Andrea Chen
2003-11-08 23:42:30 UTC
I think I've flown them together about 10-12 times now, and they are
finally starting to cooperate. What a relief!
I think it started the day Polya grabbed a sitting jackgrabbit and for
whatever reason ended up hanging on its rear, getting hauled around
the country.
Earlier in the session there had been a rather ugly spat between the 2
which I think may have been over a mouse. Polya had gone to ground,
Squeaky to the same spot a few moments later. They were on the other
side of a canal and partly hidden by brush, but I heard a lot of
twittering and got myself over there as quickly as possible. By then
Squeaks was on his back, feet up defensively, and I separated them.
There was fresh blood on the feet of both birds and some at Squeaky's
beak. I probably should have checked Polya's crop but was too
overwhelmed by the idea that blood was drawn; that there might have
been a mouse didn't occur to me till later, when I thought about
Polya's flight down: very direct, straight toward the ground rather
than the little wingover he tends to do over rabbits. Squeaks didn't
seem to be in pain, but both birds were clearly pissed off and each
went up to a pole. We took a break, let them rouse and reset
themselves.
Polya had come down to the glove and we were walking when he spotted
the sitter. Squeaks came in from his pole but only landed by Polya
and the rabbit. We hurried in, the jackrabbit did his duty as a free
citizen and began running with a brown feathery bustle hanging off his
rear.
Squeaky jumped and came in several times, once grabbing the rabbit by
the head, but given the way Polya had treated him in the past, I do
not blame him for bouncing off it again. Meanwhile I was trying to
catch up with the rabbit, swearing to quit smoking, yelling
irrationally at Squeaks, "Help him! Help him!" The rabbit slowed
down and I herded it into a thicker weedy spot where it might get
stuck, but it wasn't cooperating and turned aside. It got another 20
feet before it couldn't take anymore and stopped in a branchy thing.
I grabbed it by the waist. After a moment's hesitation, Squeaks took
it at the head.
The unfortunate rabbit had a vast tear in the skin nearly as large as
my hand, so I had to put it down. I was pleased that Squeaky had
gained the courage to come in to Polya's catch.
Two days later we went after cottontails. Again Polya spotted a
sitter and went after it. It started to run but surprisingly, POlya
nailed it. Squeaky came in and grabbed the other end, and both birds
went still. Neither one looked at each other but held it nicely. I
gave each bird a nice chunk of quail and slipped the bunny away,
hoping for a second. As we went along for the next hour, both birds
seemed intent on game and not each other despite being kind of high.
Squeaky chased and caught another CT, Polya coming in a slow second
and landed beside -- very unusual. Perhaps he remembered he'd caused
Squeaky to lose a CT several days back. When he did step in he
grabbed the other end of the bunny. We gave enough to make a good crop
and let that one go too.
Here's a bit of theorizing:
A cast goes in stages. First comes annoyance -- trying to decide who
will be dominant. They bump each other off perches, chase, or even
attack. I believe by perching one bird higher than the other,
dominance can be influenced.
Second is competition -- the birds observe each other catching. Each
wants their own, so they become more gamey. However, food is not
quite yet shareable. Fights will ensue over caught game. Sole
possession is more important.
Finally they start to see that they will both get a good meal if
either one catches quarry. So far anytime anything gets caught I have
given both birds equal food. I think that, at this stage in the game,
rewarding the catcher and not the backup only causes jealousy, and
Polya is a jealous sort. They figure out that it's better to assist
the other in catching rather than trying to take it away.
-andrea-
finally starting to cooperate. What a relief!
I think it started the day Polya grabbed a sitting jackgrabbit and for
whatever reason ended up hanging on its rear, getting hauled around
the country.
Earlier in the session there had been a rather ugly spat between the 2
which I think may have been over a mouse. Polya had gone to ground,
Squeaky to the same spot a few moments later. They were on the other
side of a canal and partly hidden by brush, but I heard a lot of
twittering and got myself over there as quickly as possible. By then
Squeaks was on his back, feet up defensively, and I separated them.
There was fresh blood on the feet of both birds and some at Squeaky's
beak. I probably should have checked Polya's crop but was too
overwhelmed by the idea that blood was drawn; that there might have
been a mouse didn't occur to me till later, when I thought about
Polya's flight down: very direct, straight toward the ground rather
than the little wingover he tends to do over rabbits. Squeaks didn't
seem to be in pain, but both birds were clearly pissed off and each
went up to a pole. We took a break, let them rouse and reset
themselves.
Polya had come down to the glove and we were walking when he spotted
the sitter. Squeaks came in from his pole but only landed by Polya
and the rabbit. We hurried in, the jackrabbit did his duty as a free
citizen and began running with a brown feathery bustle hanging off his
rear.
Squeaky jumped and came in several times, once grabbing the rabbit by
the head, but given the way Polya had treated him in the past, I do
not blame him for bouncing off it again. Meanwhile I was trying to
catch up with the rabbit, swearing to quit smoking, yelling
irrationally at Squeaks, "Help him! Help him!" The rabbit slowed
down and I herded it into a thicker weedy spot where it might get
stuck, but it wasn't cooperating and turned aside. It got another 20
feet before it couldn't take anymore and stopped in a branchy thing.
I grabbed it by the waist. After a moment's hesitation, Squeaks took
it at the head.
The unfortunate rabbit had a vast tear in the skin nearly as large as
my hand, so I had to put it down. I was pleased that Squeaky had
gained the courage to come in to Polya's catch.
Two days later we went after cottontails. Again Polya spotted a
sitter and went after it. It started to run but surprisingly, POlya
nailed it. Squeaky came in and grabbed the other end, and both birds
went still. Neither one looked at each other but held it nicely. I
gave each bird a nice chunk of quail and slipped the bunny away,
hoping for a second. As we went along for the next hour, both birds
seemed intent on game and not each other despite being kind of high.
Squeaky chased and caught another CT, Polya coming in a slow second
and landed beside -- very unusual. Perhaps he remembered he'd caused
Squeaky to lose a CT several days back. When he did step in he
grabbed the other end of the bunny. We gave enough to make a good crop
and let that one go too.
Here's a bit of theorizing:
A cast goes in stages. First comes annoyance -- trying to decide who
will be dominant. They bump each other off perches, chase, or even
attack. I believe by perching one bird higher than the other,
dominance can be influenced.
Second is competition -- the birds observe each other catching. Each
wants their own, so they become more gamey. However, food is not
quite yet shareable. Fights will ensue over caught game. Sole
possession is more important.
Finally they start to see that they will both get a good meal if
either one catches quarry. So far anytime anything gets caught I have
given both birds equal food. I think that, at this stage in the game,
rewarding the catcher and not the backup only causes jealousy, and
Polya is a jealous sort. They figure out that it's better to assist
the other in catching rather than trying to take it away.
-andrea-