Friday, October 29, 2021

Krähenbeizjagd

Anfang September war Hekate, der Harris Hawk (amerikanischer Wüstenbussard) unserer Falkner-Mentorin, soweit mit der Mauser fertig, dass sie mit der Krähenjagd beginnen konnte. Sie ist 4 Jahre alt und vom 5. Flug. Ihr erster Flug war die Jagdsaison nach dem Schlüpfen, bevor sie ein Jahr alt war. In dieser ersten Training-Saison ist der Beizvogel noch etwas unbeholfen, aber sie bekommt ihre ersten Erfahrungen mit der Beute, die sie später bejagen wird.


Hinweis: Die Fotos, die ich hier veröffentliche, sind nicht blutig oder grausam, aber einige zeigen einen Beizvogel, der Fleisch atzt (frisst) – entweder von der Beute, die er erlegt hat, oder vom Falkner zubereitet. So ähnlich wie das, was deine Katze aus dem Garten ins Haus mitbringt, wenn sie rausgehen darf.

Diesen Blogeintrag habe ich auch auf Englisch veröffentlicht.

Ich weiß nicht mehr, wie oft ich mit Hekate und ihrer Falknerin unterwegs gewesen bin (2-3 Mal pro Woche), aber es ist jedes Mal ein unglaubliches Erlebnis! Manchmal bin ich die Fahrerin, die uns zwischen den verschiedenen Jagdgebieten hin- und herfährt, und ich habe öfters das große Privileg, Hekate auf die Krähen loszulassen, die wir erspäht haben. Die ersten beiden Male, die sie von meinem Handschuh aus geflogen ist, hat sie jeweils eine Krähe gefangen! Das war mein erstes Gefühl von "Jagdfieber" - nicht "the thrill of the kill", wie es unzureichend ins Englische übersetzt wird, sondern ein überwältigendes Gefühl der Emotion und Vollendung - auch wenn es Hekates Erfolg war! Ja, wir arbeiten als Team, und es kann sein, dass sie die Krähe nicht bekommt, weil ich einen Fehler mache, aber die harte Arbeit, die Krähe tatsächlich mit ihren Krallen zu packen und festzuhalten, ist ihre.

Hekate beim Manteln
"Meins! Nicht deins. Meins-meins-meins!!"

Nachdem die Falknerin den Beizvogel auf die Krähen geworfen hat, muss sie ihm helfen oder den Vogel zurückholen. Wenn Hekate ihre Krähe erwischt hat, muss die Falknerin dorthin rennen, wo sie auf ihrer Beute sitzt, und die Arbeit zu Ende bringen, da die ziemlich geschockte Krähe zu diesem Zeitpunkt nur "größtenteils tot" ist (danke, Miracle Max). Zu Beginn der Saison darf der Beizvogel so viel von der Krähe rupfen und atzen, wie er will. Das ist die Belohnung für eine gut gemachte Arbeit. Später kann sie durch einen kleineren Snack abgelenkt und von der Krähe entfernt werden (sie vergisst die große leckere Krähe, während sie den Snack verschlingt), so dass sie wieder jagdbereit ist.

Wenn Hekate die Krähe nicht erwischt hat (ein „Fehlflug“), ruft der Falkner sie mit einem Tidbit (Leckerbissen) auf dem Handschuh zurück. Manchmal ist der Tidbit (ein kleines Stückle Fleisch) nicht überzeugend genug, dann holt die Falknerin das unwiderstehliche Eintagsküken aus ihrer Tasche und legt es verlockend auf den Handschuh oder wirft es ein paar Mal in die Luft (um es wieder in die Tasche zu stecken, wenn Hekate auf dem Weg zum Handschuh ist). Hekate sieht das von dem Baum aus, auf dem sie gerade sitzt, auch wenn ich sie nicht sehen kann. Natürlich hoffen wir Falkner, dass Hekate erfolgreich ist und ihre Krähe erlegt, aber - und das kann ich gar nicht genug betonen - es ist eines der coolsten Dinge überhaupt, wenn dieser wunderschöne Beizvogel sich dazu entschließt, von einem gemütlichen Baum in der Ferne zu meinem Handschuh zurückzufliegen.

