Yeah... I am apprentice and finding a sponsor was hard in my area. I went to two falconry meetups. I loved the Lure competition! I help my sponsor with education and public introductions...whenever I am asked how I became a falconer or how they can become one, the FIRST thing I say is that it is a hunting permit and those are the first steps, hunter safety course and license. Also volunteer avian/raptor care centers. That’s how I was given the name of my sponsor and at first it was the “he doesn’t know me” thing. It turned into sticking with it and he eventually was able to take me on(One on his apprentices moved up). Thanks for the great video!!!!!!!
Great advice! I did the same and got my hunting course and license done first. I'm taking the test end of the month. What part of the country are you from?
Congratulations Tanya! I'm excited for you! I'm just now starting to dip my toes into the idea of getting into falconry. I absolutely know I'd love it, but I want to learn more to see if me having a falcon or hawk would be a good fit and fair to the bird, beyond me just wanting to be a falconer. Looking back, I wish I'd started this journey about 20-25 years ago. Have you selected the bird that you feel would fit you well yet?
@@Troy-Echo Hi! Oh yes. I chose the American Kestrel and was having trouble finding juveniles…I was going to just go for a Red Tailed Hawk to get going on the process and my sponsor to give up on the AK and just “settle” for something else. I kept working with some of my sponsors birds to learn and then, in August the next year, trapped a male AK. Now I have a female AK and have been hunting and learning with her for 2yrs now. I’m now a General Level and started a raptor education program. It’s amazing AND TIRING! But so worth it.
@@tanyamccarlson1193 Thanks for the response and information Tanya! I learn more every day from watching videos, reading information and from responses like yours and I get more excited at the prospect of helping someone somewhat local with a falconry hunt this season. The more I learn, the more I think this may be something I'd like to do for the rest of my life.
I have been watching your videos for the last several months while I finish up my graduate degree. As soon as I am done with that, I plan on taking the test, finding my sponsor and building mews. In the meantime, your videos are as close as I can get. I really appreciate them and have learned a lot from you.
Ben great video, where were you when I was younger? Now I am to old and broken to walk that far. But in my younger days in Michigan trying to find anything about falconry was very hard hard to find, man how times have changed. Thank you for all the effort you put into your videos and all the knowledge you share. Maybe one day someone will get to do what I could not as a young man. Thank you!
My spark happened when I found out it was possible to keep an owl under a falconry permit. As I talked to another falconer I found that it was about hunting not exotic pet keeping. This got me more excited and I eventually took the right steps to becoming a falconer.
I was similar. I was drawn to it just because I loved wildlife and the thought of working with and interacting with raptors resonated with me. But like you, I got taught properly that it is about training them to hunt. And I just moved forward and jumped in.
I've always loved exotic pets and birds, heck, all animals, but I never bought a parrot because I didn't think it was fair to buy a bird that would outlive me and have to rehome a bird that was not bonded to the person receiving the bird, so I passed because I was putting the bird first. I've always loved to hunt, although I've not been able to for many years. I'm looking forward to learning more about falconry and figuring out if this is really a path I want to take and if I'd make a good companion for the bird. Have you taken further steps towards falconry?
Thanks for this video Ben, I love your channel. I'm in MA and am taking my test end of October but am too late in the year to manage to find a sponsor in time to trap a passage for this hunting season as COVID has made meeting other falconers at meets/events impossible. Hopefully this time next year I'll have my first Red Tail.
Hello Diana! I am not sure if you will see this after a year! I am also in MA and trying to build my falconry‘network’! I hope you have been able to move forward successfully!
