Trainer, teacher, and generator Nancy Cowan with a Peregrine Falcon. photograph : Laura Murphy/ADA Camp Carefree
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When Nancy and Jim Cowan decided to become falconers 30 years ago, there was one major problem : Falconry was illegal in New Hampshire, their home state. But they didn ’ thyroxine let that child contingent dissuade them. alternatively, they launched an attempt to legalize the sport across the state by lobbying lawmakers and their companion statesmen. After several years of crusade, the couple emerged triumphant, and the mutant was legalized in 1988 .
Nancy and Jim now both hold the entitle of dominate falconer and run the New Hampshire School of Falconry, which they started in 2005. It presently hosts 10 birds of prey, including Gyrfalcons, Goshawks, Peregrine Falcons, Harris ’ second Hawks, and a Lanner Falcon, with two more male Harris ’ s Hawks joining their “ flight police squad ” this spring. The raptors either betroth in active agent hunt with Nancy and Jim or are used for falconry lessons at the school. Over their decades of falconry experience, the copulate has besides helped rehabilitate five angry birds .
In her modern memoir, Peregrine Spring, published March 1, Nancy documents her travel to becoming a master falconer and prepare hurt individuals for their render to the baseless. recently, she put down her falconry baseball glove and bait to discuss the ins and outs of the sport with Audubon .
Audubon: Why did you decide to become a master falconer?
Nancy Cowan: I have always loved the animal-human relationship. so two years after falconry was formally legalized, I took the test to become a falconer. In New Hampshire, you are an apprentice for two years, then a cosmopolitan for five years, and then you become a victor falconer. I may be a maestro falconer now, but I still feel like a founder. There is then a lot to learn and it ’ mho that learning curl that propels you on. My birds still teach me things. With every new bird, there is a newly feel .
A: Does anyone else in your family practice falconry?
NC: No, my children don ’ t have an concern in it. It takes person with the rage to want to be a falconer. You can be an animal lover, but you need to have that love to want to work with barbarian instinct. It ’ s not something for everyone .
A: Is it hard to be a female falconer? Do you ever face gender bias?
NC: Falconry is a passion that is universal and dateless and goes beyond gender. It ’ s not a competitive mutant in any way, supreme headquarters allied powers europe, or phase and it shouldn ’ t be. Your trials should be against yourself to get better and not to compete with another man or womanhood. To me, that ’ s the best separate of falconry—being in that zone is the greatest thing .
A: How do apprentice falconers obtain their first birds?
NC: To start, you must trap your first bird from the crazy. This is done through very hard-and-fast regulations, which vary from department of state to state. It ’ second allowed because after an exhaustive discipline on raptors, it was discovered that out of every 100 Red-tailed Hawks that might hatch each spring, by the take after spring, 80 of those would be dead. When you take the hawk, you ’ rhenium ensuring its survival. The type of boo you can take depends on what department of state you live in .
A: Is it a costly pursuit?
NC: It doesn ’ thymine have to be. We were on nickels and dimes when my husband started. I used an previous cast-iron balance scale and modified it so we could use it to weigh the birds. respective falconry outfitters have apprentice startup kits that monetary value about $ 200. But how much does it cost to buy a good copulate of ice hockey skates or to golf ?
once you complete your apprenticeship, you can buy [ subsequent ] birds from a breeder. The monetary value is relative to many factors and no breeder will sell to anyone who can not prove they have the proper paperwork and license to obtain these birds. Birds can range from $ 8,000 ( for ones that are planned for breeding ) to $ 3,000 ( for Lanner falcons, which are used to scare off early birds ) to $ 650 ( for the strong, healthy Harris ’ s Hawks that I buy from a local breeder in the east ) .
A: Have you seen the sport gain popularity over the years?
NC: I don ’ t think falconry will ever stop having a draw, but it ’ mho very limited in the total of people who are bequeath to devote changing their life style to become falconers. Your priorities must always be to give the birds the best care possible. You can ’ t leave them with the local darling babysitter. If you have Harris ’ randomness Hawks, you must be prepared to have a set where they stay warm adequate in the winter, specially if you live in the Northeast like me with 15-hour-long, colored winter nights. And, if you ’ re married or in a relationship, your significant other must be a volition as you to make exchangeable sacrifices to ensure the best care for the birds. It ’ s not a hobby. It ’ s a different way of life .
A: What tips would you give to someone interested in becoming a falconer?
NC: The foremost thing I recommend is to get the regulations from their submit because they vary state to state. Study them at every distributor point and do a reality check : can I do this ? Will I do this ? There are besides several books I ’ vitamin d recommend, including my own, that are based on U.S. falconry .
My bible tells you what it ’ s truly like—my foibles, errors, surprises and pleasures are all in there. I didn ’ metric ton contain binding. It takes you from a founder up through a master. It ’ mho about tapping into and understanding wild instinct and living with that. That ’ s what intrigues me the most about falconry. .. it ’ s what keeps me going .
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Correction: The interviewee’s last name was previously misspelled.
Read more : A Baltimore Oriole Who Didn’t Migrate
peregrine spring, by Nancy Cowan, Globe Pequot Press/Lyons Press, 296 pages, $26.95. Buy it at , by Nancy Cowan, Globe Pequot Press/Lyons Press, 296 pages, $ 26.95. Buy it at Rowman & Littlefield
I am broadly interested in how human activities influence the ability of wildlife to persist in the modified environments that we create.
Specifically, my research investigates how the configuration and composition of landscapes influence the movement and population dynamics of forest birds. Both natural and human-derived fragmenting of habitat can influence where birds settle, how they access the resources they need to survive and reproduce, and these factors in turn affect population demographics. Most recently, I have been studying the ability of individuals to move through and utilize forested areas which have been modified through timber harvest as they seek out resources for the breeding and postfledging phases. As well I am working in collaboration with Parks Canada scientists to examine in the influence of high density moose populations on forest bird communities in Gros Morne National Park. Many of my projects are conducted in collaboration or consultation with representatives of industry and government agencies, seeking to improve the management and sustainability of natural resource extraction.