Equipment

I was trying to put together some anklets last night, and figured out quickly that I am not overly qualified to do so.
I had a hard time hole punching my glove, so my husband did it. Then I had a hard time setting the grommet, so my husband did it. Then I felt like, maybe I am not so great at leather work, if I lack the strength to even punch a little hole in the leather. But I think there are kits available, that you use a hammer to punch the holes, and maybe that would be easier, the type grommet setter I borrowed, may be easier than the type that looks like pliers, so I can start using that.
Also, my husband had some small grommets and setter, but they are MUCH smaller than what my sponsor is using, and I will have to ask him if it will be of any use to me.
But here is all that I was able to accomplish last night....

That Test was VERY HARD!!!

OK If you are going to take the test in Missouri, or any other state for that matter, you have to read NAFHH...or you will be lost!!! There are so many questions from that book, (which I haven't read) that I will be surprised if I passed with a higher score than an 80%!!!! There were enough questions that I was sure of, or mostly sure of, that I think my average will be high enough to pass, but I am pretty sure that I need to read that book, to know some of that stuff anyways.....SO....good luck...if you are preparing for the test....you have to read that book and it is no quick read, I can tell you that!!!!
Heck, lets wish me luck, while we are at it, because I am not entirely sure that I passed!!!!WHEW....I hope I don't have to retake that thing!
I am going to go make some anklets and jesses, and take my aggravation out on the leather!!!!


EDIT: Passed with 85%........I still think all should read that book! :)

I think I am sponsored!!!

Today I met with a Master falconer in my area. We talked for a long while and discussed what I need to do after the test to prepare for my license. I am looking at books now to learn to make the anklets and jesses.
I have gathered things from the garage, My husband's left welding glove (hope he won't miss it!), some nylon twine for a creance, and his leather working tools.
My mentor gave me a few grommets and loaned me his setter, so I can get going on that. I found a sizable scrap of leather that I think is of the appropriate weight, and I will begin that project sometime tomorrow I hope...although I will have the test tomorrow, as well!!
I was fortunate enough to be loaned his copy of NAFHH, which is rather hard to come by!! So, I am skimming it's pages and trying to calculate in my head how to not get ahead of myself, yet, get the job done right!!! It is easy to get caught up in reading and research and forget that there are things to be done to prepare and elsewhere!!
I am going to start sketching out the mews/weathering area, and begin gathering the legally required and necessary tools of the trade...so it seems we will be progressing much faster than I have anticipated!!
And I will be needing to make a GH, soon, if we intend to trap a hawk.
Let the trial by fire begin!!!
More soon!

Testing

I have scheduled my test for this Monday, and I am very nervous and excited about it. I hope that I have studied enough to get through it! But no matter how much you know, there is always more to learn. I have been writing emails and letters to local falconers in hopes of finding someone who will allow me to hang out with them.
I have made contact with only one out of four people I wrote to, via snail mail.
He seems nice, and has invited me to come visit him and his peregrine falcon. I can't begin to describe my excitement, and everyone close to me wants me to shut up, because I am so excited about this meeting. A sponsorship may follow, but at the very least, a friendship and hunting buddy would be great too. I am nervous about it all and I am considering rethinking my idea to wait until next fall to trap a hawk. If all turns out well, it may happen long before that!!!
I am planning in my head what the mews will look like and what kind of equipment I will need to procure in order to be legal and licensed. I have some budget constraints, since Christmas is coming up and my son's 8th birthday shortly after. But I will try to do what I can with what I have and upgrade later. I will bring my camera and take pictures if my new friend allows. I can't wait till this weekend!!!

Study Information

For the Missouri test I have been studying the California Hawking Club's Study Guide, and the online falconry test. The test can only be used on internet explorer, not Mozilla Firefox. :(
The online quiz, I believe is located at:
http://www.onlinefalconry.com/USFederalFalconryExam.htm

there is also a practice test at the Arizona falconry association website as well, but I haven't really been using it much. I hear it is a good idea for those states that are not still using the USFW one.

