Hunting Grounds

I found a couple of state maps of hunting grounds that could be most useful

Texoma Lake

Lake Hugo

Being the nearest two corps land available to me, Obviously lake Texoma is closer to me and offers some great opportunities.

A Little Light Reading

I got my first two Falconry Books today. The Apprentice Manual and the Apprentice Study Guide. The Guide is pretty good but the Manual was a little disappointing for the price. for 16 Dollars i was hoping for something a little bit well you know more..... Anyway i'm off to start reading and studying !

Apprentice Guides

I ordered two books today. The Apprentice study Guide and the Apprentice Manual from Mikes Falconry there pretty much the same price no matter where you look but i thought I'd give them a try. Can't wait for them to arrive so i can really start studying towards my exam.

On my Way to Work

Every morning as i take my daughter to Day Care there is a Red Tail Sitting on a telegraph post or on a round bail of hay, I see this bird nearly every day. Sometimes if i'm lucky i see two. I am assuming she is a she and not a hey because of her size. She normally hunts along E2140 - North Platter Road. There are two very large fields mainly used for hay making more often than not she is facing south and along the ditch line for pray. Today she had roosted further south about a mile on top of a telegraph pole as it was still very dark. I didn't see her tonight as it has been stormy and one hopes she is holed up in a tree out of the wind.

I also got some other good news. I have a Sponsor. Steve agreed to be my sponsor which i am very delighted about as we seem to get on so very well.

Good News

Spoke with the State Biologist today regarding an out of state sponsor. He gave a couple of conditions but basically said i needed to state how close the sponsor would be. and have them send a copy of there state license to them when i apply for all my permits, tests and inspections.

If Steve agrees to be my sponsor then i think i will be very happy as i have an an awful lot of respect for him and his Hawks and know he is a fountain of knowledge. So right now i'm a happy bunny !

At the Airport

Saturday
On Saturday i decided to get me a bright Orange Vest, If I'm going to do this then i need to make sure i can be seen once the guns come out. Latrell ( My Wife ) and I went in to check out the different clothing. We spotted a high visible bright Orange Vest.

They cost 10 Bucks from Gander Mountain The nice thing about this vest is that it folds up small enough to go in a hip pocket when needed.

Sunday

On Sunday i was on tender hooks praying the birds would be off weight so that i could go out with Steve again. The company is good and so is the Hunting. I arrived at 4.30pm a little early but i was ready at 3.00pm and its only a 10 minute drive. I got to see Steve's Mews up close and see both Smash and Charlie on there Bow Perches, Smash is still not ready, one feather left to drop. So we took Charlie out again. We headed for the airport once more and started fanning out trying to scare up some Rabbits, no such luck. I did manage to find two golf balls. We headed over to a small area that used to hold some pools and this seems to hold a decent number of rats. Charlie Caught 3 off them but then he started to become unresponsive, Headed up into a tree and was almost set to stay there the night.

So the hunt wasnt very long but there jsut seems to be somthing about that swoop as the Hawk dives through the air and then uses it's talons to grab the prey. simply amazing. We did spot a Redtail hunting the same area so there must be some small gaming knocking about.

Steve taught me why Falconer's like the Sampo Ball Bearing Swivels. Basically they are Highly Machined Swivels which means sand cant get in. In this area the ground is very sandy and can get into everything and hence the need for a high precession swivel is needed.

Hunting Sites

I've been scouring the local area for possible hunting sites. I have decided to take the Dog for a 4 mile walk every night. We as a family have a Black Lab cross, I would like to train him to chase rabbits for my hawk when/if i eventually get a Hawk.

So far every night we have found rabbits around Colbert as well as a few squirrels. So things are looking good on that front.

And it all begins

When i was a boy my mother used to take me to the library to choose a book to read over the coming weeks. She did this for a number of reasons one of these was because as a child she grew up in a very working class family who where still being rationed due to the war. Books and education where something to be valued and treasured so a couple of times a month we would visit the Library and choose a book.

One day i choose the book As the Falcon Her Bells by Phillip Glasier. This book had a profound effect on me as a child. It wasn't a typical book on falconry but an autobiographically look at the effect falconry had on one man and later his family and children.

We lived in a place that we could have had a falcon, but shortly after reading the book we moved to the middle east and then back to the Uk; the Industrial North and Manchester. That dream sort of went on a back burner for 30 years.

Today i find myself in the heart of the United States with the opportunity to do this and the space to do it.

This blog is there for going to be initially the journey it takes to become a fully Licensed Falconer.

So far to date i have contacted 4 Organizations. These have been for the Following reasons

The Oklahoma Falconry Association

They are my local club meet twice a year , I've also contact both state and Federal about permits and information packs regarding falconry in Oklahoma.


Migratory Bird Office/Permits
P. O. Box 709
Albuquerque, NM 87103-0709
phone(505)248-7882


To request the current state regulations write to:
Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation
1801 North Lincoln
Oklahoma City, OK 73105
(405) 521-3851

One of the things i noticed in the state pack was that the nearest Falconer seems to be either Edmund or Norman thats a 3 hr drive. I've been told that there is people closer but so far i have not heard anything from anyone. I have put feelers out into the community but nothing has resulted in any information of someone that i can just hang out with and see what falconry is all about. Because of this i contacted the Texas Hawking community that seem a little more pro-active and was introduced to a local falconer just over the boarder.

Yesterday i went Hawking with him , He has been a Falconer for 8 years and currently flies two of the most beautiful Harris Hawks i have ever seen, not that i have seen many but there are totally amazing.

Steve Recommended 5 books for me to get , unfortunately one is out of print so the next few weeks i will be sending off for them reading up and taking another step forward. I also hope to go out with Steve and his amazing birds again as i really caught the bug for Dirt Hawking.

I don't see me having a bird of any kind until this time next year as i want to do this slowly, methodically and take my time. I want the best for the bird i get so that we both have fun and a fruitful life together.