Owls for Falconry
By Devin Jaffe
Now, I am here to tell you that I am by no means an expert at training owls for the hunting sport of falconry...however, I do have some experience and insight I’m more than happy to share with the interested reader!
Owls are not a traditional falconry bird. Why? Many reasons, but here are the top 3 in my opinion: most are nocturnal or crepuscular and many states (mine included) don’t allow falconry hunting after dark; they are stubborn and can be difficult to train; many falconers lack the patience it takes to actually train an owl to be a successful hunting partner. So, why did I choose to hunt with owls when constantly being made fun of and belittled by other falconers? Because I wanted to prove a point....that if you have the patience, it can be done!
I have worked with, cared for, and handled a variety of owls. 11 different species to be exact. I find them to be very interesting raptors, but not the same way as the general public finds them interesting. I am beyond tired of the “Oh wow, it’s an owl! They’re soooo cute! They’re my spirit animal!” It’s exhausting dealing with the average person that saw a youtube video of an owl being kept as, well, a pet in another country or as a “falconry” bird here in the US, but that owl is never flown, never hunted, and instead is used to post cute videos on some social media platform. I despise this act. Owls are now suddenly viewed as cute, cuddly, cartoon creatures with big eyes and silly expressions. This is what bothers me about the ever-so-popular perception of the owl. They are still raptors! Predatory birds killing other animals to feed themselves and their offspring. Owls have incredible adaptations for hunting. They are perfect predators. Yet, thanks to terrible social media and youtubers, they’ve been made out to be something they’re not. I, personally, try to change this perception every time I talk about the owls I care for. They are a lethal predator. Period. I am also so over the “wise old owl” statement. They are not named as such because they’re any “smarter” than any other raptor. The connection with owls and wisdom actually dates back to ancient Greek mythology and Athena, the Goddess of Wisdom. It’s been noted recently that 75% of an owl’s brain operates their eyes and ears. That leaves 25% for all other functions. Does this mean they’re not “intelligent?” No! It means that they operate differently than many other raptors. However, I still would not consider calling someone “wise as an owl” a compliment. Owls rely heavily on their adaptations for hunting rather than thought-processing like many other raptors. I have only personally known a few other falconers (4 to be precise) that have been successful in training owls to pursue and catch quarry. Many falconers will get an owl because of the novelty, realize they aren’t “hunting as they should be,” and give up after a season or less. It takes time and patience for these birds. Training owls to fly in educational shows is one thing...training them to be a successful hunting partner is totally different.
I was gifted a human-raised Barn Owl for education in 2020 because the bird was “too stupid to ever be trained” simply because he didn’t learn as quickly as his brother. So he was shut away in a display-only mews for years and never touched. The week I picked him up, I had a staff member hold him on the glove and observe our already-trained Barn Owl flying from a perch to my glove over and over again for a few days back to back. The new owl went from crouching, eyes down, and shaking, to a tall, interested, excited bird in a week. I full-heartedly believe he gained confidence from watching our other bird. I train most of my birds this way by having them watch others doing the same behaviors. This Barn Owl is now the star of my flying owls! Only took a month.
However, this is not the same as training an owl to be a successful hunting partner. Years ago, I had a good friend call needing some advice. He had acquired a Great Horned Owl that was illegally taken from the wild to be kept as a pet and was, luckily, relinquished as a juvenile to a rehab center. Again....this whole cute, cuddly owl thing is a real problem! The rehab center contacted him to try and train the bird to be able to hunt. Strangely, the bird would only fly to his feet. Yup! I saw the videos and all! He came to visit and brought the bird with him. The bird ended up taking a liking to me so he gifted her to me. The very first day, she flew to my glove. Why? I have absolutely no idea and this will remain a mystery to me. I did nothing differently than he did in calling her to the glove. She flew to his feet....she flew to my glove.
Over the 6 wonderful years I had this bird, I worked with her to be a hunting partner. I made 100% sure she was wed to my lure. Any good falconer will make sure that their partner is wed to the lure (a fake bird/rabbit/leather creature on a string) before ever free-flying them. The lure is your insurance policy. Something wrong in the field? Need to recover your bird? Bring out the lure! Now, once your bird comes in to the lure and receives the jackpot prize, you’re done for the day. You don’t continue. Some falconers will argue this with me. I stand firm. (I’m not talking about falcons making passes at lures mind you.) Once you’ve won the big prize, you should not be called to try and win the smaller ones. This owl would hardly even let the lure get out of my hunting vest before she was on it. Extremely good recall.
Once I knew she was lure-wed, I entered her on game. I won’t spend much time on this process as this is a...sensitive topic....even in the falconry world. I trained her to kill pheasants, pigeons, quail, and rabbits. Let me tell you, this bird was a rock star! One of my apprentices came over and we were training his Red-Tailed Hawk to go after squirrels. The hawk had no interest. So I said, “Hang on, keep an eye on it, let me grab my owl.” I ran back to my house to grab her, ran back, boom. She killed the squirrel that the hawk would not. My husband and I enjoyed it with pasta that evening.
Over 6 years, this bird and I developed an incredible relationship and I could fly her almost anywhere (I say almost because she was very shy about random things like cows, horses, oil drills, and vehicles...the vehicle thing I was grateful for). She had perfect recall and would chase and catch game like a champ. Yet, I was still mocked by other falconers for having a non-traditional bird. I’ve had many non-traditional birds! I enjoy the challenge.
Sadly, at the end of this past season after an amazing day out flying and chasing rabbits, she was killed by a weasel in her yard. I had no idea a weasel would even come in one of our birds’ yards. Our District Wildlife Manager and Veterinarian confirmed that this was the cause of death. I was devastated. I had not only lost a hunting partner, I had lost a friend.
I reached out to my long time mentor who trained me in raptor rehabilitation, husbandry, and education, to say that if she had any Great Horned Owls needing training for hunting, that I had recently lost mine and would love to train another. I was in luck! They had just had a group of youngsters brought in and one of them was showing signs of imprinting even though the siblings had not. The siblings were released, but this bird was just a bit...too comfortable. We picked this young one up and began working with him immediately. Yup! 100% a human imprint! This bird flew to the glove within his first week and was chasing a lure week 2. 2 months in he killed his first rabbit. I would be lying if I didn’t say I was ecstatic! This owl has shown immediate excitement with chasing lures and game and I know he will become an amazing partner this season. I am so looking forward to the opening of the hunting season.
The take away I would like for you to have from this is that owls take time. It’s not an overnight thing! If you are interested in training an owl for hunting, you need to understand the owls’ adaptations and abilities. Not all owls are going to be great hunting partners. Not all humans are going to be great hunting partners. You need to take a second and think about training a bird that is stubborn, slower to learn, but also incredibly adapted to being a perfect predator. YOU need to mesh into their world...not the other way around. I hope that this changes your opinion of owls not being falconry birds and gives you the insight you were looking for.
Devin Jaffe is a licensed Master Falconer with over 20 years of experience handling, housing, and training birds of prey. She has worked with 47 different species of birds of prey and a variety of game birds and parrots. She is the Founder of Nature’s Educators which is a 501c3 educational wildlife program in CO; the President of the High Plains Falconers; the Owner of Mile High Falcons; as well as a member for a variety of other raptor and avian related organizations. She gives hundreds of educational presentations at resorts, parks, expos, etc each year on raptors and the ancient art of Falconry. Her favorite raptor is the Prairie Falcon.
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