The first field meeting of the NRC took place on Saturday 18 February 2006.  We met at Holdenby House - the home of Icarus Falconry in Northampton - with a view to hunting over the Holdenby Estate.  It turned out to be a cracking day weather-wise. After a slightly foggy start, the sun broke through to give us weather more like May than February.

We started the day by hunting the Harris Hawks using ferrets. This started out well with the first slip going to Kevin, whose bird took the only rabbit of the day in superb fashion. 

The second slip was a superb chase with the rear end of the rabbit well tagged.

We carried on for the rest of the morning, but unfortunately the slips were few and far between with no further catches.

After a break for lunch the HH's were put up and Tom and Mike brought out their Golden and Black Eagles respectively with a view to walking up Hares.

In the first field the first slip went to Mike's Black, the hare coming up behind us with the eagle trying to bate over Mike's shoulder. With a long head start, the black was off, the speed and tenacity it showed was awesome. After chasing for some 400 yards, it overtook the hare without hitting in (slightly high in weight).  The eagle landed in a tree and the hare then turned and went past it again with the eagle again marking it, but then veering off into a tree.  To watch this flight was incredible.

The next slip was to Tom`s Goldie. The hare came up well off to his right, but was quickly seen by the bird. Again the bird chased well for a considerable distance, but when the hare started up hill the bird could not quite match it and the hare made away.

The next was the Black again, once more a good chase without any success.

The final slip of the afternoon came to the Goldie once more. The hare got up well to the left of Tom, and the bird spotted it and was off. Much to my concern, I was at this time between the Goldie and the hare, but to my relief, the bird bypassed me and was off after the hare. He covered it for some thirty yards and then peeled off it.

 He then started to come in a large circle, and mistakenly, I thought he was returning to Tom, but no, he must have thought that I had some how hindered him, and he made a beeline for me. I was now without a glove, and having seen the size of the talons on this bird, I was a little more than concerned!

 It took a strategic placing of my beating stick to slow him down and convince him to land on the floor and not me. Tom assured me that he was only coming to say Hi, and would never have considered trading a hare in for me!!

We then called it a day. Although not a lot caught, the general consensus was that it had been a cracking day, some good flights and excellent company.  Roll on the next one.

Reported by G Malkin