The Austringer

This past weekend was the last of the upland bird season for falconry. So we headed north to see if the hawks and dogs might find something to chase and perhaps catch.

Genie Scott’s friends Ira and Shirley Lee have vineyards and graciously allowed us to come and see what the hawks might find there. We drove up on Sunday morning and prepared Rusty and Glamdring for an outing. After a little bit of visiting with Genie, Ira, and Shirley, we started off on a walk around and through the vineyards.

Because this was vineyards, we didn’t use the backpack frame perch for the hawks. There were plenty of perches available. The dogs found a couple of jackrabbits, and the hawks chased one for a bit, but no connection was made.

There was a pond with ducks on it. Ritka and Farli each did some swimming in the pond, with Ritka trying to close in on a duck without success.

We had a bit of a visit with Ira and Shirley afterward, and they opened up a a very nice bottle of Saintsbury Pinot Noir produced from their grapes.

I’m hoping that this next year will see an improvement in our ability to provide slips for the hawks. While they got some outings this hunting season, my surgeries and health issues put a real crimp in our ability to get out.