Aik und seine Falknerin

Hekate jagt eindeutig gern. Während wir Falknerinnen nach den Krähen suchen, sitzt sie nicht bloß auf dem Handschuh und döst. Mit ihren Adleraugen (hier ist Englisch besser: hawk-eyes!) kann sie weiter und besser sehen als wir, und sie streckt ihren Hals so hoch wie möglich, um über Hindernisse hinwegzusehen, und reckt den Hals, um um einen Baum oder ein Maisfeld zu gucken. Nach einem "Fehlflug" setzt sie sich wieder auf den Handschuh und fühlt sich vielleicht ein bisschen betrogen ("Ich dachte, das wäre ein leckeres Küken auf deinem Handschuh!"), aber sobald sie mit dem Stoß wackelt und sich aufplustert, wissen wir, dass sie wieder bereit ist.

"Komm doch, Mensch. Ich sehe Krähen!"

Ich fand es schon cool, mit einem Vogel auf Krähenbeizjagd zu gehen. Dann trafen wir Nina und ihren Harris Hawk Terzel, Aik. Er ist ein Halbbruder von Hekate, jünger und war noch unerfahren. Als ich das erste Mal mit ihnen unterwegs war, hat Nina Aik auf mehrere Krähen geworfen, aber er war nicht wirklich bei der Sache. Dann nahm ich ihn auf meinen Handschuh, damit er Hekate ein paar Mal beobachten konnte, und nachdem er vor Eifersucht auf ihre beiden Krähen gekrächzt hatte, schickte Nina ihn wieder los. Danach ist er gut geflogen und hat die Krähe fast erwischt und hat nicht so schnell aufgegeben. Beim zweiten Mal, als wir mit ihnen unterwegs waren, bekam Aik seine erste Krähe und durfte sich satt kropfen. Good bird!

"Ham will!!"



Erfolg! Falknersheil!!

Wir waren auch mit Ben und Ayla beizen, ein Harris Hawk, mit dem Ben arbeitet, während ihre Falknerin, Mina, sich von einer Krankheit erholt. Mina ist diejenige, die mich mit Hekate und ihrer Falknerin zusammengebracht hat! Ich hatte Mina über eine Facebook-Falknerei-Gruppe kennengelernt, als ich sie nach der Firma fragte, die ihre Voliere gebaut hatte. Und obwohl ich Mina noch nicht persönlich kennengelernt habe, habe ich zweimal Zeit mit ihrem Harris Hawk verbracht (das erste Mal war bei der Landesgartenschau)!

Ben macht Ayla fest
während sie denkt, "Meins! Meins-meins-meins!"


Wo gehen wir auf die Beizjagd? Obwohl die schlauen Krähen Schädlinge sind, die die meisten Menschen gerne loswerden möchten, können wir nicht einfach jagen, wo wir wollen. Hekate und ihre Falknerin haben die Erlaubnis, Krähen und gelegentlich Nilgänse oder Tauben in verschiedenen Revieren im Rheintal, bei Stuttgart und "hier oben", nicht weit von ihrem Wohnort entfernt, zu jagen. Wir brauchen diese schriftliche Jagderlaubnis zusammen mit unseren Falknerjagdscheinen, wenn wir in den Jagdgebieten unterwegs sind.

 

Wenn die Beizjagd für den Tag beendet ist, bringen wir Hekate zurück in ihre Voliere und sie bekommt eine saftige und federige oder pelzige Belohnung für ihre Bemühungen und/oder ihren Erfolg. Ihre Körpersprache und ihre Seitenblick zeigen, dass sie nicht gerne teilt. Kurz nachdem ich dieses Foto gemacht hatte, ließ sie ihre Flügel herunter, um ihre Belohnung zu verdecken, falls ich etwas für mich haben wollte.

Spoiler-Alert: Das hab' ich nicht.