I already subbed, but if I had not, this video would have been enough reason to do it again. I've always loved birds and I'd vaguely seen falconry and in my head it was an unobtainable thing you see in a movie, but not something somebody like me could ever have the ability to get into. I wish I'd had this information on falconry 25 years ago. When I was about 30 I found out some online friends had parrots, and my favorite Congo African Gray. I spent a lot of time with this Gray (Nix, after Stevie Nix), and we got along great. I really wanted to get my own Gray, but being ~30 years old and buying a bird that would live 60-80 years, it just didn't feel fair to pair with a bird for so long, only to pass away and have to rehome a bird that was bonded for me for 30-50 years, so I passed and just loved birds from afar. I went to pet stores to spend time with birds and came across an orange bellied conjure that I fell in love with. He had so much personality that I found myself coming back to spend time with him several times. Then one night I made the decision to buy him, and when I got off work the following day I had the money for a deposit for the bird and to buy everything I needed to provide a good home, so I went to buy Chester (the molester...he was a frisky bird). The lady I'd been chatting with at the store saw me come in and I knew as soon as I saw her face drop that someone had beaten me to the punch, and she confirmed Chester had been bought that morning. I was looking for a surprise for my wife, but when that surprise fell though, I remembered my friend gave her husband a "raptor' experience and how much they loved it, so I started looking into that to share with my wife, plus, obviously, I really love birds still. Now, seeing these videos and reading and such, I was going to reach out and and see what I could find, and your suggestions are exactly how I plan on moving forward. The raptor experience closest to me isn't a falconry experience, but a 1.5 to 2 hour session with class time where you get to hold a bird of prey and have them fly to your hand a few times, but it isn't true falconry, it's an overpriced business experience that has about a 7 month wait list, and if it rains, you just get bumped back to the bottom of the list which could be another 6-12 months with the way they run their seasons. I'd rather find a falconer that would be willing to allow us to be hunting companions to flush out prey and spend time talking to them and being with the bird and do some true falconry, not a guided tour at some exorbitant price. Thank you so much for the advice you shared in this video Ben! And I love Utah! I was there visiting a friend and it was so nice. The roads were laid out logically. If you get turned around, look for the mountains and that's north, then you know where to go from there. Thanks again!
Thank you Ben- as always so insightful! As a pre-apprentice this helped me to think beyond my complete blinders up hyper focused on how can I get a sponsor so I can become a falconer to.. well my potential sponsors don’t know me yet.. how can I help them get to know and believe in me!
Hello Ben, Thank you for this amazing channel! My biggest request for you at the moment is more detail on identifying red tail hawk nests( I am in Western MA) I am not sure if it is realistic that I can find nests now(winter) that will give me an indication on where to trap in August?
I promise I will. Honestly the biggest thing preventing me at the moment from finishing that video is lack of access to a red shoulder to film. I have the content, just want some B roll footage to be able to include so it isn’t just me talking. Keep reminding me though!
Speaking of which, it has been almost 20 years since I went out with you and your male eyas coopers... I would really like to do it again sometime. I'm in process of renewing my COR. Corresponding with a few people from the falconry association now and looking for a sponsor (again!).
Ben could not find a direct contact for you but I wanted to ask you a question. I've been a falconer for about 28 years and about 1 year into getting my 2 years of eagle experience so I can trap a golden. Anyway, back to my question, I bought your book, Trapping Essentials, mainly for good reading material and for more detail on the compartment trap. In your experience/knowledge, what is the optimal size of the trap? I was thinking 2.5-3'x2.5-3' with the bait cage being about 1" tall and the raptor area about 2' tall. I would love to know the dimensions you would recommend and use on yours. That's the only thing i was a little disappointed not to see in the book. Thanks
Question. I live in a state without a falconry group/club, the department of wildlife falconry coordinator contacts licensed falconers for prospective apprentices...I cannot get in touch with anyone, I have passed the test and have been told falconers have been given my contact information. I have heard nothing. Suggestions? Thank you.
My advice is join a club. Start making phone calls. Tell them falconry birds are not pets and its a partnership. Be respectful. Attend hunts. Listen twice as much as you speak.While hunting obey falconers directions. Pass your test first before you look for a sponsor. Have your equipment ready to go. Start looking at mews etc etc. I did these and I had several people willing to sponsor me. Boils down to respect for yourself the bird and your sponsor
I tried to schedule taking the test last month but due to COVID, they are currently on hold. I really just want to get out there and hunt with some falconers to see if it's a sport I really want to pursue but was of the understanding that it was best to have passed the test first. Not looking for a sponsor yet, just some field experience.
@@dimorrissey you can attend hunts before passing your test. But don't start looking for a sponsor until you pass your test. Find your states falconry club and start making phone calls
@@skyking6989 Thanks! I ended up taking and passing the test the first week of December and have been hunting with my (now) sponsor since. I am loving it!
