ROBB FAMILY FARM
And who makes these rules ? Well , for eons , falconry was sort of the “ Wild West ,” an unregulated sport where Federal rules weren ’ t established until the 1980s .
“ It is now the most regulated of all hunting sports , and it ’ s regulated at both the federal and state levels . As falconers , we have so many rules we have to follow .”
When Anastasia met Jessica , her new mentor invited her to go hunting with her impressive North American Goshawk . Jessica began teaching her about training the birds and their natural history and Anastasia was hooked . But first , she had another hurdle to overcome .
“ Growing up in New Jersey , no one in my family hunted . It ’ s difficult to get into it if you don ’ t have family to introduce you to it . You ’ re forced to embarrass yourself .
When I started , I wasn ’ t repulsed , really , but there ’ s so much more to it than you might think . Even when it comes to firearms safety , loading and unloading your weapon .
“ So , I learned a lot about hunting and trapping both from the standpoint of getting food , but also wildlife management . It was an amazing chance for me to get involved . I fell in love with it , and I was like , this is perfect ! I can hunt , I can train birds , I can spend time outside , it was this meshing of all my interests into one .”
The next step for an aspiring falconer is to find a bird of her own . Anastasia had everything ready to get her falconry license and to pass the state test , but she first had to construct the enclosure where the bird would live , which had to pass inspection by the state .
“ That September , I trapped my first wild bird . It was a red-tailed hawk . I then went through the training process which took me four-and-a half weeks . In that time , you go from having the bird being completely terrified of you to it coming back to you when you call it .“
“ I should also mention that we are allowed to take these birds legally , because there ’ s a healthy population . Also , red tails have a very high mortality rate . Many of them just succumb to starvation , because once their parents stop feeding them , they have to be top athletes to survive . They need to catch mice or rabbits or squirrels . And they need to catch these things without injuring themselves to the point of being unable to hunt . It ’ s nature ’ s way of weeding them out , so to speak . By being a falconer or by taking a bird for a season or two , you really improve their chances of survival .”
ROBB FAMILY FARM
Established in 1907
Welcome Spring !
Pure & Natural
• Maple Syrup & Candies
• Maple Cream
• Wedding Favors
• Granulated Maple Sugar
• Sugar House Tours
• Custom-made Gift Boxes
• Breakfast Sausage and Maple Smoked Bacon from Green Mountain Smokehouse
Centrally located near southern Vermont ski areas
Come stay with us as part of Harvest Host program !
Our sugar house is always open to the public and fun to visit during sugaring !
802-257-0163 robbfamilyfarm . com
822 Ames Hill Road , Brattleboro , VT
VTMAG . COM SUMMER 2023 53