Supporting Dogged Resistance
Starting in falconry????
Ive had a Personal Message from a member of this online forum how to start in falconry,so decided to post this to save going through it again.
First of a average falconry course could well set you back £200-400 unless you know somone who can teach you and spend some time with handling birds and flying birds, some good starter books would also be of benefit which will put you through stages of building weatherings and perhaps aviary building and basic equipment, a basic hawk husbandry course should certainly do that too! always do your homework set up a weathering and get your equipment in advance of getting a bird, equipment won't set you back any more than say £200 for things like a bowperch a glove and leashes plus a couple of Bells,swivel,leather and perhaps a hood but this is personal preference for alot of birds but I would always hood a Parent reared Goshawk and then also large Falcons and hunting Eagles.
You can get everything you want off these two sites with info on joining the uk's main falconry club:
http://www.westwealdfalconry.co.uk/
http://www.britishfalconersclub.co.uk/
Also there is the consideration of hawk food,for a person just flying the one bird the food bill can be considerably cheap or free if you carry out other fieldsports/pest control for rabbit/squirrel etc during the non hawking months(never feed anything with suspect lead shot as lead will kill you hawk if digested so always use steel shot if you shoot) also below is a link if you need to buy in hawk food .
http://www.honeybrookfarm.com/
If you take a new hawk fresh out of the breeding chamber,the balls in your court as to how this hawk turns out, if you have done your homework the bird should turn out okay! but any mistakes made by the handler will be down to you, when you finally take up your new charge and spend the time putting it through the Manning/Trainning process and finally getting the bird Entered and Hunting its one of the most rewarding sports available, its nice to be able to stand back and pat yourself on the back sometimes as to what you have just acheived.
All in all its like any sport. you can cheap skate on equipment or you can go out and buy the best available but it won't make you a better falconer! The bottom link will save us all from going through old ground with the basic "HOW TO DO IT" threads.
http://www.themodernapprentice.com/index.htm
Ok I'm going list a few books that should be helpful, they're no subsitute for hands on experiance, but as they say knowledge is power after all but they may have different methods so choose one and stick to it!.
Falconry Principles and Practice by Roger Upton
Falconry Art and Practice by Emma Ford
Falconry and Hawking by Phillip Glasier
Understanding the Bird of Prey by Nick Fox
The Complete Rabbit and H-are Hawk by Martin Hollinshead
A Hawk for the Bush by Jack Mavrogordato
As the falcon her bells by Phillip Glasier
The major expense is going to be its living quarters, although in its first year it is advisable to keep the bird tethered, but it makes sense to make its quarters big enough that it can be freelofted if need be(mostly harris hawks).
The minimum for a harris hawk is going to be 10' x 10' solid on 3 sides, with either a solid or half and half roof. The front should be solid to half the height and then barred (not weld/wire mesh)
Scales - These are VERY important as BoP (Birds of Prey) dont respond to affection, they respond to weight management. (About £30)
Telemetry - Of course you should use falconry telemetry to locate your bird, to offer some kind of solace and reassurance against loss. However a great many people don’t use falconry telemetry, especially those that fly the most popular bird of prey in the UK, the Harris Hawk.
I myself flew for four years without telemetry,telemetry was a large investment into something I thought I could live without, I thought I could simply use magpies or crows to locate my Buzzard and Sparrowhawk.
Then, as I started to hunt more, I would lose my Common Buzzard through sloppy weight management (trying to fly the bird to heavy) and then finally on a shooting estate my Buzzard, had killed and then hidden in some deep cover. Every time I called she kept still and I heard no bells until the end of the day i saw her roosting.
Lucky for me, I was an able climber and she stayed still as I climbed the tree and then had to make my way back down with one hand and holding a very heavy female Buzzard. I then did the next most stupid thing and bought a cheap falconry telemetry set. I won’t say the name but it gave about as much range as a bell on a good day. The falconry telemetry set I had then was OK for a Buzzard and later on for my Sparrowhawks, as long as I could keep up with the birds movement, but of course, I moved on from my Buzzard and then Sparrowhawks into Large Falcons- Peregrines and Saker falcons.
I did my research and bought a reputable and established falconry telemetry system. This was like me saying “That’s it, I’m in this sport for the long haul”. That was over ten years ago.
Falconry telemetry is as essential as getting a bird, and in the big run of things to come if you keep with falconry, it’s a drop in the ocean.
So if your undecided if falconry is for you, take my advice.
Think of falconry telemetry as an essential tool. There is the debate that if Harris Hawks keep getting lost (and they are the most lost of all birds of prey) then they could be restricted in ownership. Using telemetry is for all within the sport of falconry, and of course the time you need it most is when you will make the most mistakes; at the the start.
If you’re thinking of buying a bird of prey, add a the cost of a falconry telemetry system like a Bio Track or Marshall Radio Telemetry set. Even if you do sell up, you’ll always sell a good quality system for good money, which is more than I can say for my cheap system that now collects dust in the garage.(This will set you back between £300-£700).
Whilst you can go out and buy Jesses and anklets, it is far more satisfying to make your own (plus they fit your bird!) as one size does not fit all.
So you will also need incidentals such as, leather, scalpel, hole punch, eyelet tool and eyelets, leash material, first aid kit etc
All of this should be purchased BEFORE getting a bird.
What a lot of people then fall down on is what to actually do with the stuff, whilst you can get a lot of information off the internet, there is nothing like hands on experience or someone close to hand to help you out. Especially with things like coping beaks, imping feathers and weight management.
