We lost one of the all-time great falconers today. Harry McElroy passed away at the age of 94. The last time he was seen, outside of his closest family and friends, he was riding his horse and flying his bird across the Arizona desert.

Past AFA president and close friend to Harry, Jamaica Smith will be sharing her thoughts in this space. We also invite all who have known him, or known of him, to share your memories. 

The 2025 DHC will be a tribute to Harry and his devotion to the sport of falconry, making it a place where all were welcome and all were encouraged. Let’s continue to carry out this most worthy tradition as a way of honoring the man and his legacy.

What a blast! Thank you to everyone who attended and help set a record with over 75 people. I hope everyone had a chance to ask all of their questions. If not please don't ever hesitate to reach out to any of us personally through our contact page: 

https://www.arizonafalconers.com/AFA-Contact

To find out what the next steps you will need to take to begin your falconry journey please check out this guide we wrote specifically for you:

https://www.arizonafalconers.com/Want_to_be_a_falconer

Here are some of the great shots you snapped and sent in:

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Covid-19 hasn't changed how we hunt but it is modifying how we gather.  For this upcoming Desert Hawking Classic we debated for a long time on how to handle it best.  What we settled on was finding a reasonable solution that prioritized the safety of our membership and the continuation of our tradition while bearing in mind the public perception events like this generate.  

Our go to meet coordinator and board member Nate Danforth has put in a lot of time and effort to find a fantastic remote location for this upcoming event.  While we will not be hosting a banquet or in person raffle we still think this is going to be a meet to remember.  This unique location with plentiful game and wide open spaces will allow for all the social distancing you can shake a flushing stick at.  

With the variety of lodging options, there will not be a "central meeting spot".  We highly encourage everyone to arrange and communicate through cell phones and social media to arrange meet ups and gatherings.  Please understand that falconry incorporates a very diverse crowd and people with pre-existing health conditions or loved ones with them are welcome and encouraged to make their preferences clear to others.

Please register at the following link for the DHC. 

https://www.arizonafalconers.com/event-4070914

It will help us plan accordingly.  Since we are not having a banquet this year there will be no costs associated with registration and shirts will be available for purchase online with direct shipment to your home address.  Link for purchase will follow as soon as we get it.

Hello All! As you have now heard, due to Covid 19 we will be doing a live broadcast instead of the planned pot luck for our summer picnic. As this event is designed mostly for prospective falconers to get a chance to ask questions and find sponsors we are hoping we will be able to meet all your needs virtually. This is our first attempt at this so please forgive any technical difficulties.

This years DHC was held in Oracle, AZ at the world famous Biosphere 2.  It was certainly one that will be remembered for years to come.  Fantastic venue, great company and pretty decent hunting fields. 

As with any AZ meet, Harris's hawks made an appearance in force.

They also certainly did their job racking up the headcount.

They didn't take all the glory as we had a nice variety of other hawks, falcons and even a good amount of eagles this year!

We were fortunate enough to have eagle falconers willing to share the experience of apex north american falconry and introduced eagle handling to many other eager falconers.

The Hawk Talks were very popular with the biosphere tourists and we were happy to share our passion for the sport and these animals with them.

At the banquet there was a lot of important recognition to go around.  The apprentice of the year award was so difficult to choose this year.  We ended up picking Jack McQuerry but had to give two other awards to exceptional apprentices, Amber Danforth and Carissa Wood.

Two other special awards were given out.  The Ken Mesch award was given to Pam Hessey and a special thank you to former president Charlie Kaiser for his his of service and dedication to the club.

As with any meet, of course the best part was building new friendships and reinforcing old ones in the field over quarry and back at the venue over drinks!

If you happen to be reading this post trying to decide if it's worth it to go to an Arizona Falconers Association Desert Hawking Classic hopefully this answers the question with a resounding yes!

