On Capital hill

I’m not a lobbyist and I don’t plan to become one, but I was in DC to give a presentation at Phoenix Landing, so I thought I would tack on a bit of time to check out what the Ducks Unlimited DC office gets itself up to.

I work with major donors and I thought major donors would have some interest. What I didn’t count on was being recruited to lobby.

Now, I grew up in a house where it was considered impolite to talk about politics. To this day I don’t know who my grandparents voted for or supported. In fact, my grandmother claimed every year that she was voting for Dewey. She never got over that particular lost election…  So politics and I are not comfortable bedfellows. I have my opinions. I formulate them carefully. I listen and read, but I don’t talk about them. It’s nobody’s business and honestly, a friendly debate NEVER feels friendly to me.  So I don’t belong in DC.

However, I was willing, in fact excited to go lobby for Ducks, because one should know how these things work. One should have an idea how the things you believe in become bills and laws and how they get funded.

No Time for Stairs

So escorted by one of our staff from DC, I met with staffers from both my Senator’s offices and my Congressman’s office, as well as a few others. I learned a lot just by watching about the influx of information and way things work on the simpliest level. Having someone in front of them reminding them of local interests is huge. I’m now thrilled that DU has people on Capital Hill keeping important conservation issues in front of politicians. Nothing happens in government without pressure.

So when you find issues that are crucial to what you believe in make sure you do something about it.

• Do you belong to an organization that has a lobbyist? Make sure the orgs that you support know what policy is important to you. If enough members feel strongly about a policy that’s in the realm of that org’s interest and expertise, it is likely to react and get your voice heard.
• Call you Senator and your Congressman. They keep track of how many calls and of how their constituents are reacting. I saw it, first hand. And that’s mostly what they care about. How many of you care.
• Vote. Seriously. And not just for the President. Know who is running for Congress and the Senate and vote. It makes a difference.

This these I can do. These things I know make a difference. Which is good, because you won’t find me lobbying again any time soon…

©2010 Operation Delta Duck. All Rights Reserved.

I spent six months losing 25 pounds the hard way—less calories in and more calories out. And the question I’ve gotten the most is, “How did you do it?” As if there was some magical formula other than eating less and exercising more. And less calories it turned out, means eating like Michael Pollan suggested in The Omnivore’s Dilemma.

      … eat food, not too much, mostly plants. 

People also ask me what I’m doing to keep the weight off. What I’m doing, I think it’s fair to say is embracing my falconry season.  Falconry is 360 degrees of grounding, how to eat, live and appreciate.  And it might even help with the last fifteen pounds.  What it is surely going to do though is get my head back on straight.

These are my lifestyle suggestions.

Embrace the day early
Falcons fly best at dawn, when the air is crisp and the world is just beginning to move. This is when you start your day, just as the dark is fading. Insight and motivation come when you wake with the wilderness and when you amplify the caffeine in your system with the burst of adrenaline that comes with the whistle and percussion of duck wings bursting from the water.  The cold air, rising native hum and burst of desperate desire to succeed will stay with you all day.  
You will be inspired.

Stay in Shape or Face the Consequences
And when one set of wings beating their demand against the air, laboring for immediate lift and evasion meet another set of wings — wings slicing through the molecules in a race to fall faster, harder and to win  – you better get to the explosion. You won’t be the only predator awake, you must get to your falcon in a sprint that doesn’t falter, with lungs that handle air as deftly as the avian colliders. Your ability to run, it turns out, is life or death for a falcon you never want to lose, but will. You legs and lungs will secure you one more day.  
You will get to the gym.

Hank Shaw's "Ducks in the Orchard" Recipe at www.honest-food.net

Engage, Appreciate and Taste
So much can go wrong, it is impossible not to revel in the gift of success, of food. Food is a gift and a sacrifice. Truth is that the duck was just as admirable as the falcon, just a beautiful and it hurts the heart a little, but at least your hands were on this moment. You know that your food, the falcon’s food, lived the life a duck is meant to live and that you were able to bring humanity at its end, something most wild animals do not get, something honestly, most of your food isn’t offered.  This is honest food. Most hunters feel this way. You will taste this meal because you’ll be savoring it. You won’t eat it in the car or gulp it down so you can get to the next task; it will be an experience. All of your meals will be flavored with this one. 
You won’t overeat.

So get up, get out, TOUCH nature.

Oh. And please stop staring at my lunch.

©2010 Operation Delta Duck. All Rights Reserved.

One of my reasons for moving to Sac was to be closer to waterfowl. I wish we weren’t in the a ridiculous drought, but I managed to move myself into the driest place in the west. Check out the map. Those of you shooting on big water did fine. Those of use waiting for ducks to disperse into the smaller waters were screwed. I chased the same two flocks of resident mallards all season. And then I made a trip down south for work over the week and a couple hunting excersions on the weekend.

