There are many reasons for owning or wanting to own animals or birds, some far easier to explain that others. Man has caught and in many cases domesticated wildlife for thousands of years. It is very much a part of our evolution and history. I know of no culture, worldwide, that does not keep some sort of animal as ‘pets’, albeit that they may be eaten in hard times. For some humans it is the only way they can communicate with another living thing. For many of us, life without the physical presence of living things other than humans would be intolerable.
There is something very special about birds of prey. They have fascinated humans for centuries, and I can well understand what draws certain people to them and to falconry, even though I accepted them so naturally, being born and brought up with them. They are without doubt very beautiful and fly superbly. Perhaps part of the attraction is because raptors are hunters and mankind is still very much a hunter. So to watch raptors hunting has, for many people, a particular interest.
Birds of prey have a long history with man. Falconry is possibly four thousand years old and the relationship that one has with a bird is very special and totally different from that with a domestic animal such as a dog. Dogs fit in with man, usually trying to please him. Raptors are far more independent. Much as I love my birds and know them well, I don’t think they would pine if I dropped dead tomorrow, but my dogs would definitely miss me. Yet when a dog comes when called, it is not so special as when a bird comes back. I suppose it’s the element of air that makes the difference, or part of it. If the dog doesn’t come you can eventually chase it and catch it, but unless you can fly, you can chase a bird all day, end up very bad tempered and still not get airborne.
As with all outdoor and indoor pastimes, falconry is becoming increasingly popular. But not all those entering it are learning the techniques before getting a bird, and many don’t realise the long-term commitment that is required to do the birds, and the sport, justice. This is starting to cause problems. Some think that falconry is what they have seen from a flying demonstration, which may well have been a poor one. The trouble with such a demonstration is that, done well, the birds should fly well and the whole thing look very easy—unfortunately it looks much too easy for those who fancy trying it themselves.
People with sporting dogs who have watched well trained dogs in gundog and obedience tests, will know the problems when trying to get their own dogs to behave even half as well, and the same thing goes for birds. Falconry demonstrations are not falconry, they are just a demonstration of some of the training methods with, one hopes, necessarily first-class birds. The difference between them and falconry itself is like the difference between a gundog demonstration and going out on a good shoot with your dog to point or pick up. They are worlds apart.
One of the biggest worries with inexperienced people trying to train birds is when things start to go wrong. And this is also the time when a falconry book tends to be not a lot of use. With dogs and horses (and humans), if the training goes wrong, in most cases you just end up with a badly behaved one of whichever it is. If things go wrong in training birds of prey the mistakes will probably result in the death of the bird. It is very easy to kill a bird with inexperience and very easy to lose one which is not ready to fend for itself.
Using books as sole reference is definitely not the way to learn falconry. As an aid to falconry they are vital if they are good, but I think that at the moment the only sensible and responsible way to learn the techniques of falconry in this country is to go on a reputable falconry course. In this way you can find out if you are the right person to have a bird, see if you really have the patience to cope with it and learn about most of the problems, the amount of time needed and all the techniques in handling and training a bird without harming or killing it. The only other alternative in Britain is to try to find a good falconer who has the time and the inclination to teach you. They are hard to find. Few people have the time to give to beginners, or may not have the talent to pass on their knowledge. If you can’t afford the time or expense to go on a course, you certainly can’t afford to take up falconry because it is both time consuming and expensive.
Because The NBoP Centre has been established for such a long time and is readily available to people who think they want to start falconry, we tend to see most of the problems that can be encountered. I suppose that is why I have written this book. As so often stressed already, I believe it is very important to ask anyone planning on taking up the sport of falconry, trying to captive breed or just keeping birds, to think before they do it. To be quite frank, I would like some people who are already involved to look at what they are doing and how they are doing it, and perhaps change things a little.
