Falconry presents: a vicarious hunting thrill
Falconry is the sport of kings and also the sport of several hundred falcon owners in Utah.To these bird lovers, this sport brings together the challenges of training wild creatures and the thrill of watching these magnificent birds perform their stunning role in nature.
In the sport of falconry, a licensed falconer can go out in nature and trap a wild hawk, falcon or owl and train this aggressive raptor to hunt in cooperation with him, forming a unique bond of trust.
These falcons are taught to soar 800 to 1,000 feet above the ground as the trainer walks below attempting to flush out game. When a pheasant, duck, dove, rabbit or other upland game species is flushed from cover, the keen eye of the raptor perceives its prey, and begins its stunning hunting routine.
Tucking in their wings and folding to a teardrop shape, the bird plunges at speeds of up to 200 miles an hour attempting to knock down its prey. Sometimes they are successful, many times they are not and the hunt continues.
Many of the 3,000 falconers in America consider falconry an art, rather than just a sport, because of the high level of commitment between a falconer and the falcon, the detailed training required to achieve success, and the expressive nature of trained falcons in pursuit of prey.
This process develops a unique relationship between man and nature. A falconer can use a variety of birds for falconry designation, including sharp-shinned hawk, Cooper’s hawk, goshawk, red-tailed hawk, American kestrel, Merlin, gyrfalcon, prairie falcon and great horned owl.
Orem resident Shayne Clarke has been a master falconer for seven years, and loves this sport because, “It is a very unique experience to borrow something from nature, work closely with it, see its stunning beauty and then return it to nature.
“Few people ever get to witness the thrilling sight of a falcon tucked into a tear-dropped shape, diving from 1,000 feet at speeds of up to 200 miles an hour. It’s an impressive experience to witness what a falcon does in the wild. It is truly one of the great thrills of nature to watch these birds do what they were built to do.”
Clarke became interested in falconry as a young boy, after watching the movie, “My Side of the Mountain.” He got his start by trapping his first bird, a prairie falcon, using starlings as bait, and snares that don’t harm the bird. He likes to trap raptors in the wild rather than buying a raised falcon from a breeder.
“Wild birds are generally more experienced hunters, and have better hunting abilities,” Clarke said. “There is a certain challenge of training a wild bird that I have always enjoyed.”
Trapping is possible only with a raptor capture permit issued by the DWR.
According to Clarke, a wild bird can be trained and flying free in three to four weeks, with two hours of practice a day. The first steps of training involve building trust, and getting the wild bird to just sit and eat on the falconer’s fist.
Next the bird is taught to jump from a perch to the hand. The distance is gradually increased, and soon the wild bird, still flying with a tether, will fly across the yard to the falconer. The next step is training the bird to go after a lure, and soon they are ready to fly free.
“There is a lot of satisfaction in training a wild bird,” Clarke said. “It’s very challenging, but to me it’s worth it. I never get tired of looking at falcons, or even just admiring falconry art, like sculptures or photographs and especially watching these birds as a part of nature seeing what nature does.”
He is currently flying a prairie falcon that he has had for three years. Falconry is a passionate hobby for Clarke, who works at Novell.
According to the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, there are currently 270 active falconers in Utah. Falconers must be licensed, which is a detailed process that includes passing an examination, passing facilities inspections and applying for state and federal permits.
According to Arlow Wing, an office technician for the DWR, the licensing process is designed to allow qualified people the opportunity to own and care for raptors and protect raptor species.
There are three licensed classes of falconers. The classes regulate the types and amounts of birds that can be owned. Advancement from one class to another is based on the number of years of experience caring for, training and hunting with raptors.
The three classes of raptors are apprentice, general and master. According to Wing, falconers in the master class must have at least five years experience of training and hunting, and are allowed to care for up to three raptors.
Clark Monson, a Provo resident and BYU geography professor, is a master falconer. Monson has been flying falcons for more than 30 years.
“I became fascinated with falconry when I was only 10 years old, after watching a Sunday night Disney movie about falconry. What I enjoy most about falconry is the opportunity to have a close working relationship with a wild animal, and to be able to see what these magnificent birds do in the wild.
“It’s very exciting to see a predator use every bit of skill it can muster to fly 200 miles an hour and attempt to take prey and to watch prey use their skills to elude a predator. This is a basic drama of nature that few humans ever get to see. It is very exciting to watch.”
Monson has been a master falconer for 15 years, and has flown prairie falcons and goshawks, but currently has sharp-shinned hawks.
Over the past several decades of being involved in falconry, Monson has seen changes in Utah Valley that make falconry more difficult.
“When 1 first started to study falconry, I remember reading books published in the 60s that said some of the best falconry terrain in the country was along the Wasatch Front. That was probably true then, but now because of urban sprawl and private property it is difficult to find places in the valley to fly birds. Now sometimes it takes a two-hour drive to find good areas to fly.”
