I’ve often wondered how to do this. I’ve never seen a falcon, hawk, or any bird of prey in a pet shop.
So question 1 is, where do you buy the bird, glove, gear, and whatever else you need for this hobby?
question 2 is, how do you learn how to do it? I have a bad feeling I’d take my bird out to the park, let him go and he’d never come back!
question 3 is, is a bird of prey an illegal pet in some areas?
All the equipment is readily available from various suppliers - Google “falconry supplies” for lots of hits.
Captive-bred birds tend to be exotic (e.g. a Gyrfalcon crossed with a Peregrine Falcon) and expensive. Beginners often start with a Red-Tailed Hawk trapped during migration.
You learn from the experts. A beginner is “apprenticed” to a master falconer and typically isn’t eligible for his own bird until the master agrees he’s competent (usually a couple of years). But you can look before you try it - falconers are generally friendly and enjoy showing their sport to interested tyros.
Training is based on food: hawks like to eat and to obtain their food by hunting. If you show them you can help with this and you hunt only when the bird is appropriately hungry (mostly judged from the bird’s weight) the chance of losing the bird is acceptably low.
It is in essentially all areas of the US. Qualified people can have such birds for falconry but these are not pets. The ethic of the sport expects that birds will be kept in top hunting condition, and not as house or lawn ornaments.
Xema,
Thank you so much for the great information. Does the bird have to be kept in a special area, or can the falconer (and assuming the apprentice is approved) take the bird home?
How do they determine if the bird is kept in top hunting condition? It sounds like I’d have to find a local club (if there is such a thing)
The bird requires daily attention, so it pretty much has to be at your house.
Two common arrangements are a mews (a barred enclosure, perhaps 6’ x 6’) and a outdoor perch (bird would be on a tether, and able to reach a sheltered roost for sleeping). It’s important for proper conditioning that the bird be exposed to the weather (especially when it’s cold - with which natural & properly fed birds are totally comfortable).
I think the perch arrangement is becoming more popular. It’s good for a bird to see regular human (and even dog) traffic, as such a bird tends to develop a calmer disposition.
By such things as its demeanor and the condition of its feathers. For an analogy, think of dog fanciers: they would be able to spot a mistreated dog a long way off.
And of course there are field meets, where falconers get together and go out hunting (taking turns with their birds). You can be sure that your reputation with your friends will to some considerable extent depend on how your bird performs. (I can tell you that the best are truly impressive.) And only a bird in top condition can hunt consistently well - as they say, most of the slow and stupid game has already been eaten.
There often is. Here’s a link to the website of the North American Falconry Association, giving their list of member clubs at the state level. You should be able to get some useful info by contacting the right one.
One thing to be aware of is that a lot of people who think they would enjoy falconry are unprepared for the time and commitment it requires. Falconers know this, and the problems that unrealistic beginners can get into (whence the apprentice system). So while they like to talk to interested wannabees, they will be a bit skeptical until they see the proper level of deep interest.
As for me, I know I don’t have the time to keep a bird, so I’m satisfied to go out hunting with others who do - very worthwhile.
Quit your job as an advertising executive in Baltimore. Leave your wife and career and move deep into the forest. Acquire a falcon named Donald. One day you can return to society. But until that day, you will remain . . . The Falconer!
Didn’t we have an “ask the falconer” thread not too long ago. I know there’s at least one active falconer on the Dope.
There is a resort in Vermont that teaches falconry to novices. It advertised itself as the only one of its kind in the U.S. (essentially a short, hands-on course for thrill seekers in a resort setting). I only remember it because I wanted to take it.
Here is the link:
NajaNivea is the Straight Dope falconer - here’s a link to a thread where she talks about it.
That is a very, very cool thread. Thanks for linking to it and for all those that participated. Fascinating.