The Hawkman Of Tilghman

When Tilghman Islander Eric Werner talks to Kimber, the young red tailed hawk he’s training, he swoons. And although the relationship between them looks personal, it’s not. “This isn’t like a bond with a dog or a cat” he said, “this is a professional relationship.”

He steps away from her perch inside of his large workshop, and cuts up some venison into tiny strips.

The bird stares at me, spins her head and blinks.

Majestic. Fierce looking.

I walk up to the perch. We’re face to face. That beak looks very sharp, but her eyes are steady. We stare at each other.

It’s not often we get to be so close to wild animals like this. The DNR or conservation groups sometimes show up at the county fair with owls, hawks and such, but most of those creatures are old and maimed and used to being around people. This one is a youth – a perfect young specimen red tailed hawk. And with the exception of a couple trips into the Eastern Shore Brewing Company in the past month, this young bird is just now learning about people.

Now that he’s got her, Werner’s job now is to train her to hunt with him.

There’s nothing new about the sport of falconry, in fact, it’s over 4500 years old. Known as the “Sport of Kings”, falconry continues today in much the same way as in King Tut’s day, and is practiced all over the globe. In some places, falconers use golden eagles to hunt wolves. An avid outsdoorsman, Werner hunts with hawks, guns, rods and reels and bows. The bird is simply a different weapon for game. “But, just being close to these magnificient birds all the time is the real reason I do it” he said.

Werner first watched a falconer work with a sparrow hawk 35 years ago, and really got hooked in 1997. In the 16 years since, he’s worked with over 30 different birds, from kestrels and falcons to hawks of different species.

Born in April, Kimber was out of the nest in the beginning of June, and was trapped in October. Werner will work with her throughout the winter – training, hunting, observing, learning – and will let her go in the spring. (He doesn’t actually know the bird’s sex, as it’s impossible to determine visually.) Falconers can only take immature birds, not ones of breeding age.

A federally regulated sport, falconry is quite popular in Maryland, with some 130 registered falconers. There are about 3400 falconers in the US. Most hunt with the birds, and for many, helping the young birds through the most vulnerable year of their lives is part of the attraction. “60% of red tail hawks die in their first year” said Werner “from cars, electric wires, glass windows, farmers. By keeping them through their first winter, we give them a better chance to make it.”

Hawks have binocular vision, says Werner, and he explains that they can see the same detail in an object 100 feet away that we see at 10 feet. He’ll take her hunting and flying most days during the winter, being careful to monitor and keep her weight around 920 grams.

He brings over a pellet. “This is what’s left of a rabbit” he said. It was about the size of a tootsie roll, just hair and bone bits. “That was lunch on Thursday” he said.

I inspected Kimber’s kangaroo hide jesses and cuffs up close. She wears bells on each cuff that ring different tones, so he can find her when she dives straight into brush. He can repair her bent feathers, even attach new sections of feather using a hypodermic needle, if necessary. Every feather counts when it comes to precision flight and hunting. Her claws are exceptionally sharp.

Anyone interested in pursuing falconry as a sport can see the Department of Natural Resources website, where permits are offered after a two year apprenticeship and education. There’s a lot to learn about the wild raptors.

“As falconers, we’re ambassadors to wildlife” Werner says.

So, when you’re out and around Bay Hundred this winter, don’t be surprised if you see Werner and Kimber. She travels in a cage in his SUV, and might be found soaring above a field, sitting on his gloved hand, or just maybe, sitting in a public location, where you, too, can stare right into those sharp golden eyes. You’ll feel one step closer to nature.

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