New and excited!

[Aurelie]

Hello! My name is Nicole, and I will be turning 16 in October. I live in Ohio and have loved raptors my entire life, but never knew that I could legally have one and hunt with it! I am veeery interested in falconry, have been reading a lot about them, and I'm here to learn more. So, I'll probably be asking lots of questions on the forum, but I've been on other forums before and know how to search! Also, are there any other Ohio falconers here? Is anyone a sponsor? I'll definitely joint the Ohio Falconry Association soon though.

Thanks!
Nicole

[sharptail]

Welcome aboard Nicole!

[Dirthawking]

Welcome to NAFEX!

[Joby]

Hello! My name is Nicole, and I will be turning 16 in October. I live in Ohio and have loved raptors my entire life, but never knew that I could legally have one and hunt with it! I am veeery interested in falconry, have been reading a lot about them, and I'm here to learn more. So, I'll probably be asking lots of questions on the forum, but I've been on other forums before and know how to search! Also, are there any other Ohio falconers here? Is anyone a sponsor? I'll definitely joint the Ohio Falconry Association soon though.

Thanks!
Nicole

Hi Nicole!
Welcome to NAFEX and to our obsession. My name is Joe Dorrian and I am the Apprentice Director for the Ohio Falconry Association. What part of Ohio are you located in? Unfortunately, you just missed our OFA Apprentice Workshop which we held this past weekend. Feel free to shoot me a PM and we can talk off line and I can answer any questions that you might have regarding the sport. I still will suggest that you go to our OFA website and join up. It's only $15 to join but you get a lot of benefits. Looking forward to talking with you.
Regards,
Joe Dorrian

[RedFox]

Welcome, Nicole! I'm happy to read what you've written and the age that you discovered the sport. I was a lot like you but didn't learn about falconry until I was in my 30's--so congrats on your early discovery! I sure hope you get to enjoy it for many, many years to come!

[varanus]

Welcome to the forum.

[Keith Denman]

Welcome Nicole good luck on your journey to the life of falconry

[Ally]

Welcome Nicole! I got my license right before I turned 17 and flew my first bird (a kestrel) my senior year of highschool. Sounds like you are committed and willing to do the required work/research to get yourself into the asylum :D

Good luck, do lots of reading and have fun!!!

[Aurelie]

Thank you, everyone! I think I'll be trapping a red tail if my parents are okay with it, but we've had lots of exotic animals and she should be used to them by now! Ally, did falconry interfere with school a lot? I'm not terribly busy with school; I only do one sport, cross-country, and it'll be almost over before I can get my hawk. I get most of my work done at school, so I don't think it'll be a problem, but still!

Nicole

[Ally]

Haha let's see...I played soccer, was in both our wind ensemble and jazz band and was president of our FFA chapter. I also had a part time job the last half of the year (had to pay for the expensive obsession...) :D It's definitely possible but you have to be creative with your scheduling and be OK with being always busy :) I would get home from school and go straight to hawking. Most of my other stuff was after dark--FFA meetings, concerts, etc. so it worked out ok. crazyy

The only snag I had was when our jazz band got accepted to a big festival where I was gone for 5 days--had to arrange to have someone watch/feed the kessie.

Having your own vehicle is almost a must...or VERY flexible/dedicated parents. I had my car by then and my kbird would ride around on a mini screen perch on the bench seat with me almost everywhere I went.

[Aurelie]

I run cross-country in the fall, am part of French club and Community Service club, and a 4H member, but that's about it, so I don't think it'll be too difficult for me! I will be able to drive in October, and really that's the soonest I can get my red-tail IF they approve me fast enough. I will be getting my dad's car for free, so I am VERY excited about that! My grandpa is also I hunter, although not a falconer, so I'm going to see if I can go hunt on the lands he hunts on with him sometimes!

How was hunting with a kestral? I'm going for a red-tail because of the larger game and because they're hardier for an apprentice, but a kessie certainly would be cheaper. Was it hard to maintain his weight?