A voice for Hornet

HAUSER - When Scott Dinger went duck hunting with his two falcons earlier this month on the site of a Halloween corn maze attraction near his home in Hauser, the day took a tragic turn.

The 50-year-old former law enforcement officer is one of 5,000 people in the nation certified in falconry. He has hunted on the property of the Incredible Corn Maze for four years with the permission of the owner.

Dinger's pastor, an amateur photographer, tagged along on the Jan. 7 hunting trip, to witness the fastest creatures on earth in action. Dinger flew Hannibal, a 2-year-old falcon, first, and in the blink of an eye the bird used its talons to strike and kill a duck in what the falconer called "fine fashion."

After feeding the falcon a sparrow, Dinger placed Hannibal in a special enclosure he built for his truck, and put the duck in a cooler.

He said he traps sparrows and pigeons to feed to the falcons during the six-month hunting season, and freezes the game birds he hunts to feed the raptors during the off-season.

Hornet, an 8-year-old falcon, was next to hunt.

Dinger, who has studied and practiced falconry in Idaho for eight years, adopted Hornet from another falconer who was no longer able to care for it. The bird is called an "imprint" because it was with humans since the day it hatched.

"So they don't really know they are falcons," Dinger said. "That was probably a part of his undoing, because you could walk up to him and he wouldn't fly or try to get away."

A photograph was taken of Hornet sitting on Dinger's gloved arm just moments before the falcon was released and flew 1,000 feet in the air, stalking the ducks below.

"It was a crystal blue day and he's white, so every single time he would spread his wings to flap, it would catch the sun and it just looked like a strobe light," Dinger said. "As a hunter, I get to be a part of something that happens every single day between wild falcons and prey birds. That's what I love about this sport."

Just like a dog sent to flush out a pheasant for a hunter, Hornet froze the ducks in fear among the high corn stalks Dinger prepared to enter.

"They know they can't out-fly a falcon," Dinger said. "You wait until he's right overhead before you go in to where the ducks are. You're giving them a choice of you or the falcon, and the ducks take their chances with the falcon."

Hornet dove down and missed a duck on his initial approach, but Dinger said the falcon used the momentum gained from flying more than 200 mph to quickly soar around the duck and bring it down.

Dinger was across the field, approximately 500 yards away from where Hornet had the duck, near Beck Road. He said from his vantage point he could see that the hunt was successful and began walking toward Hornet.

"It was a great day - two flights, two ducks," Dinger said. "We were just kind of relishing in the moment and walking over there because I didn't have any sense of urgency."

As he continued walking, he saw a red Jeep Wrangler pull to the side of the road near where Hornet was holding the duck. Dinger said this wasn't unusual. He commonly sees motorists pull over to stare in awe at the predator birds.

But when the driver left her vehicle, Dinger said, he knew something was wrong.

"I picked up the pace a little bit and lost sight of the person because the corn is tall," Dinger said. "Right when I break free of the corn I see my bird flying away and he's not flying right. One of his legs is hanging and he's just not flying right."

He said he approached the woman and identified himself as a falconer who just lawfully obtained the duck she was standing over.

The woman then asked Dinger if Hornet was his falcon and he replied it was.

"She just goes 'I just beat the shit out of your falcon,'" Dinger said. "It became clear that my bird was hurt. I grabbed the duck and walked away from the lady because once she told me that, my only thought was getting my bird back."

Dinger activated a radio beacon attached to Hornet and after an hour of searching, he found his falcon dead, with a fractured skull and broken leg.

"I'm shaking right now just talking about it," Dinger said. "Hornet is a really tame bird, you could walk up to him and pet him and kiss him and hold him. It'd be just like me walking up and kicking your dog. It was a bad deal."

In his haste to find Hornet, Dinger said he was unable to use his law enforcement training to get a detailed description of the woman.

"She just kind of escaped, basically, because I think she realized what she did at that point," Dinger said. "I was doing everything right and I don't know what was in her mind that possessed her to do that. Eighteen years as a cop in Vegas and I've never seen anything that crazy."

The loss of Hornet has hit the avid outdoorsman hard.

He said he can still vividly remember the day that inspired his love of falconry. He was 14 and living in Alaska. While Dinger was hunting grouse, a hawk swooped down and grabbed a bird he was about to shoot.

"I just sat there mesmerized and watched that hawk for about an hour. I always wanted to learn more about them," Dinger said. "But you have to put a lot into falconry - you have to spend time with them every single day and form a bond with them."

The bond Dinger built with Hornet is one he said he will never forget.

"It's a tough thing when you have a bird that's 8 years old - and they'll live until about 30 when they're with humans," Dinger said. "I had planned for Hornet to live longer than me."

Craig Walker, Idaho Department of Fish and Game regional conservation officer, told The Press that he is investigating the incident, but declined to give any details. Anyone with any information on the incident is encouraged to call the Idaho Department of Fish and Game tip line at 1-800-632-5999.

"I want this lady found because I want to sit down with her and show her falconry and talk to her about it," Dinger said. "That may be futile, but that's just my faith and what I'm about. I want her to understand that she caused a lot more than just killing a bird, it's a lot more than that."

Dinger said he isn't interested in pursuing monetary compensation for the loss of Hornet. He would like the woman caught and prosecuted for what she did, but added that he plans on being in the courtroom "begging the court to have mercy on her" because he thinks she doesn't deserve jail time.

"I've been done wrong. But my bird didn't really have a voice," Dinger said. "I want to bring awareness to the people out there that don't like hunting. That's fine, whatever you're into in your life, I respect that, so please respect what I do. I wasn't flaunting it, it was a natural act that I just happened to be facilitating."