Blue Jays Day

Today was a trying time again for Landon and his Coopers Hawk. Unlike the Red-tail hawk Landon had before this hawk, the Cooper has been quite challenging to tame. Tame in the sense of being skittish around people, of coming to his hand on command. Even though this hawk has been raised by Landon since it was only three weeks old, he still resists training.
This is the reason only seasoned falconers are allowed to keep a Cooper's Hawk, due to their difficulty. After only three weeks taking a grown red-tail from a snare trap, he was docile and eating on command from the glove, flying from over fifty yards to get the turkey necks.
This afternoon Landon went out with the pellet rifle and shot a bluejay. I objected, but he said this is what they eat in the wild. I would rather he ate starlings or grackles, but none are those are around.
I watched for the longest time, hoping to see him eat the bird, but all he would do is try to escape. When one of the jesses came loose, I knew it was time for me to leave and let him eat in solitude.
Sure enough, sneaking back several hours later, the Coopers Hawk had the Bluejay in his talons and he was finishing up. So not only is this hawk difficult to train, he is shy as well.