Still studying

Well I'm still studying , I've taken to taking the CHC Study guide into work and trying to put 30 minutes study in. I've spoken to a few people and the general consensus is apprentices these days get a bum deal. The main reason for this is that the main book that all the Falconry Exams are based on is out of print and now looks like it will never come out. So whats the alternative, to be honest there isn't one. I'm lucky my sponsor has lent me his copy of North American falconry and hunting hawks. It's being treated like gold dust, hands cleaned before picking it up. I know how expensive this book is now and would be a weeks salary to replace it if something happened.

I've read the Redtail Hawk, Buteos and Bushy Tails, a falconry manual (which is really not a manual just a rant about other falconry things).

I've also been to two websites Apprentice Falconry and Nafex, Whist these forums are helpful they seem to be mainly about who has caught the most game that week

The Modern Apprentice website is good for a guideline but then things get hard as trying to get to the right information because a hunt of google and Bing for the right search phrase is hard.

There no longer seems to be one place to get all the information you need in order to pass this exam. Daniel Murry ( from Oklahoma and Ryan's apprentice ) recently took his test and then got married and went on honeymoon (i guess he needed the rest from taking the falconry test) sent me some questions that he got wrong with the answers ( he got 7 wrong) . Only one of these Questions appear in the CHC and the answer is Bent (so work the Question out)

Believe me my sponsor is brilliant, patient and has in the last year become a very good friend. If i have a question and need pointing in the right direction he's there in an instant. But one has to wonder that if the powers that be don't do something soon what will happen in 2-3 years when this current generation of apprentices become generals and take on apprentices. I know myself i could in no way justify buying a book for $400-$1000 and then lend it to someone (I'm very grateful my sponsor has ) for one i couldn't imagine the tongue lashing my wife would give me for buying the book in the first place however the book in question was allot cheaper when my sponsor got it and available. There are enough recognised experts in the field of each area and some have even crossed over to other areas but one has to wonder what will happen in the future as books go out of print and information becomes harder to find what chance has future apprentices have for gaining the information they need in order for one to just pass the test because the real learning happens after the test.

OK enough of the rant back to studying and trying to get this down !

Prangs of Home

I read Rachel Dickinson blog with interest today, She had a link to a radio interview at WSKG’s Off the Page show. The Radio is part of the PBS network, it instantly reminded me of the BBC's world service and in an instant i was almost back in the UK and made me feel quite home sick. At the moment i feel in some ways torn between the UK and here both are home. My son recently broke his arm in the UK and i felt quite helpless that i couldn't give him a hug and be there. Made me feel quite guilty too, yet at the same time my life here is so different in that i am able to do so much that i would never have been allowed to do in the UK. My wife is amazing in that i say "hey i want to do this" and she quietly and patiently follows along.

The show was pretty interesting and you can go to her blog and get the link. I think of the two shows that she has highlighted this was allot more informative about falconry and more interesting about her book "Falconry on the edge". The show gives a very good insight to how the book was written and whats in the book. The book is on my to get list along with Matthew Mullenix "In Season " Matthews book is more of interest as my Sponsor has two of Matt's birds and "Charlie" features in that book. However Rachel books is of interest as it more of a biography of someone who has gone to the extreme of falconry.

I've been looking for a radio station to listen to for a while. My family are Country Music fans so the local radio station is normally on in the car but sometimes you want something a bit more than just music bit something you can learn from. I work in a noisy office and sometimes a headphone is necessary in order to cancel out background music. I found the Oklahoma equivalent at KOSU. We will see how it goes...

Books and Photographs

Two books arrived today "The Red Tail Hawk" by Liam J. McGranaghan and the "A Falconry Manual" by Frank Beebe.

The Redtail hawk is the 4th Edition printed and 2007 and initial observations are that it is pretty comprehensive, lots of pictures and illustrations backed up with some detailed text. This book is also hard cover which i wasn't expecting as early versions had been soft cover.

A falconry manual on initial look seems to be a very cut down version of some of Franks other published works reprinted in 1999 so not to old .

Either way i have some good reading ahead of me. I also need some suggestions on what books next to read. so any ideas would be great fully welcome !

A friend of mine is a pilot and has an aerial photography business that he like me works at the casino to make ends meet. He is very encouraging when it comes to the projects i set myself up for. I have told him all about the falconry and where i want to hunt. Well today he came in with some pictures of two area's i had discussed with him. There are two spots on the south side of Lake Texoma that are public land. From google it seems very over grown but from these aerial photos it looks like idea territory for a Red-Tail Hawk. The ground seems to be a mixture of Hardwoods and Softwood tree's with open spaces between. I am reckoning on squirrels at the very least. Ill have to check it out over the next few weeks to see whats there and whats worth going after.