The hawk feels like a bundle of nerves, head snapping this way and that, muscles contracting with the sound of each snapping twig. At such times, I sense her energy flowing into my hand, up my arm and into my core. Engulfed in the moment, I am no longer an onlooker; I become a predator - the hawk and I hunting as one. When at last a duck suddenly erupts from cover, my body responds with a burst of adrenaline as the hawk explodes of my fist. In that instant, my heart leaps and my spirit flies with the hawk as she fulfills her predatory role. For centuries, people from all walks of life have felt the thrill of hunting with birds of prey. 'Duck Hawking and the Art of Falconry' explores the exhilarating branch of hawking that takes the falconer out to the ponds in pursuit of waterfowl. While duck hawking is a major facet of falconry, it has been highly overlooked in the annals of raptor literature. Author Joe Roy has decades of personal experience with which to create a work devoted to hunting waterfowl with hawks and falcons. This singularly comprehensive treatise celebrates the art of duck hawking. Writing in an entertaining, narrative style, the author presents personal anecdotes to proffer examples and illustrate meaning. Within the pages lie a wealth of practical information covering such topics as training techniques, slip selections, use of thermals, working with hunting dogs, weight management and flight orchestration. Full of stunning photographs, this volume is destined to become the duck hawker's ultimate handbook.
About the Author: Joe Roy has been involved in falconry since he was a boy, and has hunted hares and rabbits with hawks for the past twenty years. He also has considerable experience in training hawks and falcons, and since the early 2000s has spent part of every summer in Sheridan, Wyoming training gyrfalcons at Dan Konkel's Sage Country Falcons, supplier of some of the most sought-after falcons in the world. Joe operates Aerial Predators and Ecology, a company dedicated to furthering conservation through education. He gives lectures at public schools and other venues on the subject of predators, with an emphasis on raptors, and how they and we fit into the ecological scheme. Joe has been published widely in periodicals and magazines such as, American Falconry, International Falconer, Ducks Unlimited, North American Falconers Association, and High Country News. He is the author of Duck Hawking, published in 2005 by Hancock House. Joe lives with his family in California.