Hi from Pennsylvania!

[Rusticolus73]

Hey everyone
My name is Ryan. I'm in my 9th year as a general falconer. I grew up in the Hudson valley NY and started falconry with my dad at 14 when that was the legal starting age in NY. This may come as a surprise to most but in my 13 years as a falconer, I've only flown passage RTs and coops. Dont let my username fool you! I have never flown a gyr but they have always been a dream of mine. Maybe someday I will have the privilege. My RTs were strictly squirrelhawks with the occasional woodland bunny and I flew my coops mainly on pigeons around the standardbred breeding farm I worked on for years. Although i flew a passage female coppers that was bold enough to take on squirrels on more than one occasion. For the past 2 years I have been birdless and inactive in falconry due to converting a school bus and traveling all over the country. Now raptors and falconry have always been my biggest obsession ever since I was a little kid but that "bus life" nomadic lifestyle had been calling to me also for some time. And since everyone told me to do it while I was young, I had to. Now im going on 28 and settled down into a more sedentary lifestyle here in PA, im looking to trap a new bird. I came across this forum and have been a member now for a few weeks so i thought I would finally introduce myself. I recently went through the process of transferring my NYS falconry license to PA and still have till the 31st of January to get a bird for the season. Currently I am managing a horse farm here in central Pennsylvania and there are kestrels everywhere! I broke out the old bc and will going out with it here this weekend. With any luck hopefully soon I'll have a friend who can help me rid my barn of the thousands of resident starlings and sparrows! Anyway, I'm looking forward to making some falconer friends here and am always open and willing to learn new things! Also I dont have any experience with kestrels but if I am able to trap one i will be posting and documenting everything so any advice is always much appreciated. And if there are any falconers in the central PA area hit me up. Would love to meet other local falconers and get out in the field again. Thanks all

[ddcast1234]

Ryan:
Welcome! Where in PA are you? I live in Maryland but take my HH up around York where my son lives quite often

Dennis Casteel

[Rusticolus73]

Dennis thanks! I am in centre county 15 minutes outside of state college. About 2 hours north of york.

[Josh Coleman]

Hello Ryan! I am new to this sport. I would love to get in contact with you to learn more about what it takes to dive into the world of falconry. You are the first person I am reaching out to mainly because of your location. I currently live in the outskirts of Walnutport Pennsylvania. However, attended College at Lock Haven which I’m sure you are familiar with living near state college. I have a bachelors in criminal justice and minor in environmental studies with a concentration in conservation law enforcement with intentions of becoming a game warden. I was hoping that you being in the sport for so long you more people within the area and might be able to get me in contact with them. You can contact my through phone:610-360-2287 or email: konkretekids97@gmail.com thank you for your time!
Josh Coleman