We're back to Texas again for another episode that was recorded earlier this year at the Texas Hawking Assocation meet! Our guest for this episode, Matt Reidy, was also a guest speaker at said meet, and in between hunting and evening activities, sat down to talk about flying longwings (especially prairie falcons), his career as a biologist, and lots of other good stuff, including common themes in falconry that are always important to hear. You'll be hearing more out of a lot of other Texas falconers in the coming weeks, being as there's still a lot of episodes yet to be published from the THA meet, so have fun listening!

During the 2023 NAFA meet, I was able to catch up early one morning with Jason Reid, who I hadn't had a chance to see in a while. Aside from being there for his falconry equipment business, Hawkeye Falconry Supply, he was also there at the time helping to give informational clinics on eagle falconry. That being the case, I thought it would be good to have Jason on and talk more in depth about some of the aspects of eagle falconry that I haven't had a chance to previously cover on the podcast. On top of covering a lot of the details of what led Jason to relocate to Wyoming and take his falconry practice there, we cover more of the details of prepping to acquire a golden eagle, as well as more of what goes into eagle trapping. It was fun catching up with him, and hope you enjoy learning more about this process! If you want another good option for falconry gear and supplies, head to http://www.hawkeyefalconrysupply.com.

Well folks, this is the first official episode of the new Falconry Follies series, which will be available to Extras members from now on! As mentioned before, the inspiration of this series is so we can all learn from each other's mistakes, which everyone and their birds should hopefully benefit from. Listen in as Aaron Kincaid and Casey Everett, previous guests and hosts of the Sporting Chance podcast, join up remotely to talk about mistakes we've made in and out of the field. Being as the subject at hand can be both simultaneously frustrating and lighthearded, you'll hear some colorful language and content at times, but hey, it's all part of what we deal with, and hear, on a daily basis in falconry! If you want to see the fully unedited video version, head to the “Would You Like to Support?” link at falconrychronicles.com, and sign up for the Extras membership at buymeacoffee.com. You'll also get to hear the first full episode of the Molting Tails series, which will start off featuring rats... and those who hunt them! Thanks again so much for your ongoing support, which is the inspiration to keep all of this going!

This particular week of the Falconry Chronicles Podcast brings you multiple episodes, the first of which is a two part episode that features Aaron Kincaid of Gamekeeper Dachshunds, and of course, Sporting Chance podcast! The first part of this recording was made earlier this year during the New Jersey meet, where we met in person for the first time, and had the chance to be able to run our dogs together. After, we sat down that evening and talked about several of the usual topics, as well as ratting. We later recorded the second part of the episode while in Washington, DC, where we met to go ratting, as well as attempt to pair our dogs for breeding. That trip inspired the Molting Tails ratting content, which will be released as part of the Extras membership. This was a fun episode, and will be followed up later in the week with the first episode of the Falconry Follies series, which will continued to be offered via Extras membership after this first episode. That episode will feature both Aaron and Casey, and will be available later this week, so keep an eye out for it!

The Falconry Chronicles Podcast is very happy to be able to bring you this episode with Dave Jamieson! For those of you who aren't aware, Dave has a very long and noteworthy falconry history. Known mostly as one of the first people to successfully breed falcons using artificial insemination, as well as for producing some of the most accomplished genetic lines in falcon breeding throughout the years, Dave has produced a vast array of successful falconry and sky trial-winning falcons. Amongst those things, he also tells some wild stories involving some of his travels around the world, and we even discuss something that really hasn't been discussed much yet with any other guests on the podcast: his personal experiences during Operation Falcon! This episode is another important example of the mission of the podcast, and why such taxing measures are sometimes undergone to make sure these stories and experiences are preserved for the future!

