The principles remain pretty much the same as they have for thousands of years, but techniques to train the birds and manage them have evolved tremendously since the 60's, when I was a kid.< We still control a bird through it's weight and hunger response to food. But today, if a bird decides to take off or chase another bird out of sight most falconers use telemetry on their birds and can chase them down in a vehicle for miles and eventually retrieve them. Another big change is that it is legal now! No longer limited to royalty! A 2 year apprenticeship is required under a licensed falconer helps to insure the welfare of the birds used.< Another modern feature is, many of the birds used are now bred in captivity by falconers. This helped restore Peregrines from near extinction and repopulate them to pre DDT levels. The Peregrine Fund is currently breeding Aplomado Falcons and releasing them into the wild to restore their numbers in the Southwest. There are currently about 50 breeding pair in South Texas and another 150 captive bred birds will be released this year in West Texas and New Mexico. It really is an exciting time to get back into the sport.
--- On Sat, 4/11/09, authfriend <jst...@panix.com> wrote: From: authfriend <jst...@panix.com> Subject: [FairfieldLife] Re: Hawk Cam To: FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com Date: Saturday, April 11, 2009, 5:18 AM Falconry is pretty much the same as it was during the Middle Ages, isn't it? I mean, other than things like the hawk cam in that video, have there been any technological or scientific advances with regard to training hawks? Or is it just long-accumulated experience and expertise? I wonder who first had the idea that a human could train a hawk and actually managed to do it. How far back does falconry go, do you know? --- In FairfieldLife@ yahoogroups. com, Mike Dixon <mdixon.6569@ ...> wrote: > > I've never read TH White but do know that Goshawks are a very intense raptor. > They are acciptiers which are very high strung with lightening reflexes. They > are a challenge for falconers because they are so demanding that you find > game for them. If you don't, they will take their frustraion out on you! I > tarined a Coopers hawk, kind of a mini Goshawk, when I was a kid. It nailed > me in the face when it came into a keen hunting condition and there wasn't > game available. > > --- On Sat, 4/11/09, authfriend <jst...@...> wrote: > > From: authfriend <jst...@...> > Subject: [FairfieldLife] Re: Hawk Cam > To: FairfieldLife@ yahoogroups. com > Date: Saturday, April 11, 2009, 1:28 AM > > > > > > > > > --- In FairfieldLife@ yahoogroups. com, Mike Dixon <mdixon.6569@ ...> wrote: > > > > Hey Marek, thanks for the hawk cam! I like to watch the > > variuos hawking and falconry videos on you tube. I hadn't > > seen the one you sent before. > > Meant to add: Have you ever read "The Sword in the Stone," > the first volume of "The Once and Future King" by T.H. > White? There's a haunting scene in the royal mews featuring > an insane goshawk who has all the other birds terrified. > > My sister tells me that White was himself a falconer who > tried to train a goshawk and had a terrible time. He > wrote a book about the experience called "The Goshawk." I > just ordered it from Amazon: > > http://www.amazon. com/Goshawk- York-Review- Books-Classics/ dp/1590172493/ > ref=sr_1_ 1?ie=UTF8& s=books&qid= 1239412980& sr=8-1 > > http://tinyurl. com/c6yeow >
