Shortly after writing his book, The Philosophy and Ethics of Falconry, Colten contacted me and introduced himself, asking if I could possibly give him feedback and point him in the direction of others who might also do so. After reading his book, I asked him if he might be willing to let me use him and his book in my first attempt at producing an audiobook, and towards the end of last falconry season earlier this year, we did just that! Colten came down to record over a weekend, and along with the audiobook, we recorded this episode, and did some hawking as well! If you want to get the audiobook for yourself, it can be found on Audible and most other audiobook platforms, and you can also obtain a physical copy through Amazon, Western Sporting, and Northwoods Falconry. Many thanks to him for coming down and being willing to record this project, as well as this episode!

Bill and Rich have been hawking buddies for a VERY long time. They share a lot of history together in this episode, including the roles they helped play in establishing dachshunds in hunting and falconry, what their falconry has been like all these years in the northern part of Indiana, and some of their favorite hunting memories together. Special thanks to Paul Thomas for helping bring this episode together, and for letting us borrow his RV at a dachshund field trial last summer to get this recorded. It was a fun one!

Ms. Francie is another falconer who's been requested by several folks over the past couple years, and she was another guest I was able to track down at the 2024 NAFA meet and finally get to record with! It was fun hearing her reminisce about a lot of fond memories in her many years in falconry, and hearing her talk about her fondness for helping the younger generations and newcomers to falconry was also inspiring. For those who know Francie, you know she's a fun conversation, but for those who've never met her, you're about to find out!

The guest for this episode has been requested many times over the years, and at the 2024 NAFA meet, I was able to carve out some time with Steve Layman in between hunting and workshops! Some of the things Steve and I discussed included research on aspergillosis treatment, his philosophy of falconry being a natural history sport more than even a hunting sport, and of course, some of the stories and experiences he has revolving around operant conditioning, some of which were quite amusing! This episode was a long time in the making, and I hope that it was worth the wait for those who requested it over the years!

This episode is another change of pace, remotely bringing you some falconry from Germany! Klaus and Elisabeth Leix join us to discuss what falconry is like for them in Germany, their experience with volunteering for the oldest German falconry club, which has existed for 100 years, hawking crows with falcons and goshawks, their preferred breeds of dogs to hunt with, and much more! This is a nice, lengthy episode that you're sure to get a lot out of, so enjoy!

After getting a hood from Ken for my Harris's hawk, I thought it would be good to have him on remotely to discuss hoodmaking, his history flying accipiters, longwings, and eagles, and what his falconry has looked like over the years living in Canada. Since this recording, he has since decided to retire from hoodmaking again, so if you haven't been able to get a hood from him, you might still be able to pick one up at mountainstatefalconrysupply.com. Don't sleep on it though, they're great hoods!

Revisiting this episode was a lot of fun, and getting the chance to record these types of conversations is a huge part of the reason why I continue doing this podcast. This was the second episode I recorded after a long, hot day of dachshund field trials, and instead of sitting down with these two friends separately, I decided to go ahead and have a group discussion and just go wherever it led us! We ended up talking about Rick and Rich's victories that weekend, Rick's ADHD attempt to convince Rich to start cast flying Harris's hawks on squirrels, what led Rich to start making equipment and get his own falconry business going, and other things our overheated, whiskey influenced brains decided to talk about! Enjoy!

While at some other dachshund field trials last year, I had a chance to record a couple of episodes with a few fellow falconers who I'd been trying to connect with for awhile, one of those being Mick Brown. Mick served as president of the Ohio Falconers Assocation for a long time, and is another falconer who has had to overcome a lot of physical wear and tear to continue in the sport. We talk about those things, as well as his thoughts on running Jack Russels before dachshunds, running his own falconry abatement and education businesses, and plenty of other good stuff!

Being as we have mutual friends in both falconry and the music business, I was very happy that our guest for this episode, Jen Keenan, agreed to join me remotely back in December and share her story so far. Jen is still very new in falconry, and is still learning a lot, and has had some very early challenges in her falconry career. In this episode, you'll get to hear more about her discovering falconry by hiring a falconer to do bird abatement for their vineyard, then deciding to get into it herself after her battle with cancer, the challenges of maintaining her falconry with all the businesses she runs and being married to a touring musician, and other things. This episode is proof that even though some might not have a ton of experience yet, everyone can learn a little something from everyone's experiences, so you won't want to miss it!

In August of 2024, I got another captive-bred Harris's hawk from this episode's guest, Austin Moates. While at his house, we spent the afternoon talking about his background hunting cottontails and squirrels with red-tailed hawks and Harris's hawks, some of his mentors in getting started with his breeding project, standards in falconry, his time serving in Tennessee's state falconry club, and more! He was also kind enough to take part in the Falconry Follies series, and that episode is now available to those who signed up previously for the Extras membership.

