How to Train Wild Birds for Education

Wild raptors may train for months or even years before they can be free-flown in front of a crowd for educational purposes. Modern hawk and falcon trainers often utilize techniques from the ancient practice of falconry. Once the bird becomes desensitized to its instinctive fear of humans, the trainer provides food as motivation for the bird to fly to the glove.

Things You'll Need

  • Licenses
  • Glove
  • Food
  • Jesses
  • Swivel
  • Leash
  • Creance
Show More

Instructions

    • 1

      Acquire licenses and permits. Specific laws vary from state to state, but you need a license to acquire, keep and handle wild birds. You are also required to have certain size, safety and sanitary conditions for housing wild birds. Contact your local Fish and Wildlife agency for details.

    • 2

      Spend time in the raptor's enclosure, always moving slowly and speaking quietly. Bring the bird food (the diet, amount and frequency of feeding depends on the species and the weight of the bird). Let the bird see you put its food on its favorite perch. Do this until the bird becomes comfortable eating and preening in your presence.

    • 3

      Entice the bird to step onto your glove for food. You will need to monitor the bird's weight. You want the bird eager for food, but not starving. The "flying weight" of the bird (the weight at which the bird becomes motivated to hunt, or in this case, to fly to your glove) depends on the species, gender and size of the individual bird. Hold onto the food so the bird must eat while perched on your glove instead of simply snatching the food and flying back to its perch. You can introduce a lure (with food attached) if you want to use a lure in the future to draw the bird back to the glove.

    • 4

      Stand several feet away from the bird with the food and/or lure. If the bird will not fly to the glove, remove the food for two to ten minutes and try again. Over the next few weeks, increase the distance the bird must fly to you for its dinner.

    • 5

      Attach jesses (leather straps) to the bird's ankles. By now, the bird should trust you enough that you can put the jesses on while it's eating. Otherwise, you may need to hood the bird to get the jesses on. The jesses attach to a swivel and a leash.

    • 6

      Attach the bird to a creance (a long, retractable leash for raptors). Start by allowing the bird short flights and enticing it to return to your glove with food or a lure. Gradually increase the distance you allow the bird to fly once it faithfully returns to the glove.

    • 7

      Free-fly the bird without a creance once it faithfully returns from 65 feet away, says "Captive Raptor Management and Rehabilitation" by Richard Naisbitt and Peter Holz.