The series of episodes inspired by the use of dachshunds in falconry that were recorded in New Jersey last year are almost concluded, with Harrison Dalby being one of the last from the Maryland/NJ area yet to be released. Since this recording took place, Harrison has had a full season under his belt with his goshawk and dachshund, and he has also added a lurcher to the team recently as well. In this conversation, he discusses falconry from a newer and younger falconer's perspective, what it's been like having his own business from an early age and how that has also affected his falconry, and how his mindset has pushed his personal goals higher over time. Thanks again to Casey Everett (now of the Sporting Chance podcast) for helping with getting everyone together for this series!

This was a more recently recorded episode, one of which that I'm very excited to bring to you all! While navigating a very busy work and travel schedule the whole month of July, thanks to the partial collaborative help of Ian Anderson, I found myself making the 11 hour trek to meet up with Lance Christensen and others to talk shop! I had heard a lot about Lance from mutual friends and other falconers who've gotten birds from him, but I was very much looking forward to going over some of the science behind breeding, discussing the reasoning and rationale behind the preference of parent-reared goshawks, and as always, Lance's beginnings in falconry, and other topics. Thanks again to Lance for taking the time out of his busy weekend trying to organize bird distribution logistics to have this conversation!

While heading back out to work in Wyoming again for a few months earlier this year, I decided to make a pit stop to visit Tyler Sladen again. He had mentioned that he wished he'd had more of a chance to get more in depth about different aspects of quail hawking that we didn't talk about during our first recording, so I managed to meet up with him right before he filmed his video collaboration with Final Rise, and got more in depth with the topic. Speaking of the Final Rise video, if you haven't seen it yet, you should! Entitled “Montezuma and the Tankers”, it can be found on the Final Rise YouTube channel.

This is the first of the episodes that you'll be hearing covering some more of the falconers from Wyoming! Thanks to the coordinated efforts of some friends, as well as our guest for this episode, Brian Mutch, there'll be some more pretty cool falconers coming your way soon! Speaking of our guest from this episode, Brian has a wealth of knowledge when it comes to falconry and raptors. Due to his work for the Peregrine Fund for many years, he's gotten to travel the world and work with many species, as well as practice falconry at a high level for himself for a long time. I can't do any of these stories justice by describing them, so you'll just have to listen for yourself!

This episode is one of the last few that was recorded while in the New York/New Jersey last summer, courtesy of Casey Everett and crew. As part of that ongoing series discussing falconry in that area, as well as dachshunds in falconry, Mike Oettinger discusses his experiences flying red-tailed hawks over the years, trapping, some of his experiences with apprentices, and of course, incorporating dachshunds in falconry! We have a handful of episodes left from the series meant to feature dachshunds, and a couple left from falconers in the NJ area, so for those of you who can't get enough, enjoy, and for those of you who've had enough, there will be plenty of other stories and experiences for you to take in in the meantime!

We're back in Texas again for this episode with former NAFA president, Sheldon Nicolle. While at the Texas Hawking Assocation meet earlier this year, Sheldon discussed what his service as NAFA president was like, initially spending his early years in Zimbabwe before relocating to the United States, and different ways falconers can contribute back to the falconry community. There's usually not many dull moments with Sheldon, so we hope you have fun with us while listening!

While at the Archives of Falconry Spring Rendezvous, I had to pleasure of meeting this episode's guest, Jim Ince. I was bummed earlier this year to not get to meet Jim at the Texas Hawking Association meet, since I had heard great things about him not only as a falconer, but also as a bell and hood maker. Jim is another falconer that has been at it since the early days, and as it turns out, happens to be a pretty good guy also! While at the Rendezvous, I was happy to learn that Jim will be part of a Masterclass video series that the Archives of Falconry is going to be releasing for members, and hopefully by the time this episode is released, if not shortly after, his video on how to make bells should be released, so if you're not a member of the Archives of Falconry, now's the time to be! These videos will be another great membership bonus on top of all of the other great content the Archives offers, so head to falconry.org and sign up if you haven't! We hope you enjoy hearing about Jim's journey in falconry, including a pretty epic falconry tour through Europe, and then have fun checking out his wonderful bell craftsmanship!

