Hello from someone hoping to be a falconer!

[Aviivix]

Heya! My name is Leah (although I typically go by Aviva or Avi) and I'm not quite a falconer yet. I'm hoping to learn more about it in this forum. I consider falconry to be an art that must be heavily respected before beginning, and I don't want to get a bird until I know I'm truly ready. That's why I came here.

I'm 16, a Junior in high school in Wappingers Falls, NY (although I live in Poughkeepsie). I don't know any falconry clubs or groups in my area, and was about to give up hope of finding falconers I could talk to and learn from, until I found this forum. Boy was I surprised when I came on and noticed a big banner on the side with "Online Users: 445"! My heart honestly jumped, considering most of the posts I had found in regards to some questions I googled were from years ago.

I'm very interested in having Ospreys at some point, since they are beautiful birds and getting to hunt with one is my dream; although I plan to start with either an American Kestrel, a Red-Tailed Hawk or a Harris's Hawk. I also am interested in getting a Northern Goshawk in the future once I'm more experienced.

My mother recently got me the book Falconry & Hawking - The Essential Handbook Including Equipment, Training, and Health by Philip Golding. I've been trying to study terms and bird identification. I can attach the scientific names to certain common raptors by heart (Falco sparverius, Buteo jamaicensis, Pandion haliaetus, etc.), I have a pretty good idea of the training process and I'm pretty confident in my bird anatomy, but I'm hoping to learn what else I should expand upon.

I'd love help in my journey to become a falconer! I have no experience, I'm young, and I feel very unprepared, so if I say anything I shouldn't, like a false assumption or wanting to do something that might be ridiculous, I sincerely apologize. I have never had any experience with raptors before, and I don't know some things a falconer would know. There's nothing I'd love more than for you to correct me!

I hope everything will work out for me on this forum, and when I'm able, I'll be sure to give back to the community!

-- Leah Gregory

[Breeze]

(welc) Leah! It's great to see a young person like yourself taking an interest in the sport of falconry! Glad you joined us on this site!

You may want to check out the site for the New York State Falconers Association and see if there are any meets or gatherings taking place that you might be able to attend. That's always a good thing, if you can do it. You should find a ton of information there, so would be worth a visit. Their website address is: www.nysfa.org

Also, check out www.themodernapprentice.com where you will learn a LOT about many aspects of falconry. GREAT place to start.

There are falconers from NY on here and I'm sure some of them will pop in to give you more information as well! Enjoy your journey!

[Aviivix]

(welc) Leah! It's great to see a young person like yourself taking an interest in the sport of falconry! Glad you joined us on this site!

You may want to check out the site for the New York State Falconers Association and see if there are any meets or gatherings taking place that you might be able to attend. That's always a good thing, if you can do it. You should find a ton of information there, so would be worth a visit. Their website address is: www.nysfa.org

Also, check out www.themodernapprentice.com where you will learn a LOT about many aspects of falconry. GREAT place to start.

There are falconers from NY on here and I'm sure some of them will pop in to give you more information as well! Enjoy your journey!

Ah thank you! ^^ I'll give NYSFA a look and I've been using The Modern Apprentice a lot for a while! It's nice to know that I'll be able to find local (well, local enough!) falconers and I didn't even know there were NY meets! Thank you!

[Breeze]

You're welcome! I'm not sure how many meets they have in NY, I'm from Texas, but the website link will clue you in to what they are doing up there. :)

[vampdragon]

Welcome Leah. As Breeze has already mentioned, getting involved with your state falconry club is a great way to get started. I hope they are just as awesome as the one that Breeze and I have access too, even though I'm in OK instead of TX. As this is the middle of the "hunting season" many of the clubs are hosting field meets either this month or next month, and if you can join them, it is a great learning experience as there will be a large number of members at the meet, plus you can go out on a few hunts and experience what it is all about.

I don't want to discourage you in the least, but I did want to let you know that as gorgeous as the Osprey is, which I agree with you 100% there, from my understanding they generally don't make very good falconry birds. This is due to their primary diet being fish, and when hunting, it is a bit difficult to get fish moving for the Osprey to kill. However, they say the same general thing about using owls for falconry, and that is being done successfully by a number of falconers, so anything is possible. You very well could be the Osprey whisperer. :)

One thing you might consider is not only falconry, but also rescue and rehabilitation. Recent experiences have proven that rescued birds of prey have a better chance of survival at release when falconry is included in their rehabilitation process.

