Hi Jason,

I live in Venice, FL on the west coast. Try contacting both falconry clubs in Florida, the Florida Hawking Fraternity (f-h-f.org) and the Florida Falconers Association (floridafalconry.com) and they should help you get in touch with some local falconers. I too am getting ready to start my apprenticeship, and along with contacting local falconers, you should start studying for your permit test. Get both the California Hawking Club's study guide and apprentice manual, as well as New York's study guide; those are what helped me on the test. Good luck!

P.S.- Be sure to sign your name when you post; go into User CP to add it to your signature.