Thanks for the extra tips SkyKing! I look at this as a companionship or a partnership as you said versus pet ownership. I'm just now starting to look into this, and look forward to trying to get in on some hunts this year by being a grunt for the falconer by helping to flush out game for their birds. This will help out the falconer and bird, and get my feet wet and help me figure out if this is really something I want to invest my life into. If I do, hopefully by the time I'm ready for a sponsor, I'll have a small list of people willing to take me on that know me. If not, at least I've enjoyed the time spent and not been a burden on someone. :0)
I’ve never been more annoyed about a step in something than this. If there was a course we could take, that would be amazing ! Introverts and people who don’t “fit” the bill of normalcy in these groups ughhh ! Tough.
So you were lucky enough to personally know a sponsor? What ever happened to paying it forward for the love of the sport? The actual respectable thing to do would be to not get into falconry if you have no intention on sponsoring future generations of falconers. It feels like this system was setup for "master" falconers to make money...
Do more research before talking crap about this beautiful sport as a apprentice myself you get to know your sponsor personally you build a beautiful bond and he is not in it for the money he does it for the birds and giving the ancient tradition to the new generation :)
Yeah... I am apprentice and finding a sponsor was hard in my area. I went to two falconry meetups. I loved the Lure competition! I help my sponsor with education and public introductions...whenever I am asked how I became a falconer or how they can become one, the FIRST thing I say is that it is a hunting permit and those are the first steps, hunter safety course and license. Also volunteer avian/raptor care centers. That’s how I was given the name of my sponsor and at first it was the “he doesn’t know me” thing. It turned into sticking with it and he eventually was able to take me on(One on his apprentices moved up). Thanks for the great video!!!!!!!
Great advice! I did the same and got my hunting course and license done first. I'm taking the test end of the month. What part of the country are you from?
San Diego CA
Congratulations Tanya! I'm excited for you! I'm just now starting to dip my toes into the idea of getting into falconry. I absolutely know I'd love it, but I want to learn more to see if me having a falcon or hawk would be a good fit and fair to the bird, beyond me just wanting to be a falconer. Looking back, I wish I'd started this journey about 20-25 years ago. Have you selected the bird that you feel would fit you well yet?
@@Troy-Echo Hi! Oh yes. I chose the American Kestrel and was having trouble finding juveniles…I was going to just go for a Red Tailed Hawk to get going on the process and my sponsor to give up on the AK and just “settle” for something else. I kept working with some of my sponsors birds to learn and then, in August the next year, trapped a male AK. Now I have a female AK and have been hunting and learning with her for 2yrs now. I’m now a General Level and started a raptor education program. It’s amazing AND TIRING! But so worth it.
@@tanyamccarlson1193 Thanks for the response and information Tanya! I learn more every day from watching videos, reading information and from responses like yours and I get more excited at the prospect of helping someone somewhat local with a falconry hunt this season. The more I learn, the more I think this may be something I'd like to do for the rest of my life.
I have been watching your videos for the last several months while I finish up my graduate degree. As soon as I am done with that, I plan on taking the test, finding my sponsor and building mews. In the meantime, your videos are as close as I can get. I really appreciate them and have learned a lot from you.
Thanks Ben, that was really very helpful (as are all your videos). I really appreciate the time and thoughtfulness you put into these videos.
Ben great video, where were you when I was younger? Now I am to old and broken to walk that far. But in my younger days in Michigan trying to find anything about falconry was very hard hard to find, man how times have changed. Thank you for all the effort you put into your videos and all the knowledge you share. Maybe one day someone will get to do what I could not as a young man. Thank you!
I guess it's kinda off topic but does anybody know of a good website to watch newly released movies online?
My spark happened when I found out it was possible to keep an owl under a falconry permit. As I talked to another falconer I found that it was about hunting not exotic pet keeping. This got me more excited and I eventually took the right steps to becoming a falconer.
I was similar. I was drawn to it just because I loved wildlife and the thought of working with and interacting with raptors resonated with me. But like you, I got taught properly that it is about training them to hunt. And I just moved forward and jumped in.
