Near the foot of his long driveway in Upton, Bill Johnston shows off his mews, an archaic term in falconry for structures that house birds of prey. Johnston’s mews holds five birds — a Harris’s hawk, peregrine falcon and a Siberian goshawk. He also has a gyrfalcon named Fiona and a gyrfalcon hybrid named Roofus.
The mews resembles a condo complex, only for raptors. Each bird has its own room with a door and a barred window and perch inside. State and federal regulations require certain specifications for these avian homes. That includes keeping the birds separated from each other.
“I use Roofus to hunt pigeons,” said Johnston. He takes Fiona and the peregrine falcon, Gabby, out duck hunting in the cranberry bogs and saltmarshes of Cape Cod a few times a month during the duck hunting season.
Massachusetts law allows master falconers to own up to five birds of prey. This permit comes after written exams and years as an apprentice and general falconer. There are about 60 permitted falconers in the state.
As he gets ready to head out to a local field, Johnston fastens a leather hood onto Roofus’ head. “The hood keeps Roofus calm,” Johnston said. “I’m going to weigh Roofus because if Roofus is not hungry, he won’t come back to us or he won’t hunt.”
These animals are not pets by any stretch. If they catch prey and are no longer hungry, they very well may fly off on you and never return.
When Roofus clocked in at 504 grams, Johnston quipped, “He’ll be hungry.”
Slackers need not apply
Falconry is a hobby that requires commitment. Johnston is retired, but caring for these predators is a daily job. On the days he’s not hunting with them, he takes them out to a field to exercise, which is where he headed next with Roofus and Fiona. A couple German shorthaired pointer dogs named Filey and Selby joined, too.
“These are bird dogs. Primarily because they are versatile hunting dogs, you can use them to flush ducks and to point pigeons,” said Johnston.
Filey and Selby are an integral part of the hunting process. After a falcon catches its prey, the dogs run out and sit watch.
“Once they’ve eaten, they have no need for you ‘til they’re hungry again, so you need to get to them when they’re down with quarry and make sure, after they’re done eating, that you can secure them and bring them back,” Johnston said.
High-tech game
But even if one of the falcons takes off somewhere out of reach, Johnston uses radio telemetry to track it down. Historically, falconers only had bells that they put on birds, but digital technology has allowed falconers to track their every move. On the back of Roofus’ neck is a small transmitter that Johnston can turn on and off. He also has a GPS app on his smartphone that tracks the birds’ flight path, its maximum altitude and speed.
In a field behind St. Luke’s Cemetery in Westborough, Johnston swings a pole with quail feathers dangling at the end as Roofus tries to chase it down. After a few laps, he catches it and Johnston rewards him with some quail meat out of a deli bag. Fiona, who has been getting antsy in the back of Johnston’s truck, is next. As soon as he removes her hood, she takes off.
An ageless sport
In recent years, the falconer demographic in the state has grown more diverse. Erik Amati, a biologist with Massachusetts Wildlife and Fisheries, credits social media and says the population is made up of men and women ranging from their mid-20s to their 70s. He’s hopeful more people will pursue the ancient sport and credits falconers with bringing the peregrine falcon population back from decline.
“They took a real beating from pesticides. By the late '60s and just the start of the '70s, there was very little natural reproduction," Amati said. "Regulations and laws were put in effect protecting these species, but at the same time wildlife agencies such as ours and the federal government who oversee these public resources relied heavily on falconers that knew the intricacies of propagation and training. They were instrumental in helping the state and federal agencies in restoring this resource.”
Amati adds that in the last year, falconers with rehabilitation permits brought in over 170 injured raptors. Of those, 110 were successfully released back into the wild.
Trap your own falcon
To become a first level falconer in Massachusetts, you need to trap your own raptor in the wild with the help of an experienced sponsor. This is no small task. Although falconers are allowed to keep these birds, the vast majority of them are released back into the wild.
Eric Page of Norwell is a first-year falconer apprentice. He caught his own steely-eyed red-tailed hawk, Gribely, last summer in Scituate when Gribley was a few months old.
“He was probably born in May or June. We trapped him in August, so he's a few months old,” Page said.
Page says he’s fallen in love with falconry and really enjoys taking Gribley out with his daughter Sydney, who joined him and Gribley at St. Luke's field.
“It gives me an opportunity to get out in the woods with my daughter and have a connection with such an amazing animal,” Page said.
It's a connection falconers hope will continue to soar.
This post has been updated.
