Rough Year?

Did you know that 70-80% of young raptors die before they reach their first birthday? This is largely due to starvation, disease and predation. Raptors are extremely territorial, and once Junior hawk grows up and learns to hunt for himself, Mom and Dad hawk will give him the boot, chasing him away from their territory and hunting area. Since most of the prime hunting spots (the ones with rabbits, squirrels etc.) are already claimed by established adult hawks, the young raptors are often forced to resort to less-desirable hunting areas, such as the grass medians in between highways.

This presents a considerable danger. Raptors are masters at conserving energy. One of the ways they do this is by using "ground effect." Ground effect is when a hawk flies low to the ground, using the air pressure built up under its wings to keep it airborne. Pilots experience the same thing when landing an airplane. Unfortunately, this also happens to be about bumper-height on the average automobile. Lots of young hawks are hit by cars and trucks as the glide off their perch to snatch their prey.

The ones that aren't hit by passing vehicles still have many dangers ahead. Since many young hawks don't have access to squirrels, rabbits or pheasants, they are hunting field mice and meadow voles, which tunnel underneath the snow during the long, frigid winter months. Many young raptors die simply because they cannot find enough food to support their metabolism during the icy winter.

However, all is not lost. A small handful of America's population are licensed Falconers, part of an ancient tradition of trapping wild raptors, training them to come back for food, and hunting small game with them. The art of Falconry dates back over 2,000 years, and is also known as the Sport of Kings. Falconers never take adult raptors, leaving the established pairs to function as nature's breeding stock. Instead, they take the young, vulnerable and inexperienced raptors and help them overcome the obstacles of the first year. Then, once the Falconer has helped the hawk become a confident hunter, he or she may release the hawk back to the wild, as it has jumped the hurdle of its first year. The Falconer will then take another juvenile hawk, and repeat the process.

Not only is Falconry an art and sport, albeit heavily regulated, but it is also a conservation effort, helping the hawks that are taken make it that first treacherous year, and releasing them back to where they came from.