Falconry
Falconry
Falconry is the skill-set of training birds of prey usually for the goal to hunt small wilderness critters in their natural habitat. One who practices falconry is called a ‘falconer’. The art of falconry is an ancient survival skill and is employed in modern times for both hunting and as a hobby.
Related Skills
- Animal Husbandry will aid the falconer in caring for it’s bird off the field of hunting. This is if the Falconer wishes to house and care for the bird themselves rather than pay for this to be done.
- Animal Taming is only useful is the experiences Falconer wishes to tame a wild bird of prey into becoming its next falconry subject.
- Medicine will be extremely useful in case of emergencies or simple health problems of the bird.
Related Equipment
There are many pieces of equipment needed to keep and train a falcon or other bird of prey. Some are optional while most are not. Do not expect to host a falcon without most of these tools. There are more tools used in falconry than the ones explained here. These items are considered the most common and most important.
- Hood: The most important tool a falconer has in their arsenal. A hood is a small leather pouch that is slipped over the birds head and covers its eyes. There is one large hole at the bottom of the hood for the neck of the bird and another smaller hole on one side for the birds beak. On the top of the hood is an extension of some sort, either a stiff leather string, a leather hoop or other type of extension that the falconer holds to place the hood on the bird safely without the risk of injury from a resisting falcon. The hood acts as a calmer. Unlike humans, when a bird cannot see it becomes calm and does not fight against its master. The hood is worn by the bird when held and only taken off during training, free flight or at rest in its mew.
- Jesses: Strips of long and very strong leather tied to the birds feet. The jesses are used to hold a bird on the masters arm and prevent it from flying away when not on a leash. Jesses often need to be oiled in order to stay supple. Jesses also allow falconers to tie their birds to a perch. There are two types of jesses; mew jesses and flying jesses. Mew jesses are used to tether the bird while manning it and are long and thick, much less likely to snap with stress. While flying jesses are thinner and much shorter as to not bother the bird whilst hunting but still enough to hold the bird down when it returns.
- Gloves/Gauntlets: A glove is needed to hold a bird on the hand. Birds of prey, in order to catch and kill food, have sharp talons and when resting on a trainer’s bare hand will cause injury. Gloves are made from thick leather and usually cover the hand and wrist. Gauntlets are made with the same such material but are much more extensive. Gauntlets are used for larger birds like an eagle and usually cover the entire arm and maybe some chest. Both gloves and gauntlets need to be replaced with wear. Small taloned birds may be able to be held without a glove, but not without some discomfort.
- Leash (or creance): A leash is a long, light line which is mainly tied to a perch of some kind. A leash if used to train the bird to fly back to its master. Mainly the exercise consists of a tied bird that flies back and forth from its perch to its master’s hand. A leash is tied on one end to a perch and the other to the flying jesses of the bird trainee.
- Perch: A piece of tall furniture that the falcons stand upon, usually emulates the birds natural habitat. Mostly made from wood the perch is used in both training and resting.
- Mew: If the falconer wishes to house their bird of prey themselves a mew is required. A mew is a large wooden structure used as a home for the bird. Mews can be more open with wooden bars to prevent escape or more closed with solid wood walls. Either way these homes are large enough to allow free and unrestricted movement for the falcon.
Skill Levels
The falconers skill in falconry will grow upon almost each acquaintance of its bird, whether training it or hunting with it. The falconry skill can also be developed outside of a bird, with instruction from a master, or making preparations for an incoming bird. Note that simply caring for the bird such as feeding it does not count as Falconry, but instead Animal Husbandry. Falconry pertains only to training or carrying out hunting via a bird of prey.
1-25 Apprentice
At this level the falconer is only beginning to learn the skill of falconry. They, perhaps, are under the wing of a master or studying on their own. At this level the falconer will learn the names of the equipment tied to the skill, as well as habits of different kinds of birds of prey. They may or may not have their own falcon, if so these falcons are small; pigeons, crows, ravens or small hawks at higher levels. Hunting outside of a closed facility or without a leash is dangerous as the bird will not be trained enough to remember to come back. At this skill level the falconer is strictly a beginner and at a learning stage and cannot maintain and fully train a bird without the help of a higher skilled falconer to assist and teach.
26-50 Journeyman
This is a more experienced level of falconry. The falconer may be able to host larger birds such as small falcons or medium-sized hawks. At this stage the main focus is training the falconer’s bird of prey to hunt outside of captivity successfully whilst also training it to return to its master. Successful hunts will become more common as the falconer’s skill grows, yet there is still a danger of losing a bird. The falconer should be an expert in the equipment needed to host a falcon and knowledgeable of its habits and also their birds personality, likes and dislikes. The falconer must remember that the bird is not a slave, but more a friend and equal and must be cared for as such.
51-75 Expert
At this level the falconer is becoming very skilled in the art of falconry. They can host for a single or multiple birds on their own provided they have the necessary equipment. The falconer can now host larger or more moody birds such as; all falcons, hawks and even some owls granted they are only flown at night. Nearly every bird of prey is open to a falconer at this stage except for very large falcons like eagles or near-sentient predators. The falconer at this level is a master at knowing the habitat of their birds as well as their personality. Almost every hunt is successful and there is little to no threat of a missing bird.
76-100 Master
The falconer has become an expert in all things bird of prey. No falcon is too much for them and they can host numerous amounts of them if they so wish. All owls and eagles, hawks and falcons are open to their skill level and owls can sometimes even be persuaded into hunting and training during the day. Master falconers are heavily bonded with their birds and their birds with them. Hunting is rarely unsuccessful and there is no danger of a bird not returning. Wild birds of prey may treat the master falconer with less wariness while in the company of a trained bird and the master falconer is also skilled enough to begin teaching apprentices and journeymen.