Hacking is a training method that helps young falcon

Falcon

A falcon is any species of raptor in the genus Falco. The genus contains 37 species, widely distributed throughout Europe, Asia, and North America....

s reach their hunting potential by giving them exercise and experience. This technique is used to prepare the falcon to become an independent hunter. The sequence of the procedure includes captivity, releasing, flight, and either the falcon will be recaptured for falconry

Falconry

Falconry is "the taking of wild quarry in its natural state and habitat by means of a trained raptor". There are two traditional terms used to describe a person involved in falconry: a falconer flies a falcon; an austringer flies a hawk or an eagle...

 or released into the wild. This has also adapted to other raptor

Bird of prey

Birds of prey are birds that hunt for food primarily on the wing, using their keen senses, especially vision. They are defined as birds that primarily hunt vertebrates, including other birds. Their talons and beaks tend to be relatively large, powerful and adapted for tearing and/or piercing flesh....

 species preserve the population. Generally, falconers agree that hacked falcons are better and more preferred in the field. Hacking is beneficial, not only for the falconers, but for the bird itself and the species; however, there are some criticism and restrictions that come along with this method.

Captivity

Hacking sites are usually large tracts of land. These areas have to be similar to the natural surroundings of a wild nest. The young raptors are put in a “hack box,” boxes that contain a nest inside that protect them from predators and are usually placed on a high site, e.g. cliffs, atop poles. Eggs are either captive bred or taken from wild nests and the chicks are placed in the boxes a couple of weeks before they reach their fledge

Fledge

Fledge is the stage in a young bird's life when the feathers and wing muscles are sufficiently developed for flight. It also describes the act of a chick's parents raising it to a fully grown state...

 age of six weeks. Until then, the birds are closely looked after and provided food without too much human contact.

Releasing

The box is open after they have been in there for about 5 to 10 days which gives them the freedom to do what they want around the box; however, they are not ready to fly yet. At this point they can climb down from their box, flap their wings to get a feel for the wind and exercise for those muscles. Just as they would in the wild, the young stay close to the safe area because they know that they are still vulnerable to danger.

Flight

The time until the first flight is taken should take about 3 days after the hack box is open, which should be a distance around a few dozen feet. Afterwards, the young start to fly further away for a longer span. Hacking has an indefinite time period because it depends on the weather conditions and the personality of the bird. At this flying stage, the raptors learn how to self-hunt but are still fed and watched over. Males are more likely to hunt independently before females do.

After Hacking

Once the falcons are confident and independent they are either allowed to migrate into the wild, recaptured for falconry and trained further i.e. with a lure

Lure (falconry)

A lure is a mechanism used in falconry. It is a pair of bird wings attached to an object which is swung round and round in a cord, for the falcon to chase....

 for sport, or released into the wild. If the purpose of the hack is to prepare the raptor to be in the wild then the reserve hopes that the falcons will come back in a few years to nest there.

Benefits

• It gives an enhanced experience for young to grow into strong and skilled hunters.
• During hack, the falcons receive more stimuli because the site is set up to mentally condition them, especially since there are other falcons to play and interact with.
• The chicks are secured with safety and food.
• They are given food even when they are becoming independent.
• Hack boxes protect the young from predators
• The caretakers limit contact so that the falcons will not rely too much on human resources if they are released into the wild.
• The use of hacking helps preserve the population of any species of raptors.

Criticism

• According to the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981
  Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981
  The Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 is an Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom and was implemented to comply with the Directive 2009/147/EC on the conservation of wild birds...
  
  , a law in the UK, one cannot disturb wildlife nests, which includes taking any eggs.
• Hacking is considered time consuming and unpredictable.

Restrictions

• There are limited places to have hacking sites because of weather conditions and large spaces in good conditions are scarce.
• Illnesses spread easily when birds are being hacked together, e.g. if one gets West Nile
  West Nile virus
  West Nile virus is a virus of the family Flaviviridae. Part of the Japanese encephalitis antigenic complex of viruses, it is found in both tropical and temperate regions. It mainly infects birds, but is known to infect humans, horses, dogs, cats, bats, chipmunks, skunks, squirrels, domestic...
  
   then the rest of them are prone to catch it.

History

Falconry has been a hunting sport since 2000 BC originating in ancient China and Egypt and since then the technique of hacking has been used and evolved. The term “hacking,” however, was not coined until the Elizabethan era

Elizabethan era

The Elizabethan era was the epoch in English history of Queen Elizabeth I's reign . Historians often depict it as the golden age in English history...

. During that period, falconers brought a “hack,” an old English word for a type of wagon, to a hilltop and placed young falcons upon it when they still did not know how to fly yet.


There were over three-hundred breeding pairs of falcons before World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 in eastern United States. In the late decade of the 40s, a large, abrupt decline of prey birds came about. On top of the pre-WWII causes of gradual decrease of population (e.g. shooting of birds, egg collecting, predators, etc.), the main component to the downfall was the popular use of an insecticide called DDT

DDT

DDT is one of the most well-known synthetic insecticides. It is a chemical with a long, unique, and controversial history....

. The product would be carried in the prey and kill the birds off and DDE, the by-product, would accumulate in a female’s body causing the eggs produced by her to become fragile. Because of this disruption, Peregrine falcons were officially on the federal endangered species

Endangered species

An endangered species is a population of organisms which is at risk of becoming extinct because it is either few in numbers, or threatened by changing environmental or predation parameters...

 list in 1970. 4 years later, a program to restore the bird’s population started in which they are bred in captivity. Breeders adapted the hacking technique so that the falcons and other endangered raptors can become independent once they are released into the wildlife. They were even hacked in the cities because old nests, or eyries

Bird nest

A bird nest is the spot in which a bird lays and incubates its eggs and raises its young. Although the term popularly refers to a specific structure made by the bird itself—such as the grassy cup nest of the American Robin or Eurasian Blackbird, or the elaborately woven hanging nest of the...

, were found atop buildings. Currently there are programs and organizations nationwide that have been successfully releasing falcons into the wild.