In 1996, I had the honor of interviewing Kitty Tolson Carroll, a falconer who lived in Bradenton, Florida, for a story in Florida Wildlife magazine. We started early in the morning on a bright winter day, pushing through the low brush and wiregrass of quail country, intent on flushing quail for her two magnificent Harris hawks named Zorro and Montezuma. The two birds sat in a tree over our heads, watching us traverse the undergrowth. As we worked ahead of them they moved with us, flying from tree to tree. Each time they moved the bells on their legs jingled, letting us know exactly where they were.
Two fruitless hours later, we were worn out and Montezuma and Zorro were still hungry. Kitty returned her birds to their mews (specially-designed coops with perches) and we took a break.
Falconry is intertwined with our history, dating back at least 300 years. Until it reached the United States it was a sport of the aristocracy, which led 17th-Century British poet William Somerville to call it the "sport of kings," a term by which it is still known.
In this country, however, it's a relatively new phenomenon, going back only about 100 years. Kitty said it started with an article in the December 1920 issue of National Geographic. That sparked the interest of a few young people, who started working with peregrine falcons and goshawks. By the 1960s and 1970s, baby-boomer falconers were experimenting with species such as the Cooper's, Harris and redtail hawks.
One interesting behavior of the Harris hawk is that it's the only species which hunts in groups. In the wild, they may hunt in groups of up to eight or so, but when working with falconers they may hunt in larger groups.
"I've seen up to fifteen arris hawks hunting at once with their falconers,” Kitty told me that morning. “The best thing to do with Harris hawks is to let them see each other pegged out before they hunt. When you go out into the field there still will be some squabbles, but they establish the dominant hawk who will lead the hunt. Then the others will cooperate by distracting or herding game. They're used mainly for jackrabbits."
Kitty's interest in falconry began when she was 13. She saw a movie called "My Side of the Mountain," in which a young boy tames a raccoon and a falcon. She didn’t know anyone who practiced falconry until after she graduated from high school in 1974. Then she met a falconer who helped her get started.
Though most people don't think of falconry as hunting, it nevertheless is, and difficult and demanding hunting at that. Imagine hunting with a weapon which must have water and food every day, 365 days a year. If you're traveling with it you can't leave it; it is far too valuable to be left unsecured, but it can't be locked in your car or left in a hotel safe.
That afternoon, in an open cow pasture, Kitty released Elvira, a peregrine/prairie falcon cross. Elvira soared and swooped around us, waiting for the partridge she knew Kitty had hidden in her game vest.
With a cry of "Ho! Hawk!" Kitty tossed the partridge into the air. Elvira hit it in mid-air.
Feathers flew. With the partridge firmly in her talons Elvira dropped a few feet, then spread her wings and began to soar again, looking for a place to light and eat.
Unfortunately, her path took her directly through the pines and into a hog-wire fence. At the last second she saw it and veered upward, braking, but her momentum carried her and the partridge into it. She lost her grip on her prey and it escaped through the fence, running madly along the fence line away from her.
Kitty gently disentangled Elvira from the fence and brought her back out into the sunlight, where the bird treated us to a dramatic display of prairie falcon temperament. She screeched her displeasure at losing her partridge, rising again and again from Kitty's gloved fist to beat the air with her wings. Kitty finally had to put Elvira's hood on her and return her to the mew to quiet her.
When I met Kitty, she dreamed of opening a falconry school. Today, that dream is a reality. Kitty owns the International Falconry Academy in Live Oak, Florida, where she offers many falconry experiences including falconry apprentice workshops, nature photography sessions and a wide variety of school, library and camp programs. You can find her at www.birdsofprey.net.
Thank you for bringing back such a wonderful day. Kitty Tolson Carroll