This episode was another that was recorded while at the joint NAFA/IAF meet in Kearney, Nebraska. Santiago was one of the many international falconers who was able to come to the meet, and in between meet functions, he was able to discuss some of the different aspects of falconry in Spain, as well as talk about conservation and other important topics that we continue to face in modern falconry, no matter where we're from! It's always good getting more international falconers on the podcast!

Happy Dachshund Day everyone! Yes, you guessed it, you're getting a double dose of dachshund-inspired episodes this week due to the occasion! Paul Thomas of BlackHawk Kennels joins us for this episode, and after making the trip down for our annual Evansville falconry meet this past season, went into great depths discussing the historical details of dachshunds in the US, especially for use in falconry, his history in the sport, thoughts on breeding, amongst the other usual topics. While most people are familiar with the general details of the breed's origins in the US, I have no doubt there's details discussed in this episode that a lot of people may not be aware of, so for those of you who are continuing to enjoy hearing about this breed, this will be another good one for you! Special thanks to Paul as well for helping to support the podcast!

Out of all of the episodes I've recorded thus far for the podcast, this episode has to be one of the most unique. This episode features another New Jersey falconer, who was recorded last summer as part of the ongoing dachshund series, and hearing his falconry and overall life journey was truly inspiring! Pakorn Patithema discusses what he had to overcome in his youth to pursue falconry, and how falconry was what kept him on a good path, in what could easily have turned out to be a dangerous one for him. For those of you who are always looking for examples of how falconry can turn out to be a huge positive in people's lives, Pak's story is a great one!

While recording the bulk of the ongoing dachshund series last summer in New Jersey, Paul Eliya, Casey Everett, Pakorn Patimetha (who you'll hear from soon), and Erik Swanson decided to sit down and have a group discussion, highlighting different viewpoints on a couple of continual hot topics within the falconry community: the use of social media by falconers, and the US falconry sponsorship system. These topics can spawn some heated debates amongst the falconry community, but the participants in this episode wanted to come together to discuss their opinions. This is another first for the podcast, and while you all may or may not agree with the different participants' views on these topics, we hope that this episode inspires constructive thoughts and tasteful conversations/debates within the community!

This episode is another lengthy one, and it's packed full with a lot of good information and experiences! A lot of you, especially the falconry book collectors in the community, will probably recognize the name of our guest for this episode. Clayton White, who is the author of Peregrine Quest, and co-author of Peregrine Falcons of the World, gave me the better part of his afternoon a few months ago, so the jaunt was made down to Utah to discuss Clay's tenured history researching birds of prey. For those of you wanting to learn more about peregrines, and a lot about different aspects of the research and data behind their historical ebbs and flows as a species, get comfortable, and join us!

This is another nice change of pace episode for you all, featuring another husband and wife falconry duo. Jeff Redig was recorded at last year's NAFA meet, and while we were all in Wyoming to meet with and record other falconers. a recording with Lauren was able to get done as well. The decision was made to go ahead and combine their conversations into one episode, so here we go! A lot of different things are covered in these conversations, ranging from the trials and difficulties of falconry to the interactive culture within the falconry community. This is a lengthy two-parter, so enjoy!

This episode with Dennis and Alyssa Hurley was one of the last episodes recorded while in Tyler, TX, and is only one of a couple of episodes published thus far that features a father/daughter falconry tandem! It was interesting to hear about some of their experiences getting into falconry together, as well as some of the early hurdles they had to face. Their falconry path is another one that many should hear, particularly by those who are still very young and thinking about pursuing the sport!

We're back into dachshund talk again! Erik Swanson, another part of the crew I got a chance to record while in New Jersey last summer, is also the owner of East Coast Falcons, which offers a lot of different abatement services and has been featured in the New York Times, Philly Times, CBS News, and other media outlets. Erik has also owned and bred dachshunds for several years, and like many, the breed has had a special impact on his falconry, as well as his life in general. He has also done a lot to support the podcast, and the help has been much appreciated! If you want to find out more about East Coast Falcons and the services they offer, head to http://www.eastcoastfalcons.com.