It felt like coming home and yet, I felt like a guest wandering through strange hallways in the dark. To explore my old haunts at the end of the season and be surprised by new crops in old fallow fields, dry reservoirs in favorite places was disconcerting and made me a little sad. Were it still home, I would have known every acre by heart at the end of January. The strangest thing was not to know what ducks were down so I would know where to look. The boys at the gun club were shooting spoonies, unapologetic about a strange year. They thought the normal duck migration has mostly missed them, mostly flown over and continued to Mexico. The dogs need to work and spoonies were what they had. I didn’t see spoonbills anywhere they should be, though. Everything looked wrong everywhere in California. Even at home.

So when I found a raft of ringnecks at the Musashi’s pond, it felt like a gift.

The gift grew even larger when Stan pulled up beside my truck. I was happy to see him again, a witness to a good morning. “Where have you been?” He said in the clipped sedate tone he has that drives me nuts. It makes me crazy because generally speaking I’m tight lipped. Stan’s flat expression and brevity makes me yammer on like I’ve got a couple of shots of tequila down my gullet. I don’t know what he’s thinking so I just keep talking and filling the silence. I will never go up against that man in a game of poker. So in the amount of time that it took to put on a transmitter and take off Anakin’s equipment I had told Stan the story of my year since the last season, pratically day by day in an auctioneers breathlessness and had gotten permission to put Booth in the pond to flush.

Stan stood back and watched from a distance when the falcon got in the air. I thought he was flying off as I watched him. We’ve flown big water some this season and I think it has reminded him to make big outruns. As he flew off into the distance in a familar, but tight place, I could only think that he was leaving. But when he came back, he was at 800 feet or so and I sighed in relief.

I slipped Booth under the fence and watched him do what he had been dying to do all year. He flanked the pond, dove in, and pushed the water-clinging ducks off the water, barking out his progress all the way. The flock of ringbills left the pond in clean motion. The falcon clocked a hen, pitched up and grabbed a drake. Stan stood as still and silent as the Santa Rosas, but missed nothing. He pointed to where my falcon had landed and then to where I could let my dog crawl back under the fence.

We watched the falcon eat, talking about water and how farming would manage in the new economy. Stan was surprisingly positive. I stared off at the Salton Sea, trying to decide if it has shrunk a little or a lot. I examined the Musashi’s crop and Stan suggested I bring some artichokes home with me. (They were delicious)

I was almost sad, lifting the peregrine onto my glove.

 

I wanted the hunt to last long enough to make up for the season, but I realized it wasn’t a make-up hunt, it was goodbye. I instructed Booth to take the duck back to the truck, to which he gleefully complied. I haven’t been able to convince him to carry anything I’ve thawed from the freezer, but my dog knew this duck was his accomplishment as did the peregrine. Neither of them were sad in the least and so I took my cue from them and smiled at Stan.

This was a visit, not a homecoming. Tempe and Sister were waiting in the truck and my work for Ducks Unlimited required a few more meetings nearby and many things on my desk up North. Life was about the delta now, about helping to make sure that every season doesn’t exclude my gorgeous canvasback, that there’s money to figure out why the scaup are dwindling. Life took another turn, a surprise one, but a wonderful twist indeed.

Long ago in a galaxy far away, a melancholy girl bought an irracible falcon who was destined to take her on rollercoaster ride of a thousand adventures. Six years later in the company of the most incredible group of friends and co-conspirators gathered along the way, the journey begins again, in the delta.

Goodbye Operation Desert Dove — the doves eluded us, but the journey was magic. Hello Operation Delta Duck, where this year the ducks eluded us, but we’ll be back. And I hope you’ll come along with us. I get to help fund the most amazing projects at Ducks Unlimited and have so much to learn about my new landscape. I hope you’ll be reading and watching.

Please accept my humble invitation to join me on my next grand aventure.  

Coming Soon

WWW.OPERATIONDELTADUCK.COM

Sneak preview (it’ll redirect when it’s live)

©2010 Operation Delta Duck. All Rights Reserved.

Wilton, CA 

Things aren’t all bad up here. Sometimes just learning the landscape is a reward in itself. I’m going shush about the fact that I can’t find any ducks to stare at this photo for a while.

©2010 Operation Delta Duck. All Rights Reserved.

Anakin is flying in fine style up here. It’s weird, but the air is just better. His wings just snap through the air and he climbs up at a fast and furious pace. He flies equally well in the evening and morning. I sometimes bring him to work and fly either end of the day. We just haven’t been lucky or strategic. It hasn’t all be a loss of game. I found some pen-raised pheasant and have peppered our hunts with good lessons of remounting and flying over open land. The pheasants have flown high and fast and Anakin hasn’t turned a single one down or missed his mark. He’s powered through them in screaming stoops and the last flight he bound to the bird and rolled her. I found them with the pheasant on her back, the peregrine had her head cinched up and was safely away from feet and wings. I think he has a system now. I think if we find wild pheasant (and I see them often up here) he could catch one.

