Falconry - information for the beginner
The following information is for the benefit of those people who are interested in taking up the sport of falconry. Please read it very carefully before you rush out and buy that hawk !
What is Falconry
Falconry is the sport of taking wild prey (or quarry) in its natural state and habitat by means of trained hawks. It has never been easy, and the present day conditions add many obstacles to the achievement of success in the sport. Mere enthusiasm, momentarily fired by the sight of trained hawks being flown to the lure at a Country Fair, or on a TV programme, is not an adequate base from which to launch oneself into this most difficult of sports. A great deal of dedication and study is needed before a beginner gains a proper understanding of how to manage a hawk. Many falconers choose both their livelihood and their home so that they can have proper opportunities of following their sport, and they sacrifice many other interests to do so.
Nobody should aquire a hawk without first receiving proper instruction in how to keep and handle it. This is said with the interests and welfare of the hawk much more in mind than any of the difficulties or frustrations an ignorant handler will experience. A hawk that is not treated with proper care becomes a pitiable object, wild, frightened, her wing and tail feathers broken and caked with dirt, and a disgrace to the proper traditions of our sport.
A hawk requires special accomodation and special fresh raw food every day. A hawk is not like a gun or a fishing rod which can be stored in a cupboard when it is not wanted. She requires careful handling for which the time must be available. She cannot be left to look after herself when her owner wants to go on holiday or falls sick. Hawks do not make good pets and they do not accept being fondled or made a fuss of. The British Falconers Club is not willing to advise or assist anyone who does not want to fly hawks properly and fairly at wild quarry .
Experience has shown that young people seldom make a success of training a hawk on their own. The British Falconers' Club regretfully recommends that youngsters under the age of 16 years should not keep a hawk unless they have the continuous assistance and friendship of an experienced falconer - an 'experienced falconer' being somebody with at least five years practical experience of success in the field with hawks. Youngsters are welcome as Supporter members of the Club and for a small annual subscription a supporter receives three excellent publications each year containig much useful information. A beginner is more likely to meet such a mentor if he joins the British Falconers Club, but the demands are often heavy and it must be said that instruction in this particular way comes to only a lucky few.
The Club runs a voluntary two year apprenticeship scheme which is open to Associate members. The scheme is run free of charge. The successful applicant is placed in the care of two mentors. One mentor will be a species specialist who has particular expertise with the type of hawk the apprentice is flying, and the second will be an experienced falconer who is able to assist and advise the newcomer on a regular basis, meeting at least once a month. Due to the demands of the scheme the Club cannot guarantee that every applicant will be automatically allocated a place.
The British Falconers' Club recommends that the beginner, after studying the necessary basic knowledge, should start by training either a Harris Hawk (Parabuteo unicinctus) or a Red Tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis). Both are very capable hunting hawks in most types of countryside and will take a variety of quarry. Other traditional species such as goshawk, sparrowhawk, peregrine and merlin are either harder to train or require specialist countryside in which they may be flown (eg heather moorland, downland plains or fen country). Older falconry manuals recommend training kestrel but they rarely take acceptable quarry, and due to their small size, fatal mistakes can be made when bringing them into flying condition. One hawk is more than sufficient for most falconers, and certainly for all beginners.
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