I have been studying the online quiz questions, which are also found in the CHC resource. I purchased the apprentice manual as well, but it is not neccesary for studying the test, only the state regulations and the chc are needed in Missouri...from what I have been told.
I have heard from several people that test in other states are harder than here and require more studying. NY I think and AZ being the ones that stick out in my mind.
I have also been told not to do too much outside reading before the test, as the tests are dated and you still must know the answers that they had then.
The books I bought first:
Peterson's field guide to Hawks of North America
Birds of North America (golden, actually this one was just laying around the house)
National Geographic Birds of North America.
I also bought a folding pocket guide to Hawks, just for a quick reference while hawk watching.
I then purchased Falconry and Hawking by Phillip Glacier
and I am waiting to receive Hawks in flight by Clay Sutton
and The Red tailed hawk by Liam Mcgranaghan.
I decided to also purchase the falconer's log book (Oakes) because I thought it would be helpful in record keeping when the time comes. And I got the coloring book for the kiddies!!
hopefully these will be coming in soon.
I had spent all morning ringing the MDC phone, until I was told it is Columbus day, so I promptly gave up!!! But I am going to schedule my test and go for it. I have been studying for a week solid and feel like I have a grip on the info. that I have, so I will just test, wait and see. If I fail, I have to wait 90 days to retake. If I pass, I will need to find a sponsor.
I have however, been reading the Glasier book, and it is good. It took me a while to figure out that a car's bonnet is it's hood, but that is not exactly a falconry thing, just a "Misty really needs to travel more" thing! I guess I just am not hip to the British terminology, but that is why we call it a context clue!! you have just got to read into it.
A note:
Last year, when I first began to read about falconry and Hawks in general, I was so confused when I tried to get through any of the study guides and everything else.
I encourage anyone reading the Study guide to read it once, just to become familiar, then read it a second time, as if your answers really count and see how much you have retained. You won't know all (or perhaps any) answers the first time around, but keep in mind, the first time around you really didn't know anything about the topic. So keep reading, and rereading. Eventually it will start making sense. And don't expect to know what to do besides take the test, because that is about all this information is good for (the CHC and online test anyways, not the books!)

So that is where I am. Tomorrow I will be calling to schedule the test, and waiting on that. I am going to reread the CHC, and feel prepared. We will see how it goes from there.
BTW I scored 101 of 102 which is 99.02% on the online quiz today. Yea!!:)
So here we go.

my next posts will likely be about my new books, and online links that I have been finding.
If you are interested in seeing Hawks in action, try You Tube. If you are interested in seeing them in the wild, go to National Geographic. They have great videos!

Why I am starting this Blog

I really wanted to document in some way my education in the art (or sport, if you must) of Falconry.
It is hard to say what the first instance I was introduced to Hawking. I think at a young age I read a book called "Juniper" by Monica Furlong. I would have been a preteen when that book was published. I used to study all sorts of magic and healing and spiritual things then. The curiosity of a little girl. I remember really loving the book. ( I ordered it earlier today for $.01 on amazon, just for old time's sake!)
I think she had an owl, or at least that is what is on the cover. So I liked the book, it was mysterious and magical and all that.
Later, (actually a few years ago) bored on a cold winter day at my in laws, I came across a book called "my side of the mountain" by Jean Craighead George. My father in law was an elementary school teacher, so again, we're talking a fifth grade reading level at best. But a pretty good and quick read nonetheless, and what's more? Well, falconry. The run away boy trains a falcon. (I think I may go down to their basement and accidentally misplace that book for them, too)
Well I think that is about it for literature of my formative years. But either book would be a good read for the kids, I enjoyed them for their own virtues, and was not at all linking them with Falconry in my mind. In fact I don't think the word Falconry had ever come to mind.
Well, then there was the history channel with the "worst jobs in history" where apprentices carrying cadges had to follow the falconer over all sorts of rough terrains with cadges of 4-6 hawks perched around them. A spectacle I am sure, but the hawk flying footage was fantastic. And then I said to my husband: you can do that?? you can train a raptor to hunt and return to you? Unbelievable.
So obviously, that led to intensive google searching, not to mention quite a bit of soul searching.
Silly....well, just my story. I am a little silly, too. But that doesn't change how I feel about it.
The more research I did, well, the more research I had to do.
i went through the usual routes of the conservation department and the state falconer's. I have joined a forum and made a contact or two...and more to come I hope.
That is what has lead me here. To document "What next?" from my very own, very real perspective.
I am sure there are a lot of falconer's out there with much, much more interesting stories about what initiated their interest in falconry. And probably about twice as many people who thought about it, did the initial research, threw their hands in the air and gave up. Or maybe in more extreme cases, ran away screaming! Or so I hear.
Well, this is it. I have a few poems to share. Which probably won't have to do with much of anything, except for maybe a resonance of what I feel about these animals. How I feel when I see them soar and feebly wonder what that kind of uninhibited freedom is like. I will probably never get that into words.

But this blog will be my attempt at not only record keeping, a place to post photos (hopefully) and results of my coming testing. For now I will have to start only with this introduction, a little bit of advise on how to find information, and what I am doing, reading, or even thinking about this new endeavor. This new way of life.
As I have yet to begin my formal training, I soon start posting links for online research, for quizzes, for anything I can find, to further my knowledge of Falconry.

Dust of Snow by Robert Frost

The way a crow
Shook down on me
The dust of snow
From a hemlock tree

Has given my heart
A change of mood
And saved some part
Of a day I had rued.