This presentation was put on by the Arizona Falconers Association at our annual Desert Hawking Classic meet. This year our Apprentice Coordinator Matt Hankins gave the presentation with support from our Vice President Harold Smith. If you have any questions please feel free to visit our website www.ArizonaFalconers.com or email us at AFA@ArizonaFalconers.com You may download and view the slides here: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1eSDcbTU183jHJq3ZgVj-jsEuQ-z-qudX

Thanks to the quick action of local Tucson falconer Bob Carson and the rehab experience of Phoenix falconer Jerry Ostwinkle at Arizona Raptor Center this Harris Hawk that was cruelly shot with an arrow has been re-released back into the wild to join its family group after a full recovery.

https://kvoa.com/news/2019/11/15/harriss-hawk-shot-with-arrow-recovered-and-released-back-into-the-wild/?utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook_News_4_Tucson_-_KVOA&fbclid=IwAR1keXfMPeY2sAd78Pljg4FbW0XgxKXHPDtyXP1rwkyDgzNqTXmYq8FtVSk

Dear Arizona Falconers,

Some of you may have received a letter from your falconry coordinator recently.  If your falconry license is due for renewal, then you should receive a letter shortly if you have not already.

The letter explains to falconers that they are required by R12-4-428(13-b) to comply with an annual veterinary inspection.  The Arizona falconry regulations [R12-4-422(G)] state:
“G. The Department shall deny a sport falconry license to a person who fails to meet the requirements established under R12-4-409, R12-4-428, or this Section. The Department shall provide a written notice to an applicant stating the reason for the denial. The person may appeal the denial to the Commission as prescribed under A.R.S. Title 41, Chapter 6, Article 10.”

This change happened during the last cycle of Article 4 revisions done in 2013.  To my knowledge, the Arizona Falconers Association was completely unaware that we were going to be held to further regulations outside R12-4-422 which governs our falconry licenses.  We would have opposed such an inclusion, based on the fact the falconry regulations already set specific and perfectly adequate captivity standards for falconry raptors.  

Currently the club is working with the AZGFD during their 5 year review of Article 4.  We have already stated that we are opposed to the veterinary inspection required by R12-4-428(13-b).  We will continue to work to have falconers exempted from the regulation based on (but not necessarily limited to) the following:
  

 The captivity standards set forth in R12-4-428 are redundant to the existing captivity standards set forth in R12-4-422.

    

The annual veterinary inspection places an undue financial burden on the stakeholders (licensed falconers).

    

The annual veterinary inspection places undue behavioral stress on many falconry birds.

  

The annual veterinary inspection accomplishes nothing for the safety and wellbeing of falconry birds.

Please be aware that if you are due for renewal this year, the club’s official recommendation is that you comply with it so as to continue to demonstrate to the AZGFD that falconers are a law abiding group within the hunting community.  We are asking at this time for each falconer who must comply with this requirement to document for the club the financial burden this places on you, and any behavioral stress your birds experience as a result of this inspection.  Please email any documentation you can provide to me at president@arizonafalconers.com.

Regards,

Jamaica Smith
AFA President

If you would like to read the relevant laws yourself you can find them here: https://apps.azsos.gov/public_services/Title_12/12-04.pdf

I am very excited to announce that the AFA Desert Hawking Classic 2020 will be held in Oracle, AZ at the Biosphere, January 23-26, 2020. The Biosphere is an all-in-one venue that will provide for our speakers, workshops, weathering yard, picnic/bbq, lodging (yes, lodging too!) and banquet needs. The Biosphere is a beautiful and unique location for our meet and right in the middle of thousands of acres of public land. Available nearby quarry include; Black Tailed Jackrabbits, Antelope Jackrabbits, Cottontail, Quail and even Duck.

Alternative lodging is nearby however I don't think you'll want to miss staying in the amazing casitas on the Biosphere grounds. A link for booking rooms will be provided soon and will be $99/night. I look forward to seeing you all there. Happy Hawking!

-Nate Danforth DHC Coordinator

We will be firing up the grill with the club providing entrees and water but please bring a dish to share. Other drinks are BYOB. Meet new members, visit with old friends and bring any questions to the brief membership meeting. For those looking for a sponsor, this is your best opportunity to meet other falconers and network. Hope to see you there!

Date: Saturday, August 10th 2019

Time: 11am - 3pm

Date: Saturday, August 10th 2019

Location: Thumb Butte group picnic area in Prescott, AZ

Google Map Link

Photos from last years picnic: