I lollygagged over waffles at the house this morning. Hence it was warm in the woods, also very quiet squirrelwise. I got bored about 20 minutes in, and decided to head back to the Honda. Arnold and I had been mostly following Cisco, who was roaming, usually not a good sign. Cisco followed us now, with a little whistling encouragement. No reward, or he'll instantly switch to what I call "tidbit mode," following on, but actually panhandling in the trees. Today though he was a little vocal, another bad sign, he continued to look for squirrels. He found one eventually, a big male cat squirrel.
I'm wondering whether it's possible to become a falconer in Houston anymore, even flying a Harris's or Red-tail. There's just not enough game here to get experience catching game, an activity integral to hawking. I've had three apprentices who took at least part of a third season before consistently catching then upgrading the permit to general. One did a full third season, but finished with a flurry of rabbits. That person had to travel.
Back to today. Cisco and Arnold found the squirrel close to the edge of the trees. This squirrel bailed from not too high and Cisco clobbered it. Cisco did a full somersault on the ground after the grab. I've never seen that before. The squirrel had Cisco by the base of the tarsus between toes, and initially I thought it was a bad bite. The blood I guess was squirrel blood. I treated Cisco at the house later. Some foaming disinfectant, and some Silvidene cream. It's all right. Cisco's a very skillful footer, but lacks the crushing grip I've seen on some Red-tails.
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