There are very few people who can fly more than one bird and give the flying time to do it or themselves justice, particularly with hawks and buzzards. In fact I would go as far as to say that 95 per cent of birds flown in this country are not fit, not by a long way. In this I am not even counting birds owned by the ‘Robin Hood falconers’ who don’t even fly their birds but pose with them instead, perhaps wandering around at shows where they know there is going to be a falconry demonstration, or taking them to the pub. Far more people would have excellent birds if they flew one bird well, at least four times a week and preferably more, thus giving the bird the chance to get fit and therefore confident.
When flying falcons, more than one can be flown, although even those who are lucky enough to have permission to fly over grouse moors and can take several falcons to hunt with, are pushed to fly more than three birds well. Those who have and take up to seven birds are just downright greedy in my opinion and I would be very surprised if any of their birds are of good quality. And yet there is at the moment quite a large number of private people keeping well over the number of birds that could possibly be flown well. Many of them are kept tethered, not even with the chance of breeding. This puts pressure on falconry. There is no way I can justify anyone keeping a bird tethered if it is not being flown. There are already a number of groups who are starting to attack falconry, along with other forms of hunting and keeping animals, such as the zoos which they already target. Keeping excessive numbers of birds without a valid reason is perfect ammunition to those groups. I am getting more and more aware of the numbers of societies who are jumping on the bandwagon to stop humans from keeping any wildlife in captivity.
All this may be a little hypocritical coming from someone who has over two hundred birds here. It certainly sounds bloody hypocritical. But please remember that The NBoP Centre has been in existence since 1966. The birds are here to do a very different job from the normal falconer’s bird. They are public relations people for their own species, teaching the general public about raptors and conservation. At the same time they lead a very valuable existence breeding in captivity, thus giving us far greater insight into the birds and hopefully ensuring their future. With the help of dedicated staff, we fly up to thirty birds a day during the summer months. However when it comes to falconry rather than demonstration work, I and my staff only have one hunting bird each, if that.
All the birds here at the Centre have a purpose, either breeding, demonstration work or hunting. If a bird is not needed here for any of those jobs, or cannot fit in with our way of life, it is offered to others who may be able to do it more justice than we can. The only exceptions are those birds who have served us for many years either flying or breeding and who are now too old for the job. These retire with us here.
I am sad to say that this is not always so with others. I know of a case where a Peregrine, imported seventeen years ago and who had, one can only assume, outlived its usefulness, was released out into the wild to fend for itself. The bird was found and brought to us. It had bumblefoot which it had obviously had for some considerable time, and one useless toe. As I was told roughly when it had been released, it was pretty clear to me that these injuries were with the bird before that. He was close to starvation, dehydrated, exhausted and generally pretty ill. He stayed with us for several days and then, against my better judgement he was returned to his owner. I don’t know if the bird survived, I can only hope so, for I have not been informed. One can only hope that the person in question does not do the same thing to his family in their old age.
A very sick and elderly Peregrine, who should have been lovingly retired
As with a dog, your bird should be for life.
The forces against keeping any living creature in captivity are growing all the time. It is important to keep an open mind and try to understand why this is happening and try to see the other point of view.
I don’t believe that it is wrong to have animals in captivity, or I would not be doing what I do. Birds of prey, if kept properly, certainly take to captivity very well. If each individual bird is well looked after, if the wild population is not affected by having members of its species in captivity and if there is a good reason for having these birds then who am I, or anyone else, to say that it shouldn’t be done.
Each falconer or breeder or keeper of birds of prey is, however, at all times a public relations man for his hobby and should always remember this when handling birds particularly when he may be seen by others. Always take time to answer questions politely without being too encouraging. Don’t do things like feeding day-old cockerels on the fist in front of people; it does not endear raptors to those members of the public who are far less used to seeing a bird eat meat than you are.
