The North American Falconers’ Association Meet

As Ricochet's only resident falconer, I thought I would introduce you to this fascinating, ancient sport by relating my experiences last month at the annual meet of the North American Falconers' Association (hereafter abbreviated to NAFA).

NAFA has held an annual meet since its beginning in 1961. And what is a falconers meet? It's a gathering of falconers and their birds from all over for hunting, tall tales, and fellowship. This year, the meet was held in conjunction with the International Association for Falconry (IAF), so "all over" included Australia, Peru, China, Columbia, the U.K., and probably a few more countries that I'm forgetting. In total, over 300 falconers attended the meet, which was held in Kearney, Nebraska. It's been held there a few times over the years. The location for the annual meet is based on prospects for good hawking - hunting - for both of the two broad categories of birds used in falconry, falcons and hawks (eagles are lumped into the latter category). Falconers usually refer to these categories as "long wings" and "short wings", and so a location has to be found where both longwingers and shortwingers can expect to find quarry. This usually means some place out West. When my hawk was in his prime, I took him to meets in Colorado, Utah, Kansas, Texas, Oklahoma, Nebraska, and - surprisingly far east - Iowa. Different birds of prey hunt different types of quarries by different methods, and so a variety of quarry is looked for.

I was there as a vendor, selling my falconry-themed artwork. The vendors' area was opened in the evening after the evening's program. During the day, we were out hunting! This is probably best illustrated with photos, not words.

This is what hunting looks like when hunting rabbits with hawks. We go through woodlots and other likely spots for rabbits, beating the brush with sticks, trying to flush up quarry for the hawks, which are above us in the trees. As we move, the birds move too to stay above us. This falconer also used his Jack Russell terriers. When quarry is flushed, we all shout Ho! Ho! Ho! If the hawks aren't watching us, that gets their attention.

Here are two Harris Hawks. Unlike most birds of prey, Harris Hawks are fairly sociable, so one can fly several in a field together without risk of one hawk killing another (or at least, not as much of a risk). Harris Hawks are very popular birds in falconry. However, they are native to the Southwest and therefore can't tolerate cold temperatures, which makes them less useful for falconers in northern states. We had four Harris Hawks working together in this outing- the other two were in the trees.

Working around birds of prey has its risks! This falconer had his ear grabbed by one of his Harris Hawks when the bird was startled by a dog. The vest he's wearing is purpose-made for falconry and has compartments for equipment, hawk food, and quarry.

When the birds aren't hunting, they are often put out on their perches in what we call the "weathering yard". This is one of the weathering yards in Kearney. This yard contains mostly redtails (another popular falconry bird) though I see two goshawks towards the back. The longwingers have their own weathering yard, and here is one of its occupants, a beautiful white phase gyrfalcon.

Eagles - there are a few unique people who fly eagles - have their own yard as well.

Given the potential disaster that can come from having birds of prey next to one another, the yards are regulated and monitored carefully - perches must be a certain distance from one another, must be staked in the ground, the bird's equipment must be of a certain type, etc. A long-suffering warden takes on the job of keeping the weathering yards safe, which means he is not out hunting with the rest of us. NAFA has been around long enough so that it even has its own trailer that the warden uses for his equipment.

In the evening there are various programs. Because of the international aspect of this year's meet, we had a number of talks about falconry in other countries, including hunting red grouse on the moors in Scotland and the legal status of falconry in Australia. Here, a program is beginning on trapping passage eagles. "Passage" in falconry refers to a bird that is in immature plumage, though out of the nest and flying and hunting on its own. Falconers never take from adult populations of wild birds of prey.

After the program, the vending area opens. Here are sellers of falconry equipment such as perches, telemetry, hoods, and all manner of things falconry.

These are block perches which are usually used for falcons. The astroturf topping helps to keep the bird's feet in good condition as it prevents repetitive pressure points.

Here is a falconer trying a hood on for size and fit on her rather dark immature redtail. Hoods are used to calm the bird and control the amount and kind of stimulus it is receiving. The birds are trained to accept the hood.

I'll conclude this rather long post with a photo of my hotel room. I shared the room with another Minnesota falconer and her four birds - a kestrel, a Harris Hawk, and two peregrines. Here's one of the peregrines on my roommate's bed, and the kestrel is on a perch on the desk. I think this photo highlights the unique nature of my trip to Kearney!

Addendum: I was asked by Randy in the comments if I had a photo of my display. Here it is....though there is quite a bit of reflection off of the plastic coverings on the prints.