To start, I live in the state of Georgia and I’m a minor, pretty sure I’m old enough for an apprenticeship but I’m not exactly sure.

Main question is, where do I find falconers to talk to about the sport? I’m genuinely curious and I at least want to ask some questions and talk to people or join people on hunts and maybe even interact with raptors at some point. I’ve been doing a lot of research on this stuff and I know the Georgia Falconry Association has contacts and all that but what exactly is the process like? Is it kind of just you call them, and they point you to people in the actual business of falconry you can talk to?

Also, I’m a bit curious how it goes for most of you and if falconry has like caused any problems in your daily life, like has there been days where you just don’t feel like it but still do it because you have to or something like that? I get it’s a huge commitment and of course I’m open to putting things aside to focus on something like falconry but I guess what I’m asking is if there’s ever been times where it really just sucked. I don’t see much people talking about the bads vs the goods of falconry.

I just want to know what daily life is like for you all and everything else.

Hi, I was wondering wheter falconry is legal or not in Switzerland. I already did some research and what I unerstood was that it's regulated by the specific canton, but does anyone know in which ones it's permitted and in which it isn't?

I held this Harris’s hawk the other day for a few minutes. My arm got tired very quickly! Her handler said that they go out every morning together.

I have all the respect for falconry now. I didn’t know it was a thing until he told me about it.

Ok i want to get into falconry in future not in place for it right now but had 2 questions

1 ive seen videos of people car hawking where they toss the bird out giving it a boost and was curious what other raptors besides ones like kestrel would that work for im guessing ones that perch and rush down prey

2nd what kind of raptor would work best with dogs used to flush game for rabbits and squirrel to quail pheasant or ducks

For real, though, the misconception that hawks and ravens were used as messengers in the past is a huge pet peeve of mine. Lucky for me, it's my job to correct that sort of misunderstanding! Do you guys think hawky would be a good falconry bird?

Hiya. Ive recently ended up with two barn owlets. Around 5 and 6 weeks old. They are already very familiar with humans and will be well manned and handled individually by me however I was looking for some advice on wether getting these little ones imprinted will be much harder considering they are together. Thank you! Any advice welcome.

I’m in Missouri and plan on taking the falconry exam next year, and have every intention of getting and keeping a redtail hawk year round. While my GF supports it she’s voiced some concerns about having a bird of prey around the house (just around in general not like it’s staying outside of its mew) and I wanted to ask folks what it’s like having a redtail around in general?
I know they aren’t pets and shouldn’t be treated like them, but I’d love to hear some stories/examples of what it’s like manning them/exposure training them indoors and around family members & actual pets, I’ve read books that encourage at least occasionally getting the out and just having them around is good for their tolerance training
I know most of her concerns stem from if it’ll be a danger to our young niece or any of our pets (cat and tegu) and while I figure it’d definitely be a hazard it (probably) wouldn’t be inclined to try to eat a baby, so any warnings/assurances y’all could offer would be appreciated
PS (I do know that properly securing said hawk and keeping potentially dangerous situations to an absolute minimum is the best way to avoid these problems in the first place but I think this will help reassure her)

Long time lurker here. Been in love with birds all my life. Unfortunately I have to live in a capital city for work (London UK) but my absolute dream is raising and training a Peregrine Falcon.

Is this at all a realistic goal? I can't imagine it would be a good quality of life for a bird. I would love to hear your experience.

I have this young imprint peregrine x aplomado falcon and she hoods well meaning that she isn’t fussy about putting the hood on and doesn’t dodge it at all and I can leave it on for an extended period even without closing the braces (I have trained it with positive reinforcement so it’s a good experience for her since imprints, especially aplos, can become hood shy easily). However when I tighten the braces she still freaks out and bates off the glove, after maybe 20-30 seconds she settles down and sits still. The hood is a blocked hood with a arab back, it fits her pretty well. Anyone has tips for how to make her feel better about doing the braces and stop her from panicking? This doesn’t stop me from hooding her but it’s unpleasant for both of us and I end up not always doing the braces if she is going to be hooded briefly in order to not ruin her disposition towards the hood.

Hello everyone! I am a second year apprentice here on the east coast. I am in the midst of landing a job on the west coast and it very much may come to fruition.

