The Adventurous Falconer: North American Falconer's Association Annual Meet

A few bird dogs

This post is ALL about the birds, birds of prey that is. This past week I got the chance to attend the annual NAFA (North American Falconer's Association) meet in Kearney, Nebraska. This was also where the International Association of Falconry held their elections and meetings as well. The temperatures were substantially warmer than I had expected, I didn't even get a chance to use my wool socks! Although, I will be wearing them for the next several months in Alaska. This meet was over Thanksgiving and had over 400 people in attendance. Falconry is a small community and we all relish the time that we get to talk in such a large gathering. Over the week-long meeting I got the chance to spend quality time with my passage Red Tail Hawk as well as a few okie falconers that I've missed while I've been in Alaska. Meeting new friends is always welcome and there were plenty new faces for me to remember. Attendees came from places including South Africa, Argentina, Germany, England, and all over the US. It is always interesting to see the cultural differences among the falconry community as I am convinced that we are the most diverse bunch of people around with one thing in common, we all love our birds. This is an opportunity to swap hawking stories, show off our birds, and have a few more bodies in the field. Eagles, Owls, Falcons, and Hawks were tethered in the guarded weathering yard. There were a continuous stream of spectators both residents of Kearney interested in seeing what we do and falconers admiring the birds. The conference included nightly raffles, vendors, and speakers giving us all a chance to update our gear and our knowledge. It is always nice to meet newly licensed falconers that have a new bird, and we all have an infectious silly grin when our bird successfully flies and catches game. Some of the best stories come from Prairie Chicken flights, along with bunny, squirrel, and duck flights. When it came down to the end of the week there were several sullen faces as the realization of the end of the meet set in, and we all realize we have to leave and wait another year to see each other again. I am already looking forward to next year's meet in Colorado. Enjoy the photos below!