From nesting to maturity, falconer watches bird grow

It’s said man’s best friend is his dog.

Audrey Sohikian, a local wildlife biologist, agrees. Her Golden Labrador Retriever holds a special place in her heart; but it’s not any greater than the love she has for Drogo, her juvenile Red-tailed Hawk.

Drogo was captured last fall, south of San Marcos, for a two-fold purpose: the preservation of his species, and to become Sohikian’s partner in the sport of falconry.

“I wasn’t a fan of it at first, after all, you’re trapping a wild bird,” Sohikian said. “But when you look at the mortality rate, especially among a Red-tailed Hawk, it’s about 80 percent in the first year.”

That’s just 20 out of 100 hatched in Hays County that lives to see adulthood, a statistic that was startling to her.

Sohikian became involved in wildlife rehabilitation after graduating from Humboldt State University in 2014.

“We came into possession of a small Goshawk – a nestling we had to raise by hand,” she said. “Someone had to teach it how to be a Goshawk. How to hunt, how to do what it’s naturally intended to do.”

That’s when she found out about falconry.

“I thought how am I going to teach this bird how to be a hunter?” she said. “So, I found a local falconer and he showed me the basics.”

In the months that ensued, Sohikian was able to watch the bird learn as it matured. She was even able to go out on its first release.

“Getting to see this bird, from a nestling to maturity, and to see how a falconer was able to teach a wild bird to hunt and be a successful killer … it was incredible,” Sohikian said. “I went into bird rehab because I liked the aspect of handling them and giving them a second chance – my two favorite things. So, falconry really hit home for me, especially when I found out you can actually make a bond with the animal.”

Sohikian and Drogo have been together since last October. From day one, the main goal was to get him to stand on her glove and become comfortable with his new lifestyle.

“He was in defensive mode,” she said. “He was all ‘puffed up’ and almost catatonic because he was unsure of his surroundings.”

But it took a little time, about a month, before Drogo fully warmed up to his new friend.

“He knows I won’t cause him any harm or stress,” she said. “He’s my partner.”

Falconry has a lot to do with weight management, something Sohikian struggled with in the beginning.

“It was a challenge for me coming from a rehab background,” she said. “It was counter-intuitive for me to lower a bird’s weight. I specialized in emaciation cases. I was all about raising a bird’s weight.”

But the truth is, a bird must be hungry enough to hunt, especially with a human present. So, falconers closely monitor their birds’ weight by weighing them every day to ensure they are in good condition to hunt. The raptors never go hungry because they are hunting their own food each day but if nothing is caught in a day or two, then the falconer will feed the raptor a little extra at the end of the hunt. It is after all the falconer’s primary goal to guarantee the raptor is in excellent condition both physically and mentally.

Sohikian intended to release Drogo back into the wild already but her sponsor suggested she keep him a little longer because of his exceptional hunting ability.

“We were at a falconry meet hunting squirrels. Drogo did so well in front of my sponsor’s good friend and other falconers, they looked at me and said I’d be crazy to let him go just yet,” she added. “He makes me look really good – probably better than I really am.”

There are three classes in falconry: Apprentice – a two-year commitment; general – a five-year commitment; and master. Sohikian is in her second year.

A sponsor ultimately decides advancement and if a novice falconer can keep their bird or if it needs to be released. Sohikian’s sponsor lives in Corpus Christi and she reports to him regularly. He has been a falconer for three decades and hunts with a Peregrine Falcon.

Some other birds used in falconry are Goshawks, Sharp-Shinned Hawks and Coopers Hawks although Sohikian believes they are a little more temperamental than the Red-tailed Hawk.

Sohikian says Drogo will be set free later this year which will ensure his survival. He will also be of breeding age.

“The biggest surprise for me is how quickly these animals learn,” she said. “It speaks to their survivability and adaptability. How quickly that trust accrues between animal and human … it’s incredible.”