Everything I was hoping for and More

I can't believe how lucky I am. I was able to make it to the inaugural meeting of the Kentucky Falconry Association (KFA) on the third of January. It was all I was hoping for and then some, I was able to meet all sorts of men and women and make some great contacts.

The meeting kicked off with introductions and a brief "why are you here." Many of the guys there have been in the sport for many years, some as much as 40 years, others are still under apprenticeship, and others were simply visiting the park and were interested in seeing all the birds.

I have to admit I was really worried about being "an outsider", a lot of what I have read about becoming an apprentice has lead me to believe that falconers are an elite group and that it is hard to get "in" with them. While they are few in number (55 in KY, and about 7,000 nationwide)) that is simply crap, at least here in KY it is. Every single person I talked to was so enthusiastic about the sport that I felt right at home.

There really wasn't much exciting about the meeting, we simply discussed what the mission of the group was going to be, established a president, the interest in a summer family picnic and a winter meet (hunt) for later this year, as well as establishing dues so that we can have some finances for meeting space rental, etc.

The second most exciting part for me at least, not being around these magnificent creatures was when we took our break. Since we were at a public park, using a nature center of sorts, a few of the guys had agreed to do an education briefing for the public. It was a great excuse for anyone that had brought a bird to get them out and allow them to stretch their wings. It was so amazing, every single person there had brought a different species of bird and it was so incredible to see the wide variety of creatures that I will eventually be able to work with.

Birds from left to right, Back: Sharp Shinned Hawk, Aplomado Falcon, Peregrine Falcon, Harris' Hawk, Front: Red-tailed Hawk, Screech Owl, and Saker falcon

The most exciting part though came after the meeting had been dismissed. This was the opportunity to talk and catch up for old friends, or to make great new contacts for the guys like me. I ended up speaking with a guy I will call D, he is a gentleman that has been in the sport for multiple decades and brought with him a Richardson's Merlin (falco columbarius richardsonii). After most of the folks had left, it was down to D, two other gentlemen, and myself. D got his Merlin out, and was going to show her off a little since none of us had seen her hunting style before.

At one point he needed both his hands to get all his gear together but the bird was already out on his hand, he looked right at me knowing my experience and simply said "ya want her," took off his glove, and let me take responsibility of his bird. He let me handle her our entire walk down to an open area, and then he took the lead off that kept the bird safely secured to the glove and let me release her for free flight while he set up to work a lure he brought. It may have only been a small sampling but I cannot explain how amazing that was, it was a pure adrenaline rush like nothing I have experienced before.