Hack (falconry)

Hacking is a training method that helps young falcons reach their hunting potential by giving them exercise and experience. This technique is used to prepare the falcon to become an independent hunter. The sequence of the procedure includes captivity, releasing, flight, and either the falcon will be recaptured for falconry or released into the wild. This has also been adapted to other raptor species to preserve the population. Generally, falconers agree that hacked falcons are better and more preferred in the field. Hacking is beneficial, not only for the falconers, but for the bird itself and the species; however, there are some criticism and restrictions that come along with this method.

Hacking sites are usually large tracts of land. These areas have to be similar to the natural surroundings of a wild nest. The young raptors are put in a “hack box,” boxes that contain a nest inside that protect them from predators and are usually placed on a high site, e.g. cliffs, atop poles. Eggs are either captive bred or taken from wild nests and the chicks are placed in the boxes a couple of weeks before they reach their fledge age of six weeks. Until then, the birds are closely looked after and provided food without too much human contact.

The box is open after they have been in there for about 5 to 10 days which gives them the freedom to do what they want around the box; however, they are not ready to fly yet. At this point they can climb down from their box, flap their wings to get a feel for the wind and exercise for those muscles. Just as they would in the wild, the young stay close to the safe area because they know that they are still vulnerable to danger.

The time until the first flight is taken should take about 3 days after the hack box is open, which should be a distance around a few dozen feet. Afterwards, the young start to fly further away for a longer span. Hacking has an indefinite time period because it depends on the weather conditions and the personality of the bird. At this flying stage, the raptors learn how to self-hunt but are still fed and watched over. Males are more likely to hunt independently before females do.

Once the falcons are confident and independent they are either allowed to migrate into the wild, recaptured for falconry and trained further i.e. with a lure for sport, or released into the wild. If the purpose of the hack is to prepare the raptor to be in the wild then the reserve hopes that the falcons will come back in a few years to nest there.

Falconry has been a hunting sport since 2000 BC originating in ancient China and Egypt and since then the technique of hacking has been used and evolved. The term “hacking,” however, was not coined until the Elizabethan era. During that period, falconers brought a “hack,” an old English word for a type of wagon, to a hilltop and placed young falcons upon it when they still did not know how to fly yet.

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Wikipedia