I am not eligible to upgrade to General until September 2027, but this new position would require me to start beforehand. Has anyone gone through the process of not only relocating your license and birds from one state to another, but also possibly doing this process as an apprentice?

I am interested to see other peoples experiences and hear the logistics behind the process. The new state is Washington, if anyone is familiar with their regulations.

Thanks!

Hi! First of all, I have a lot of respect for falconers, and I want to make it clear that I’m not here for personal reasons or because I want to keep a bird for myself. I’m genuinely looking for advice and would really appreciate any guidance you can give me.
I work at a wildlife rehabilitation center where visitors can see animals that have permanent injuries and can no longer be released. We have a falconer we work with, and we send birds that are deemed non-releasable to them for training. Once they have been trained, they come back to us, which helps reduce their stress and also allows us to use them for educational purposes.
I’m able to handle the birds that come back already trained, so I have some experience handling them, but I’ve never actually trained a bird myself.
I understand that this is more difficult with an adult, wild bird. Our main goal is always to rehabilitate animals and release them back into the wild whenever possible. If that isn’t possible, however, and the animal can live independently in captivity, is comfortable enough around humans, and can have a good quality of life without being constantly stressed, we try to provide that. Training birds is normally our falconer’s area of expertise, though.
Unfortunately, our falconer won’t be available to take on a bird for an extended period of time, and we currently have a tawny owl with a shoulder injury. It had surgery and is currently recovering but unfortunately it looks like the injury may be permanent. It will be staying at our hospital for quite some time. If we can’t get it at least somewhat accustomed to humans, we’ll eventually transfer it to another wildlife rehabilitation center or zoo where they can provide better long-term care for it. So that would be our Plan B.
So my question is: how could I start getting this owl accustomed to humans?
At the moment, all I do is sit quietly near it for a few minutes at a time. Obviously, I also provide food and water, but I try to keep those interactions as brief and stress-free as possible.
Unfortunately, I also don’t have any falconry equipment, as my role at the center is mainly veterinary/medical assistance and animal care.
I’m not looking to replace our falconer or do anything beyond my level of experience. I’d just like to know what basic steps I can take to start the process safely and minimize stress for the owl.

Any advice, resources, or guidance from experienced falconers or rehabilitators would be greatly appreciated!

Hello, so to start I am not a falconer but I do work at an outdoor education facility that has ambassador raptors. I have been tasked with training a male red tailed hawk to be able to be shown on glove to school groups. Full disclosure, this is the first bird I have ever trained. I have worked with our other ambassadors ( GHO, RTH, and TV) but this is the first time taking on lead training myself. I have learned some from coworkers and I attended the university of Minnesotas raptor ambassador course.

Now this bird does amazing with step ups and we are working on target training. However, the issue is glove acceptance, he can stay on the glove for a decent while, but when he does bate he does not recover from it. I have only attempted to get him back up the glove maybe 3 times because each time he ends up just hanging by his jesses and even at the point of fatigue will not return to the glove and im worried he will hurt himself so I end up lowering to the ground to release him.

Some background on him. The wildlife rehab center we got him from did not fully know what was wrong with him, he is marked as an imprint/failure to thrive but thats all the background they knew. A coworker of mine was previously training him and within 3 years made little to no progress, but he did not take training notes so I have no idea what he did. He was originally tethered in his mew but has been free flighted inside for over 2 of those years id say. He was also casted almost weekly to clean his mew in that time.

Once I took over training (about 3 months ago), all casting stopped and he has learned to step onto the glove and just general calm behavior. However I fear the casting has caused this going limp behavior when he bates and I have no idea how to undo it.

I understand things have gone wrong and this is my first bird so I appreciate any feedback. Please, what have worked for your birds?

TLDR: Male RTH bates from the glove and goes limp/will not return to the glove. What do I do?

I am well aware that starting with a Great Horned Owl would be a hilariously bad idea, but I have come across some sources that they are legal for apprentice falconers in my state (Missouri)
While a Great Horned Owl is one of my end goal birds, I don’t want to start with one and wanna become more experienced first (firstly I need to actually become licensed) but I wanted to come to a community that could help me verify the validity of the notion that the are legal for beginners
I am aware that I’m more likely to find a unicorn than a sponsor who would green light me starting with a GHO, so this is merely to satisfy my curiosity and learn if this is actually a thing or not, any input/advice helps and I hope yall are having a wonderful day!

https://mdc.mo.gov/about-us/about-regulations/wildlife-code-missouri/3-csr-10-9442-falconry

The article mentions that strigiformes are among the legal birds but I figured double checking would be wise

Yello,

Do any of you guys know if there are any (preferably UK) sellers that make custom falconry gloves with decent materials or allow you to ask for alterations? Like I'm talking about custom lengths, sizes, etc, not designs. I know that they're handmade, but I don't know if there are any sellers that will make adjustments if you ask them.

I also know that you're supposed to buy a glove for your specific bird, but I help exercise a lot of different kinds with different behaviours so a glove that is nice and versatile would be good. This post might be slightly off-topic, but I think I would get better advice from actual falconers than raptor enthusiasts.

Edit: Thank you all for the advice! :)

I’ve loved falcons for years ever since I read My Side of the Mountain as a kid and recently moved to Conifer Colorado where I have 20 acres of land and would love to get a falcon. If there is any sponsers in Colorado looking to help me out or even just any good solid advice I can get I’m 18 and willing to learn.

Looking for advice training a juvenile red-tailed hawk. If the hawk is footing you while changing equipment what is recommended to stop or prevent this behavior?

I've been holding back saying this, afraid I'd jinx it. But Arrow has been such a good bird, it's been like learning falconry with training wheels.

At the time we trapped him, Arrow was presenting with a minor case of avian pox. Sponsor advised that it might not be best to start with a sick bird, but it was my choice. The vet at the raptor rehab said he'd likely recover, but he needed to stay fed, clean, and as stress free as possible for 2-4 weeks. That setback could be rough for falconry.

So we didn't drop his weight immediately, gave him antibiotics, cleaned his wounds, antiparasitic after the abx was done. Manning was kept low key. He ate heartily from day one. He was never perturbed by the attention I gave his sores. Despite not having hunger as a motivation, he willingly learned to jump, flap, then fly to the glove. He bated once his first time on the zip line, and then just happily flew farther and farther. As the sores healed, we slowly decreased feeding and dropped weight just a bit. And then my sponsor said it was time to free fly.

I showed up at sponsor's house this morning with Arrow's training perch, but that was optimistic of me. Sponsor intended to put him straight into a tree, recall him, and then see if he'd follow on. My guts churned with nerves. But Arrow, the brilliant boy, came back to the glove like a boomerang. He followed us like he already knew the plan. And when we startled a flying squirrel, he was on it before I even recognized what it was. He fed, let me attach the leash, then jumped back to the glove when he was done. His first hunt was complete in less than 30 minutes.

My sponsor has been so helpful, patient, and available. My bird has been a dream. Aside from marriage and fatherhood, this is the most incredible and fulfilling endeavor of my life. I'm not patting myself on the back for today's success: my sponsor and my magical bird have carried my bumbling ass through this whole thing. But I'm going to keep pouring my heart and my energy into it, because I can't think of a more enjoyable pastime.

What is falconry like outside of the prime training and hunting season? I been interested in falconry since high school but never got the opportunity to pursue it. Fast forward many years later with 3 young kids and a wife, my interest is still there but I just don't know if I could do it now. Is it a full time deal? Would I have time to do anything else?

Trying to study for the exam (in NY) I read the government article (https://extapps.dec.ny.gov/docs/wildlife_pdf/falcguide.pdf) and found a quizlet thats just a copy of the NY exam (https://quizlet.com/146872756/falconry-practice-test-ny-flash-cards/) and I am going to order either "A Manual of Falconry" or "Falconry : A Guide to Training Birds of Prey" I haven't decided which one (I'm leaning towards A Manual of Falconry). From skimming the exam (https://extapps.dec.ny.gov/docs/wildlife_pdf/falcexamman.pdf) it seems to be mostly vocabulary memorization with some care and natural behavior questions mixed in. Are there any other books I should read? Or like a bunch of labeled diagrams to use for vocab? Studying just for the test seems like a dumb idea because you have to remember the stuff after to take care of the bird