@@benwoodrufffalconry I was like “wait! You hunt with them!? That’s way mor fun than just keeping one!” 😂
For me it was a renaissance fair. After that I looked into it, and went down a rabbit hole for 4 years, I just got my first bird.
I've always loved exotic pets and birds, heck, all animals, but I never bought a parrot because I didn't think it was fair to buy a bird that would outlive me and have to rehome a bird that was not bonded to the person receiving the bird, so I passed because I was putting the bird first. I've always loved to hunt, although I've not been able to for many years. I'm looking forward to learning more about falconry and figuring out if this is really a path I want to take and if I'd make a good companion for the bird. Have you taken further steps towards falconry?
@@micahswett2505 Micah, which bird did you chose, and why? How has this past year or so been as a falconer? What state are you in?
So grateful for this channel!
Thanks for this video Ben, I love your channel. I'm in MA and am taking my test end of October but am too late in the year to manage to find a sponsor in time to trap a passage for this hunting season as COVID has made meeting other falconers at meets/events impossible. Hopefully this time next year I'll have my first Red Tail.
I'm in MA as well. I pretty much putting everything on hold until this pandemic is over. Best of luck~
@@ThatGuyFromNantucket06 To you as well. Frustrating!
Hello Diana! I am not sure if you will see this after a year! I am also in MA and trying to build my falconry‘network’! I hope you have been able to move forward successfully!
Ben, thanks! I asked for this in a previous comment, and you delivered! ( I’m sure it had been a long planned video but, I feel special anyway!😀
Awesome vid started watching last night and I cannot stop watching 🦅
Also could you make a video about training a prairie falcon
Very informative. Topic for you...training differences between Accipiter and Redtail / Harris's hawk. 🤞🏻
I already subbed, but if I had not, this video would have been enough reason to do it again. I've always loved birds and I'd vaguely seen falconry and in my head it was an unobtainable thing you see in a movie, but not something somebody like me could ever have the ability to get into. I wish I'd had this information on falconry 25 years ago. When I was about 30 I found out some online friends had parrots, and my favorite Congo African Gray. I spent a lot of time with this Gray (Nix, after Stevie Nix), and we got along great. I really wanted to get my own Gray, but being ~30 years old and buying a bird that would live 60-80 years, it just didn't feel fair to pair with a bird for so long, only to pass away and have to rehome a bird that was bonded for me for 30-50 years, so I passed and just loved birds from afar. I went to pet stores to spend time with birds and came across an orange bellied conjure that I fell in love with. He had so much personality that I found myself coming back to spend time with him several times. Then one night I made the decision to buy him, and when I got off work the following day I had the money for a deposit for the bird and to buy everything I needed to provide a good home, so I went to buy Chester (the molester...he was a frisky bird). The lady I'd been chatting with at the store saw me come in and I knew as soon as I saw her face drop that someone had beaten me to the punch, and she confirmed Chester had been bought that morning. I was looking for a surprise for my wife, but when that surprise fell though, I remembered my friend gave her husband a "raptor' experience and how much they loved it, so I started looking into that to share with my wife, plus, obviously, I really love birds still. Now, seeing these videos and reading and such, I was going to reach out and and see what I could find, and your suggestions are exactly how I plan on moving forward. The raptor experience closest to me isn't a falconry experience, but a 1.5 to 2 hour session with class time where you get to hold a bird of prey and have them fly to your hand a few times, but it isn't true falconry, it's an overpriced business experience that has about a 7 month wait list, and if it rains, you just get bumped back to the bottom of the list which could be another 6-12 months with the way they run their seasons. I'd rather find a falconer that would be willing to allow us to be hunting companions to flush out prey and spend time talking to them and being with the bird and do some true falconry, not a guided tour at some exorbitant price. Thank you so much for the advice you shared in this video Ben! And I love Utah! I was there visiting a friend and it was so nice. The roads were laid out logically. If you get turned around, look for the mountains and that's north, then you know where to go from there. Thanks again!
Thank you Ben- as always so insightful! As a pre-apprentice this helped me to think beyond my complete blinders up hyper focused on how can I get a sponsor so I can become a falconer to.. well my potential sponsors don’t know me yet.. how can I help them get to know and believe in me!
Great informative video as always:)
I would really like to see a video on building mews and your thoughts on that.
