Falconry, Hunting with Birds of Prey with Everett Headley — WildFed Podcast #123

Everett Headley is back on the show today, this time, to discuss a topic we’ve been wanting to learn about for ages… Falconry. That’s right, hunting with a bird of prey. Each year, when we go through our own state's hunting regulations, we're always transfixed by the “grey squirrel falconry season.” We think, just what is this anyway, and who is doing it? Well, Everett is here today to give us a primer on what falconry is, who does it, and how. Of course, we’ll learn a lot about these incredible birds too. One of the big takeaways for us is that, prior to shotguns being widely available, this was a really efficient way to bird hunt. Of course, today, it’s more of an art form, being kept alive by folks who want to maintain this ancient hunting relationship with wild raptors. A lot of hunters, upon first learning about falconry think “I’d like to try that” — and Daniel is one of them — so in many ways, this interview gives us a real glimpse into just what it takes. Spoiler alert, it's a lot of work and not for everybody! But we bet it’s for some of you, and even if it's not, this is a fascinating and engrossing topic you won’t want to miss. So, special thanks to Everett for coming back on the show. He was just on for episode 118, A Hunting Dialectic, which was a great show too. We don’t think we've ever had a guest on for two episodes so close together, but Everett has so much to offer the hunting world, and Daniel just couldn’t wait to talk about these incredible birds and the lifestyle of hunting with them. There’s only about 4,000 falconers in the US today. We're hoping, after hearing this episode, that there might just be a few more added to the ranks. View full show notes, including links to resources from this episode here: https://www.wild-fed.com/podcast/123