Again, please don't get discouraged by anything I have just said. Falconry is a great sport, and as you said, art form. You will find that working with all varieties of raptors bring their unique challenges which make them fun and exciting to work with.

[Sader762]

Welcome! It seems like more and more young people are getting into falconry. My daughter and I are first year apprentices and she is only 13 but doing great so far. At 16 you are in a better position to start since you are able to drive to your hunting spots. Breeze gave you some great advice. We are heading to the Texas meet next week for some fun falconry festivities ��

As for reading, also get the California Hawking Club Apprentice Manual and Study Guide to study for your test.

The typical order (but may vary depending on state) is get interested in falconry, go along on some hunts, find a willing sponsor, get paperwork submitted, pass test, build mews and get inspection, receive liscense, trap and train a hawk. This process took my daughter and I about 9 months in Texas.

Good luck!!

[vampdragon]

Not only Young people Dennis, but also female falconer's. Based on what I have read, female falconer's have been a small percentage of the falconry population in modern history. Thankfully, the number has continued to grow. As a matter of fact, in my circle of falconry friends/supporters, it is pretty close to a 50/50 population. This is heart warming as the long history of the sport is that both male and female falconers participated in the sport.

[Sader762]

I agree, it's great to see more women entering into falconry. I think the NAFA Journal 2012 had an article on some of the recent women Falconers that have contributed to the sport.

[Aviivix]

Welcome Leah. As Breeze has already mentioned, getting involved with your state falconry club is a great way to get started. I hope they are just as awesome as the one that Breeze and I have access too, even though I'm in OK instead of TX. As this is the middle of the "hunting season" many of the clubs are hosting field meets either this month or next month, and if you can join them, it is a great learning experience as there will be a large number of members at the meet, plus you can go out on a few hunts and experience what it is all about.

I don't want to discourage you in the least, but I did want to let you know that as gorgeous as the Osprey is, which I agree with you 100% there, from my understanding they generally don't make very good falconry birds. This is due to their primary diet being fish, and when hunting, it is a bit difficult to get fish moving for the Osprey to kill. However, they say the same general thing about using owls for falconry, and that is being done successfully by a number of falconers, so anything is possible. You very well could be the Osprey whisperer. :)

One thing you might consider is not only falconry, but also rescue and rehabilitation. Recent experiences have proven that rescued birds of prey have a better chance of survival at release when falconry is included in their rehabilitation process.

Again, please don't get discouraged by anything I have just said. Falconry is a great sport, and as you said, art form. You will find that working with all varieties of raptors bring their unique challenges which make them fun and exciting to work with.

I looked a little bit at the NY falconry group but at least to my knowledge it didn't seem too active; I'll still pay attention to when the meets are since it would be awesome to go to one!

Ah yes, I have heard that about Ospreys; my father has a boat so it could be pretty interesting with an Osprey out on the Hudson. (I also hear that they can be very hard to work with but who knows, things could work out in my favor!)

Yes, I'm also interested in rescue and rehabilitation; I'm not as knowledgeable in it but it's definitely another goal for me!

I wasn't discouraged at all, it's great to hear suggestions and get help through you guys! It's something you don't just go into unprepared, and the more I know the better! Thank you!

[vampdragon]

Leah,

I'm not surprised that you are not seeing much activity on the main NYSFA site. You are going to find out that many falconer's are very "quiet" about their sport. As you get involved, you will get a better understanding why the sport isn't broadcast around the country like it is in other parts of the world. Let me just say, about 50 or 60 years ago, something happened which made the sport of falconry look very bad in the U.S. and somethings happened that have a lot of people who were around then very gun shy. Once you become a member of NYSFA, I'm sure you will see more activity on the members area of the site and in their member forum and/or email list.

I just did some looking at the NYSFA.org site and it looks like they held their annual meet in November, so it is likely there will not be another meet until next hunting season.

