Have you contacted the texas hawking association? They are a very active club and there are a number of falconers in the DFW area.
Guess I'll join/email them today.
I wish North American Falconry and Hunting Hawks by Beebe and Webste and The Red tailed Hawk by Liam McGranaghan weren't out of print. No way can I afford those!
I wouldn't worry as much about getting the Beebe book as I would the McGranahan book. The NAFAHH is a tough book to find and has a lot of stuff you don't need (but it's great to have and read eventually--I have a copy)...McGranahan's book has a lot of good stuff in it and is worth tracking down (both have limitations and I disagree with things in both books that are at odds with my own experiences). One falconer's two cents
Post by FeatherSubordinate on Mar 16, 2013 12:15:43 GMT -5
I've been doing plenty of research and I've been thinking that I'd rather start of with a Harris's hawk instead of a Red-tailed. Is that legal for an apprentice in Texas?
I've been doing plenty of research and I've been thinking that I'd rather start of with a Harris's hawk instead of a Red-tailed. Is that legal for an apprentice in Texas?
Edit: grammar
Since you've been doing "Plenty of Research " shouldn't you know the answer to that question already ?
It is good to have an end to Journey towards, but it is the journey that matters in the End. - Ernest Hemingway
I've been doing plenty of research and I've been thinking that I'd rather start of with a Harris's hawk instead of a Red-tailed. Is that legal for an apprentice in Texas?
Edit: grammar
Since you've been doing "Plenty of Research " shouldn't you know the answer to that question already ?
there are some new Texas regulations that are much more lenient on apprentice falconers.
My Texas Parks and Wildlife package hasn't come yet and I can't find the new Texas regulations online. The Texas Hawking Association hasn't updated their apprentice information yet to reflect any new regulations.
Warning: I have very little experience when it comes to falconry. Don't take anything I say as fact. Do your own research and listen to your sponsor.
Go to your State DWR site and look for Falconry Regulations there. Generally speaking its up to your sponsor what kind of Hawks you will get to fly under your apprenticeship. Certain Native Species of Hawks per different state are allowed to be used by apprentices by regulation , In TX the HH is one of those birds. You might want to check your sources before you go and start thinking a HH will be easier to train than a RTH. they are much smarter than a RT and can figure out things faster but thats not always a good thing for a raptor handler who has never handled raptors before.
It is good to have an end to Journey towards, but it is the journey that matters in the End. - Ernest Hemingway
Technically, the answer is yes, in Texas, an apprentice can legally start out with a captive bred (or wild caught) Harris hawk. You can Google "Texas Raptor Proclamation" and read through the regulations and it's there. However, you have to do whatever your sponsor tells you to do, and I don't know too many General or Master level falconers that will let you have anything other than a red tail as your first bird (or a kestrel). If you live down south maybe you can talk a sponsor into letting you trap a passage Harris, but I highly doubt it.
Post by robhawkyyz on Mar 18, 2013 19:53:18 GMT -5
i have a hunch that we are going to start seeing harris hawks released where they are not normally seen, might be good if they can find a mate might not if it can't.. understand if you get a wild caught harris and it does not work out for you, you need to release it where you caught it if that is your plan or transfer it. it can be a long drive for them sometimes.