falconspace

Falconry still soars as sport
Hunters continue 3,000-year-old tradition in Iredell County
by Jack Horan, Special Correspondent, Charlotte Observer

UNION GROVE - Hank the red-tailed hawk scored five minutes into a hunt on an Iredell County farm, fast work for hawk or human.

But Hank wasn't a happy camper. He had just nailed a squirrel on the side of a tree and protested with shrill chirps after his owner, Jenifre McConnell of Garner, took away the squirrel.

McConnell tried to soothe Hank's discontent. "What happened to the squirrel? Where is he?" McConnell asked the red-tail, his gleaming eyes and sharp bill 8 inches from her face.

Here's what ruffled Hank's feathers. After catching the squirrel by the talons, Hank had carried it to the ground. McConnell retrieved the squirrel by "trading" Hank bits of meat for the dead animal. Husband Tim quickly hid it under a cloth.

"He has to choose, `do I want this squirrel or do I want this meat?' " apprentice hunter Jenifre McConnell explained. "He was unhappy the squirrel disappeared." She imitated Hank's petulance: " `I just had a squirrel, I'm hyped up, I'm hungry, what happened?' "

McConnell had just engaged in one of the oldest forms of hunting, falconry. She was among 35 falconers "hawking" on 1,000 acres of woods Nov. 11-12 during a meet sponsored by the N.C. Falconers Guild.

Falconry goes back 3,000 years. In North Carolina, falconry season runs Oct. 17-Feb 28, eight weeks beyond the standard seasons for squirrels and rabbits.

(S.C. falconers get no additional days for squirrels and rabbits, but do get an extended season for ducks, coots and mergansers. Falconers this year can hunt waterfowl Oct. 26 through Jan. 29.)

Falconry isn't an easy-entry sport. First, prospective falconers must take a written test administered by the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission. They must find a sponsor for a two-year apprenticeship and build a "hawk house."

After that, they must get a $100 federal permit and a $10 state falconry to capture a juvenile hawk (only between Sept. 4 and Dec. 31) and keep it.

To hunt, falconers must hold a hunting license.

"We're the most highly regulated sportsmen -- we fly birds," said Larry Dickerson of Statesville, president of the 100-member guild, which includes non-falconers.

While the wildlife commission lists 165 licensed falconers, Dickerson said about 85 actively practice the sport.

N.C. falconers mostly use red-tailed or Harris' hawks since they're adapted to catch local game. Falconers train their hawks, usually with a whistle, to fly back and perch on a thick glove. Hawks wear bells so falconers can track them.

After Hank settled down, Bill Ahern of Belspring, Va., released his two Harris' hawks, Zenora and Aztec, and two rabbit dogs, Blue and Trouble.

Red-tails will fight if put out in a pair but two Harris' will work together. The duo flew to a nearby stand of oaks and poplars and vanished in the bowers. Meanwhile, the two dogs bounded through brush, trying to flush a rabbit.

Ahern followed Zenora and Aztec by the ding-a-ling of their bells. After combing three stands of trees, the hawks finally found prey.

Scott Simpson, a 20-year falconer from Union Grove, saw frantic movement. "That looks like a squirrel chase," shouted Simpson. "Ho, HO! Squirrel!"

Eight falconers and friends tramped through briers and saplings. One hawk clutched a squirrel. The other flew in to get a piece of the action. In the melee, the squirrel escaped and dashed into a tree hole. Squirrels frequently get away, Simpson said, and use trickery to elude hawks.

"Sometimes you got to feel bad for the squirrel," Jenifre McConnell observed. "But I just love it (falconry). It's so conflicting."

Next, Bob Pendergrass of Salisbury turned loose his red-tail, Jermy. "All right, work the tree," he exhorted.

The hawk glided from tree to tree, peering through the foliage. Suddenly, Jermy spotted a squirrel, snatched it and flew 30 yards into underbrush. Pendergrass approached Jermy and traded bits of meat for the squirrel.

Hawks usually prefer meat morsels to tearing through a squirrel's hide to get to the flesh. At day's end, though, hawks get to eat their catches.

Then it was Beau's turn. Dickerson didn't know what to expect from the inexperienced, 6-month-old red-tail.

"Get 'em, Beau," Dickerson said. "This is his first time hunting with a group this big." But 15 minutes into the hunt, Beau dove for a squirrel on the ground.

The squirrel dashed into a thicket, scaring up a rabbit. Beau adroitly shifted his chase. But squirrel and rabbit safely scampered away.

The acrobatic chase thrilled not only Dickerson, but Simpson and the others.

"They're the masters in this sport, not us," Simpson said. "All we are, are the bird dogs."

WANT TO KNOW MORE?

Visit the web site of the N.C. Falconers Guild: www.ncfalconersguild.org.


[photo: JACK HORAN: Larry Dickerson and his juvenile red-tail hawk, Beau]