I am very much infatuated with the hybrid and still too scared or lazy or busy or something to fly her. I love her personality. Sister is going to be a good bird, even if she does want to eat Anakin. Surely I can put that aggression to use. Upland game extends until the end of February for falconers here. There is still time and I may gather my wits and guts. I just find myself exhausted with how much there is to learn about my job and the new landscape and the new animals in my falconry crew. The economy woes are also eating up my brain space. I am optimistic about how all of this will shake out, but all the thinking is making the days disappear into a whirl of information and ideas.

The new year is going to bring a new blog skin. Operation Desert Dove will become Operation Delta Duck (www.operationdeltaduck.com) , a blog of both falconry and conservation. I’ll have a lot to say, I’m sure. I have so much to learn and hopefully that will mean much to share. Working for DU is an extraordinary turn in my life. We’re doing amazing things. I want to tell you about them. I’ll be on the ball soon, promise.

©2010 Operation Delta Duck. All Rights Reserved.

If you’re wondering how Ducks Unlimited will work with the new adminstration, you can find the official word here.

From Bruce Lewis, DU President’s letter to President-Elect Obama

Citizens all over the nation are becoming more invested in the environmental health of our country. Following a century long tradition begun by outdoor sportsmen and women, they have come to realize the value in preserving and restoring our natural heritage. As a result, conservation enjoys bipartisan support in both the House of Representatives and the Senate. The current wave of support presents a valuable opportunity to initiate important changes that will create jobs, protect the nation’s environment and water supply, and preserve critical wildlife habitat, all while positively addressing the more pervasive issue of climate change. We stand ready to work with you in protecting our nation’s natural treasures.

RTWT

©2010 Operation Delta Duck. All Rights Reserved.

©2010 Operation Delta Duck. All Rights Reserved.

There is so much to be said for embracing good work that has already been done. I wish we spent more time showing people what has been proven possible instead of threatening them with horrors we are certain are inevitable.

I saw three peregrines in the heart of the Los Banos duck club country. Many people were certain they wouldn't be in the wild much longer when I was a child. Now you can't swing a lure without hitting one. Falconers like me are actually complaining about the bother of them in the field, harassing our captive-bred falcons, hunting and training with us unwanted. They've become a welcome pest, but pesky just the same. I never imagined I'd be able to say with annoyance, "ANOTHER passage peregrine?" What an amazing success.

I also watched a spectacular number of geese in the San Joaquin River National Wildlife Refuge. Many of them were Aleutian cackling geese. (They look like Canada geese, but are smaller and with a white ring at the base of their neck.)

From the Department of Fish & Wildlife in Oregon:

I find myself back in the mindset of operationalizing contructs and intentions–meaning describing body language for what I mean when I say…”He’s uncomfortable. He’s nervous. He’s content. He’s lost all motivation…” For instance when I say “That grey parrot is going to bite you!” I might be asked, “How do you know?” I would say, “His body feathers are fluffed, but his cap is slick. His head is bowed and his wings are loose against his body.”

Think it’s easy? You try it. Tell me what you see in this video where Sister and Anakin meet… I want descriptions of body language down to the movement of feathers and how this body language translates.

[kml_flashembed movie="http://www.youtube.com/v/XWfrVTivrxA" width="425" height="350" wmode="transparent" /]  

P.S.– Think about my description of an African grey about to bite…think falcons and parrots really might be related??

 

©2010 Operation Delta Duck. All Rights Reserved.

We need:

• 218 transmitters —and a new receiver. Damn.
• to outfit the back of the truck for dogs and falcons (at least there’s a shell on it now…)
• to puzzle piece how a zoo, a change of clothes and pertinent papers can travel in one car without destruction to something irreplacable.
• a tracking collar for the puppy.
• to figure out how to move 2 dogs, 2 falcons, 3 parrots, a case of pigeons and the necessary housing ahead of a moving truck… hmmmn.
• to suss out how to get birds and dogs attended to while touring all the DU projects in our territority — and other field trips that couldn’t possibly be work. (here we are with the ranch hand scenario again…)
• to somehow fit in all of the “we have to have dinner before you leave” moments.
• to pick up keys to a house that’s 300 miles away which I haven’t even walked through yet. (I looked through the windows. That will have to do.)
• to cling to sanity or at least a good night’s sleep…

This is going to be REALLY interesting.

©2010 Operation Delta Duck. All Rights Reserved.