What Comes After The Beginners Course?

[BarneyAndMonty]

So we beginners have been on the course and have achieved an award certificate:yawinkle: :rolleyes:

Are we now ready to take up our first bird:?: most would say not, we are though better prepared when that day comes...............

What's next:?: Find a mentor and serve an apprenticeship, putting in to practice what you have just learnt, would be my hope.

How long would that last 4? I say a year.
It would be nice to have experience in the care of all the bird types, l/wings, hawks etc. and perhaps an insight into how these different birds perform in the field. (in readyiness for the next learning experience)

What would make a good mentor? would this be offered by the individual and/or the centres?

[MitchellBrad]

If you don't mind me butting in I'd like to offer a suggestion. Go out and find someone who is good at flying what your interested in flying. Don't go hog wild and get a bird right away. Go hawking with your new found friend. Go over to that falconer's place every chance you get. Make a pest of yourself!!!! Offer to clean mews, help with chores and other falconry related things. Did I mention make a pest out of yourself?

From my experience most falconers are really good at flying only a few types of birds. So if your interested in other types than what your friend is flying go visit others. You'll use up a lifetime trying to learn all this and enjoy the Hell out of it.

[Jack Merlin]

If you don't mind me butting in I'd like to offer a suggestion. Go out and find someone who is good at flying what your interested in flying. Don't go hog wild and get a bird right away. Go hawking with your new found friend. Go over to that falconer's place every chance you get. Make a pest of yourself!!!! Offer to clean mews, help with chores and other falconry related things. Did I mention make a pest out of yourself?

From my experience most falconers are really good at flying only a few types of birds. So if your interested in other types than what your friend is flying go visit others. You'll use up a lifetime trying to learn all this and enjoy the Hell out of it.

As I've mentioned before, I got my first bird at the age of 14, encouraged by a boy friend of one of my sisters. I think his reasoning was he would get asked for advice, have to call, and then he'd get to see the sister. Anyway, hawking stopped abruptly when I went to university. But I was able to visit falconers, as Brad has described, during the long summer vacations. I couldn't afford train fares, so I hitch-hiked and worked for my keep.

It was during these summer holidays I quickly came to realize that the best falconers also had the best dogs. Good dogs make good hawks. Spent the next thirty years visiting dogmen, training and working dogs, winning an occasional field trial, and learning all I could.

I think many falconers go about it the wrong way. Learn about dogs and dog training. Get a pup, train it well, and work it for other falconers. If your dog is good, you will always be welcomed. But to do this well, you will need land (lots of land!) well stocked with game to train it on.

OK, you now have a good dog and access to good land. You have seen plenty of falconers, both good and bad, and have seen hawks fly. You have made a lot of friends of the best sort. You have the knowledge to make an INFORMED judgement. NOW go get your hawk!!

[MickeyDredd]

What's next:?: Find a mentor and serve an apprenticeship, putting in to practice what you have just learnt, would be my hope.


In my opinion this is the first step to take.

I would also hope that this award certificate could not be attained simply by the candidate having read books or been on an experience day otherwise it would be a waste of time introducing such an award.

All just IMHO of course.

[Bernard]

I think every new comer to the sport should have a mentor but should be shown how to do everything including making there own equipment i have mentored quite a few people in 47 years i will not let any of my birds go to anyone that is not capable of looking after it. if a new comer wants to buy a bird of me fine but i would not let him take the bird home it would stay with me until they had trained it to my satisfaction this means manning and flying free. so if they sre going to bring in such an exam then why not send it to there mentor so it can be completed in stages. I think philip glasier had the right idea with his courses which lasted 2 weeks he taught everything from making equipment to manning and flying free only you handled your bird no one else. plus a exam would not solve anything because after a 4 day course they can go out and buy a bird. I am sure there is plenty of good falconers out there that would be willing to help a new comer to the sport not like in the bad old days when no one would tell you anything. thats enough for now could go on forever

[Yarak1]

So we beginners have been on the course and have achieved an award certificate:yawinkle: :rolleyes:

Are we now ready to take up our first bird:?: most would say not, we are though better prepared when that day comes...............

What's next:?: Find a mentor and serve an apprenticeship, putting in to practice what you have just learnt, would be my hope.

How long would that last 4? I say a year.
It would be nice to have experience in the care of all the bird types, l/wings, hawks etc. and perhaps an insight into how these different birds perform in the field. (in readyiness for the next learning experience)

What would make a good mentor? would this be offered by the individual and/or the centres?

