Hello and welcome!
My name is Natalie Honeywell, and I am a pre-apprentice and falconer hopeful. My other hats include friendly neighborhood dog walker and local artist. My goal is to work hard and train a young American Kestrel through the falconry season to successfully catch and eradicate invasive pest species. We will be specifically targeting sparrows and starlings due to their detrimental effect on native wildlife populations and extreme proliferation throughout the San Gabriel Valley. My goal with my Kestrel will be to successfully make a dent together in this population, treat her well, overwinter her through the season, and release her in the spring back to where she was found to go raise a family of her own. This approach is called passage falconry; the trapping and training of an immature bird of prey throughout the season to be released at the end of the season as a mature and prolific hunter that hopefully gets to pass on her genes!
My apprenticeship period will run two years. During this time, I plan to trap and train two birds, one per season, to be released back to the wild in the spring. Most first-year hawks and falcons don't make it to their first spring. By trapping and training a young passage bird, my hopes are to successfully increase her odds of survival and allow her to return to find a mate and raise her own young. The skills we will learn together will help us both; her in her survival and me in my desire to eventually work at a rehabilitation program for birds of prey. I plan to work towards my general falconry license in two years, and once I have it, I will be able to access more conservation avenues and work with more species of birds of prey that need our help! My goal is to continue passage falconry throughout my time with my license, help as many birds of prey as possible, learn as much as I can, and one day make my way into either the education, conservation, or the rehabilitation sphere where one day I hope to be lucky and skilled enough to help rehabilitate bald eagles as a master falconer. This is my dream.
All of the above starts here; with fundraising. I cannot do this without your help. I have done what I can on my end to pass my state falconry exam and hunter's education course. I volunteer on a weekly basis at my local raptor rehabilitation and nature center. The next step for me is finding a sponsor and gathering the equipment I need to safely care for a bird of prey in my home. My hopes are to raise 3000 dollars this summer to cover the necessitated state licensing fees, equipment costs, facilities construction, initial food supply, and veterinary bills we may encounter during our time together on this journey.
In order to get this dream of mine from thought to reality, I must humble myself and turn towards my community. I truly intend to pay it forward in every way that I can. Conservation is a passion of mine. Falconry is an old art. Much older than me. Much bigger indeed. At its core is a deep love and appreciation for the natural order. Your donation of whatever you can spare helps move me one step closer to reaching my goal. The sky is the limit and with the passion that moves me every day, I have no doubt this bird and I will go as far as the winds will take us. Thank you very much for your time, I look forward to updating you with the best of news soon enough.
Warm regards,
Natalie Honeywell