Was machen wir mit den Krähen? Sie werden nicht einfach weggeworfen, sondern sind Nahrung für die Harris Hawks jetzt und während der Mauser! Wir nehmen sie aus, schneiden die Brüste heraus, die, wie mir Hekates Falknerin versichert, köstlich sein können, wenn sie richtig zubereitet werden, portionieren die verbleibenden Flügel, Beine, Schwanz und Brustknochen und frieren sie für später ein.


Aik und seine Beute
Foto von NM


Aus den Flügeln machen wir Federspiele, die wir zum Training nach der Mauser verwenden, und ich trockne zu diesem Zweck 2 Paar Flügel in unserem Keller. Oder Hekate bekommt einen aufgetauten Flügel, wenn sie etwas zum Spielen und Knabbern braucht, da sie ziemlich lange beim Rupfen beschäftigt ist, bevor sie an das Fleisch kommt. Der Stoß passt für ein kleineres Federspiel. Ein Greifvogel braucht auch Knochen für Kalzium, damit sein Verdauungssystem normal funktioniert und um seinen Schnabel zu kürzen. Indem Hekate mit Teilen der Krähe gefüttert wird, simuliert ihre Falknerin, wie sie sich in freier Wildbahn selbst versorgen würde.

Als unser Falknerkurs vor einem Jahr begann, war ich nicht sicher, welche Richtung ich mit der Falknerei genau einschlagen wollte. Jetzt weiß ich es aber ganz sicher. Die Krähenbeizjagd mit Harris Hawks ist so unglaublich faszinierend und belebend! Ich muss alle paar Tage früh aufstehen - in der Regel zwischen 5:00 und 6:00 Uhr - und das mache ich gerne. Ich freue mich auf jede Beizjagdgelegenheit!

Ich freue mich auch darauf, im nächsten Jahr unseren eigenen Vogel abzutragen, mit all den Herausforderungen, die das mit sich bringt, und schließlich mit Hekate, ihrer Falknerin und anderen Falknerinnen und Falknern auf die Beizjagd zu gehen. Ich habe Kontakt mit dem Züchter geknüpft, unser Antrag für die Baugenehmigung der Voliere ist beim Bauamt und wir haben letztes Wochenende einen Geländewagen (einen Suzuki Jimny) gekauft, in dem die Transportbox unseres Vogels passen wird.

Es gibt noch viel zu berichten!

Bis dahin…

FALKNERSHEIL!!


Aik und Hekate mit ihren Falknerinnen
nach einer erfolgreichen Beizjagd
Foto von NM


Translated with the help of Deepl and M.



Thursday, October 28, 2021

Crow hawking

At of the beginning of September our Falkner-mentor’s Harris hawk, Hekate, was through enough of the molt to start hunting crows. She is 4 years old and this is her 5th season. Her first season was the hunting season after she was hatched, before she was a full year old. In that first season the Beizvogel is a bit clumsy, but she gets her first taste of hunting the prey/quarry she will later focus on.


Notice: The photos I will post here are not gory or gruesome, but some will show a bird of prey eating meat – prepared by the falconer or the quarry it has killed. Sort of like what your cat drags in from the yard if it's allowed to go out.

This blog post will be published tomorrow in German.


I have lost count of the number of times I have been out with Hekate and her Falknerin (2-3 times per week), but it has been an incredible experience every time! I am sometimes the driver transporting us between the various hunting grounds, and I have also had the absolute privilege of launching Hekate at the crows we’ve spied. In fact the first two times she flew from my Handschuh (falconer’s glove), she caught a crow each! That was my first feeling of “Jagdfieber” – not the “thrill of the kill,” as it is inadequately translated into English, but an overwhelming sense of emotion and accomplishment – even though it was Hekate’s accomplishment! Yes, we work as a team, and she might not get the crow because of a mistake I make, but the hard work of actually grabbing the crow with her talons and hanging on to it is hers.

Hekate "manteling" her crow.
"Mine! Not yours! Mine-mine-mine!"


