Peregrine falcons are popular birds for falconry and in educational bird exhibits.
The art of falconry has been perfected over hundreds of years of practice. Many of the techniques used for training raptors as educational birds are tried-and-true falconry techniques. Once you have received all the proper training, licenses and permits required for the acquisition, care, keeping and flying of a raptor, the real hard work begins.
Overall, food is the prime motivator used in raptor training, and you may take months or even years to properly train a wild bird.
Instructions
1. Attach leather anklets and jesses (leather straps for attaching a leash) to the bird to be trained. Allow the bird to get used to having things around its ankles.
2. Spend time in the raptor's enclosure, moving slowly and speaking quietly. Let the bird get used to your nearness. Avoid prolonged eye contact or directly facing your body toward the bird, which may be construed as aggression. Let the bird see you put its food down. The goal is for the bird to feel comfortable preening, feeding and generally going about its business in your presence.
3. "Man" the bird. This is a falconry term for getting the bird used to sitting on a thick, leather glove (with a human hand inside). This is accomplished by leashing the bird to the handler's glove and walking around with the bird for short periods of time. The goal is for the bird to remain relaxed when exposed to a variety of stimulation.
4. Feed on the glove. For some wild raptors, this can only be accomplished by carefully monitoring the bird's weight. A fat falcon or hawk or will not be motivated to stand on your glove and eat. A hungry bird who has previously spent time on the glove without coming to harm should overcome its fear responses and step up to the glove to feed. Hold tight to the food or keep the bird tethered to your glove so it does not simply grab the food and fly away.
5. Urge the bird to fly to the glove for its food. Start by standing just a few feet away with the food. If the bird will not fly to the glove, remove the food and try again later. Carefully monitoring the bird's weight will help you to learn at what weight the bird is willing to fly to you for food and when the bird is too well-fed to want to bother with you. Over time, increase the distance the bird must fly to you for its dinner.
6. Creance train the bird. A creance is a very long tether on a reel for allowing a bird to fly a certain distance while still attached to the trainer.
7. Free-fly the bird (without a creance) once the bird will return easily to the glove from 65 feet away.
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