A few years back, falconry didn't require a sponsor. Falconers petitioned (heavily) for the apprenticeship program.
I was unaware of that. Thank you for sharing that. Very good to know and better understand the history and the evolution of falconry.
Hello Ben,
Thank you for this amazing channel!
My biggest request for you at the moment is more detail on identifying red tail hawk nests( I am in Western MA) I am not sure if it is realistic that I can find nests now(winter) that will give me an indication on where to trap in August?
I thought you need a sponsor or gen,mstr sign off on your state exam? I'm in Mesa,Arizona ! Great video, Ben Thank You
Can you please do a video on red shouldered hawk’s in please
I promise I will. Honestly the biggest thing preventing me at the moment from finishing that video is lack of access to a red shoulder to film. I have the content, just want some B roll footage to be able to include so it isn’t just me talking. Keep reminding me though!
could you do an intro to the black shouldered kite?
Wuh?!?!?!????
Speaking of which, it has been almost 20 years since I went out with you and your male eyas coopers... I would really like to do it again sometime. I'm in process of renewing my COR. Corresponding with a few people from the falconry association now and looking for a sponsor (again!).
My sponsor is the best
Ben could not find a direct contact for you but I wanted to ask you a question. I've been a falconer for about 28 years and about 1 year into getting my 2 years of eagle experience so I can trap a golden. Anyway, back to my question, I bought your book, Trapping Essentials, mainly for good reading material and for more detail on the compartment trap. In your experience/knowledge, what is the optimal size of the trap? I was thinking 2.5-3'x2.5-3' with the bait cage being about 1" tall and the raptor area about 2' tall. I would love to know the dimensions you would recommend and use on yours. That's the only thing i was a little disappointed not to see in the book. Thanks
Question. I live in a state without a falconry group/club, the department of wildlife falconry coordinator contacts licensed falconers for prospective apprentices...I cannot get in touch with anyone, I have passed the test and have been told falconers have been given my contact information. I have heard nothing. Suggestions? Thank you.
My advice is join a club. Start making phone calls. Tell them falconry birds are not pets and its a partnership. Be respectful. Attend hunts. Listen twice as much as you speak.While hunting obey falconers directions. Pass your test first before you look for a sponsor. Have your equipment ready to go. Start looking at mews etc etc. I did these and I had several people willing to sponsor me. Boils down to respect for yourself the bird and your sponsor
I tried to schedule taking the test last month but due to COVID, they are currently on hold. I really just want to get out there and hunt with some falconers to see if it's a sport I really want to pursue but was of the understanding that it was best to have passed the test first. Not looking for a sponsor yet, just some field experience.
@@dimorrissey you can attend hunts before passing your test. But don't start looking for a sponsor until you pass your test. Find your states falconry club and start making phone calls
@@skyking6989 Thanks! I ended up taking and passing the test the first week of December and have been hunting with my (now) sponsor since. I am loving it!
@@dimorrissey great!
Thanks for the extra tips SkyKing! I look at this as a companionship or a partnership as you said versus pet ownership. I'm just now starting to look into this, and look forward to trying to get in on some hunts this year by being a grunt for the falconer by helping to flush out game for their birds. This will help out the falconer and bird, and get my feet wet and help me figure out if this is really something I want to invest my life into. If I do, hopefully by the time I'm ready for a sponsor, I'll have a small list of people willing to take me on that know me. If not, at least I've enjoyed the time spent and not been a burden on someone. :0)
Florida needs more falconers.
Can a person take the exam before finding a sponsor or do these things have to be done in a specific order
I’ve never been more annoyed about a step in something than this. If there was a course we could take, that would be amazing ! Introverts and people who don’t “fit” the bill of normalcy in these groups ughhh ! Tough.
So you were lucky enough to personally know a sponsor? What ever happened to paying it forward for the love of the sport? The actual respectable thing to do would be to not get into falconry if you have no intention on sponsoring future generations of falconers. It feels like this system was setup for "master" falconers to make money...
Do more research before talking crap about this beautiful sport as a apprentice myself you get to know your sponsor personally you build a beautiful bond and he is not in it for the money he does it for the birds and giving the ancient tradition to the new generation :)
I would really like to see a video on building mews and your thoughts on that.