The falconer’s job, after launching the Beizvogel toward the crows, is to assist or retrieve the bird. If Hekate got her crow, the falconer has to dash to where she is sitting on her prey and finish the job since the rather shocked crow is at this point only “mostly dead” (thank you, Miracle Max). At the start of the season the Beizvogel gets to pluck and eat as much of the crow as she wants to. That is her reward for a job well done. Later on she can be distracted by a smaller snack and can be lifted off the crow (she forgets about the large tasty crow while swallowing the snack) so she is ready to hunt again.

If Hekate did not get the crow, the falconer calls her back with a tidbit on the glove. Sometimes the tidbit (a small piece of meat) isn’t quite enticing enough, so the falconer pulls out the irresistible day-old chick from her pocket and lays it temptingly on the glove or tosses it in the air a few times (to be stuffed back in the pocket when Hekate is on her way to the glove). Hekate sees this from whichever tree she has landed in even if I cannot see her. Of course we falconers hope Hekate will be successful and get her crow, but - and I cannot emphasize this enough – it is one of the coolest things ever when this beautiful bird of prey chooses to return to my glove from some obliging tree in the distance.

Aik and his Falknerin
photo credit: NM

Hekate clearly loves to hunt. While we falconers are searching for the crows, she isn’t just sitting there on the glove snoozing. With her hawk-eyes she can see farther and better than we can, and she stretches her neck as high as it goes to see over obstacles and cranes her neck to look around a tree or a corn field. After a Fehlflug (in which she missed the crow) she sits back on the glove feeling perhaps a bit cheated (“I thought that was a tasty chick on your glove!”), but once she waggles her tail and fluffs herself up, we know she’s ready again.

"Come on, human! I see crows!"


I thought it was cool enough going hawking with one bird. Then we met Nina and her Harris hawk tiercel (male), Aik. He’s a half-brother to Hekate, younger and less experienced. The first time I was with them Nina launched Aik at several crows but he was clearly not really committed. Then I took him on my glove so he could watch Hekate hunt a few times, and after cawing with jealousy at her two crows, Nina sent him out again. After that he flew well and nearly got the crow each time, not giving up so quickly. On his next time out, Aik got his first crow and was allowed to eat his fill. Good bird!

Aik: "I want soma dat!"


Success! Falknersheil!


We have also gone hawking with Ben and Ayla, a bird he is working with while her falconer, Mina, is recovering from an illness. Mina is the one who connected me with Hekate and her falconer! I'd met Mina through a Facebook falconry group when I asked her about the company who built her aviary. And although I have not yet met Mina personally, I've twice spent time with her Harris hawk!

Ben secures Ayla and finishes the crow
while Ayla thinks, "Mine! Mine-mine-mine!"


Where do we go hawking? Despite the clever crows and magpies being pests that most people - especially farmers - are happy to be rid of, we can't just hunt anywhere we like. Hekate has permission to hunt crows and the occasional goose, pigeon or magpie in several hunting grounds in the Rhine valley, near Stuttgart, and "up here," not far from where she lives. We need this written permission along with our Falknerjagdscheine (falconry licenses) to prove to an authority who might question us that we have permission from the hunter-tenant to hunt there with the bird.

When the hawking is finished for the day, we return Hekate to her aviary and she gets a juicy and feathery or furry reward for her efforts and/or success. Her body language and side-eye shows she doesn't like to share. Just after I took this picture she dropped her wings down to cover her prize in case I wanted some for myself.


Spoiler alert: I didn't.



What do we do with the crows? They are not just tossed away, they are food for the Harris hawks now and during the molt! We "field dress" them, cut out the breasts, which Hekate's falconer assures me can be delicious if cooked right, portion the remaining wings, legs, tail, head and breast bone and freeze them for when they're needed.

Aik and his Beute
Photo credit: NM

The wings can be used to make training lures, and I have 2 pairs of wings drying out in our basement for this purpose. After thawing one can also be given to Hekate when she needs a little something to play with and nibble on, since she spends a fair amount of time plucking it before getting to the meat. The Stoß (tail) can be used for a smaller lure. Raptors need bones as well for calcium, to keep their digestive system functioning normally and to help file their beak. By feeding Hekate parts of the crow, her falconer is simulating how she would be caring for herself in the wild.