Monson says with his sharp-shinned hawk he can fly in urban areas using sparrows and starlings as prey.
Most falconers who have larger birds of prey like to hunt upland game birds and waterfowl when in season. The season for hunting upland game and waterfowl usually starts the same time for falconers as it does for shotgun hunters, but falconers get an extended season that goes through the winter. Upland game species include pheasant, quail, chuckar partridge, Hungarian partridge, sage grouse ruffled grouse, blue grouse, sharp-tailed grouse, cottontail rabbit, snowshoe hare, white-tailed ptarmigan, wild turkey, and migratory game birds like morning dove and band-tailed pigeon.
The falconry license also allows the person to use a raptor to take a coyote, field mouse, gopher, ground squirrel, jackrabbit, muskrat, raccoon, European starling, house sparrow and dove/feral pigeon.
Falconers generally must commit at least four to six hours a week to their hobbies, and two to three times that if they have two or three falcons to take care of and train. Good falconers are also able to diagnose and care for diseases that are common to captive birds of prey, and also must provide nutritional food supplies. Common foods include the prey the birds catch, and small commercially grown quail.
“This is a sport that requires a passion,” Clarke said. “It is a major commitment: Much like fly fishing is to a fisherman. You must study and learn all you can, and spend adequate time with your falcon to be an effective hunter. But to me it is definitely worth it. I just love to see these birds fly and to watch nature in action.”
Dave Dixon of Bluffdale is also a master falconer and has a permit to breed and raise falcons. Dixon is the president of the Utah Falcon and Raptors Breeders Association, and currently raises a variety of 70 different birds. His personal favorite is the gyrfalcon, but he said, “I really love them all. They are such beautiful creatures. He also breeds peregrine falcons, merlins, goshawks and some specialty hybrids.
According to Dixon, “Falconry shouldn’t be considered just a hobby; it is an all-consuming pursuit that becomes a lifestyle. It’s not like hunting with a gun. You can’t just hang your falcon up when you’re done like guns. They need to be fed and should be flown every day to keep them in top shape. But for those willing to commit to this lifestyle there are a lot of benefits, mostly just being able to work with these beautiful birds, and being able to watch them perform their natural process every day.”
Dixon said his group has more than 100 members and is steadily growing.
“Nationally the sport is growing steadily also, with about 3,000 falconers licensed in the United States,” he said.
Falconry presents: a vicarious hunting thrill
Falconry is the sport of kings and also the sport of several hundred falcon owners in Utah.
To these bird lovers, this sport brings together the challenges of training wild creatures and the thrill of watching these magnificent birds perform their stunning role in nature.
In the sport of falconry, a licensed falconer can go out in nature and trap a wild hawk, falcon or owl and train this aggressive raptor to hunt in cooperation with him, forming a unique bond of trust.
These falcons are taught to soar 800 to 1,000 feet above the ground as the trainer walks below attempting to flush out game. When a pheasant, duck, dove, rabbit or other upland game species is flushed from cover, the keen eye of the raptor perceives its prey, and begins its stunning hunting routine.
Tucking in their wings and folding to a teardrop shape, the bird plunges at speeds of up to 200 miles an hour attempting to knock down its prey. Sometimes they are successful, many times they are not and the hunt continues.
Many of the 3,000 falconers in America consider falconry an art, rather than just a sport, because of the high level of commitment between a falconer and the falcon, the detailed training required to achieve success, and the expressive nature of trained falcons in pursuit of prey.
This process develops a unique relationship between man and nature. A falconer can use a variety of birds for falconry designation, including sharp-shinned hawk, Cooper’s hawk, goshawk, red-tailed hawk, American kestrel, Merlin, gyrfalcon, prairie falcon and great horned owl.
Orem resident Shayne Clarke has been a master falconer for seven years, and loves this sport because, “It is a very unique experience to borrow something from nature, work closely with it, see its stunning beauty and then return it to nature.
“Few people ever get to witness the thrilling sight of a falcon tucked into a tear-dropped shape, diving from 1,000 feet at speeds of up to 200 miles an hour. It’s an impressive experience to witness what a falcon does in the wild. It is truly one of the great thrills of nature to watch these birds do what they were built to do.”
Clarke became interested in falconry as a young boy, after watching the movie, “My Side of the Mountain.” He got his start by trapping his first bird, a prairie falcon, using starlings as bait, and snares that don’t harm the bird. He likes to trap raptors in the wild rather than buying a raised falcon from a breeder.
“Wild birds are generally more experienced hunters, and have better hunting abilities,” Clarke said. “There is a certain challenge of training a wild bird that I have always enjoyed.”
Trapping is possible only with a raptor capture permit issued by the DWR.
