In this fun, gem packed interview I talk with Heather McNemar; diversely accomplished falconer and owner of Mountain State Falconry Supply. We cover a LOT of ground, so I'll provide a time stamp recap below:

1:00 - 21:30 - Intro where I monologue the harrowing story of losing my peregrine, and the lessons learned. (Spoiler alert: I got him back!)

25:30 - Heather's background and intro to falconry.

25:30 - Passage Coopers Hawks. We cover husbandry, flight styles and slip management, and Heather's lessons on manning, health and burn rate with these high-octane birds.

56:20 - Kestrels. Heather is one of the folks who has truly embraced the kestrel's hunting style and applied it to falconry to have hugely successful days with her kestrels. She shares with us her approach to slip management and entering birds. We discuss the elements of bravery and self-preservation that you need to understand to be successsful with a kestrel. Then she runs us through her husbandry and fitness routines that are key to her success. I'm not going to lie, after this interview and everything I learned from Heather, I am seriously thinking about snagging a late season kestrel and trying my hand at spring starling hawking after I put my big birds up.

1:18:00 - Red Tails and squirrel hawking. We cover slips, and hawking in low game count years, how a dog can change you squirrel hawking game, and the age old question of "Does size matter?".

1:33:10 - Dachshunds. The long hair version specifically. Heather shares her experiences adding a dog to the mix of both family and hawking.

1:41:40 - Mountain State Falconry Supply. We discuss the start and inspiration for Heather's new falconry store, her passion for supporting other falconers through her sourcing, and a new hawk box she is offering with a brilliant guillotine style front.

You can find Mountain State Falconry on the internet here: https://www.mountainstatefalconrysupply.com/ and follow them on Instagram @mountain.state.falconry.supply

Passage Coopers Hawks, Success With Kestrels, and Squirrel Hawking Red Tails