Although I wasn't certain a year ago as our falconer class was about to start which direction exactly I wanted to take with falconry, I certainly know now. Crow-hawking with Harris hawks is so incredibly fascinating and invigorating! I have to get up early every few days - usually between 5:00-6:00 - which I do gladly. I look forward to every hawking adventure! 

I am also looking forward to training our own bird next year, with all the challenges that will bring, and eventually going out hawking with Hekate, her falconer and others. I've made contact with Hekate's breeder, our application for the building permit for the mews is at the Bauamt (building authority), and we've just bought a Geländewagen (a Suzuki Jimny) that our bird's transport box will fit into. 

There will be much to report!

Until then...

FALKNERSHEIL!!!


Aik and Hekate with their Falknerinnen
after a successful Beizjagd
Photo credit: NM





Thursday, October 21, 2021

Saarland Hunting Weekend, Part 3: Jagdfieber

On Saturday morning we had our third Ansitz, but the hunter who was supposed to accompany M had cancelled on short notice. Berthold asked M if he would be comfortable going alone, and he agreed. I suspect Berthold knew there was no way I would or should go alone, and after he showed M to his Hochsitz, he and I went to our new one.

Photo taken after Abbaumen (leaving the deer stand)
since it was pitch black out when we arrived

We waited for the light to improve and the sun to come up, but ultimately we saw nothing. Berthold kept saying this is extremely unusual, also that we heard no shots from elsewhere in the neighboring Reviere (hunting grounds).

We’d agreed to meet M again around 9:00 a.m. if we didn’t have a reason to meet before then, and when M came down the road did he have a story to tell!

Berthold asked him, “Na?” (German for pretty much anything) and M said, “I had a beautiful Schmalreh in my sights! THREE times she gave me a chance at her, standing still, standing ‘breit’ (perfectly sideways), grazing calmly.” But we knew he didn’t shoot because we didn’t hear it, so what happened?

This is M’s view from his Saturday morning Hochsitz:


First a fox appeared from the bottom of the ravine, just trotting along up the hill toward him without a care in the world. She passed M’s Hochsitz, stopped so M could get a good look at her, and he said she looked really fluffy and healthy. She looked up seemingly right at him, and then dashed off into the brush.

There’s a German hunters’ adage that says “Nach dem Fuchs kommt die Sau“ (After the fox comes the sow), so M grew hopeful.

Another fox popped out of the cover at the bottom of the ravine but stayed down there. Foxes were open for us, but Berthold had said we shouldn’t bother, rather saving our energy and ammo for a deer or wild boar.

Around 8:15 a Reh (roe deer) emerged cautiously from the trees on the right side of the ravine about 50 meters down. At first M only saw the ears, but then it stepped past the shrubby patch and M confirmed that it was definitely a Reh. This is the time to begin Ansprechen – a hunter has to be very certain about what he’s shooting at and that the foreground and background is clear. It was alone, it was smallish and its face looked youthful, M didn’t see any Knöpfe (start of antler nubbers), so he surmised that it was a young Reh. All deer are open in October, so even if it were a doe, as long as she doesn’t have a Kitz (fawn) with her, we could shoot.

The deer finished nibbling at the first patch of shrubs and sauntered across M’s field of vision to a second bush. Again it stopped, standing perfectly sideways as if offering M its “Blatt” (heart, lungs – the spot you want to hit the deer to kill it quickly). He readied his rifle, went into Anschlag (took aim), looked through his scope and saw the deer completely relaxed, head up, seeming to look straight at him. At this point the doubts started in M’s mind. If he’d had an experienced hunter with him to encourage him, he probably would have shot then and well. But once the self-doubt starts, it’s kind of hard to overcome. The deer took a step forward and changed its angle slightly, and M waited.

The deer moved on to the third patch of noms, which was now about 70 meters from the Hochsitz, and carried on munching. She spent her merry time here, standing at an angle M said couldn’t have been better, and M decided, “IF, then now.” He took aim again through his scope.

And then the shaking started.

