Acquiring a raptor

The seasons

So the claim that no falconer may capture passage birds after January 1 is false: the window runs to January 31. And nestlings may not be taken only on weekends in a narrower spring window; that is a fabricated rule the exam uses as a distractor.

Nestlings

• One nestling per nest, and only if at least one other nestling remains in the nest.
• At the time of capture the falconer must install metal flashing at the base of the nest tree: at least two feet wide, wrapped completely around the tree, at least four feet from the ground, and painted to match the trunk. Remove it after the remaining nestlings have fledged.

Adults, and birds you may not have

A falconer who captures a raptor in adult plumage must immediately release it at the site of capture. That applies to every license class, Master included: there is no adult take in New York. A falconer must also immediately release any bird caught unintentionally or that they are not authorized to possess. If you capture a bird you are not allowed to possess, you must release it immediately; you may not hand it to another falconer or request an exception after the fact.

Raptors captured from the wild may never be bought, sold, bartered or offered for sale under a falconry license. Captive-bred progeny of lawfully acquired raptors may be, to people licensed to possess them.

Capture must not use any method injurious to the bird. You need landowner permission on private land and administering agency permission on public land before capturing. New York does not require a separate signed capture authorization form: your valid license and permission are what you need.

Who owns the take

This is the fiddly bit, and the exam asks it directly.

• If you are present at the capture site when a wild bird is taken, you are treated as the person who removed it from the wild, even if someone else physically caught it. You report the take, and it counts against your annual take.
• If you are not present, the person who captured it must be a General or Master falconer, they report the take, and it counts against their annual take. If they later transfer the bird to you, both of you report the transaction.
• A falconer with a long-term or permanent physical impairment that prevents attending a capture may have another licensed General or Master falconer capture the bird; the absent falconer reports it and it counts against their take.

Injured during trapping

If your trapping efforts injure a bird you may either put it on your permit, reporting the take and counting it against your allowance, or transfer it directly to a veterinarian or licensed wildlife rehabilitator, in which case it counts against nothing. Either way you pay for the care and rehabilitation.

Other routes

You may obtain a raptor from someone outside New York by any method legal where they reside. The department may authorize the donation of a raptor to a falconer. A General or Master falconer may take a first-year raptor of an authorized species directly from a licensed wildlife rehabilitator, and it counts as one of that year's wild takes.

Species you may not hold

The Northern Harrier is listed as threatened in New York and may not be possessed for falconry by any license class, including Master. The department may prohibit possession of other raptors where it would threaten the species or the sport.