Question for you!....................As total beginners, where did you get the knowledge to pass the exam?............

[MickeyDredd]

Question for you!....................As total beginners, where did you get the knowledge to pass the exam?............

My point exactly.

[Yarak1]

Shouldn't this thread be ............What comes before the exam? .....................

I think the answer has to be............Either a GOOD course or time spent with a GOOD mentor before the exam and after the exam back to the mentor! ..........

[Gordon]

Shouldn't this thread be ............What comes before the exam? .....................

I think the answer has to be............Either a GOOD course or time spent with a GOOD mentor before the exam and after the exam back to the mentor! ..........not nocking you jon but back to the fella and the harris, he came to your place, he has'nt got what it takes to keep a bird, its very difficult to judge who is fit or not, same as the fella i mentioned in jpj thread, goes in the ear but it dosen't stay there, some people just haven't the mentle capacity to understand, liking and keepings 2 different things

[Coedhirion]

Shouldn't this thread be ............What comes before the exam? .....................

I think the answer has to be............Either a GOOD course or time spent with a GOOD mentor before the exam and after the exam back to the mentor! ..........

for a minimum of 1 year but 2 or more would be better and not just with one type of bird. Say hunting and birds to include longwings too. Only that way would they get an all round idea of what is involved in doing a hunting bird justice. To realise that a couple of dry days a week is not enough to get a good hunting bird fit etc.

[GregMik]

Moved from General Falconry............

[BarneyAndMonty]

Question for you!....................As total beginners, where did you get the knowledge to pass the exam?............

Good question!!

What I find is, people learn in different ways. Some people need to be shown, others learn from instruction books and videos, some learn combining the 2 etc.etc.etc.

If you were approached by someone who had taken it upon himself/herself to gain a foundation knowledge, however they got it, would that suggest an eagerness to go forward and learn more?

I believe, gaining the knowledge is the beginning doing/practice and understanding the results is actually the learning.

[Yarak1]

not nocking you jon but back to the fella and the harris, he came to your place, he has'nt got what it takes to keep a bird, its very difficult to judge who is fit or not, same as the fella i mentioned in jpj thread, goes in the ear but it dosen't stay there, some people just haven't the mentle capacity to understand, liking and keepings 2 different things

Gordon don't knock the bloke mate.......he has more than it takes to keep a bird........he just has difficulty putting things into words mate like you sometimes have difficulty in the spelling of some words.......his all round physical abiltily is very very good..........Don't judge somebody by a phone call.............:rolleyes:

[BarneyAndMonty]

for a minimum of 1 year but 2 or more would be better and not just with one type of bird. Say hunting and birds to include longwings too. Only that way would they get an all round idea of what is involved in doing a hunting bird justice. To realise that a couple of dry days a week is not enough to get a good hunting bird fit etc.

I like the idea of spending time with someone who flys more than one type of bird or even different people flying different bird types. As you point out, this will provide a valuable in sight to the different cababilities of different birds and also what is going to be needed ie land.

[Yarak1]

Good question!!

What I find is, people learn in different ways. Some people need to be shown, others learn from instruction books and videos, some learn combining the 2 etc.etc.etc.

If you were approached by someone who had taken it upon himself/herself to gain a foundation knowledge, however they got it, would that suggest an eagerness to go forward and learn more?

I believe, gaining the knowledge is the beginning doing/practice and understanding the results is actually the learning.

I agree with what you are saying....however is it not better to have had hands on experience of the questions that you have to answer on the Lantra course and not just of read about it?.....Just a thought.

[BarneyAndMonty]

I agree with what you are saying....however is it not better to have had hands on experience of the questions that you have to answer on the Lantra course and not just of read about it?.....Just a thought.

Isn't the lantra award the end of a learning experience?

[Yarak1]

Isn't the lantra award the end of a learning experience?

In what respect?................I would say it was more the beginning than the end......after all we never stop learning.........

[BarneyAndMonty]

In what respect?................I would say it was more the beginning than the end......after all we never stop learning.........

Your right, you never stop learning.:grin:

I meant to say the end of the lantra learning course. The way I thought it worked was you completed a 4/5 day course(like you offer) then at the end you are assessed as to the knowledge/understanding gained.

David

[Yarak1]

Your right, you never stop learning.:grin:

I meant to say the end of the lantra learning course. The way I thought it worked was you completed a 4/5 day course(like you offer) then at the end you are assessed as to the knowledge/understanding gained.

David

Ok David, lol.........now I understand mate............must be my age!.cheers, John.........:cool: