Missouri Falconers Association
Winter Meet 2004
By Rob Lyttle
Held on January 10th and 11th, the Missouri Falconers Association Winter Meet was a great success. The weather was perfect, with a high in the mid 40s on both days. Partly cloudy skies were a welcomed relief from the usual Meet weather of rain and cold temperatures. Game populations were good to us this year and the local fields provided plenty of slips on cottontails for all who ventured out.
Sixteen falconers, along with a few sons and daughters, attended over the two day event. Birds flown included 7 Redtails, 6 Harris hawks, 1 Finnish Goshawk, 1 Coopers hawk, 1 Peregrine falcon, and a Harris/Ferruginous hybrid. In total, 24 head of game were taken.all cottontails except for one gray squirrel. There would have been more except Mike McDermott was away entertaining the Pennsylvania Falconry and Hawk Trust with a talk on Sharpshins and an exhibit of his spectacular falconry photos. Also, Norma Haynes was unable to attend due to an emergency surgery.
Highlights included watching Bob Paynes tiercel Redtail, Snowflake, pound a rabbit from a 100 foot aerial stoop, and seeing the smile from his apprentice, Richard ( Doc) Swinney, after his Redtail caught the first two rabbits of the Meet. Apprentice falconer, Virgil Mueller, took a cottontail each of the two days with his beautiful passage redtail, Byasse. Also, apprentice falconer Zachary Dale got to see his first goshawk flight when my flying dragon blistered a cottontail in a thirty yard flight off the fist, right in front of him.
Tracy DeWitt put on a training clinic for the dirt hawkers with his Peregrine falcon and then he topped that by demonstrating, along with Chris Patterson, the proper credentials falconers should carry while hunting in the field. Their permits were checked by MO Conservation agent, Bob Frisbee, after he was called by a misguided subdivision urchin. Fortunately, Justin May was also aware of the State regulation for possessing a small game hunting permit when hunting with a werewolf...he got checked also. All were in compliance and I guess it was bound to happen since Tracy and Chris were flying their Harass hawks.
Everyone met (including available spouses and family members) at EL-Maguey restaurant for dinner and a general meeting. Cervezas and tall tales were flowing. We had so much fun we decided to do it all over again at the next meet The Mo Falconry Association Late Winter Meet to be held March 20th and 21st, same time, same place as the January meet..hope to see you there! 