According to Clarke, a wild bird can be trained and flying free in three to four weeks, with two hours of practice a day. The first steps of training involve building trust, and getting the wild bird to just sit and eat on the falconer’s fist.
Next the bird is taught to jump from a perch to the hand. The distance is gradually increased, and soon the wild bird, still flying with a tether, will fly across the yard to the falconer. The next step is training the bird to go after a lure, and soon they are ready to fly free.
“There is a lot of satisfaction in training a wild bird,” Clarke said. “It’s very challenging, but to me it’s worth it. I never get tired of looking at falcons, or even just admiring falconry art, like sculptures or photographs and especially watching these birds as a part of nature seeing what nature does.”
He is currently flying a prairie falcon that he has had for three years. Falconry is a passionate hobby for Clarke, who works at Novell.
According to the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, there are currently 270 active falconers in Utah. Falconers must be licensed, which is a detailed process that includes passing an examination, passing facilities inspections and applying for state and federal permits.
According to Arlow Wing, an office technician for the DWR, the licensing process is designed to allow qualified people the opportunity to own and care for raptors and protect raptor species.
There are three licensed classes of falconers. The classes regulate the types and amounts of birds that can be owned. Advancement from one class to another is based on the number of years of experience caring for, training and hunting with raptors.
The three classes of raptors are apprentice, general and master. According to Wing, falconers in the master class must have at least five years experience of training and hunting, and are allowed to care for up to three raptors.
Clark Monson, a Provo resident and BYU geography professor, is a master falconer. Monson has been flying falcons for more than 30 years.
“I became fascinated with falconry when I was only 10 years old, after watching a Sunday night Disney movie about falconry. What I enjoy most about falconry is the opportunity to have a close working relationship with a wild animal, and to be able to see what these magnificent birds do in the wild.
“It’s very exciting to see a predator use every bit of skill it can muster to fly 200 miles an hour and attempt to take prey and to watch prey use their skills to elude a predator. This is a basic drama of nature that few humans ever get to see. It is very exciting to watch.”
Monson has been a master falconer for 15 years, and has flown prairie falcons and goshawks, but currently has sharp-shinned hawks.
Over the past several decades of being involved in falconry, Monson has seen changes in Utah Valley that make falconry more difficult.
“When 1 first started to study falconry, I remember reading books published in the 60s that said some of the best falconry terrain in the country was along the Wasatch Front. That was probably true then, but now because of urban sprawl and private property it is difficult to find places in the valley to fly birds. Now sometimes it takes a two-hour drive to find good areas to fly.”
Monson says with his sharp-shinned hawk he can fly in urban areas using sparrows and starlings as prey.
Most falconers who have larger birds of prey like to hunt upland game birds and waterfowl when in season. The season for hunting upland game and waterfowl usually starts the same time for falconers as it does for shotgun hunters, but falconers get an extended season that goes through the winter. Upland game species include pheasant, quail, chuckar partridge, Hungarian partridge, sage grouse ruffled grouse, blue grouse, sharp-tailed grouse, cottontail rabbit, snowshoe hare, white-tailed ptarmigan, wild turkey, and migratory game birds like morning dove and band-tailed pigeon.
The falconry license also allows the person to use a raptor to take a coyote, field mouse, gopher, ground squirrel, jackrabbit, muskrat, raccoon, European starling, house sparrow and dove/feral pigeon.
Falconers generally must commit at least four to six hours a week to their hobbies, and two to three times that if they have two or three falcons to take care of and train. Good falconers are also able to diagnose and care for diseases that are common to captive birds of prey, and also must provide nutritional food supplies. Common foods include the prey the birds catch, and small commercially grown quail.
“This is a sport that requires a passion,” Clarke said. “It is a major commitment: Much like fly fishing is to a fisherman. You must study and learn all you can, and spend adequate time with your falcon to be an effective hunter. But to me it is definitely worth it. I just love to see these birds fly and to watch nature in action.”
Dave Dixon of Bluffdale is also a master falconer and has a permit to breed and raise falcons. Dixon is the president of the Utah Falcon and Raptors Breeders Association, and currently raises a variety of 70 different birds. His personal favorite is the gyrfalcon, but he said, “I really love them all. They are such beautiful creatures. He also breeds peregrine falcons, merlins, goshawks and some specialty hybrids.
According to Dixon, “Falconry shouldn’t be considered just a hobby; it is an all-consuming pursuit that becomes a lifestyle. It’s not like hunting with a gun. You can’t just hang your falcon up when you’re done like guns. They need to be fed and should be flown every day to keep them in top shape. But for those willing to commit to this lifestyle there are a lot of benefits, mostly just being able to work with these beautiful birds, and being able to watch them perform their natural process every day.”
Dixon said his group has more than 100 members and is steadily growing.
“Nationally the sport is growing steadily also, with about 3,000 falconers licensed in the United States,” he said.
