Ambitious and Totally Unaware

Hello everyone, my name is Navera (Nava for short) Moritori. I come from a small po-dunk town in Upstate NY (Mechanicville) and the benefit of that was the fact that we had two nesting bald eagles out on this island that sat in between us and the next town over right on the Hudson River. It was very cool to grow up with and very often I would be able to witness the eagles hunting and soaring, I could hear their klee, klee, klee chatter and let me tell you - we never had a problem with river rats and I do not recall seeing many pigeons either.

Anyway, growing up with bald eagles pretty much living beside me was a huge inspiration. But as I grew older I really developed a desire and passion for falconry. I care about raptors very much and have grown attached to them over the years, fed by my constant bird watching endeavors that would usually start out as a hunt for songbirds but would ALWAYS escalate to hawk watching. I also get the most thrill out of my photography when I can capture a large raptor in flight or just chillin' doing his hawky business.

It is my sincere hope to be able to learn about how to become a falconer, obtain a raptor, house and care for it and help to inspire more people through demonstrative educational presentations. I would love to be able to get some kind of job in falconry but I have NO IDEA where to begin, what the job market is like... I really have no knowledge what-so-ever on actual falconry. I only know what I have to be educated on (raptor biology, history of falconry, wildlife regulations, etc.) and what kind of equipment I will need.

Other than that... clueless. That's why I'm here, actually. To meet people who started out like me, ambitious yet totally unaware of actual procedure, is my number one goal. A secondary goal would be to make a least one friend, preferably local to me, to act as a sort of guide. I think I already have a sponsor in mind but I could really use a hand in learning the basics.

I was so sad to discover that neither of the colleges I am attending have any classes on this. Gotta love the internet and its wealth of resources!

I hope I make some new friends and begin my educational adventure very soon! Thanks for reading!!

Nava,

On 10/31 and 11/2 the New York state Falconry Association will be having its annual field meet in Hamilton, New York (below Utica). There are usually 75-100 falconers that attend each year. There will be people there that are from all walks of life (as most falconers are) including those individuals that conduct educational programs, do abatement work, rehabilitation, and avian specialists in the field, not to mention the DIRT HAWKERS!! If you cannot attend the meet, I would get ahold of the organization anyway to get more information as well as the Special Licenses Unit of the DEC.

Charley Koop

Welcome.

From your post, I'm not totally sure if you're aware that falconry, by definition, is simply a form of hunting. If hunting isn't your main objective, you should probably look into some other form of licensing - rehab or education, maybe.

Either way, welcome aboard.

Actually, according to this site: http://www.dec.ny.gov/permits/28632.html ... I would still need a falconry license to own, train and display a raptor for educational purposes anyway so... I do believe that regardless of the fact that I will likely not be utilizing my raptor for hunting, I am still in the right community.. Although your comment did make me feel a bit out of place or perhaps unwelcome.

I do understand that raptors can be used for hunting and I am not opposed to learning how to do that either. My interests in raptor care and falconry do not simply rest on the educational benefits of housing a raptor but also I would like to maybe try to rehabilitate one but... in any case, in my state, I still need a falconry license and I am only in my beginning stages of learning all about what falconry is (and it turns out that it is a broader specialization than I had realized). I appreciate the replies and I look forward to learning more.

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Originally Posted by 1talontamer

Nava,

On 10/31 and 11/2 the New York state Falconry Association will be having its annual field meet in Hamilton, New York (below Utica).

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OH NO! That's Halloween night and I will be in New Jersey the first weekend of November! At least I know that this is an annual thing and I can plan for next year. Thanks so much for the info! I will make sure to attend and I hope that I can find more community-centered events like this.

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Originally Posted by Koomori

... Although your comment did make me feel a bit out of place or perhaps unwelcome.

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Could you explain how Scott's post made you feel unwelcome? I'm confused...

Well, just when he re-defined falconry as purely hunting. I felt maybe I had intruded into a territory that I was alien to since I hadn't previously acknowledged that. Maybe it is a psychological stance on my part due to a seeking of social approvals and if I misinterpreted him then the fault is mine. I will take responsibility for that, as it is most likely the case, furthermore, I retract any offenses I may have made in my initial response.

I will admit that I am a bit awkward and teetering on social ineptitude but I am trying to interpret and learn as much as I can without being too sensitive. The facts are that this is a field I have a growing passion about and have almost no support in and happened to find this forum so I am especially nervous of not belonging. I am here to learn though, so I suppose a good lesson starts with a definition. :)

The hunting thing with raptors/falconry, is by no means something you have to be into! Later in the year a new product will be launched.
Veggie-Hawk, is a nutritional substitute for people who want to enjoy falconry without the murder. This product is vegan and manufactured out of marsupial egg shell extract. Preliminary tests indicate that the undesirable aggression in raptors subsides in just a few days. In fact, they are even happy to cuddle with their owners after a few weeks of this dietary supplement! There is a way to practice environmentally ethical falconry.

