Falconry with sparrowhawks or atmaca
The Turkish Government after initially banning falconry as a sport in 1988 (in part due to the government’s implementation of the European Council Directive on the conservation of wild birds) and the protests that ensued afterward allowed falconry as a regulated sport again in 2002, with the use of sparrowhawks only. The hunting season with sparrowhawks in Türkiye is between mid to late August and early November, which coincides with the migrating period of both quail and sparrowhawks amongst other large numbers of bird species. Passage birds (young birds in their first year) are trapped under licence and falconers are allowed to keep sparrowhawks to hunt for quail (Coturnix coturnix). The regulations governing falconry are within the hunting regulations, which require falconers to have a Master Falconers licence.
Exceptional birds are kept and this is determined by their colouration, shape, or size when trapped or by hunting skills during their captivity. These will sometimes rarely be kept through the moult and are usually released back into the wild by the end of October when the season ends. They are released for two reasons, first economic reasons as they do not wish to feed and moult the hawk when a fresh bird can be caught the following season, and second to allow them to breed in the wild. It is often frowned upon if one keeps a ‘mother’ bird. However, environmentalists claim that the released birds are traumatised either by the intense human contact or the fact that their migration has been interrupted.
The rehabilitation of injured wild raptors re-introduced into the wild does not support this claim. Other factors that one could argue are that young raptors have high mortality rates (70-80%) in their first year alone and that falconers are indeed assisting in helping the birds become more proficient in their hunting skills as well as ensuring that they are at their highest weight when being released at the end of the hunting season. By the time that sparrowhawks arrive in the eastern Black Sea region some have travelled halfway on their migration route, large numbers are lower than their optimum weight with some not surviving the remaining part of their journey.
When tethered, the hawks are kept outside on a high tree branch or a screen perch. During the night, the hawks are taken inside the home or mews and are well-manned because of this constant human contact. Predators such as cats, dogs, foxes, and other birds of prey would be a problem if left outside unattended. The Turkish male pastime of frequenting the tea house is an ideal manning station for the hawk, with the busy, crowded hustle and bustle the hawk becomes used to human activity soon losing their fear, often within a few days. Here they will sit on their perches outside or on the falconer’s fist.
Due to the short hunting season training and manning seems to be a hurried affair. The hawk’s first flights are flown on a 30 metre creance attached to traditional jesses, leash and swivel attachment. When the hawk has caught quarry and is trusted, it is flown without the creance but still with the combination of jesses, leash and swivel. To prevent the hawk from injuring itself through bating, the newly caught hawk in the initial manning stages, a thin cotton loop is placed around the hawk’s neck on one side and under the wing on the opposite and attached to the jesses with a small leash. This works without complications and helps by evenly distributing and releasing pressure on the legs. Bells are also attached to the leg above the anklets and on the two centre deck feathers.
When the hawk is flown, the obvious hazard is being caught amongst tree branches, etc. To overcome this, falconers often climb the trees or use a long stick with a hook to retrieve the hawk. The way of hunting and husbandry seems to be based upon tradition and the constraints of a short hunting season and not based on modern or practical methods. The hawk’s diet when freshly trapped consists of force-feeding the hawk with half a boiled egg daily until its first kill. The hawk learns to accept this perhaps out of hunger as its weight reduces. This custom seems based upon tradition and may be because of a lack of refrigeration for keeping meat which was a highly valued food in ancient times. It may also be based upon the misconception that to deny the hawk meat would make it much more eager to kill. There is no evidence to support this and it is based purely upon reasoning. The hawk’s diet consists mainly of either kills or trapped animals fed to the hawk; this has also been known to include trapped raptors.
Traditional general husbandry and hunting do not involve weight monitoring, there seems to be no use for the scales at all. The falconer feels the breast to determine the hawk’s weight without observation of the bird’s mutes. However, this is changing albeit slowly as modern methods are embraced. Hunting techniques do not involve the use of a lure, with the retrieval of a loose hawk through a hand-held dead quail being presented to the bird and a whistle as a command. Some birds are so obedient that they come to the glove or hand just through the whistle, obviously associating the outstretched hand as a suitable comfortable perch from which to hunt for food. Summer months in the Black Sea region are hot and dry, and autumn months with wind and rain. The hunting season does not extend into the winter months which can be very cold with some snow.
