I got a chance to go out with friends Norma Haynes, Justin May, and Patty Hawkins on Saturday to do some dirthawkin .I have had a little luck getting a small group of hawkers to hunt on weekends in the greater Kansas City area. My thoughts are two hawks be home after noon. Four hawks or more, hunt all day, and try to be home within a couple hours after dark. For the most part my loving wife agrees to this some weekends. This morning started out different than most Saturdays, I headed into town to pick up candy and flowers, then after presenting them to Debbie, telling her how lucky I was to have her for a mate, I loaded the dogs and hawks and headed up by the Kansas City airport. I met fellow hawkers at a small field south of KCI.

 First up to hunt, friends, Norma and Justin, and their Harris's hawks. They tried to hawk them together for the first time in a month or two. It was ugly to say the least. Pulled feathers and hawks that cared nothing but each other in the field. After the first falling out, even when game was flushed all they wanted to do was glare and get at each other. The hawks were each finally taken in separate directions and still after missing slips they would come looking for each other. Finally Justins was put up and the other focused and bagged a cottontail.

I was up next with the old tail. I enjoy hawking this hawk as much as any I have ever flown. She is a dream to hawk, several years ago I started hunting her with one then two dogs. During several field meets people asked if it would be ok to run their dog with the hawk. My only request was that when the hawk was on game, their dog had to be in control. At first it lame at best. Dogs running everywhere, the hawk only taking bunnies flushed way out in front. Over the years it has gotten much better as the hawk will sometimes take game with the dog quite close at hand.

 Well anyway we started the hunt with my two dogs a pointer and Jack Russell, Normas Jack Russell, Justins Jack Russell pup and his bearded pointer dubbed the werewolf. My first bunny of the day came with the hounds five strong ran several bunnies out of some cattails. The hawk was on one, it seemed like a minute after being unleashed. The five dogs were working heavy cover and the rabbits were running everywhere. We traded off and tossed her up for another. She took a good stand in a large hedge tree and the dogs were working down through cover where some of the rabbits went. The dogs worked past the hawk and the four of us were just standing around watching the dogs when Justins werewolf pointer went on. The dog had a beeper collar that went off after the dog was frozen for 30 sec. My small Jack has figured out what a point is and the beeper collar has made it much easier to know where an easy bunny is to be found. Anyway she ran over to find the rabbit and was followed by Justins JR pup and Normas jack. They all flushed the rabbit and started yelping and chasing the bun.  My other dog sees the chase was on, and is after the group in a flash. The five of them ran the rabbit to the edge of an open bean field and I was sure that they were going to have their way with it, trapping it out in the open.

Oh yes, I forgot about the hawk, she was powering up with strong wing beats and using gravity to speed her on, passing the dogs. When she came over them she was only a couple of feet above them. She passes the pack and hammers the bunny at the edge of the field next to its hole. The dogs were going so fast that they couldn't stop and had to jump over and or around the hawk with its catch. The hawk was found drug half way down the rabbit hide with its wings held open.  Best flight of the day bar none. The old tail caught another rabbit on the way back to the truck to get the new hawk. She stapled it to the ground after a nice long flight.

We got back to the truck and Patty Hawkins looks at her watch and states she is late for work somewhere or other. I asked if before she left we could have a look at her new charge trapped last month. She brought out a beautiful passage red tail. The hawk was manned but due to events beyond Pattys control, wasnt hunting as of yet. I look forward to flushing for it in the near future.

The new hawk, the Flake was up next. She has taught me that we a lot of times flush game 100s of yards in front of the party but most hawks never chase them. She was also hunted with the pack and has become tolerant to them to the point of watching them more than me for clues to the whereabouts of the next flush. She caught two buns that afternoon making for her 35th rabbit of the season when the large hound of mine was looking like he was going to put another one up. He headed up to and into a large pile of brush. The dog started barking and dove in. I have never heard the dog bark at rabbits the way my Jack Russell does. The Jack Russell and I ran over to see what was going on. The jack made a dive into the brush to assist before I could see what was going on and the growling and barking really start up. I start to tear apart the brush pile as all I could see was parts of the two of them, a large dark object and a whole lot of shaking going on.

Meanwhile Justins pointer bumped a bunny and the hawk with two other jacks in tow took off after them.  The two dogs of mine it turns out had a coon. I am very concerned about the safety of the jack Russell and jumped in and got a hand over the muzzle of the coon to try to control the matter.  The simple truth is my Jack, Rosie, has become a treasured family member and if she doesnt come home neither can I! The rest of the group was watching, grinning and or laughing as I slip and slide on my belly in the mud with the 3 animals. With the problem coon now in hand, I my concerns are again with the hawk, but luckily Norma took off looking for her, and to my surprise, she and Flake came back looking for me. By this time, I have had enough of the hunt, and after separating the dogs from the coon and finding a den tree to stuff it in, all I wanted was to get back to the truck for another person to get their hawk. That hunt I will remember for years to come.

Back at the trucks and Norma lets us know that she is going to split off, and the only hawk left is Justins Harriss. Some time later she ends up with a gray squirrel hung up 35 ft in a tree. Someone should have to go up and untangle them, or we will be here all night, but oh well that is another story.

 Bob Payne Liberty, MO.