Jimmy,

If anything your hawk will be over exposed. A person sitting with an accipiter during 1/2 of one meal will maintain imprinting forever. During the molt I've done this for Cooper's over the decades and they have not withdrawn. The gos doesn't withdraw as easily as the smaller accipiters. By the way the peregrine is an example of a falcon that tends to retain imprinting and/or its behaviors. In England the accipiter called sparowhawk tends to drop imprinting when weight is raised and it is fed away from the austringer. They have bred these hawks naturally for decades.

Good to have a wife and father who supports your interests.

Just east of Willcox there were some hills where I hawked only once or twice per year because they were covered with small rocks that are really hard on a horse. Because I was running late one day I decided to go up in a light rain and at the top my aplomado caught a small quail. She refused the approach and the rain increased just as she carried it to the ridge on the top. If she carried again she could have flown down the far side, the light was fading and I was already wet and cold in the stiff breeze. My wife called and insisted on riding up to give me a sandwitch and better rain gear. I told her she would never find me and it was dangerous all considered. We debated for some time when the hawk carried the quail to my fist!

Harry.