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Welcome to my falconry web page!
Please help!!! Anubis, a 17 year old Barbary falcon was ruthlessly killed for his
talons at the Renaissance Fair currently being held in Hammond, LA by Master Falconer
Kitty Carroll. He flew over some buildings during his flight and was found shot, feet
cut off and his equipment had been removed and tossed to the side. Please keep your
ears open for any information you may hear about this. There is a $5,000 reward
offered for the arrest & conviction of the person(s) involved in this horrible crime.
More information and contact info can be found at:
http://www.diversityinutah.com/anubis.html
Meet Jasper! He is a captive bred tiercel Harris' Hawk that I got
from a falconry friend of mine back East. He arrived on June 9,
2007 at 1:57 a.m. at the SLC International Airport. Once I picked
him up, my friend Brian and I headed home. We stopped and ate and
I got home at 5:10 a.m. I took a "nap" until 6:30 a.m., got up and
headed back out of town for a falconry program in Lehi, UT. I was
supposed to be there at 8:00 a.m. and needless to say I was late
but it worked out fine and I had a blast. There estimation on
wrist band sales were 7,000 people! I also took Sugar.
Meet Sugar! She is my passage hen Prairie Falcon that I trapped in
December, 2006. She is the largest Prairie Falcon anyone has seen
and calculations done on her weight and measurements shows she is a
full 20% larger than the largest Prairie Falcon in Utah!
Unfortunately, after only two weeks of training, she had her avian
vet appointment and he found a tumor. Initially we thought it was
frounce but after several medications for treatment, the growth has
not gotten any smaller. Until pathology comes back, all we know is
this is a Fibrous Growth but it is feared that this is a tumor!
From tip of beak to tip of train Sugar is about 18.5 inches long,
trapping weight was 913.80 gram which is 32.25 ounces and she has
nearly a 5 foot wingspan!
UPDATE: May 28, 2007 - Sugar seems to be doing great now. The anti-
biotics she was on seems to have shrank the tumor. It did leave
an indentation in her crop and the feathers are slightly moved to
where you can see a small patch of her skin at the crop. However,
she seems to be back to her normal self. I have now began to train
her and hopefully it will go smoothly. My biggest fear is she won't
be as cooperative as a freshly trapped passage because of all the
casting, tube feeding and injections she received. Remember, these
birds are very intelligent; that is why we can train them! If she
remembers everything bad it may influance her manning and training.
So far so good though. I started her manning 5 days ago. Yesterday
was her best day. She bated a few times from the fist while just
sitting in the driveway watching people walk down the street and
seeing cars go by. After that I started walking her up and down the
driveway and the street in front of my house and she only bated two
times while doing that. She bated frantically when the neighbors
dog came over; it is a dauchaund. After a few minutes she calmed
down and could have cared less when she reailzed it was no threat
to her. It is good for her to be up close with the neighbors dogs
since I don't have a hunting dog and won't; personally I don't care
for dogs! I can chase quarry for my birds by myself and do a good
job at it. LOL We also done quite a bit of visiting with the
neighbors and while talking she never bated once! She done great!!
Meet Bullet! He is my passage tiercel musket, also known as a
Sharp-Shinned Hawk. I trapped him in December, 2006. Bullet is a
really small musket! The typical musket in Utah is 10.5 inches
long and weighs 140 grams. Bullet is about 10 inches long but only
weighed 118 grams on a full crop. On an empty crop after trapping
he was only 112 grams and his keel is full and round. As with
Sugar above, Bullet is not being flown either due to being under
my avian vets care. Bullet developed septicemia in his foot which
is an infection he received from a small piece of rotting meat that
was stuck to his talon when I trapped him. The foot is healing
nicely but he will not be flown until about the end of March!
Update: Well, unfortunately Bullet died on April 14, 2007. We were
outside and he was standing on my fist and a vulture flew
over which startled him. He crouched down, looked at it
sideways then stood up straight and roused. Then he just
fell over dead! A vaso reaction to shock is what I pre-
sume killed him. From the time he seen the vulture fly
over head to his death was about 7 seconds!
The new Utah Falconry Proclomation is done. You need to print it
from their web site because they are not printing any according to
Anita Candelaria in the Salt Lake City Office. Click here to go to
the page to print it. There are 17 pages to print! Just use the
Print function in your browser or use Ctrl + P.