Good Luck on your journey.

Well, since nobody else is saying it, I guess I will...

You need to put your money where your mouth is. If I were you, I'd not even consider posting here again until you've used some of that ambition and invested some time educating yourself. Until then, you're just making yourself look silly. (Not that we all haven't done that a time or two. If money is an issue you could start online. (Hint - Google the modern apprentice)

Also, if you were serious about this, you'd take Charley's suggestion and make being at that annual meet a priority.

Well, thanks. I guess I will follow your advice then. I guess I am of insufficient intellect on this topic to further participate lest I wish to look even more inadequate than I certainly feel as I do now. Thanks for being frank with me, I deserve it for being so excited. It's better to be rejected socially than to put forth a great deal of effort and find out that it isn't even going to apply to what I may want to do.

I'll shuffle off to my bookstore and resume studying everything I can get my hands on and hopefully someday I will find the guidance I need.

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Originally Posted by Koomori

Well, just when he re-defined falconry as purely hunting. I felt maybe I had intruded into a territory that I was alien to since I hadn't previously acknowledged that. Maybe it is a psychological stance on my part due to a seeking of social approvals and if I misinterpreted him then the fault is mine. I will take responsibility for that, as it is most likely the case, furthermore, I retract any offenses I may have made in my initial response.

I will admit that I am a bit awkward and teetering on social ineptitude but I am trying to interpret and learn as much as I can without being too sensitive. The facts are that this is a field I have a growing passion about and have almost no support in and happened to find this forum so I am especially nervous of not belonging. I am here to learn though, so I suppose a good lesson starts with a definition. :)

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I'm not trying to make anyone feel unwelcome, which should be evident by the two "welcome's" in my post. I just didn't see any mention of hunting in your post, and that is what falconry is - a form of hunting. There's nothing wrong with loving raptors and wanting to be involved with them. But I see a lot of bird lovers that think they want to be falconers, when, in fact, they want to be something else. And that's fine. But, you should be aware that you're talking to hunters, and asking about how to make a living as a "falconer". I just thought you might be a bit misinformed. Now, there certainly are falconers who do more than just hunt, but the hunting part is the falconry part.

And, welcome again! I'm sure others here will have a lot more info on some of the other aspects of raptor rehab/education/whatever else you're interested in than I do.

you do not need a falconry permit to rehab birds of prey or use them for educational purposes but you will need a Rehab Permit and an Educational Special Purpose permit.

http://www.dec.ny.gov/permits/25027.html

http://www.fws.gov/forms/3-200-10c.pdf

Sorry you felt unwelcome but your initial post said allot about you and what your interested in. That obviously in not falconry. Falconry is not about education, or rehab it's like others have said Hunting with Hawks. it took me two tries to google the right permits. unfortunately a lot of people cant be bothered to get the proper permits and use falconry as a short cut to that. This then causes falconers allot of problems with the public who have a romantic notion of falconry.

Ya know, I didn't even know falconry existed until I met a falconer while volunteering in wildlife rehab and education. Which is something you'll probably have to do before you can get a permit in either of those areas anyway. I'd suggest going to the falconry meet suggested, even if you're not interested in hunting. It'll get you exposure to lots of raptors up close, and often times rehabbers and educators are present at those events which would help you get a foot in. (btw - volunteering counts as job experience on a resume')

Yeah you guys are all right. I definitely do not belong here.

I will take your advice and go and try to find alternatives. I said in my post I was "ambitious and totally unaware" so... now I am Informed. Goal completed, minus the making of friends. This will be my last post so, thanks for all the advice.

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Originally Posted by Big Foot

The hunting thing with raptors/falconry, is by no means something you have to be into! Later in the year a new product will be launched.
Veggie-Hawk, is a nutritional substitute for people who want to enjoy falconry without the murder. This product is vegan and manufactured out of marsupial egg shell extract. Preliminary tests indicate that the undesirable aggression in raptors subsides in just a few days. In fact, they are even happy to cuddle with their owners after a few weeks of this dietary supplement! There is a way to practice environmentally ethical falconry.

Good Luck on your journey.

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I can't wait for this!!!

Falconry is hunting if your not planning on hunting then don't become a falconer go volunteer your time at a rehab facility...

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Originally Posted by Girl with a red tail

Falconry is hunting if your not planning on hunting then don't become a falconer go volunteer your time at a rehab facility...

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