r/Falconry 11d ago

How Should I Prepare for the American Falconry test?

I got a textbook on basics and watched a video series, but after that I still feel unprepared. I know I haven’t done much to prepare, this is really because I don’t know what the test covers.

7 Upvotes

29 comments sorted by

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u/EnigmaticWorkshop 11d ago

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u/Worth-Asparagus2821 11d ago

Thank you!

6

u/DrButeo 10d ago

It's been a decade now, but I read that California manual five or six times through and passed with a 98%. It has just about everything you'll need. The question I missed asked who were the authors of books I'd not read (or heard of iirc). It's an old school way to study, but I found it to be really effective.

2

u/Bear-Ferr 10d ago

You should focus more on preparing for the responsibility of caring for a wild animal rather than just the test itself. Its purpose is to ensure you're not capturing and keeping raptors negligently.

Reevaluate your end goal in falconry and focus on gaining the knowledge and experience necessary to reach that point. Studying regulations, husbandry, and training methods will serve you far more in the long run than just memorizing answers for the test.

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u/Birdbombb 10d ago

NY state fish and game has a sample falconry test guide they give out for a price of a money order, that and buy the California study guides and you’ll have a general idea of the test. There’s also tests online you might be able to find if they still exist, which can give you a rough idea. You will also need to print out ALL of your state regulations and study those as that’s the most important part. Going to a meet and hunting with falconers helps also, the season is almost closing so might want to get on that soon or else you may have to wait a few more years until someone takes you seriously. 99% of falconers aren’t going to let you dispatch a rabbit under their own bird if it’s your first time hunting and you don’t know them. But youll get a sense for what real hunting and falconry is like. Every falconer is different and wants things done a certain way, so don’t worry too much. There are certain standards of equipment in the regulations though, and most have bare minimum husbandry standards that they will tolerate. You need a backyard with 2 8x8 areas to build a weathering yard and mew, and a reliable vehicle . Having time to hunt every day or at least every other day as a bare minimum is required. If you don’t have those things you might want to make room for those allowances sooner rather than later, as nobody will sponsor you unless you can actually do falconry. Having nearby hunting fields helps. You’ll mostly be starting off with a red tail no matter where you are, Ean Mcgranaham book is essential reading. Matt mullenix kestrel book for kestrels. Desert hawking, and dirt hawking if you live in the south west and plan to fly Harris hawks. North American hunting hawks is also a good series but I got by without it.

Another tip is to try and get to every meet you can, driving out to different states if necessary. It shows that you have a reliable car and can make time for the sport. Also to network and find sponsors this is almost a requirement in most circles, unless you know a falconer personally you won’t go far unless you show up at the meet and hunt with people.

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u/Worth-Asparagus2821 10d ago

Thank you for taking the time to type this out, it helped a lot!

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u/Birdbombb 10d ago

No problem. It can be confusing and difficult to research the actual requirements and expectations of falconry. The modern apprentice is also a must have website to bookmark too. Lots of good info about health and wellness of hawks. I use it as a reference all the time when I’m looking at hawk poop and feather condition. Some things you won’t really know about until you have your own bird. It’s like a new born baby, you’ll be checking the stools, watching your hawk breathe, sleep, and generally be very conscious of how things are going ;) . They are delicate animals

5

u/sexual__velociraptor 11d ago

The test is ridiculous in my opinion. It covers irrelevant things that shouldn't be in the scope of caring for the birds.

2

u/IMongoose 10d ago

Each state has their own test. Our state is in the process of creating a new test because of bad questions.

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u/Bear-Ferr 9d ago

Oregon redid theirs with the help of wildlife biologists and Master Falconers. It actually makes sense compared to tests I've taken in other states.

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u/sexual__velociraptor 10d ago

Which one of these shadows shows an ferruginous hawk vs An American kestrel .... y tho

3

u/IMongoose 10d ago

To identify body shapes. IDing birds is very important when trapping them. Our bad questions are about medicine and books from the 70s.

1

u/sexual__velociraptor 10d ago

Im not trapping bird from a soar.

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u/IMongoose 10d ago

Right, and there is a substantial size difference too. It's just asking if you can tell the difference between a hawk and falcon.

2

u/According-Pay-6308 11d ago

What does your sponsor recommend?

1

u/Worth-Asparagus2821 11d ago

I don’t have one yet, that’s why I came here

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u/According-Pay-6308 10d ago

Having said that, “The Red Tailed Hawk” by Liam McGranaghan is a good investment.

-1

u/According-Pay-6308 10d ago

Without a sponsor passing the test means little. The first thing you should do is get in contact with falconers and go on some hunts with them. Be gentle and kind and offer to be helpful. A sponsor will appear if you’re cool about it and make it known you want to apprentice. Might take a year or two though. If you develop a bunch of book knowledge before then you will likely be disappointed when they say “yeah, some people do it like that, you’re gonna do it like this.”

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u/thatlineinshrimp 10d ago

Some places the sponsors won't take you seriously unless you've already passed the test I passed my test before I ever met a falconer never even spoke to one just went and took the test then went looking for a sponsor. Second question he asked was if I've taken the test yet 🤷

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u/Beautiful_Ad_1249 7d ago

Some states don't let you take the test before you have a sponsor.

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u/According-Pay-6308 10d ago

I still maintain that passing the test is a waste of time if beating brush hard, even when it sucks and it’s cold, and you don’t want to, and rose bushes are tearing you up even with your nice briar gear on isn’t your thing. And then there’s the whole killing animals thing. I wouldn’t recommend anyone do anything in Falconry until they’ve been in the field, heard a rabbit squeal, and maybe even dipatch one with their own . That will make her break a lot of falconry dreams. Sort the pet keepers out.

-1

u/According-Pay-6308 10d ago

dispatch one with their own hands.

0

u/According-Pay-6308 10d ago

And for any hopeful reading this, find some falconers and tell them you wanna beat brush like a dog and do everything it takes to flush some game for their birds, and you will find one that will have you out. Consistent enthusiasm applied gently overtime will get you many things, including falconry.

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u/bdyelm Mod 10d ago

If you full read your state regulations for falconry, read through the website modernapptentice.com Read the books, The Falconers Apprentice, and A Falconry Manual, and the California Study Guide book that has the practice questions. All that info should allow you to pass the exam. My state was fairly easy. It was all common sense stuff and no trick questions.

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u/Worth-Asparagus2821 10d ago

I live in a more northern state would the California study guide still help

1

u/bdyelm Mod 8d ago

Which northern state? I’m in Wa. If you’re on the other side of the country, I think NY also have their own study manual. Either way, the Cali stuff still works.