LOL....Can you identify this?
I'm thinking Accipiter gentilis striatus sylvilagus floridanus!
Welcome! My name is Eddie, but everyone around here calls
me Birdguy. This is because of the falconry aspect and I also raise
different species of parrots. I'm sure you are wanting to see me &
many different raptor species so here we go.
Me and Fairview, and Ross Pope with Cherokee; both tiercel
passage red-tail hawks. Oh yeah, I'm on the right hand side.
Here is a pic of Cranky, my intermewed Prairie Falcon
that I trapped in 2000.
Now, if you want to see me and some other raptors you can just
click on the link to the left that says "Pictures of myself &
friends", or you can Click Here. I will throw a few pics in here
just for fun and to keep your interest; like this one:
Here you will discover the joy and the heart-break of a
great sport. Falconry is one of the oldest sports in the world.
Practiced by the mid-evil empire, egyptians and every culture
worldwide, it has managed to hold its own the last few centuries by
a handful of dedicated, hard working people like myself.
I've been a falconer since 1984, when at the age of 11, I
began a life long trial and error way of life known as falconry.
I am one of only five falconers in Southern Utah! On very rare
occassions I do sponsor apprentices but you really have to prove to
me that you want to do this sport and prove it is for the love of
the birds, not because it is cool or you want a "socail status" on
your fist to show off.
In the northern half of Utah, falconry is strong in
popularity, gaining a couple of new falconers each year while in my
area there have only been a handful of people even interested in
the sport who decided that it would not be in the birds best
interest for them to become falconers. Instead, I often have
company in the field while hunting with my birds; this way the
interested people can have a great time without the time and money
spent in order to keep a raptor.
While the term "falconer" is a general term to describe
those who keep, train and hunt with raptors, in all actuallity
I am an "austringer." A austringer is one who keeps, trains and
hunts with the broad-wings and the short-wings like the red-tailed
hawks, goshawks, eagles and owls. While I enjoy watching the
falcons spectacular styles of hunting, I am in a not-so-good
geographical area for large falcons, therefore I use what I have
most readily available. Migration in my area also isn't the best.
My next words are not to really scare anyone away from
falconry, however, one needs to know the following if he or she
wishes to persue in the footsteps of the relationship between man
and raptor:
This sport is quite expensive! (On average I spend between $7,000
to $10,000 a year in gas for my vehicle to take the birds hunting)!
It takes several weeks/months of reading and a lifetime to learn!
You MUST spend several hours a week to keep your bird healthy. On
average I spend close to 21 hours per week taking my birds into the
field for exercising and hunting.
You should have an extensive library on falconry and raptors in
general.
YOU ABSOLUTELY NEED A VETERINARIAN FAMILIAR WITH RAPTORS who also
has a license to care for them or, know a raptor/wildlife
rehabilitator who can help your precious bird in times of need.
Many people don't have the time or money that it takes in order to
be a falconer. If you are one of those people, don't worry! Most
falconers are more than happy to take you out on a hunting
adventure with them after they have laid down a few ground rules.
Rules To Remember When You Are With A Falconer
NEVER touch the falconers bird, it is dangerous for both you and
the bird.
You should always walk on the opposite side the falconer has the
bird on as raptors don't like strangers near them or behind their
back. This means if the bird is on the falconers left fist, you
need to walk on the right side of the falconer unless he/she tells
you to be somewhere else.
Do not make loud noises near the bird unless you are trying to
flush quarry.
If the bird bags its quarry, stay behind the falconer so he can
retrieve his bird. Do NOT run towards the bird!!!!!
Don't say things like "poor bunny" or "how crewl," as things like
these make falconers quite pissy because their bird has to eat and
would do the same thing in the wild. If you do say things like
these, you may never go with the falconer again!
A Brief History of Falconry
Falconry, also known as hawking, is the ever most ancient
art of training, and the sport of flying a raptor to hunt for food,
or for the pleasure of the falconer and/or groups of spectators.
The falconer, also known as an austringer, often prefers to hunt
specific prey like rabbits or starlings because they are readily
available. Falconers have trained many different raptors from each
group of raptors which includes hawks, eagles, owls, falcons,
osprey, kites and northern harriers but have found that some
species like the osprey and harriers and some owls do not make good
for falconry purposes.
