Cisco and Farrah: 2015/2016 Hunting Season: H19 - The Rain, The Park, and Other Things

Today was interesting. No whining about the heat, even though early today I decided not to hunt because of it. During breakfast with a friend, I changed my mind.

I drove out west of town to near a park where I have been many times. Patricia was heading this way, and the windshield was getting sprinkled on the way. We were rained on for hours.

I got Farrah out of the truck, geared up, and headed out. No dog today. Almost immediately we had a swamp rabbit chase. Swamp rabbits hide in the bushes with the white flowers shown in picture below. I have been calling them Cherokee roses, but Jim Ince calls them McCartney roses. I think he's correct though the two are closely related. Swamp rabbits love them. There are a ton of those bushes at this place. Probably tons of swamp rabbits too but they are spread out. Farrah parked on a tree and did not want to move, but eventually she gave up on the "cane cutter" hiding below. We moved south towards the bayou, which will figure prominently later in this post. The rain continued. Farrah suddenly flew fast and far, back towards the direction of the truck. She had spotted a squirrel. Because I'm desperate, I am letting her attack squirrels. She pushed this one high in the tree and it bailed out straight down with Farrah in pursuit. Too much vegetation and the bushy-tail escaped. Unfortunately so did the transmitter. I discovered its loss immediately, but wasn't sure if it had just happened.

I hiked back to the car (or truck or SUV, depending on my mood) with Farrah trailing. I got the receiver out and tracked back to the tree. A few minutes later I found it at the base of the tree. If I had known with certainty that the transmitter was lost below the tree I would have forgone the receiver. I bent the tail clip on my Luksander Razor a few weeks ago and apparently did not repair it correctly. I reinstalled the transmitter; Farrah and I continued on, as did the rain. Farrah is more tolerant of rain and dampness than Dart was. Dart seemed to have very little oil in his feathers and would get drenched quickly. Farrah is more like Cisco in that respect, more ducklike.

Shortly thereafter Farrah and I came to a bayou. I decided to head back, being in a great mood. Here's a place to hunt with plenty of game, few cotton rats, one that would provide plenty of challenge for my hawks. There are squirrels, swamp rabbits, and birds. Tough to catch but one of my favorite fields was at De Soto Street in Oak Forest. If I could catch a swamp rabbit there 25% of the time I was happy.

Trouble began. I fed Farrah, clipped her to my glove and headed back. Sounds easy enough except that I got lost. About 20 minutes later I was back at the same point, my apogee from the truck. Mild panic, though I didn't think I would end up as bear food. I was really disoriented. I headed back along the bayou though I had never gone that way before. Eventually I spotted a couple on the other side of the bayou. I told them I was lost. They suggested a route back that ultimately took me right to the truck. On the way I saw another swamp rabbit. Also a sign that misidentified a red-tailed hawk with a picture of a red-shouldered hawk. My phone was wet so I will have to take a picture next time.

All in all a great day. Nothing caught, but this place has potential. Farrah had some good chases and I think I will be here a lot with my two hawks and the dog this season. Good riddance Katy, Tx. I have found a giant version of De Soto Street, except with more squirrels. This is a place for a hawk with confidence and patience; fortunately I have two. We will have a lot of chases, but probably won't take much game. Just too tough here with the cover. I don't mind as long as it's consistent and we're catching enough to keep the hawks going.