When people phone us wanting a bird our first concern is why do they want it. Some callers name the species, sex and age of bird they want, in which case we know a little of what we are dealing with and then follow the normal procedure that we have evolved. Sadly we also get calls from people who just ‘want a bird’ not knowing what sort they want or why they really want it. The only criteria that seems to interest them are the different prices involved—preferably wanting the cheapest bird available. This is not the right attitude to have to any living creature, yet in these cases when we ask why they want a bird, some callers get angry and upset. This is a great shame as it is not our intention to appear superior or unpleasant, we are only interested firstly in the welfare of the birds and, secondly, the welfare of falconry. We are also concerned that the person wanting the bird will eventually get the right one for him and the area in which he lives, thus giving the new bird and owner the chance of a long and happy relationship.
Have You Time?
The first question that anyone should ask themselves is whether they have the time to look after and fly a bird properly. During the initial training period you will need at least an hour of daylight per day. This is normally easy as young birds should be ready for training in summer when daylight hours are long. Once you have started hunting the time needed varies from one hour to five or six depending on how successful you are and the availability of quarry.
Never forget that although you may have planned just a quick hour’s outing before getting to work or whatever, your bird may decide that this is the day it is going to be difficult and not return for several hours and perhaps not until the next day. This will leave you with a huge problem. Do you leave the bird and go to work hoping it will still be there on your return? This is unlikely, even if you are able to see anything in the pitch dark. Do you persevere with the bird and not get to work? How long will you keep your job, if this happens on a regular basis?
Still on the subject of time, how will your family feel if you are out hawking every weekend during the winter months? There is a high rate of divorce among falconers and if you care for your family, is it fair to spend all your time with a bird, albeit of the feathered kind?
You may have no family, no problems with lack of time because of your job, but what happens if you want to go on holiday? Do you take your bird with you, will the hotel appreciate crap all over the bedroom walls? In my experience they are, quite rightly, not over keen. Have you got a friend who is experienced in looking after birds and will have the bird for you and keep it safe? Is there someone experienced with whom you can leave your bird, and who will stay in your house while you are away, and if he has his own birds will he bring them with him? Are those birds healthy or might they bring a disease to your birds?
I had a telephone call from a lady in the Midlands one summer. She had been left with a Ferruginous Buzzard to look after, by her neighbour. The bird had got tangled in its chain and she was too frightened to handle it, but in the meantime it was injuring itself. I don’t know why it was on a chain, but when she got somewhat unpleasant I did ask her why she had taken on the responsibility of a creature that she had no experience with and of which she was frightened. She expected me to leave here and drive up and help the bird. Eventually we managed to find a falconer close by to go and help it, but the problem should never have arisen. No falconer in his right mind should even consider asking someone who is not experienced in handling birds to care for his birds while he is away. The person solely responsible for that problem was the owner of the bird. Ask any bird-keeper when his birds usually decide to get ill, escape, get eaten by a fox or whatever; most of them will tell you that it is while they are away.
Connie at a frozen pond
The time problems are endless and time itself must be given to thinking about how to deal with them. Don’t think that I am trying to put people off falconry or generally keeping birds; I just want everyone to think ahead and look at possible problems before they arise. Think them out before committing yourself and your family, if you have one, to the time aspects of keeping a living bird.
Land; Have You Permission?
The next question to ask yourself, is can you get permission on local land to fly a bird at quarry. Unless you can do this there is little point in getting a bird to fly in the first place. Almost no landowner will give you permission to fly at pheasants for nothing, particularly if they are putting pheasants down for shooting. The only sensible way to have pheasant hunting is to do what the shooting people do and buy your own hunting rights. This is very costly and far beyond the pocket of most of us, although there is nothing to stop anyone getting together a syndicate of falconers and making the cost more reasonable. Much the same goes for partridges and grouse.
Rabbits however are a different matter and most farmers are pleased to have them caught. Still, whatever it is you are hunting remember that unless you are very lucky, the land is not yours. Most farmers think of their land as their garden and like to have it treated with respect. Think how you would feel if you gave someone permission to walk through your garden and they went straight over your flowerbed, left the gate open or broke the fences.
