Happy 3rd Gotcha Day, Kaya!

Three years ago today we drove to Hessen and picked up our girl - Kaya, our Harris's hawk - from her breeder. Since then our daily lives have largely revolved around her, hawking, and falconry. And we're loving every minute!

All photos are from Sandra Bäder of Pfotodog, unless otherwise captioned.

We've completed three successful crow-hawking seasons with Kaya, making a lifetime total of 164 Beutestücke (successful kills) so far and an uncountable number of misses.

During the hawking season (August 1 to February 15) I or we are out with her every 2-4 days depending on weather, and every outing is an adventure. Hawking can be dangerous and we've had a few close calls, including the worst which ended with me standing in a road trying to stop traffic while she flew back to me. From one of the photos above you can see how low to the ground she flies - using the ground effect to conserve energy. But roads are not avoidable and so we have to consider a whole lot of factors in the few seconds between spotting a crow and releasing her.

Hawk acrobatics: catching a tidbit in mid-air during training

We are often asking if we would want to fly a different bird at some point, and our answer is no. We absolutely adore her and hope she will live healthily and injury-free for the 20 years or so a Harris's hawk can live with a falconer, and by then we'll be in our 70s. We might be ready to hang up our leather gloves by then, although to be honest I cannot imagine not hawking when autumn rolls around.

I'll cut off my words here and finish with more photos from Sandra.

Here's to another safe and successful season!

Until next time - and I'll try to write again before her next Gotcha Day! LOL

Falknersheil!

Happy Gotcha Day, Kaya!

Two years ago today we picked up our darling from her breeder in Hessen, and our lives were changed forever.

I still think back to those first days of sitting quietly in her mews as she was secured to a bow perch near her bathing pool and a few toys, letting her get used to me and earning her trust. Once or twice a day I’d try to entice her to stand on my glove to eat a thawed and tasty chick.We succeeded on Day 4.

She’s not just a darling, of course. She’s a fierce hunter! During her second hunting season she expanded her prey spectrum to include beyond crows (her main prey), pigeons, magpies, a duck and 2 Egyptian geese! We’re looking forward to seeing what prey presents itself this season.

Kaya is now two years old and in her third flight, as we say in German (zwei Jahre alt und im dritten Flug). “In her third flight” means that she’s in her 3^rd hunting season. To be fair, the season has started but we haven’t yet because Kaya hasn’t finished her molt yet. She’s still growing new feathers but we’ll start her with some light training on the creance (Langfessel, a long light leash) this week. I am really looking forward to getting started again. I like to think she will enjoy more action again as well and the chance to refill her freezer with new meals.

I'll finish this Gotcha Day post with a photo dump from the past year with Kaya and what we've been up to.

Sitting on her favorite bench

Upside down head, trying to understand what she sees

First hawking success of the season

Manteling over her kill to guard it

Vacation accommodations

Another success

On her favorite bench in the setting sun

During a falconry meet near Freiburg

Floofed up on a cold day standing on her pillar

Winter crow

Time for a poo sample

This is called a "warble" - a double wing stretch

First visit to the veterinarian, in the waiting room

At an expo - some of the PR work we do

With saker falcon Smilla at our favorite local restaurant's
Mittelalterliches Bierfest.

Playing in her mews with pine cones

Bad hair day after a rain shower, which she loves

Riding in June

More PR work at a Jägerfest in Böblingen

Another Jägerfest, this time in Freudenstadt

Our adventure continues! We look forward to each new day with Kaya and hope for another successful and healthy, injury-less hawking season. 

Until next time...

Falknersheil!!

Drückjagd: Ausrüstung

Am Wochenende sind wir auf unserer ersten Drückjagd als Schützen. Wir waren schon viermal Treiber, und wir freuen uns auf diese neue Gelegenheit, obwohl das Wetter absolut scheiße sein wird: Regen, Wind, Kälte (na ja, nicht "Kälte" nach Wisconsin-Standard). Es könnte sicher schlimmer sein, aber wir werden nass werden.

