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Sport Once Reserved For Kings A Passion
For MacAlpine
by Misty DeLashmutt
The hunter emerges from the dark confines of the carrier, eyes keen and sharp, wings outstretched, bells jingling, eager to be airborne.
In a instance, the hawk springs from the man's gloved hand, soaring to the top of a nearby pine tree for a better vantage point, perched 'sharp set', ready for action. It's eyes are trained on a man and a dog.
The hunt begins.
On the ground below, the man begins to beat the waist-high brush with a long whip as a diminutive black and tan dachshund puts nose to earth searching for scent.
The hawk follows the man and dog, gliding from treetop to treetop, eager for prey. Only the bells on the leather jesses strapped to the bird's ankles reveal it's location in the branches.
A bobwhite quail furiously explodes from the cover of a brush pile, the hawk dives, deftly grabbing the quail in it's talons...the kill is silent, the hunt a success.
Falconry is the ancient sport of taking wild game in its natural state with a trained raptor. It is the only sport in America that uses a trained wild creature.
A practice originally used for subsistence and not sport, falconry dates back as far as 2,000 BC in Europe.
In the 6th century and throughout the Middle Ages, the popularity of falconry or hawking, surged in Europe where it was the sport of royalty for ages and a status symbol.
A strict set of customs, called the Law of Ownership, which dictated the social rank and ownership, governed falconry. For example, only a king could fly a gyrfalcon; a duke, a rock falcon; an earl, a peregrine; a yeoman, a goshawk; and a servant, a kestrel.
The sport of falconry remains strictly regulated by both the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Department, as well as the North American Falconry Association.
No longer governed on the grounds of status or class, the sport is regulated for the health and well-being of the birds of prey used for the sport.
Jim MacAlpine of Ord has studied and served a two year apprenticeship under a Master Falconer.
MacAlpine, a physical therapist by occupation, has spent the past nine years pursuing the sport of falconry. He apprenticed under Joe Shown of Stapleton, Nebraska, a Master Falconer.
In comparison to other styles of hunting, in which the purchase of a gun, a license and ammunition is all that is required, falconry is not an overnight achievement.
Becoming a Master falconer takes at least seven years; simply finishing the preliminary apprenticeship alone takes two years. The two year apprenticeship must be completed before an individual can even possess and train a raptor.
The classification, Master or General class, also puts limits on the type of raptor that can be owned.
"Master Falconers can possess and train any type of raptor, however as a general class falconer, I can only possess and train either a red tail hawk or a kestrel, both native raptors in Nebraska," said MacAlpine. "As a requirement for the General Class designation, you must trap and train your first bird yourself as part of the apprenticeship, after you receive your general class certification you can purchase a bird to hunt with."
Only 'passage' birds can be trapped by a falconer. Passage birds are juveniles that are not yet one year old. Adults bird of breeding age can not be removed from the wild population.
MacAlpine trapped his current red tail hawk in September of last year during the allowed falconry trapping season which runs from Sept. 19-Jan. 1.
"It takes approximately three to six weeks to train a hawk to respond to the whistle and come to glove, that is once you know what you're doing." said MacAlpine. "It's a little like Pavlov's dogs, you train the bird using a conditioned response to food. The bird isn't attracted to me, there is no 'bonding' or affection, it simply is conditioned to relate me to food."
Raptors in possession of a falconer must be weighed every day to maintain an optimum hunting weight.
"You want the bird to be in hunting condition," said MacAlpine. "It has to be in good physical shape yet slightly hungry or it will be lazy and won't hunt. An over-conditioned bird will be more likely to fly away and not respond to the whistle and come to glove."
The optimum hunting weight for MacAlpine's red tailed hawk is 2 lbs. 3 oz.
To date, MacAlpine has taken 58 rabbits with his red tailed hawk during the falconry season, Sept. 1- Mar. 31.
Rabbits are the primary hunting prey, although occasionally small game birds, such as quail, are taken.
When the season ends this month, MacAlpine will begin to prepare to release his hawk back into the wild. He will increase the caloric intake of the bird to ensure that he has several days of fat stored prior to release in case the hunting conditions are poor. Once a location with good habitat and food sources is found, MacAlpine will release the hawk and return daily to check on it's condition.
"Generally, the bird will hang around the area for a week or so. If he isn't doing well and having success hunting on his own, when I whistle he will come to the glove," said MacAlpine. "If he's doing fine, he'll ignore me because he's not hungry and no longer associates me and food. Some falconers keep their birds year round, I prefer to return mine to the wild when the hunting season is finished. To me, that's the way it should be."
Next September, Jim MacAlpine will trap and train another hawk for the season.
"I enjoy the training process and every bird is a little different," he said. "It keeps things interesting and I'm always learning more with every new bird."