Falconry Equipment
Here we will show you the various pieces of equipment
used by today's falconers. |
 Gloves or
Gauntlets (run the Gauntlet?)
Gloves are normally worn on the left hand to leave the most dexterous
right hand to tie knot's hold hoods and remove jess.
Left handed falconers normally wear a right handed gauntlet,
interestingly a bird trained by a right handed falconer will rarely settle
on the glove of a left handed falconer. |
 Jess
Jess are made of strong soft leather, and were originally fashioned out of
1 piece of leather for each leg, these were bound around the birds leg
leaving a long slit in the end with which to attach the swivel.
An English Officer “Cpt. Guy Aylmeri” invented a revolutionary new
jess used throughout the world at the start of the 20th century.
Traditional jess had the danger of the swivel slit getting caught in
branches when the bird was free flying, so the “Aylmeri” jess was
fastened on with an eyelet which accommodated both a slit jess for the
swivel and a plain jess or “Flying Jess” for hunting. |
 Hoods
Have been used for over 3,000yrs as a training and calming aid.
A hooded bird cannot see anything to be frightened of or
aggressive toward and will sit perfectly still and calm when hooded.
Because different species of bird of prey have slightly different shaped
heads, different patterns and designs have evolved.
The Indian Falconers tended to fly mainly Hawks (accipiter's) so they
came up with the Indian hoods which fit these species so well.
The Northern European Falconers (Especially those of the Loo Hawking
club in Holland) developed what is now known as the “Dutch Hood” which
is a much better fit on Falcons head. |
 Bells
An audible way of finding your bird.
Made of very thin metal, making them very light. The louder the bell, the
thinner the metal, the shorter the bell life.
Most bells used throughout the worlds still come from Lahor in India.
Some very fine bells are made in the USA.
They can be attached in three ways:
1: using a soft leather strap around the leg of the bird called a “Bewit”
2: Mounting them high on the base of the tail using leather and glue.
3. on Loose elastic around the birds neck (not Recommended) |
  Swivels
Are used to stop the jess from tangling whilst the bird is on the fist
or tethered to it's perch.
Leash
Used to tether the bird using the one handed “Falconers Knot”.
Traditionally made of leather (which stretches when wet and becomes
brittle when dried”. Normally now made of synthetic chord materials.
|
 Perches
Normally two main types of perches are used.
Bow Perch: was developed by ancient hunters for their woodland birds or
hawks. They would take both hawk and Bow into the forest to hunt and
realised that their archery bows when stuck in the ground provided a perch
which gave both tail and wing clearance.
Block: Blocks were developed for birds of cliff and ledge like falcons
who prefer to sit with feet flat rather than wrapped around a branch.
|
 Lures
Lures are used initially to educate the captive bred bird that a moving
object of this style is edible.
They are also normally used to exercise falcons and recall birds over
greater distance ( a little more animated than the fist)
|
Telemetry
 Is the only modern
addition to the falconers equipment.
This small transmitter can be attached to the bird by either leg or tail
and contact can be maintained by the receiver for anything up to 30km
(line of Sight) much less in wooded or mountain country.
No substitute for a badly trained bird.
You will only ever need this when you need it!!!!!!!
|
 Baths
Used for the birds to bathe not for drinking purposes. Birds of prey do
not naturally drink due to position of their crop. A bird of prey will
have to throw its head backward to drink. This is called "bowsing".
The large amount of head tossing makes the bird giddy & unsteady on
its feet & is where the term "boozing" originates. Usually
made from plastic or fibreglass & available in a variety of sizes to
suit individual species. |
