How would you recommend someone get into falconry!? It’s something I’ve been wanting to get into for years and years
This depends entirely on where you live! If you're in America, there's a whole process you have to go through - passing the falconry test, finding a sponsor, building mews (aka the place for the bird to stay), gathering equipment. You'll be an apprentice for two years and then your sponsor signs off on you.
I'm not American, I'm based in the UK where you can just. go and buy a bird of prey if you want (which I do NOT reccomend at all). Wherever you're located, you NEED a mentor, hopefully someone face to face who can give you hands on guidance and they have to be
2. click with you on a personal level.
This means that you might get lucky and find that person first try, or you might have to go mentor shopping to find someone who matches your style and wants and needs. If you eventually want to fly falcons rather than hawks, for example, finding a longwinger rather than a dirthawker might be right for you. In America, you'll almost always start with a passage (wild trapped) redtail hawk, so often people will have someone knowledgeable about redtails sponsor them, but once they become a general falconer they'll go on to seek out a longwing mentor. Here in the UK, you can start with a peregrine if you have the quarry for it.
Here's my general advice:
1. Read a lot of books. General falconry books will help you get a feel for the language (there's a lot of words for a lot of concepts). If you're in America, passing your test before you get a sponsor can show your dedication to potential mentors. If you're not much of a reader, there are some good videos. I can give you some book recommendations if you'd like but Understanding the Bird of Prey by Nick Fox and Four Falconry Fundamentals by Matt Mullenix are really good places to start.
2. Find your local falconry club. Wherever you are in the world, you'll hopefully have a falconry club somewhat near you. Falconry clubs often host field meets, where the members will bring their birds and hunt together. One of the purposes of field meets is networking for potential apprentices and giving them the opportunity to see falconry in person. It's worth going even if it's a travel.
3. Find local falconers if you can and shadow them for a whole season. FALCONRY IS A LIFESTYLE. It's a lot of work and it's based around hunting, not having a bird ot prey as a pet. If the hunting doesn't do it for you then falconry won't be worth it for you, so it's better to know that first and foremost. It can also be really brutal and disheartening. Shadowing someone for a season means you're statistically likely to see someone's bird run into the worst case scenario and that will both teach you if you could do it and make sure the first time you see it isn't your own bird. Also, don't just stand back and watch - be an active participant in these hunts. Do what you're told of course, but beat brush, and try to be an asset!!! If you can get prey moving where the bird can see and chase it then you're helping. Also, ask yourself if you can really dispatch an animal your hawk has caught. Seeing another falconer do it will help with that.
4. Save money. Falconry is EXPENSIVE. Research your nearest avian vet and work out how you'd get to them in an emergency. If you're in falconry long enough accidents will happen and it is best to be prepared. You can DIY a lot of things in falconry but most equipment is expensive.
Falconers are generally very welcoming once you get past their initial barriers. They are extremely gatekeepery but it's for a good reason - letting the wrong person in could seriously damage the sport. If they see that you're serious and have potential, you'll be welcomed in with open (but firm!) arms. Expect some resistance or hesitation, but keep showing up (most people flake out or realise it isn't for them pretty fast) and you'll find a rough but really quite wonderful community underneath.
Good luck with your falconry journey!!! I wish you the best and I hope you're able to get into it. I love it to bits, it's the perfect lifestyle for me and a select few others. It's an endless rabbit hole really. If you have any more questions I'd be happy to answer them, either through asks or DMs.
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