This was the last episode recorded in July of 2024 in Reno, NV, and it's another unique one! Martin Stiasny is originally from around Prague, in what is now Czechia. In this episode, he talks some about getting started in falconry around that area, what he had to go through in his journey to move to the United States, and what it was like learning raptor propagation from Dave Jamieson. There's other things discussed in this episode as well, but you'll just have to listen to hear the rest!

This episode is one of the last couple that were recorded July of 2024 in Reno, NV, and features James Tigan. James was a practicing falconer for 32 years, and while he was able to pursue falconry, he also founded the Alaska Raptor Rehabilitation Center, as well as other falconry businesses, including Tactical Avian Predators and Raptor Adventures. For more info on these, head to raptoradventures.com. Enjoy!

Along with recording the episodes you just recently heard while at Ian Anderson's last July, there were also more episodes recorded while in Reno the same month. While meeting up and recording at Dave Jamieson's place, I was also able to record a few others, including Mark Moglich. Mark discussed his experiences over the years with breeding, his passion for flying goshawks, gyrfalcons, and another rarely flown species that you'll just have to listen to hear more about! Special thanks again to friend Vahe Alaverdian for helping to make these recordings happen!

The last episode recorded while at Ian Anderson's place in Iowa features Minnesota resident Joe Hance. This was a very fun and animated conversation, in which we talk about hawking cottontails with a cast of Harris's hawks, some of his short prior experiences hunting with red-tailed hawks and goshawks, and getting Joe's take on different aspects and outlooks on falconry. Just a heads up, this is also another episode with some colorful language in it, but this fun and energetic conversation will be one that is sure to be enjoyed!

After getting to Ian Anderson's place last July, Tyler was one of the falconers who made the trip also that weekend to meet, and while there, he discussed his background in different aspects of dog training, hunting with Harris's hawks over his beagles, and some of the challenges in hunting where he's located. It was good getting a chance to talk falconry and dogs with someone else who has another breed preference, so there's some good stuff in here if hawking with dogs interests you!

While at Lance Christensen's, I was also able to get a recording in with accomplished falconer and veterinarian Ross Dirks. I'm glad he was there helping Lance to prep birds for shipping to their new owners, because this conversation was a blast to have! We talked about some of his different experiences as a veterinarian, flying falcons and goshawks, and lots of other great stuff before I headed back down to record more with Ian Anderson and other friends last July. It was another whirlwind weekend, but so glad I did it so I could share these conversations with you all! Enjoy!

After getting a lure machine from Jeremiah, we started talking more back and forth about falconry, dachshunds, bowfishing, and other good stuff. Those conversations led to being able to meet up with him at a dachshund field trial close to where he lives in Pennsylvania, and while there, I managed to get my equipment set up outside long enough to record an episode and pick up where we left off! Overall, it turned out pretty well for a little bit of wind blowing, beagles barking in the background, and other audio challenges, but I hope you enjoy regardless! If you're interested in going on a bowfishing trip, picking up a lure machine yourself, or want some cool merch from Jeremiah, head to boondockoutdoors.myshopify.com!

During some downtime in between events at the Archives of Falconry 2024 Spring Rendezvous, Heath took some time to have another nice, long conversation about his time serving as Vice President of NAFA, flying accipiters, and learning what to listen to and not listen to when it comes to advice and perceptions in falconry, amongst other things. This is another nice-sized episode with a lot of good information, so come hang with us!

Back in December of 2023, Kevin Stahler of Country Critters Kennels in Kentucky came to our annual Evansville field meet to hunt, run dachshunds, and record this episode in studio after the end of the festivities! We talk field meet experiences, the motivation to become a dachshund breeder, growing up around birds of prey, and other good stuff! This seemed like the right time to finally publish this episode after a break in dachshund episodes and other factors, and since I own two dogs that Kevin has bred, I'm happy to finally get this out to you all!

This episode is another nice and lengthy one, consisting of two different parts. The first part of the episode was recorded over a year ago when Tyler stopped through and recorded in studio on his way back home from St. Louis on a dog errand. At that time, we discussed what it's been like starting up multiple businesses, some of his experiences flying red-tailed hawks, kestrels, and a great-horned owl, and also what it was like starting into falconry at a young age. The second half was recorded after we got done hunting one day at this past NAFA meet in Liberal, KS, and he talks more about the aftermath of his first owl experiences, plus what it's been like flying his second great-horned owl. This episode has been long in the making, but it just made more sense to release it all together to bridge off of the experiences Tyler has had over the last year, especially with the owls. You can also hear more with Tyler in the February Falconry Follies Extras content as well! Enjoy!