BLAZE Magazine Special Edition 2006-2016 | Page 47

After several attempts, Dixie
pinned the squirrel, hidden
inside a patch of Spanish
moss, to the oak tree.
Above: Symeon Robins and his red-tail, Gizmo, had similar success when the
squirrel tried to change trees.
Below: Mike Germana shows off his American kestrel, the smallest falcon in
North America, commonly known as a sparrow hawk.
“Two for two,” Brewer said. “It doesn’t get any
better than those two hunts.”
Joe Ryan of Dothan, Ala., a master falconer
and president of the AHA, said there are
about 60 or so active falconers in Alabama
who hold a meet once a year to practice what
turns into their passion.
Falconers in Alabama are required to obtain
a permit from the Alabama Wildlife and
Freshwater Fisheries Division and can have
up to five raptors at any given time. Falconers
are limited to trapping two raptors in any
calendar year.
One of the reasons raptors need to be
replaced is sometimes they just keep going
once they are released on a hunt.
“They are not bound to us by any means,”
Ryan said. “We follow them wherever they
want to go. Sometimes they leave and don’t
come back. To get into falconry is definitely a
lifestyle change. I fly every day or every other
day, depending on how much time I have.”
red-shouldered hawks are the two species
approved for apprentice falconers. General
and master falconers can keep other raptors,
although a rigorous application process
and special permit are required for master
falconers to keep an eagle.
The birds are meticulously cared for to the
point the raptor is weighed on digital scales
daily to try to ensure the bird is healthy and
to prepare it for a hunt. Germana said the red-tails, which are the
easiest to keep and train, will hunt squirrels,
rabbits and mice. The kestrel usually hunts
sparrows and starlings, an invasive bird
species.
Mike Germana from Oneonta, Ala., is a master
falconer who brought a red-tailed hawk and a
kestrel to the meet. The red-tailed hawk and “Everything we do depends on the bird’s
weight,” Germana said as his kestrel tried
to break free of its tethers. “Every day you
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weigh them before and after you feed them.
You feed them enough to where they drop
a small amount of weight to where they are
responsive and want to hunt. You want them
just a little bit hungry. Every bird is different.
I’ve had red-tails that hunt at 750 grams, and
I’ve had one that hunted at 900 grams. This
little female kestrel hunts at 96 grams.
“Falconry is just an adrenaline rush. It’s the
most amount of fun you can have, killing a
single squirrel with a red-tail. It’s a lot of work
for one squirrel, but it’s a blast.”
SPECIAL EDITION 2006-2016 |
| 47