Tag Archives: milestone

Falconry Milestone: 5th Year of Falconry

Falconry Milestone: 5th Year of Falconry

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Falconry Achievement Unlocked!

 

Another Fall trapping season is upon us and it is with great excitement that falconry season begins in earnest again. Fall has always been my favorite season. You can read about my full appreciation and description of fall in a previous post. My love and appreciation for fall still holds strong and I’m excited as ever for another beautiful autumn season in Michigan.

Falconry educational events are clustered in the fall to coincide with annual bird migrations and fall hunting expos. These are great avenues that I continue to enjoy the role as falconry ambassador to folks who’ve never encountered a raptor up-close. Woods-n-Water, HawkFest, and Cranefest are just a few of the many fall events that include the Michigan Hawking Club. I’ve been attending these events for the past several years for the educational opportunities and also to get to hang out with many of my super-awesome-terrific falconry friends in the community.

It is also a Falconry Milestone for me as I embark on my 5th year of Falconry. Nothing spectacular happens to you in the 5th year, nothing special. This is my own hallmark and milestone as I continue my journey into the sport of Falconry. It is with great appreciation for nature, the falconry community, and the beloved raptors that have taught me everything I’ve learned about falconry. I continue my journey with no expectations and the anticipation of more wonderful falconry adventures to come. I have no destination in mind. I do not know where I’m going, but I know that the journey and the adventures will continue to amaze me!

4th Year Anniversary

Falconry Milestone:  4th Year Start

So it is with 4 Days remain until the official start of the trapping season, and I find myself reflecting upon the last three years of my journey.  I’m trying to keep it all in perspective as I embark on another chapter of the journey of life and falconry.  I won’t actually get out to go trapping until this coming Saturday, but I am still eagerly awaiting the day when I can go out trapping for my next falconry partner.

If you’ve been a regular visitor to the site, I’ve been counting the days for trapping season since about mid-June. The counter on the left has been continuously counting down.  This is as much of a ‘techie-gadget’ as it is an anticipation for the next major chapter in my falconry journey.  I’m looking forward to trapping this season with a good friend who just wanted to see how this was done. I’m sure we’ll have a  great day of it.

 

 

Apprentice Milestone

1 Year Apprentice Milestone

This week marks my first anniversary as an apprentice falconer.  Not a tremendous accomplishment, but I wanted to mark the occasion with a falconry milestone.  It was this week last year that I trapped my first wild red-tailed hawk and truly became an apprentice falconer.  One year left to complete my apprenticeship and we’ll be celebrating a different milestone next year.

I am truly grateful for all the help and assistance that I’ve received from the Michigan Falconry Community that is really supportive of young apprentices.  My sponsor and several other falconers have lent a helping hand to my and my first hawk. I am truly humbled by their years of experience and wealth of knowledge on the art and sport of falconry.

Most importantly, I can not write about reaching my goals as a falconer without mentioning the tremendous support from my wife.  All of her time, design effort, and collaboration discussions have made a difficult hobby / sport easily integrated into our busy daily life.  I am truly grateful for her assistance with this endeavor.

Falconry Signpost: The End of the First Season

The End of the First Season

I wanted to mark the end of the winter and the close of the rabbit season this weekend as a falconry signpost.  It’s the end of my first season with an Immature Red-Tailed Hawk. As previously posted, the moult will start later this spring and hunting season will officially close the last day of March. This is a personal milestone as the season was enjoyable and educational.  We now move on to inter-mewing a red-tail hawk for the summer while she molts her feathers. I was lucky to have minimal medical issues and no major injuries to Tahoe this first season, as is sometimes common with first-year birds and first-year apprentices.  I’d like to think I was taught well by my sponsor, that I did things properly without additional risk or carelessness, and that I was lucky.  With all these things, it is remarkable that it was uneventful. I’m sure there will be many more adventures, tall-tales, and stories yet to come in the many years of falconry that lie ahead of me.

-Chris