Falconry has been practiced for thousands of years and is unlike
any other sport in the world. Probably developed as a more
efficient means of hunting, it demands the utmost attention and
skill of the falconer including field craft and leather craft.
Records have been recorded over the years in the form of
petroglyphs and pictographs on the walls of the ancient Egyptian's
pyramids and tombs. Records can also be found in the Arab,
English, Russian and Chinese cultures as well. It was practiced
in Asia as early as the 8th century BC. It was also a favorite
pastime of the nobility in the Middle Ages and was revived in the
18th century even though shooting was more popular. However, it has
continued to be practiced in the United States, Asia, Africa, and
Arabic countries for hundreds of years and has also been revived in
England and Scotland.
The first evidence of falconry in Europe comes from the sixth
century AD when the Germanic tribes acquired the sport, and by 875
AD it was practiced widely through western Europe and Britain. The
period 500 AD until 1600 AD saw the peak of interest in falconry.
It became a highly regulated, revered, and popular art among nearly
all the social classes in Europe. In Great Britain, falconry went
beyond being a sport of royalty or being practised as a necessity,
instead its popularity became what we would now call a craze or
fad, and became a status symbol in medieval society.
In the earlier years of this sport the birds were always trained to
help provide food for the table. Yet today, except in a few
countries, it is primarily a sport used for entertainment. Every
year in every State that allows falconry, currently 48, there are
competitions called Sky Trials. These competitions yield falconers
from all other States including Alaska and Canada and even
falconers from England and Russia come to the United States to
partake in this highly competitive and enjoyable sport.
The art of falconry was most popular among the upper classes in
Europe, especially amoung the Clergy - Pope Leo X was an avid
falconer, but the man considered to be the greatest falconer of all
time was Frederick II of Hohenstaufen, Holy Roman Emperor, King of
Sicily and Jerusalem. His book, De Arte Venandi cum Avibus (The Art
of Falconry) took over 30 years to complete, and his enthusiasm
once lost him an important military campaign because he decided to
go hawking instead of continuing the siege of a fortress.
Falcons were so highly valued that they were worth more than their
weight in gold when used as coinage in ransom negotiations. During
one crusade the Ottoman Sultan Beyazid captured the son of Philip
the Bold, Duke of Normandy, and turned down Philip's offer of
200,000 gold ducats for ransom. Instead Beyazid wanted and was
given something even more precious, twelve white Gyr Falcons. A
white Gyr will today cost you £10,000 approximate. Modern falconers
have NO problem paying between $5,000 and $10,000 for a white Gyr
with the higher price being for the most white!
Soon nearly everyone from the baker to the King became falconers.
The average citizen usually kept birds less suited to falconry such
as Sparrowhawks, with the "long-winged hawks" or more specifically
the falcons such as Gyrs and Peregrines reserved for the nobility
because they were better suited for falconry and, to mid-evil
society appeared more noble than other species.
The higher nobility, however, did not spend time on training birds
themselves, and they often had dozens of falconers in various
locales to train them, keep them healthy, fit and ready for a hunt.
Master falconers were often paid extravagant amounts of money to
work for Kings and other Nobles. The still existent Office of
Master of the Mews was a position created for the Kings best
falconer, who obtained, and groomed the King's falcons and hawks,
and kept them in constant readiness for hunting.
The punishment for harming a birds nest, eggs or young were fairly
severe but graduated depending on the crime. For example to destroy
a falcons eggs meant one year in prison, and to poach a falcon from
the wild was reason enough for the criminals eyes to be poked out.
The punishment for holding a bird above your social rank was
usually the cutting off of the offenders hands. This was usually a
sufficient deterrent to the crime.
In the realm of Kings and Queens, only the King was allowed to
practice the art of falconry. He had his royal hands man down the
birds and do the training for him. Queens were only allowed to
practice the sport toward the end of that era and were only allowed
to fly Merlin's. The reasoning for this was because the bird was
small and "dainty." An interesting fact remains about the
training of the birds in different eras and cultures. They
primarily used the falcons and the training techniques are very
similar. Even today we cannot perfect the training techniques
that were used thousands of years ago any better than what they
were back then.
