Looking for Fenoglio

     Up before dawn, out just after first light. I'd spent the previous night tying tiny monofilament nooses. My fingers are now tuned to feel the tiny ticks and slips of thin strands. Two hours, and I'd hardly gotten fifteen nooses on the trap. Which is probably enough, but I feel the need to add more. This new line I got is fantastic and I'm convinced that it will snag any kestrel toes that touch it.
    I am wrong.
    The wind is blowing too hard and the weather progressively gets worse until leaving the car means getting a face full of stinging hail. The kestrels are all hiding from the wind, close to the ground. We find five males and two females that we can set up on, but none of them are prepared to leave their spots. The ones that do quickly lose interest in the trap and take off.
     The nooses I've tied are too large. They blow in the wind and deter the kestrels. The only thing we catch after two hours is a snag on a rock. The wind is bad and the Bal-Chatri needs work. The mice are freezing and huddle together instead of running around. All-in-all, it's time to go home.
    Fenoglio will live free for a few more days. I will clean the perches again and finish finals week.
    Then we will meet.
    Happy Hawking.

Looking Forward Without Moving On

It's been a month and a half since I found out Petrie was dead. It feels like longer. Nevertheless, I have my apprenticeship to finish, so I've been keeping my eyes open for passage birds in the area.

I wasn't legal to trap until now (nor did I want to), because I'd trapped my 2 birds in 2015. But now it's 2016 and I can trap again.

Here are my options:

1) Misty. She roosts in my neighbors porch and is just the most beautiful female I have ever laid eyes on. The coloration on her chest isn't just brown on white, but black on brown on white which makes for a very beautiful muddled hot cocoa and marshmallows look. I think she's a haggard, but I find that I really like the gusto haggards have.

2) Luke. He lives in the local park and he is a butt. He is the reason I can't train my birds in the local park, or really anywhere near my house because he's claimed such a freaking huge territory. Really, I'm not too enthusiastic about him, but hunting with him would mean that I might finally be able to train in the park. Up until I let him go.

3) Fenoglio. The wild passage I have yet to meet. Really, I only have a few months left of the season to fly a bird, and a passage would mean less training time and more hunting time. This is probably the best choice for my situation, but Misty might have just captured my heart.

I don't really know what I'll do. What I do know is that I need to order some BioThane for making anklets. Luckily, this teenager finally found a suitable job.

And, while I've got your attention, I might as well tell you my plans for next season, because they're one of the few things that help me look forward to life after Petrie. The Cooper's hawk is not an option because my parents are not comfortable with an accipiter in the house. But, I will be moving up to a merlin. I'm planning on trapping a female Columbarius (the ones here are black as black comes) and hunting her on doves by waiting on. Maybe at some starling flocks too, depending on the season and what she takes to.

And I've finally got my telemetry, so things will go better now. No more losing birds.