Preparing for an Apprenticeship 

The first thing any prospective apprentice must understand is that falconry is not a sport or hobby but a lifestyle. Even on days you don’t actively hunt, train, or work with your bird, your hunting partner will require your attention and time for daily husbandry. There will be early mornings, late nights, freezing cold afternoons, and mid-morning outings that leave you soaked to the bone. There will be blood, guts, sweat, tears, mutes, mud, and the occasional mystery substance. There will be panic, anger, frustration, pride, joy, and happiness all unlike anything you’ve encountered. That is the curse and blessing of falconry; falconers must care for and appreciate their birds unconditionally, selflessly, knowing their feathered accomplices do not reciprocate the emotion put in. A wise falconer once said, “the true measure of a falconer is how much pain they can take,” that absolutely applies physically and mentally. These hard realities can be easy to dismiss or overlook in the excitement and throes of being a prospective apprentice but that is a mistake that will set you back in such a sport. Falconry is often romanticized in literature and nowadays on social media, but falconry takes grit. Falconry is real and it is messy, but it is an absolutely incredible thing to be a part of. 

Before even looking into finding a sponsor you need to do a self-evaluation of the resources you have available including but not limited to: time, finances, and space. 

First and foremost falconry takes a lot of time, at least thirty minutes a day to weigh and perform daily husbandry chores. Hunts can take multiple hours when factoring in time to drive and properly work a field. Time away from your bird can be hard to find, too; weekend trips and vacations also became a lot more difficult to plan since making arrangements for your hawk to be taken care of can be tricky to say the least. 

Secondly, falconry is an expensive sport since so much of the gear is highly specialized. That being said, with the guidance of a sponsor and some practice, many of the items on an apprentice’s “need to acquire” list they can make themselves (be sure to check our DIY page for tips and tutorials). 

Finally space and location is a factor that needs to be considered. There are successful urban falconers and there are falconers who thrive in the middle of nowhere; either way, what you have around you in terms of space to keep a bird and the quarry present will determine if falconry is a possibility for you. 

The bottom-line is, in falconry, your bird comes first. If there is an accident in the field and your bird needs an emergency (and possibly costly) trip to the vet, you are going to have to cancel your evening plans you’ve been looking forward to for months. There are times that falconers have been late to or completely missed work, school, vacations, and family events all because of the demands of their hawk; your bird must be a priority.

Once you have reflected honestly about your commitment to the sport and have decided to move forward, the next step is to start looking for connections in the community, with the eventual aim of securing a sponsor, a Master or General falconer who agrees to take you on as an apprentice for two years. 

The Basics

Falconry is hunting with a trained raptor. Apprentices spend a minimum of two years learning from another falconer (a sponsor) during which time Apprentices trap a Red-tailed Hawk or American Kestrel and train it to hunt cooperatively. This takes a lot of time and patience, with a lot of skill building and learning along the way. Some General and Master falconers have fine-tuned kiting and ballooning to get their large falcons to climb to 1,000s of feet and wait-on. The focus of an Apprentice is much more grounded: to teach their charge to pursue wild game in a cooperative hunt.

To be a successful Apprentice, you’ll need to have the passion and drive to work with a raptor to pursue wild quarry (rabbits, starlings, ducks, sparrows, quail). While raptor flight and education shows might impress you with falcons and hawks on the glove or even short flights, in falconry you set your hawk free and go hunting with it. This means that you need to be okay with the notion of hunting, of taking another creature’s life when helping your raptor dispatch quarry it has caught. These raptors are not pets, they are hunting partners, and they kill for a living.

Sponsors are looking for someone who:

• is able to make the significant commitment of time and resources necessary to become a successful falconer
• understands that falconry centers around hunting a trained raptor on wild quarry
• is committed to following the applicable laws and regulations as well as ethical standards for the sport 
• has read most of the available falconry manuals and is familiar with the basics

In the end, those who can show they have a passion and drive for hunting and the dedication to teach a hawk or falcon to hunt cooperatively with them, are more likely to get a sponsor and become an apprentice. Even still, those wanting to become apprentices need to have done their homework before approaching a sponsor. Keep in mind two years is a long time to volunteer to help guide someone into something as complex and time consuming as falconry (while still flying their own birds and living their own lives), so be sure that you understand the gravity of what you’re asking when seeking a sponsor. That being said, there are dedicated falconers who are looking to help teach and guide the next generation of people in the sport. 

Expectations for Apprentices and Sponsors

OFA created a set of recommended guidelines for Sponsors and Apprentices to help guide expectations for both parties. You’ll find a copy of those listed here both in Word (docx) and in PDF. While these are general guidelines, our hope is that they encourage clear communication on expectations from Sponsors and from Apprentices. With so many different sponsors and apprentices out there, this set of guidelines can help level the playing field of setting up the experience to be a success. OFA Sponsors and Apprentices Expectations and Agreement (Word) 

Give Hunting a Try

In case it hasn’t been said enough falconry is a hunting sport. One of the best things you can do is hunt, hunt, hunt! Get your license, get your hunter safety card (these are required for falconry anyways), and learn to hunt with a gun or bow. Hunt the quarry you’ll pursue with a raptor: ducks, quail, pheasant, upland game, starlings, rabbits, etc. If you are familiar with hunting, sponsors may be more likely to take you on as an apprentice. That being said, if falconry is your first introduction to hunting it can be manageable, it’s just going to take extra commitment to learn the new skill of hunting quarry on top of falconry. And keep in mind that hunting with a bird of prey is very different from hunting with a gun or bow so there will be a period of adjustment even if you have many seasons of hunting under your belt.

Are you still interested in learning more about what it takes to become an apprentice? If so, click here for How to Get Started and Falconry Books for Apprentices.