How does one aquire a bird in the U.S.? Are there breeders? If so, how much do red tails cost?

Raptors are highly regulated !! It takes a long time and lots of work to get permits to acquire and keep raptors .It's not at all a casual thing !!

quote:

Originally posted by ColoradoMatt:
How does one aquire a bird in the U.S.? Are there breeders? If so, how much do red tails cost?

A starting place:

http://www.coloradohawkingclub.com/

And regs:

http://wildlife.state.co.us/RulesRegs/Regulations/

Legally? Join a state falconry club, your State's Dept of Conservation will point you to them.
Then join NAFA, the world's largest falconry association.

Joining a club is essential, since its there that you meet a Falconer with a general or master class license who will be willing to sponsor you:
You must show you have a dedication to the sport, experience hunting, and responsible.

Keeping a Hawk fit is easier than keeping a hunting dog fit, your biggest decision will be to decide on what type of hawk to get, as an apprentice you have two options (on most states): American Kestrel (good for Starlings and House Sparrows and Mice) or Red-Tail Hawk (good for rabbits, hares, and squirrels and occasional pheasant and quail and pigeons). Nearly all sponsors recommend a Red-Tail, its easier to manage and easier to keep alive than the Kestrel, but I flew Kestrel for over 20 years and loved them. The most important factors are quarry availability and locations. If you live in suburbs with small fields and friendly neighbors, a Kestrel will provide all the fun you can handle. When I lived in NYC, I switched to summer hawking, since I could get home by 7-8 pm and have at least an hr to hunt swarms of starlings or sparrows that congregated behind parking lots and supermarkets. Of course, I moulted my little guys in the winter and they were in top shape by start of spring with a fresh set of feathers.


Any questions you can just PM me, been a falconer for 33 years.
Cheers