The golden age of falconry ended with the invention of the firearm,
its popularity quickly gained and soon falcons and other birds of
prey were persecuted to the point of virtual extinction of some
species. Fortunately in the Middle East falconry remained a sport
of the nobility and it is mainly because of this that falconry
still exists today, and due to some careful captive breeding, birds
are no longer taken from the wild but are returned to it, which has
helped to prevent some species from total extinction.
Falconry terms were at one time only in the language of the
nobility who actively pursued the mid-evil art. Modern falconers
continue to use these terms with reference to falconry. Some words
have found their way into modern English and are in common usage,
although the modern meaning is far different from the original.
The terms used in falconry today still have their origins from long
ago. Here are some examples.
The word codger, used today to describe an elderly person, can be
traced back to the falconry term cadger, or a person who carried a
portable perch called a cadge for the falconer. Most cadgers were
old falconers and in time a corruption of this came to be used as
above.
Callow, which is a nestling raptor whose feathers are still in the
blood quill stage, is now used to describe someone who is young or
untested.
When raptors drink it is called bowsing and a bird that drinks
heavily is called a boozer, the term is still used to describe
the same tendency in humans.
The term mantle piece comes from the action a raptor makes to cover
and protect its food called mantling or to mantle.
Hoodwinked, was the action of placing the hood over the falcon's
head to recover the captured prey from the falcon's talons, pretty
much the same as now when you are cheated of something.
Our Latin motto post tenebras spero lucem means after darkness I
hope for light and is symbolic of a hooded falcon. With the hood in
place there is darkness, and light after its removal.
If you have the dedication, time, expense and skill to practice
this ancient art, good for you! I can guarantee you will have the
most fun of your life doing it; but I can also guarantee you will
have setbacks, upsets and heartache also, but in the long run it is
well worth all of these experiences.
Still Want To Be A Falconer?
Here Are Some Steps To Follow:
Read all the books that you can find on falconry and raptors.
Click on the link to your left titled Books To Read for a list of
books on Falconry, Raptors and Field Guides.
Contact the Department of Fish and Game in your State; ask for a
falconry packet. Click on State Game Departments to your left for a
list of departments in your State.
Study the State and Federal regulations.
Contact a nearby Falconer and ask if it would be possible to
meet with them. Write down a bunch of questions for the falconer
so you don't forget anything.
Ask the falconer to go out flying/hunting.
Ask yourself if you can devote your life to this life-long sport?
Locate a General or Master Class falconer who is willing to sponsor
you. This can take some time as many falconers are very busy and
many are very, very snotty and stuck-up or stuck on themselves and
think that falconry is for them, not for you, or they simply don't
have the time to sponsor anyone.
Schedule to take the falconry exam with the Department of Fish and
Game after you have read all the books and asked your sponsor a ton
of questions.
After passing the exam do the following:
Build your mews and get all your equipment ready and have it all
inspected by a Division Officer.
Get together with your Sponsor and trap the appropriate bird for
you; either an American Kestrel or a Red-Tailed Hawk.
Spend the next 2 years working with and flying this bird. Take the
bird through the molt.
Acceptible Raptors for Falconry
This is not carved in stone, it is simply a list of raptors that I
personally feel are good for falconry purposes if trained
correctly and the best suited quarry for them!
GROUP RAPTOR BEST QUARRY
Long-Wings (falcons): American Kestrel Small Birds (if properly
trained); mice, insects
Merlin Small/Medium Birds
Prairie Most Birds & small mammals
Peregrine Most Birds
Gyr Large Birds
Saker Most Birds
Lanner Small/Medium Birds
Lugger Small/Medium Birds
{Hybrids} Depends on size
Short-Wings
(accipiters): Gos Everything they can catch
including large snowshoe
hares!
Cooper's Hawk Small/Medium Birds (hens
good on cottontail rabbits)
Sharp-Shinned Hawk Small/Medium Birds
Broad-Wings (butoes): Red-Tail Rabbits (cottontail), hens
good for phesants, "?" ducks
Harris' Rabbits/Hares, pheasants,
ducks, partidge, quail
Ferruginous Rabbits (open country only)
Golden Eagle Jack rabbits, Fox, Coyote,
deer
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Eddie B. Horvath, unless otherwise noted, and are not to be used without his
express permission.
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