It was his right (trigger) hand that started shaking first, and so badly that he couldn’t stay on target anymore the scope for all the jumping around it was doing. Having not experienced this before, he didn’t know how to counter it. But he knew he couldn’t shoot if he couldn’t see his target clearly. This has been drilled into our heads and souls through classes and discussions: When in doubt, leave your finger straight (don't shoot).

Not long after this the deer wandered leisurely off into the trees to enjoy the rest of its day and its life.

We later learned the term “Jagdfieber.” The insufficient English translation is “the thrill of the hunt/kill,” but that’s not what it is. To me that sounds like the hunter wants nothing more than to kill or the elation he feels after killing something. Jagdfieber is rather the excitement and tension mixed with nervousness  that comes during the hunt in general, directly before the shot, and/or directly after the shot. The Fieber (fever) part of it seems to refer to your brain not functioning quite normally, and certainly not calmly and rationally. If you understand German, this is an excellent article about Jagdfieber, what it is and how to deal with it.

M knows what it feels like now. That understanding is still before me, but I’m hoping his experience will help me. It probably won’t.

Although M said the only thing that took a hit this weekend was his ego, every hunter we've talked to since - including Berthold - has said this is totally normal and nothing to feel bad about.

Back to the Schießstand we go.


This is what we shoot at to practice.
The target "steht breit," meaning it's giving you a good
shot at its "Kammer," the place you want to hit.


This is the running boar target.
We can shoot (not this well every time),
but inanimate targets are surely different than living animals.


Tuesday, October 19, 2021

Saarland Hunting Weekend, Part 2: The Hornet Nest

Notice: No animals were harmed during the activities leading to these blog posts. The only thing that suffered during this weekend was M’s ego, and to learn why, stay tuned. 


In my previous post I described what I experienced during my first guided Ansitz. This was M’s experience from that same morning.

The morning of our first hunt M went off with the Jagdmeister and leader of the hunting school, Herr Seibt. They were headed to a Hochsitz that was not far off the road on the edge of a large clearing. Herr Seibt didn’t bring a gun with him, apparently having enough confidence in M’s shooting ability that he wouldn’t need to clean up after him.

They reached the Hochsitz and M followed Herr Seibt up the ladder to a little porch. Herr Seibt opened the door and with flashlights they saw an enormous hornet nest in the corner. Herr Seibt indicated that it was late enough in the year and cold enough that it would be empty. The Jagdaufseher or Jagdpächter (hunter-tennant) removes those in the winter. But then Herr Seibt bumped the nest and the hum-buzzing began. The very-not-absent hornets vacated their nest rather fluidly as Herr Seibt uttered “Oh shit! Schnell, weg hier!!” and they fled down the ladder in a rather hasty and as-orderly-as possible fashion.

Foto credit: Michael Tieck / stock.adobe.com

After recomposing themselves and straightening their jackets and M’s gun, Herr Seibt said, “So, dann…gehen wir pirschen!” (“So, uh, let’s do some stalking.”) They stalked through the forest to another Hochsitz where they spent the morning. They did not see any Wild, though.

Funnily, when Berthold and I returned to the cars and called the others to tell them we were waiting, it took quite a while for them to get to us. At one point Berthold said to me, “I wonder what’s up. They’re not at all far away and should have been here by now.”

It was the hornets! It took longer for them to return to our meeting point because they’d had to abandon the original planned Hochsitz and choose another one that was farther away.

I am very glad they didn’t get attacked (Herr Seibt closed the door fast enough and M told me hornets aren’t as aggressive as wasps even if they don’t appreciate being awakened by someone banging against their nest in the wee hours of the morning), but quite disappointed M didn’t get a photo for this blog post. 😉 

But no, this is not the story explaining why M’s ego was damaged. You’ll have to keep reading for that story.




In case you missed it:
Saarland Hunting Weekend, Part 1



Sunday, October 17, 2021

Saarland Hunting Weekend, Part 1

These posts are family-safe. Whether you are a Jagdgegner (opposed to hunting) or a hunter, have no fear to read on.