Falconry is practiced mainly in the Black Sea region and around Istanbul. People in the Black Sea region are famous for their love of falconry; however, it is in decline. This is due to various factors such as urbanisation, environmentalists and lobbyists applying pressure upon the government, modern distractions, and even brides being reluctant to wed a falconer due to the required commitment. This serious decline is significant in the last 35-50 years. In 2006 it was estimated that less than 4,000 falconers existed, mainly people of the older generation, this decline from an estimated 15,000 practicing Falconry in 1971. Today it is estimated that no more than 3,000 falconers exist and this decline is now reaching a critical point. Effort is required to assist and encourage people to keep this cultural heritage going otherwise it may well disappear within the next generation.
The Preparation and method of trapping
The preparations begin in the summer months before the bird migrations commence. This begins with knitting the dhogazza, triangle, or stream nets required to trap the sparrowhawks. These nets consist of a dark-coloured (usually black), soft, fine net with a mesh size of approximately 65mm – 70mm square. Dhogazza nets measure approximately 180cm x 180cm, triangle nets are another version of the dhogazza with stream nets being far simpler to set up and placed in openings between trees and other areas that have cover. The trapping house or hide is built in a prominent position where migrating sparrowhawks are expected. These are either given a flat front or ‘L’ shape depending upon where they are sited with a small window to allow the trapper to observe any airborne sparrowhawks. The hide is constructed with a combination of sticks and leafy branches affording camouflage to prevent the hawk from becoming suspicious.
The net is placed to one side of the hide to allow the trapper to place the decoy bird to encourage the hawk in. However, before the trapping of the hawk can commence it all begins with the mole cricket (Gryllotalpa vulgaris). These crickets can be found under cow or sheep droppings or in their harbourage, which is a hole in moist ground. These can be easily flushed out by applying a little soapy water down the hole, which brings them out immediately. These are then stored in damp soil for use when required before using to trap the red-backed shrike (Lanius collurio), which is the traditional decoy bird used during autumn migrations.
The captured cricket is placed into a small handmade cage, measuring approximately 30cm x 15cm x 20cm. The insect has to be secured with a fine thread around the body, between the thorax and abdomen to prevent it escaping and the trapped shrike gaining access to eat it. The cage design varies from region to region and may consist of fine nooses (made out of fishing line monofilament) to the exterior of the trap or with a trap door mechanism allowing the shrike access.
Young female shrikes are preferred (they are smaller and paler ensuring that they are seen easily) and after fledging emerge from mid-July onwards; observation of their favourite perches decides a suitable location to place the trap, and migrating shrikes are predominantly caught. When the location is decided upon the trap is placed; the wriggling movement of the cricket is just too irresistible for the shrike to ignore the constant movement, which arouses its instinct and curiosity to come to the cage to eat its meal. The crickets are kept moist and replaced periodically to prevent them from being exhausted. Once the freshly trapped shrike has been captured they are tied to a stick approximately 1 metre in length, secured with anklets and a jesse and leash combination. First, the bird is nervous and bates continuously, however, they soon accept the handler’s presence and calm down. At the point of becoming calm and starting to feed the training begins.
Shrikes are carnivorous and a small piece of meat is fastened to the stick for the shrike to eat, any uneaten meat is changed twice a day before it dries out. The birds are manned, with daily exercises where the stick is moved around by the falconer, this gets the bird used to find its way returning onto the perch. After training, the shrike is fitted with small pieces of semi-circular-shaped leather caps for each eye. These are glued into position, preventing the bird from seeing upwards, only being able to see the stick and the food. This is designed to prevent the shrike from seeing the approaching sparrowhawk when used during the trapping session. Whereupon it would scream and attempt to dive for cover instead of dancing on the stick being presented. Often more than one decoy bird is kept as some may die in captivity, become wounded or killed if the trapper is not skilled or to prevent exhaustion if used for long periods during the trapping session. Before or at the end of the hawk trapping season the shrike is released back into the wild.
During the trapping session, observations are made for any sparrowhawks soaring or on the hunt in the vicinity of the hide. The decoy bird is then presented to ‘dance’ on its perch to attract the attention of the hawk, who can see the wing beats of the small bird from a great distance. Upon diving in to catch its prey, the falconer withdraws the shrike to prevent it from being captured and hurt by the hawk. The hawk hitting the net is then entangled and captured, where it is carefully removed to prevent damage to its feathers and the net from becoming damaged. If the hawk is to be kept it is then placed and wrapped into a sock or handkerchief. The austringer may capture several hawks, which may be given to friends or family, selected for various attributes, with any not required released back into the wild.
