A Dog's Eye View looks at Falconry

After multiple writers blocks on the "How to Break up a Dog Fight" post, I decided to change the subject completely, based on a presentation I saw at the Chelmsford Conservation Commission's meeting on Tuesday night.

Wendy Pavlicek & Diane Welch, members of the Massachusetts Falconry and Hawk Trust were there with their Red-tailed hawks requesting permission to be allowed to do controlled hunting with their birds in conservation areas. Ms. Pavlicek explained they are very conscious of nearby people, dogs, and resident hawks wherever they go, and the birds are called back immediately at any sign of duress. Generally, the hunt lasts about an hour. The birds generally hunt small mammals, and she has learned a lot about what these birds and their prey are capable of in order to survive. Hawks are not big enough to carry off a small dog or a cat, but a Great Horned Owl could do the trick.

The following are some interesting factoids I learned from Ms. Pavlicek & online today:

Due to a 70-80% fatality rate of baby hawks, falconers receive a baby bird, and more or less teach it to survive, usually over a two year period, after which it is released into the wild. This practice helped keep the Peregrine Falcons from becoming extinct, to the point where this bird is no longer on the endangered species list.

Falconers are sometimes called in to control pest bird and animal populations in urban areas.

Falconry has been around around for thousands of years, and historically, some civilizations made their economic living off of it. It became less popular during the 17th century when guns started becoming popular, and has had several resurgencies since.

Falconry is currently prohibited in Hawaii and the District of Columbia. Hawaii in particular is working very hard to prohibit any non-native species of animal or plant onto its islands due to the delicate nature of its native eco-system.

Amid much iPhone picture snapping, the ladies were granted permission to fly their birds on conservation land in Chelmsford. Actually, I could use a visit to get those pesky squirrells out of my roof, but I'd have to make the holes bigger. On second thought, I'll work on a different method. One that doesn't involve De-con, since ACO Erik Merrill has noted over the years the potential for secondary poisoning of predator animals due to poisoned prey animals like mice, chipmunks and squirrels.