Was bringt man mit, wenn man auf Drückjagd geht? Da habe ich Verschiedenes gehört und gelesen. Einer sagt, nimm weniger mit, einer sagt, nimm mehr mit, denn schlimmstenfalls schleppst du Einiges unbenutzt wieder zum Auto. Aber was du nicht dabei hast, hast du halt nicht. Diese Empfehlung passt mir.

Also...am wichtigsten sind natürlich

• Jagdschein und Schießnachweis
• Gewehr und Munition
• Wetterangepasste Kleidung

Aber was kommt noch in den Rucksack? Zwischen Tipps von anderen Jägern und der Kenntnis, was ich schon immer bei mir brauche, habe ich eine Liste erstellt. Und wie Santa, habe ich sie zweimal gecheckt.

Eine Decke & 1-2 Handtücher: Die kleine Decke kann ich wahrscheinlich lassen, aber die Handtücher brauche ich, um meinen Sitz, meine Büchse und weiß der Geier noch was zu trocknen.

Extra Handschuhe & Handwärmer: Wenn mein erstes Paar durchnässt ist, habe ich das nächste Paar bereit.

Gehörschutz: Ich schieße nicht ohne ihn.

Reisepass/Personalausweis: Wir kennen den Jagdpächter persönlich, aber in Deutschland gibt es eine Ausweispflicht.

Digitales COVID-Zertifikat der EU: Falls mein Handy oder die CovPass App nicht funktioniert, habe ich meinen Impfnachweis auch auf Papier.

€20: Jeder Schütze ohne jagdtauglichen Hund bezahlt €20 für den Unkostenbeitrag für Treiber, Hunde und Verpflegung. Wir waren schon Treiber. Wir wissen, was sie einbringen!

Plastikbeutel/Ziplock: Weil mein Rucksack nicht Wasserfest ist, tue ich alle meine Papiere da rein (Jagdschein, Reisepass, Impfnachweis, €20).

Taschentücher: Die habe ich sowieso immer dabei. Und Schnupfen, wenn man leise sein will passt nicht.

Extra signalfarbene Mütze und Kappe: Es wird nicht lange dauern, bis ich diese brauche, weil die ersten durchnässt sind. Danke, Exondo!

Sitzkissen: Ein Kissen ist es nicht wirklich, aber ein faltbares Ding, auf dem ich sitzen kann (der Sitz wird nass sein).

Messer: Man geht nicht ohne Messer auf die Jagd.

Ohnmachtssnickers, Müsliriegel, String Cheese, Wasser: Weil ich vorher nichts essen kann (hab einen nervösen Magen), muss ich etwas zum Vespern dabei haben.

Halsbonbons und Traubenzucker: Gegen Husten, trockenen Hals und Unterzuckerung. In Saarland habe ich gelernt, es dauert ca. 20 Minuten, um ein Halsbonbon zu lutschen. 

Fernglas: Braucht man, z.B. um das Wild anzusprechen.

Notizblock und Kuli: Für Notizen zum Schuss, Anschuss, Uhrzeit, usw. Wirst du dich nach "Hahn in Ruh" an alles noch erinnern, was wichtig ist? Ich als Jungjägerin verlasse ich mich nicht darauf.

Regenponcho: Wenn ich weiß, es wird trocken sein, dann brauche ich das nicht. Aber Regen ist dieses Wochenende angesagt, das ist sicher.

Extra Halstuch: Weil ich noch genug Platz habe.

Nasen-Mund-Schutz/FFP2 Maske: Weil es 2021 ist und wir noch mit Corona kämpfen, braucht man immer eine FFP2 Maske. Wir müssen sie beim Anmelden und zum Schluss tragen - wenn wir zusammen mit anderen sind, auch wenn wir Abstand halten.

UPDATE: Kabelbinder!! Hätten wir etwas geschossen, hätten wir unsere Marke mit einem Kabelbinder am Bein des Stückes festmachen müssen.

Andreas Bach (in Wild und Hund, "der bewegte Schuss") schreibt, "Viel Ausrüstung wird oft belächelt." Das ist mir egal. Frag aber nicht, was ich alles noch im Auto habe! 😉  Das Zeug kommt nicht mit auf dem Drückjagdstand, aber ich weiß, dass ich nach der Jagd auch alles habe, was ich vielleicht brauche (inklusive einen komplett Wechsel meiner Kleidung!). Nach der Jagd werde ich wissen, was überflüssig war.