I also checked out their "becoming a falconer" link. It does have a good list of things to help you out. Though the order they have them listed is isn't wrong, I personally move finding a sponsor from #6 up to #2, but then you will find some potential sponsors who won't really talk to you until you do everything else first. I would do as much of the first 5 steps as you can, but don't worry about the test at the moment, but start studying for it, as it appears that NY only allows testing twice a year (for that I feel sorry for you). Any way, my point is, under the Find a Sponsor section is a link to the NYSFA region map and list of regional directors. I would suggest looking at that map and contacting the regional director for that region and begin the conversation with them. They can likely get you in touch with a potential sponsor or two, and can hopefully get you out in a hunt or two. With that in mind, if you have not already, complete your hunter's education course and get a hunting license. If your state's hunting laws are anything like they are in OK, even if you are just beating the bush, you are considered hunting and therefore need your hunting license, even if it is not your bird you are hunting with. The good news is, resident hunting licenses in most states are usually inexpensive, usually around $25 to $35 depending on state and if you add fishing to the license. Here is a link to your Hunter Education class, http://www.dec.ny.gov/outdoor/92267.html. Reading through, it looks like there is some homework you will need to do, which when completed, you will take to the actual class. One thing to note here is, Hunter Education class is required for you to get a hunting license. Hunter education is focused on firearm and bow safety, as this is the majority of the hunting sport. You will be handling and shooting firearms during this course. I just wanted to let you now in case you or your parents have specific feelings about firearms.

Okay, I think I have rambled enough. I hope all this helps.

[Aviivix]

Leah,

I'm not surprised that you are not seeing much activity on the main NYSFA site. You are going to find out that many falconer's are very "quiet" about their sport. As you get involved, you will get a better understanding why the sport isn't broadcast around the country like it is in other parts of the world. Let me just say, about 50 or 60 years ago, something happened which made the sport of falconry look very bad in the U.S. and somethings happened that have a lot of people who were around then very gun shy. Once you become a member of NYSFA, I'm sure you will see more activity on the members area of the site and in their member forum and/or email list.

I just did some looking at the NYSFA.org site and it looks like they held their annual meet in November, so it is likely there will not be another meet until next hunting season.

I also checked out their "becoming a falconer" link. It does have a good list of things to help you out. Though the order they have them listed is isn't wrong, I personally move finding a sponsor from #6 up to #2, but then you will find some potential sponsors who won't really talk to you until you do everything else first. I would do as much of the first 5 steps as you can, but don't worry about the test at the moment, but start studying for it, as it appears that NY only allows testing twice a year (for that I feel sorry for you). Any way, my point is, under the Find a Sponsor section is a link to the NYSFA region map and list of regional directors. I would suggest looking at that map and contacting the regional director for that region and begin the conversation with them. They can likely get you in touch with a potential sponsor or two, and can hopefully get you out in a hunt or two. With that in mind, if you have not already, complete your hunter's education course and get a hunting license. If your state's hunting laws are anything like they are in OK, even if you are just beating the bush, you are considered hunting and therefore need your hunting license, even if it is not your bird you are hunting with. The good news is, resident hunting licenses in most states are usually inexpensive, usually around $25 to $35 depending on state and if you add fishing to the license. Here is a link to your Hunter Education class, http://www.dec.ny.gov/outdoor/92267.html. Reading through, it looks like there is some homework you will need to do, which when completed, you will take to the actual class. One thing to note here is, Hunter Education class is required for you to get a hunting license. Hunter education is focused on firearm and bow safety, as this is the majority of the hunting sport. You will be handling and shooting firearms during this course. I just wanted to let you now in case you or your parents have specific feelings about firearms.

Okay, I think I have rambled enough. I hope all this helps.


It did help a lot! Considering my father has six guns and hunts, I don't think my family will have any problems with it. I'm gonna try and get my driver's license as well very soon (I remember someone bringing that up earlier; I don't have one yet but I'm working on it!) so I should be set by then.

((EDIT: Alright, apparently the signature doesn't get applied to past posts, my bad!))

[frigginchi]

This may or may not help in your research :D

http://www.themodernapprentice.com/

[bdyelm]

Let me just say, about 50 or 60 years ago, something happened which made the sport of falconry look very bad in the U.S.

You mean, Operation Falcon? That was about 34 years ago... You're gonna make some people feel very old. toungeout