted. We waded into the thigh deep water and Duncan put the snipe back up. It flew out of the marsh and Doc easily flew it down over the field, claiming his second snipe of the season. </div>Eric Edwardshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11132283389353072699noreply@blogger.com2