Colorado Hawking Club

Falconry Images

World Falconry Day - 2024

Fall Passage Camp Out - 2024

Fall Passage Camp Out - October 20, 2018

Our Fall Passage Camp Out started on Friday, October 19 and ended on Sunday, October 21, 2018. On Saturday morning the attendees awoke to cool temperatures and many participants choose to take their birds on a morning hunt. While they were away our illustrious president proceeded to prepare our traditional pig for roasting!

During the evening the Board meet and the pig was unveiled in all of its glory. It seems as though it was enjoyed by all in attendance. There were a wide variety of birds at the Camp Out. Our past President, Deanna Curtis, was able to bag a jack rabbit as she and Sylvia travelled to the event.

The pig arrives at our Passage Camp Out:

The preparation begins:

The pig in its golden glory:

Sure was good!

Waking up, the birds arrive, and campfires in the night:

EYASS PICNIC - August 18, 2018

The Eyass Picnic was well attended and we met in our new "old" location. Our club has been meeting in Golden, Colorado and we are returning to Town Park in Berthoud, Colorado. This event saw a number of key people stepping down from their current positions:

Deanna Curtis turned over the presidency to Matt Gould. Deanna received applause from the attendees and was given a gift certificate for her service.
Bill Oakes is now our Director at Large replacing Roger Tucker.
Clee Sealing is now our Western Director replacing Kevin Humphreys.

Matt did a great job talking about his role as our new president and shared his thoughts about how Falconry brings a diverse group of people together with a common interest. Many of our members brought their birds and stories were shared during the day.

Apprentice Seminar - July 28, 2018

On July 28th, Don Born held our second Apprentice Seminar at his home east of Colorado Springs. This seminar started the day with Don giving an outline of our day's topics along with providing us with refreshments of coffee and homemade chocolate chip cookies.

After he outlined the day, we then went outside to see the various traps that are available to the falconer. Each trap has benefits and drawbacks depending on the type of bird the falconer is trying to catch. Don also provided information about the types of baits used for trapping a falconry bird.

Types of traps discussed and demonstrated were:

- - Bal-Chatri traps
  - Pigeon Harness
  - Bow traps
  - Goshawk traps

During lunch Roger Tucker and Sam Dollar shared insights with the group along with having time to talk to others attending the seminar. After lunch we returned inside to see a Bal-Chatri trap being built by Don and seeing how Roger "automates" his process of tying loops for the trap:

After the Bal-Chatri trap was built, these topics were introduced:

- Trapping and changes in CPW's trapping season
- Understanding the benefits of the bird's time away from the parents and its ability to hunt on its own
- - Roger and Sam provided their opinions on the best times to trap a passage bird. These guidelines were:
- - October for Kestrels after a good freeze
  - December - January for Red-tails
- What to do with your bird and the steps to follow after trapping the bird
- - The importance of having good hoods, the reasons for using a hood and having one that fits properly. Hoods were passed around showing the size differences between a hood needed for a Kestrel to those required by larger birds.
  - Roger showed how he unhoods and hoods his Red-Tailed Hawk and Don demonstrated his "Giant Hood"

The seminar continued with what to look for when determining the bird's health. What is the condition of the muscle by the bird's keel and other health indicators you should watch for in your new bird
Best practices for returning home and managing your bird
A discussion about manning began and laid the groundwork for:
- Taking off the hood and the observing the bird's reaction
- How to dealing with baiting
- Walking with the bird
- Feeding and process of getting your bird to eat from the glove
- Weight management
- Jumping to fist
- Movement, sound, reward (operant conditioning)
- Focus on little things that the falconer is doing

A question was raised about Telemetry and Roger provided a discussion on how the transmitter and receiver works when tracking your bird. Sam also added that the newer systems have GPS included with them so you can follow your bird's path to where it is located, should it get away from the falconer.

The day ended with Don giving the new Bal-Chatri to one of the seminar's participants. The day's topics were well received by all in attendance and plan on attending the third of this series to be held in early September. Please return to our website's main page for updates on this session.

Lastly, be sure you attend the Eyass Picnic on Saturday, August 18th in Berthoud, Colorado.

Apprentice Seminar - June 9, 2018

On June 9th we held the first of three falconry seminars lead by Don Born. Don is our new Apprentice Director and he is doing a great job of organizing the information needed to help aspiring apprentices to start their exploration into the world of Falconry.

The first seminar discussed the following topics:

The dedication and time commitments needed to become a Falconer
Regulations and the knowledge needed to care for your raptor along with passing the Colorado Parks and Wildlife falconry exam
The Facilities and Equipment needed to care for your bird

For more information on how to become a Falconer see these links for further information:

Our first photos show Don setting the stage for our day:

Ann Price came and provided an excellent introduction into how to identify the types of raptors found in our state:

Lunch was provided by the club and we had a chance to talk to Don along with other club members as well:

After lunch we discussed the equipment needed to care for your bird and use when caring for your bird. He also discussed the mews (housing for the raptor) and weathering areas required by our state's regulations:

We had an excellent turn out and would like to thank Don for his time and energy, Rodger Tucker (Director at Large), Ann Price, for their expertise, and Matt Gould for allowing us to meet his house for this event. Please make plans to join us for our second Apprentice Seminar and check our Events page for the dates on the upcoming seminars.

If you would like to have some images posted to our club's website, please send them to our webmaster along with a description of the event!

Spring Banquet - April 14, 2018

This year's banquet was another huge success, with close to 90 people in attendance! Deanna was very pleased that our annual banquet continues to grow every year. She had a great time meeting new people and reconnecting with falconers she hasn't seen in a long time.