First of a average falconry course could well set you back £200-400 unless you know somone who can teach you and spend some time with handling birds and flying birds, some good starter books would also be of benefit which will put you through stages of building weatherings and perhaps aviary building and basic equipment, a basic hawk husbandry course should certainly do that too! always do your homework set up a weathering and get your equipment in advance of getting a bird, equipment won't set you back any more than say £200 for things like a bowperch a glove and leashes plus a couple of Bells,swivel,leather and perhaps a hood but this is personal preference for alot of birds but I would always hood a Parent reared Goshawk and then also large Falcons and hunting Eagles.
You can get everything you want off these two sites with info on joining the uk's main falconry club:
http://www.westwealdfalconry.co.uk/
http://www.britishfalconersclub.co.uk/
Also there is the consideration of hawk food,for a person just flying the one bird the food bill can be considerably cheap or free if you carry out other fieldsports/pest control for rabbit/squirrel etc during the non hawking months(never feed anything with suspect lead shot as lead will kill you hawk if digested so always use steel shot if you shoot) also below is a link if you need to buy in hawk food .
http://www.honeybrookfarm.com/
If you take a new hawk fresh out of the breeding chamber,the balls in your court as to how this hawk turns out, if you have done your homework the bird should turn out okay! but any mistakes made by the handler will be down to you, when you finally take up your new charge and spend the time putting it through the Manning/Trainning process and finally getting the bird Entered and Hunting its one of the most rewarding sports available, its nice to be able to stand back and pat yourself on the back sometimes as to what you have just acheived.
All in all its like any sport. you can cheap skate on equipment or you can go out and buy the best available but it won't make you a better falconer! The bottom link will save us all from going through old ground with the basic "HOW TO DO IT" threads.
http://www.themodernapprentice.com/index.htm
Ok I'm going list a few books that should be helpful, they're no subsitute for hands on experiance, but as they say knowledge is power after all but they may have different methods so choose one and stick to it!.
Falconry Principles and Practice by Roger Upton
Falconry Art and Practice by Emma Ford
Falconry and Hawking by Phillip Glasier
Understanding the Bird of Prey by Nick Fox
The Complete Rabbit and H-are Hawk by Martin Hollinshead
A Hawk for the Bush by Jack Mavrogordato
As the falcon her bells by Phillip Glasier
The major expense is going to be its living quarters, although in its first year it is advisable to keep the bird tethered, but it makes sense to make its quarters big enough that it can be freelofted if need be(mostly harris hawks).
The minimum for a harris hawk is going to be 10' x 10' solid on 3 sides, with either a solid or half and half roof. The front should be solid to half the height and then barred (not weld/wire mesh)
Scales - These are VERY important as BoP (Birds of Prey) dont respond to affection, they respond to weight management. (About £30)
Telemetry - Of course you should use falconry telemetry to locate your bird, to offer some kind of solace and reassurance against loss. However a great many people don’t use falconry telemetry, especially those that fly the most popular bird of prey in the UK, the Harris Hawk.
I myself flew for four years without telemetry,telemetry was a large investment into something I thought I could live without, I thought I could simply use magpies or crows to locate my Buzzard and Sparrowhawk.
Then, as I started to hunt more, I would lose my Common Buzzard through sloppy weight management (trying to fly the bird to heavy) and then finally on a shooting estate my Buzzard, had killed and then hidden in some deep cover. Every time I called she kept still and I heard no bells until the end of the day i saw her roosting.
Lucky for me, I was an able climber and she stayed still as I climbed the tree and then had to make my way back down with one hand and holding a very heavy female Buzzard. I then did the next most stupid thing and bought a cheap falconry telemetry set. I won’t say the name but it gave about as much range as a bell on a good day. The falconry telemetry set I had then was OK for a Buzzard and later on for my Sparrowhawks, as long as I could keep up with the birds movement, but of course, I moved on from my Buzzard and then Sparrowhawks into Large Falcons- Peregrines and Saker falcons.
I did my research and bought a reputable and established falconry telemetry system. This was like me saying “That’s it, I’m in this sport for the long haul”. That was over ten years ago.
Falconry telemetry is as essential as getting a bird, and in the big run of things to come if you keep with falconry, it’s a drop in the ocean.
So if your undecided if falconry is for you, take my advice.
Think of falconry telemetry as an essential tool. There is the debate that if Harris Hawks keep getting lost (and they are the most lost of all birds of prey) then they could be restricted in ownership. Using telemetry is for all within the sport of falconry, and of course the time you need it most is when you will make the most mistakes; at the the start.
If you’re thinking of buying a bird of prey, add a the cost of a falconry telemetry system like a Bio Track or Marshall Radio Telemetry set. Even if you do sell up, you’ll always sell a good quality system for good money, which is more than I can say for my cheap system that now collects dust in the garage.(This will set you back between £300-£700).
Whilst you can go out and buy Jesses and anklets, it is far more satisfying to make your own (plus they fit your bird!) as one size does not fit all.
So you will also need incidentals such as, leather, scalpel, hole punch, eyelet tool and eyelets, leash material, first aid kit etc
All of this should be purchased BEFORE getting a bird.
What a lot of people then fall down on is what to actually do with the stuff, whilst you can get a lot of information off the internet, there is nothing like hands on experience or someone close to hand to help you out. Especially with things like coping beaks, imping feathers and weight management.
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Permalink Reply by Vexed Foxy on -
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