Weather and work had conspired against Mjolnir (my European goshawk) and me since her Christmas day success.  Having hunted 3 of the last 4 days, she was well exercised and hungrier than usual for our jaunt this afternoon.  Clear weather and only the faintest breath of wind made for ideal hawking conditions, but it was later in the day than I'd have liked -- with the sun low in the sky capable of temporarily blinding both falconer and hawk with even a glance in the wrong direction.  We had hardly reached our intended hunting area when we saw movement.  I cast Mjolnir from my fist and watched her fly over a pile of rubble, pirouette, then alight in the upper branches of a small, bare tree.  She had seen where our quarry had sheltered and positioned herself to strike the moment it moved from cover.  Following her gaze, I broke through the intervening brush and flushed a cottontail.  The rabbit blasted into the open toward an embankment 20 yards away, straight into the blaze of the setting sun.  Mjolnir was after her like an arrow, but both she and I were briefly dazzled as we followed the rabbit's progress.  As the rabbit reached the embankment, Mjolnir slammed down beside him -- a narrow miss.  The rabbit spun around, bolting straight back for the shelter from which he had just been driven.  Mjolnir was back in the air in a moment.  With the sun now at her back, she closed the distance with a few quick wingbeats and transfixed her prey.

Happy New Year and Good Hunting All !