Page 21 - Jan/Feb 2022 Outdoor Oklahoma Magazine

years, especially during the time when the “Harry Potter”
movies were a hot topic. DON P. BROWN/ODWC
Oklahoma has about 130 licensed falconers. It’s estimat-

ed about 50 of those are considered active.
“There is quite a process to becoming a licensed falcon-
er,” she said. The process usually involves studying the
sport at first to decide whether the daily commitments are
something realistic. There is spending time with a licensed

falconer, learning bird care and regulations, arrange an
inspection by a Game Warden of bird facilities, finding a
sponsor, and testing to become an apprentice for two years.

After that, the apprentice can apply for a general falconry
license, she said.
Falconers are afforded alternate hunting season dates in
Oklahoma because they are using natural predators for tak-
ing game, and it’s such a small group practicing the sport

that there is virtually no impact on game populations.
But Rouner points out that falconers are hunters and
conservationists, as they are required to buy a hunt- Portrait of a red-tailed hawk.

COURTESY JERRY SPEARS

CHRIS KARRAKER/NAFA SOCIAL MEDIA

It’s teamwork in action when the dog flushes a rabbit for the falcon to pursue.

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