We nearly always phone or try to phone the people who are kind enough to let us fly on their land and tell them we are coming. Once the bird is going well enough for others to see something, we ask the landowner if he would like to come out and see the bird work. A Christmas bottle of whisky or gin does not come amiss as a thankyou for permission to use land. If the land is used badly and the owner feels misused, it will be to the detriment of all of us in the long run.
Can You Afford It?
Question three will have to be whether you can afford it. To keep a bird properly and safely you will need all the necessary equipment (see chapter 3). Going by 1992 prices a bird will cost you anything from £200 to £2000. A falconry course will also have to be paid for and the cheapest will almost certainly not be the best. The bird will need the services of a vet at sometime in its life.
Before starting in falconry, price it out. Remember building materials and labour, be it your own or someone else’s. All of these are expensive, so price it just the way you price a car or a holiday or a new garage, then add another 10 per cent more for the buggeration factor.
What Type of Bird?
The type of bird you will end up with, if you decide to go this far is dictated not by what you want, but by what is most suitable for the area you live in and intend flying the bird over. I would suggest through experience that it is not a good idea to have hunting grounds a very long way from where you live. This not only cuts down the time out flying with the bird, which in turn cuts down on the bird’s fitness, but makes life very difficult if your bird gets lost and you have to go miles to get to where it was last seen.
I sometimes wish that more notice was taken of what different raptors do in the wild. If you look for example at Ferruginous Buzzards you will find that they live in the open prairies, soaring a great deal in strong winds and nesting either on very small juniper trees, on the ground or on low rocky outcrops. Where they come from there are no trees with branches like the usual trees over here, they have all been stunted and the birds sit right on the tops. Yet I have had people tell me that their bird is useless because it won’t go into trees and sits on the ground. That’s what they are supposed to do; they have spent thousands of years evolving to do just that as they have had few other options.
A little research into the habits of any species of raptor in the wild, will lead to a far greater understanding of the bird in captivity. I am delighted to say that it does work the other way as well and few ornithologists will ever have the intimate understanding that a good falconer gets with a species worked with over a long period.
So look at the ground you hope to fly your bird over, look at the quarry you hope to hunt and then find out what species will fit into those categories. It is a good idea to also look at yourself a little. If you are short on time or patience then it is best to forget the true hawk families as they require a great deal of both. It is always a good idea to match the temperament of the bird with the temperament of the human.
Do You Want To Hunt?
I suppose another question should be, do you want to hunt with a bird? There are now people who do not want to do this, but just want to either fly a bird to the lure or have it as a pet. As a falconer I really don’t approve of this. Birds of prey hunt naturally, and if you fly one this is the whole point—to see what the bird does naturally. However I can understand what some people want to do, though if this is the case they too should lay down some rules for themselves.
Firstly, if you are actively keeping a bird not to hunt and just as a pet then you cannot call yourself a falconer. Remember that although it is a pet to you, your bird may well not be a pet to others, and so you should only fly a bird where it will not upset other members of the public. Nor is a good idea to take any bird of prey through crowded places such as the local high street, not because it is dangerous but because people tend not to expect birds of prey at close quarters in towns and can get upset or frightened. Such conduct can be irresponsible, and is not good for birds of prey in general.
There may be a time when your bird catches something. You must, then, be prepared to go in quickly and help it kill whatever it has caught, even if you don’t hunt because you don’t like killing. That is your responsibility and, if you don’t take that responsibility, you should not have the bird.
The number of birds that will take to pet-keeping are very few. I would say that only Kestrels and Common Buzzards are suitable (remembering that I generally do not approve anyway). These two species are pretty lazy, and given a good supply of food will not normally bother to hunt if no effort is made on the part of the owner. I do not think owls make good pets once they are adult.
Whatever bird you want and whatever the reason you want it, the subject should be researched properly first. The same should be done if you wish to take up captive breeding. Most of the information required is to be found if you look for it. Then when you have researched and know roughly what is involved ask yourself ‘Is it for me’?
