“Sometimes, the best way to get involved is just to observe,” said Martello. They often go to outdoor expos and give educational “hawk talks,” showing off their birds, talking about how the sport works, and often fielding questions about how to get involved. Its members work with the Michigan United Conservation Clubs, as well as the Michigan Audubon Society, on various conservation projects, and many of them work to rehabilitate injured raptors. The Michigan Hawking Club is dedicated to the conservation of raptors and education about the sport of falconry. “The bird’s letting you hunt with it, not the other way around.” “It’s all about the different personalities and styles of the birds,” said Chris Martello, president of the Michigan Hawking Club. It is a relationship built upon mutual trust. Patience and an understanding of raptor behavior and biology are key in training, which helps establish the bird and falconer as a team. There are equipment and housing requirements, too, not to mention the time, energy and skill that go into training a bird. Several species of hawks and falcons are used in the sport, each with their own favored terrain, hunting style and quarry – meaning the hunting experience is just as varied and unique as the birds, the target game and the falconer. government leg band and a veterinarian’s certificate of health for the bird, there’s a lot that goes into the most heavily regulated hunting sport in Michigan – and that’s just to start.Īn apprentice can apply to become a general falconer, then master falconer as they gain more experience and training – each step with its own additional requirements, as well as type and number of birds they can legally possess. With a rigorous education and training process, it’s hard not to be.Īfter an intense exam, a mandatory two-year apprenticeship (if you can find a mentor), an approved DNR falconry permit in addition to a small game hunting license (at minimum), a housing facility inspected by a DNR conservation officer, a red-tailed hawk or American kestrel legally taken from the wild (with a general raptor capture permit and submitted falconry acquisition and disposition report), and an official U.S. There are currently 137 licensed falconers in Michigan, and they’re a passionate group. In Michigan, falconry – also called hawking – is a unique sport, and one that attracts people who love a challenge. Though they maintain a mutually beneficial partnership with humans, they are still wild animals – and that is what makes the sport of falconry so fascinating. From an Iranian king of the Pishdadian dynasty to European royalty in the 6th century to the modern-day Kazakh eagle hunters of Western Mongolia, birds of prey have helped humans hunt. Raptors – another term for birds of prey – have worked alongside humans for at least 3,000 years, and there is evidence that our partnership may be even older. Human-animal partnerships have existed for millennia, and many people, cultures and groups still rely on them today.
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