Chapter 9: The Sparrowhawk's Somersault

The thick, ringed talons of the Great Sparrowhawk pierced the back muscles of the turtle dove without the slightest effort. With just one grab, the dove was already spitting blood from its beak.

It seemed this Great Sparrowhawk had experience catching turtle doves in the wild. It hadn't been this fierce when it caught a hazel grouse yesterday. Turtle doves have loose feathers; when pursued by a bird of prey, they often shed feathers to escape. In the eyes of the Great Sparrowhawk, this required extra intensity, so it had gripped it firmly, causing a severe injury right from the start.

Yue Feng smoothed out the safety line, retracted the tether, and then squatted there, letting the young hawk pluck the dove.

Once the feathers on its neck were mostly cleared and the young hawk had torn off a few mouthfuls of bloody flesh, Yue Feng used his glove to cover the dove, repeating his previous tactic.

When the hawk loosened its grip, Yue Feng hoisted it up, then used his left hand to tuck the hidden dove into the side bag hanging at his left hip.

After several successful hunts, the hawk’s predatory drive was fully ignited. Yue Feng felt the timing was right to push the hawk a little harder, which was why he had hidden the dove before it could eat more than a few bites.

There wasn't much food in the hawk's crop; after resting for a few minutes, it would be ready to hunt again. As long as he managed the hawk's energy reserves and didn't push it to the point of exhaustion, there would be no problem.

Whether training a hawk or a dog, assuming a certain innate talent, most hunting skills are improved through practical experience. All a falconer does is provide better opportunities for real-world practice while maintaining a deep understanding of their hunting partner's state.

With that, Yue Feng walked for a few more minutes with the hawk on his arm, took a water bottle from his pocket to give the hawk a drink, then hoisted it up again to continue searching for prey.

Before he knew it, Yue Feng had arrived at the small grove by the river.

Back when he was catching the hawk, Yue Feng had noticed plenty of signs of hazel grouse activity here. If he wasn't mistaken, there should be a flock of them near the bushes by the riverbank.

Yue Feng carefully strolled along the bank with the hawk, which began scanning the surroundings once more.

Suddenly, the young hawk twisted its neck, its eyes locked firmly on a bush a few dozen meters away.

Yue Feng knew there was a chance, so he immediately headed toward the bushes.

The hawk’s drive was very high now, but because Yue Feng wanted to start hunting as soon as possible, he hadn't trained it for long-distance recall. This meant that during the release, he inevitably had to keep the tether attached as a safety line; otherwise, if the hawk failed to catch its prey or got scared and flew into a tree, it would be a major disaster if he couldn't call it back.

The downside of using the tether as a safety line is that it can easily get snagged on branches or other debris if the distance is too great or the terrain is too complex. Therefore, the best way to increase the success rate is to get as close as possible.

If every piece of prey were as bold as the turtle dove from earlier, the success rate of these outings would be terrifying.

Of course, that was an isolated case and not the norm. In most situations, the hunter needs to carry the hawk and approach slowly, minimizing the impact the tether might have on the hunt due to the surrounding environment.

Yue Feng crept forward until he was within ten meters before decisively launching the hawk.

The Great Sparrowhawk, unable to contain itself any longer, flew straight across at the height of the bush tops. Upon reaching the edge of the bushes, it suddenly changed direction and slammed down.

*Whoosh!*

A flock of hazel grouse burst from beneath the bushes. Almost simultaneously, the sound of a grouse’s pained cry echoed from under the brush as the hawk caught it.

This time, the Great Sparrowhawk had caught a very fat male hazel grouse. One talon gripped the bird's head, while the other stepped on the base of its wings. Despite the two creatures being similar in weight, the disparity in their combat power was overwhelming—a testament to the wonders of the Creator.

Seeing the catch, Yue Feng decisively took out the turtle dove that had been partially eaten earlier, covered the hawk's talons with his glove, and placed the dove in front of it. Seeing the red meat of the dove, the young hawk immediately released the grouse and began gnawing on the dove instead.

Yue Feng took the opportunity to remove the grouse, pulled a sock from his backpack, and—just as he had done when binding the hawk earlier—tied the grouse up and stuffed it into his bag.

Once the hawk had eaten a few mouthfuls of the dove, Yue Feng let it be, then used his glove to cover the prey again and removed the dove from under the hawk's talons.

He hoisted the hawk up, gave it another drink to replenish its fluids, and waited about three to five minutes. Once the young hawk began to fluff its feathers, signaling that its energy had recovered, he hoisted it up again and continued forward.

Hazel grouse don't fly very far and usually stay within familiar territory. There had been about a dozen in the flock earlier; after one was caught, the others had flown to the bushes on the other side of the small river to hide.

Yue Feng had caught countless of these in his past life and knew their habits well. Once the hawk was rested, he continued strolling, made a small loop, and slowly approached the area where the flock was hiding.

Two successful hunts in one morning had greatly boosted the Great Sparrowhawk's confidence. Now, with a bit of dove meat in its belly, its energy had been partially restored, even if it wasn't fully satiated.

Full of spirit, the sparrowhawk soon returned to its state of scanning everywhere, frantically searching for prey.

A few dozen meters away, the young hawk locked onto the flock again. Yue Feng repeated his tactic, carefully approached, and launched the hawk once more.

Having been ambushed earlier, the flock seemed a bit more alert this time. As the Great Sparrowhawk launched, the grouse flew out from the bushes.

The next second, a scene that left Yue Feng incredibly excited unfolded.

The Great Sparrowhawk charged straight toward the spot where the flock had risen. With a "sparrowhawk flip," its strong, powerful talons grabbed a hazel grouse in mid-air!

"Holy crap!"

There is an idiom about a "sparrowhawk flip," but most ordinary people have never seen a sparrowhawk up close, let alone witnessed the high-difficulty maneuver of a mid-air flip and grab during a hunt.

To put it this way, even within the species, it is rare for a female sparrowhawk to perform a flip during a hunt; it is usually the male sparrowhawks that are the masters of this, flying with elegance and catching with precision.

Having witnessed the flip with his own eyes, Yue Feng excitedly followed the line as he chased after them.

By the time he arrived, the Great Sparrowhawk had already pinned the grouse down. It was the same old posture: one talon on the head, the other pinching the base of the wings.

Having caught three pieces of prey in consecutive hunts, Yue Feng had already met his goal for the day. He took out the "veteran actor" turtle dove and skillfully swapped it for the second grouse.

According to the original plan, it was time to let the hawk eat its fill and head home to manage its weight and continue training.

But after witnessing that flip, Yue Feng suddenly had the urge to change his original training plan.