Koto Preparing for the Molt

It's that time of year were we falconers have to make a decision. To keep or not to keep. Most years I release my birds back into the wild so that they can go back and contribute to the gene pool. Its certainly an option and every falconer is different. But sometimes there comes along a hawk thats just special. Koto and I have formed a prettu good relationship. She is not the tamest of hawks that I have encountered. But she is definatelty the most tolerant of people and especially dogs. This year for the first time I hunted Koto with my GSP Jackson and they did wonderful. We took one flying squirrel and one grey squirrel on that particular hunt. Those are the qualities that are hard to come by and im not sure im ready to just give it up. So for another season I will keep Koto around. For now she will eat to her hearts content and soon Molt into her new feathers for this upcoming hunting  season.