The last vacation trip M and I went on was to our beloved Isle of Mull in Scotland in September 2019. 2020 was all about earning our hunting and falconry licenses, so the only trips we took that year were to Saarland to the Jagdschule Seibt. 2021 has also been free of travel until this weekend when we returned to Saarland for a guided hunting experience. We booked three Ansitze each (sitting in a hunting stand with an experienced hunter to show us the ropes) with the option to buy the meat of a deer or wild boar if we shot one (or one each). We booked “our room” at the Pension we’ve now returned to 3 times from Thursday to Sunday and had arranged with Herr Seibt to meet him and another hunter at 6:00 a.m. on Friday morning for our first Ansitz.

We went to bed quite early and got up at 4:00 a.m. to make sure we were fit. We are more punctual than the Swiss, but the other two hunters were there before us. Herr Seibt himself accompanied M, and the Jagdaufseher of this Revier (Berthold) took me. I had prepared a large backpack with all the things, of course, but Berthold told me all I needed was my Gehörschutz (hearing protection), Fernglas (binoculars), gun and ammo. What? No water? Müsli bars? OhnmachtsSnickers? Immodium? Turns out he was right. I left my backpack in his Geländewagen (SUV), shoved 2 tissues in my pocket, and off we went.

In order to get ahead of the Wild (wild animals open for hunting), you need to get to the Hochsitz before daylight. This means tip-toeing through the forest – QUIETLY – in the pitch dark. We each had a small flashlight, mine fading spectacularly with each use, but by the time we got to the Hochsitz we’d turned those off. Ok, time to climb up a ladder in total darkness with my unloaded gun slung over my shoulder, my binoculars dangling from my neck and my Gehörschutz clipped to my arm, and feel my way into an unfamiliar box without banging anything against the wooden rungs, walls, or door. I failed at that bit, but not badly enough to get scolded. Once we were settled, Berthold told me to load my gun, cock it, and put the safety on. Holy shit. In total darkness?!? Oh! That’s why they say one should know her gun well enough to load and unload it without the use of light. I managed, swearing under my breath like a drunken sailor, but without wetting myself. Baby steps.

Then we sat. And waited. And listened.

a forest clearing sometime after 5:30 a.m.


Now and then Berthold used his thermal-imaging-camera to see if there was anything moving around out there, and when there was he handed it to me so I could see. I saw two Rehe (roe deer), probably a Geiß and a Kitz (doe and yearling), and a mouse at a puddle. When the light improved a bit my binoculars worked well enough to see as far as I would have shot. In this light, however, we saw nothing. Still, I was entranced with the experience of being in the dark forest, in a Hochsitz at the edge of a small clearing and watching the world wake up.


the small clearing in broad daylight


At first the only thing I heard was my tinnitus. But would you believe when it’s that dark and quiet you can hear leaves fall to the ground? Bats screeched by, birds started to waken and scold, geese flew honking overhead to their daytime hangout, and eventually we heard other sounds of life, like cars on a distant road and an airplane overhead, but thankfully no people. Then my stomach gurgled, and I realized how loud one’s body can seem when everything else is deathly still.

We had agreed to meet back at the cars at about 8:30, and the others were equally unsuccessful at seeing Wild we could erleg. (erlegen = to bag or kill)

We arranged to meet that afternoon again at 16:30 for an evening hunt, and M would be at a different stand with a different hunter guide.

I looked forward to being able to climb up the stand in the daylight to start the waiting, until I realized that meant everything in reverse, or climbing down and tromping out of the forest to the car in the pitch dark.

Once again, though, it was a special experience to sit quietly at the edge of a clearing this time to watch the forest settle in for the night. The geese flew back in the other direction returning to their Schlafplatz (where they sleep), but again, we saw no Wild. Hunters know this is the way of things. As our Schießtrainer told me, “Jeder Tag ist Jagdtag, aber nicht jeder Tag ist Fangtag." ("Every day is hunting day, but not every day is 'bagging day'.”

We already knew we were all-in for every hunting experience we could have from this point on.


For further reading:
Saarland Hunting Weekend, Part 2: The Hornet Nest