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From: miken@hpdmd48.boi.hp.com (Mike Nickerson)
Newsgroups: rec.birds
Subject: Re: Falconry: some unanswered questions thereupon.
Message-ID: <2730010@hpdmd48.boi.hp.com>
Date: 30 Jan 91 15:10:57 GMT
References: <1991Jan28.214012.9549@dartvax.dartmouth.edu>
Organization: Hewlett Packard - Boise, ID
Lines: 111

dragon@eleazar.dartmouth.edu (Sam Conway) writes about falconry.

Again I agree with most of what Sam writes.  However, I have a few
comments on this also.


> -- Where do the birds come from?  Are they mature or immature when they
>    are aquired?
> 
> That is the point that probably creates the most uproar, unfortunately.
> Sometimes the birds are taken as eggs from nests; this, however, gives
> you an imprinted bird, which won't have very much hunting experience,
> and will have to be taught.  Most falconers trap their birds as adults.
> Oh, I can hear the voices being raised already about this being a
> cruel thing to do.  Opinions vary on this point.  Just bear in mind
> that the birds are not trapped indiscriminately; they are carefully
> chosen by licensed professionals who are very careful to see that no harm
> comes to them.  Also, if the bird cannot be "manned", it is released.  There
> is no point in trying to get a hawk to do something that it doesn't
> want to do, and falconers are aware of this. 
> 

In general, each state has a time period ("season" if you will) when
falconers are allowed to trap birds in the wild.  In Idaho, this 
season is specifically determined so that birds may not be taken
until they have been out of the nest for a few weeks.  This keeps
nests safe.  It is possible to obtain a permit to get a bird from
a nest.  However, these are usually hard to get.

In Idaho, a falconer may only trap birds which are immature (less
than one year old).  Almost every raptor (American Kestrel one
exception) has some sort of identifiable change from immature to
mature plumage.  Therefore, the falconer can tell if the bird has
gone through its first moult (feather change).  If it has, the bird
has to be released.

Another source of birds is rehabiliation.  My wife has been working
with birds for seven years and has never trapped one in the wild.
She works with birds brought in sick or injured and flies the ones
which are capable.  They are then released if possible.

> -- Are there problems with people selling birds to each other, or 
>    other people/countries, and if so, is this legal or not?
> 
> There is a problem with this, and it is highly, HIGHLY illegal!  
> No bird of prey can be sold, no matter what the circumstances, to
> ANYONE, and if anyone is doing it, you'd better hope the Feds
> find you before I do!  *calming down*   There is still a problem
> with the illegal sale of peregrine falcons, which still are very
> much endangered in this country, to foreigners, particularly in
> the Middle East.  "Falcon Gate", as it is being called by some, was
> recently lauched by USFWS, and resulted in the arrest of a very
> prominent American falconer and well-known author on the subject,
> who sold an immature peregrine to an undercover agent posing as
> an Arab prince.  

This is almost but not quite true.  If a person has a valid raptor
breeding permit, they are allowed to breed birds in captivity.  
This requires more permits and yearly reports.  Birds which are 
raised in captivity are marked with a sealed band which may only
be placed on the bird when very young.  

Birds raised in captivity may be sold to other falconers with a 
valid permit to keep the bird.  There is a good market for hybrids
as well as some species.  In the case of peregrines, I think you 
have to be able to trace the lineage of your breeding pair back to
before the laws were passed.  (In other words, you couldn't go get
some peregrines from the wild and try breeding them.  It is illegal
to trap peregrines from the wild anyway since they are endangered.)
If all the above rules are followed, it is legal to buy and sell
raptors.

Many falconers use captive bred birds for various reasons.  Some 
people want hybrids such as gyrfalcon-peregrine, gyrfalcon-praire,
peregrine-praire.


> Remember...even if you, like myself, can't abide seeing a healthy
> bird kept in captivity, just bear in mind that the bird kept by
> a falconer is kept mostly of its own will, and is given many 
> opportunities to head back to the wild...which, eventually, most
> of them do take.  Falconers are probably the most capable people
> for the job, too.  It is in their own best interest to see to it
> that the bird gets the best of everything, so have no fear that
> the hawks are mistreated.

This might make you feel a little better.  Most of the knowledge of
raptors is concentrated with falconers and raptor rehabilitators.
This knowledge has been used to save the birds in the past.  For
example, when peregrines were threatened with DDT, it was falconers
who first noted their decline.  When the captive breeding program 
was started at Cornell University, it was started by falconers.
The peregrines used as stock for the breeding program came from 
falconers, zoos and rehabilitators.  (This captive breeding project
eventually became the Peregrine Fund).  I think it could be 
argued that the Peregrine Falcon wouldn't have been saved as a 
species if a relatively large number of falcons hadn't been preserved
because they were in captivity.


> -- 
> Sam Conway                             * What shape do you usually have?
> dragon@eleazar.dartmouth.edu           * Mickey Mouse shape?  Smarties
> Chemistry Dept., Dartmouth College, NH * shape?  Amphibious landing craft
> Vermont Raptor Center (VINS)           * shape?  Poke in the eye shape?
> ----------

Mike Nickerson
miken@hpdmd48.boi.hp.com
Hewlett-Packard
Boise, ID