Warum jagen wir? Damit wir gut essen können. Wir wollen unser Weihnachtsreh erlegen, weil Rehrücken mit Kräuternusskruste zu Weihnachten schon seit drei Jahren bei uns Tradition ist.

Weidmannsheil!!

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.

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

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

Exondo Outdoor Shop

With September creeping ever nearer, hunters in Germany are gearing up for hunting season. Some game has been open since May 1^st, and wild boars are open year-round because there are so many of them and ASP (Afrikanische Schweinepest) is a constant threat. For further details about hunting seasons in Baden-Württemberg, see this link.

Each year about this time hunters have to take a look at their equipment, tools, clothes, and supplies and figure out what they can still use, what needs replacing, and what new products are needed. Then it’s time to decide where to go to restock.

Every student at a Jagdschule gets the Frankonia Jungjäger Startpaket, so M and I have gone to their store in Stuttgart several times in the past. Although it carries a wide variety of supplies, we always feel like we’re paying premium prices for the name, as they spend a lot of money on advertising and they are a big chain. We prefer smaller family-run suppliers with whom it is possible to develop a trusting relationship, as in you can get to know them and vice versa. The customer service in smaller, more personal shops is close to what you'll find in the U.S., something that most U.S. expats miss. Dare I say it’s nice to be on a first-name basis as well. 

A few weeks ago we drove to a new (for us) hunter supply shop - Exondo in Meßstetten (Zollernalbkreis), owned and run by Mike Fortino. Mike is a hunter and Revierinhaber as well, so he can often tell you about the equipment he sells from firsthand experience. He has a deutsche Jagdterrier who spends most mornings in the shop.

Exondo sells clothing, especially the outer layers in hunter orange and camo, but he says his focus is more on the tools for hunting and personal advice and consulting. One of his strengths is night vision and thermal imaging devices and optics. If you tell him what you’re preparing for or what problems you’re having, he has ideas to get you where you want to be.

Mike has an online shop where you can find out more about the company itself and what it offers, but of course a visit there is where you get the personal consultation and hands-on knowledge of the items you’re considering. 

If you have specific needs, you can make an appointment with Mike during regular business hours (Mon-Fri, 9:00 - 17:00) and he will devote that time to you and answering your questions.

M and I have received our first invitation to a Drückjagd as Schützen in December, and we’re looking forward to the experience. We have been Treiber (drivers/beaters) at this and two other Drückjagden in the past two years, but being in the role of hunters carrying guns rather than sticks will be entirely different. Instead of bundling up and tromping through the forest, sweating despite the winter weather, we’ll each be standing still in a Hochsitz (deer stand) for those 2-3 hours, feeling the chill more than while driving.

Mike fixed us up with a variety of hats, and I found some nice warm gloves as well. M bought some boxes of ammunition, which we continue to need to restock because we practice frequently at the shooting range. We’re fixed for guns, but Mike has a variety of hunting and sport weapons in stock, as well as binoculars, scopes, range finders, suppressors and pretty much everything else a hunter needs.

Exondo definitely has advantages for me over that bigger store, despite the 50-minute drive. The drive to downtown Stuttgart does not take less time, and big city driving – no thank you. Parking is expensive in Stuttgart but free and convenient at Exondo - American-style, right at their front door. But more than that...

• Personal consultation, also by telephone and email
• I know who will be helping me
• Mike also speaks English
• Friendly, knowledgable and helpful customer service
• Free delivery with online orders over €100
• Dog in the shop (we were there in the afternoon, which is why I have no photos of him)
• He is located near the well-known Schrotpatronen dealer, Alfred Feistel, so we can do two errands in one trip

I know several of those points appeal mainly to Americans, but what can I say? A personal touch matters to us, and we like to shop where the proprietor knows who we are and wants to sell us what we need rather than what he needs to sell,

In a future post I will write about our experience visiting the Falkner-Shop in Konstanz.

Disclaimer: While the thoughts and opinions expressed here are solely my own and genuine, Mike did give us a good deal on our purchases along with the hunting hats.