There are three requirements to qualify for a falconry license. One, the facilities inspection, I’ve discussed a bit in the two posts about building my mews (here and here). The other two requirements are a valid hunting license – falconry is a hunting sport, after all – and passing a 100 point test. I don’t want to go into too much detail about the actual questions, though I can share the breakdown the AFGC sent me in their falconry packet:
Subject Number of Questions
Literature review/definitions………………………………………………………4
Raptor Biology
Species/sex/age Identification………………………………………………..4
Ecology (Habitat/food/behavior/Distribution)………………………..10
Breeding biology……………………………………………………………………5
Falconry
Equipment and facilities………………………………………………………..12
Taking and initial handling of raptors…………………………………….8
General health factors/food/water………………………………………..20
Injuries/disease/parasites……………………………………………………..15
Training/hunting practices…………………………………………………….12
Ethics…………………………………………………………………………………….4
Regulations……………………………………………………………………………….5
Other………………………………………………………………………………………..1
I read a lot of material trying to get ready for the test. The books that helped out the most were the California Hawking Club study guide, Emma Ford’s “Art and Practice of Falconry“, Oakes’ “The Falconer’s Apprentice“, and Mullenix’s “American Kestrels in Modern Falconry“. I also read through The Modern Apprentice a few times. All the studying paid off, I got 100/100 (97 + 3 of 5 bonus), which is apparently the highest ever scored on the new Arkansas test.
Setting up the test took a few weeks, the guy that proctored it was out of town for a while and we only had a few dates that lined up. The closest Arkansas Fish and Game Commission office was an hour and a half drive over to the far side of Beaver Lake. It was weird, I was pretty nervous even though I was confident I’d pass. If you fail the test you have to wait 3 months before retaking it, which would have put me taking the test after a good portion of hawk trapping season and may have not let me get a bird this year. But I passed, so that hurdle is behind me.
Skvarla Falconry 