Rehi all!  The HAHAs are done for the season, except for maybe a sunny day here or there.  Snow and freezing rain for the next week is in the forecast!

 

Lily's been out and about though, doing well on pheasants, less so on rabbits.  She's chasing them very well, but not finishing hard enough to actually catch them currently.  

In this first video, we see her missing both a pheasant and two rabbits.  We also see her get frustrated and take off a half mile up the valley.  This is an interesting difference between the HAHAs and the RTHAs -- they HAHAs are game to get back on the horse and keep trying but the RTHA starts pouting after a couple misses and lets her frustration get the best of her.  

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In this second video, we see Lily being a little more successful.  Hawks tend to want to strike at a pheasant either right on the flush or upon landing.  If you can reflush the pheasant after a miss, they'll get it 90% of the time.  The big trick in the sage:  pheasants prefer to run rather than fly when they know a hawk is about and they're really good at slipping away on foot without being seen.   Also note how, early in the hunt, she's game to jump right back up and keep hunting.

 

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She's also getting a bit more creative in her choice of dining area -- it's getting harder to get good photos with her wedged under the sage.

 

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The sunsets are a bit of a consolation prize for those unsuccessful outings -- and icing on the cake for the successful ones!

 

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