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‘An Amazing Year’

Antes Fort woman flying high as she releases her first falcon

PHOTO PROVIDED Gary Fuller, a master falconer, of Antes Fort prepares to release his falcon (shown at right). Fuller taught apprentice, Tierney Clark all about falconry this past year. The two released their birds on March 9.

By JESSICA WELSHANS

For The Express

ANTES FORT — The wings of a wild bird of prey carries it across miles of fields and forests, as the bird eyes the ground for its next kill.

A gloved hand extends into the air, and with a whistle and lure of a small piece of squirrel meat, the bird descends to the perch.

Falconry is an ancient art, dating as far back to 2,000 B.C. when it’s believed to have begun. The relationship that a falconer builds with a wild bird is mesmerizing and greatly respected.

PHOTO PROVIDED Gary Fuller, a master falconer, of Antes Fort prepares to release his falcon (shown at right). Fuller taught apprentice, Tierney Clark all about falconry this past year. The two released their birds on March 9.

Tierney Clark of Antes Fort has found solace in the sport.

She is new, an apprentice under long-time master falconer Gary Fuller, also of Antes Fort.

Clark became enamored with the sport some time ago. She said as a kid she developed a great curiosity with the bird, wanting to someday be a falconer.

Little did she know that reaching out looking for a master falconer would lead to finding family she never knew she had.

Now in her mid-20s, she began her journey by joining up with Fuller and learning about the birds, how they hunt and how to build a relationship with them.

PHOTO PROVIDED Tierney Clark prepares to release her first falcon.

“I posted on Facebook one day if anyone knew a master falconer,” she said.

Her aunt responded, telling her she knew someone, and asked for Clark to come over to her home the next day so she could talk to her about it.

“I couldn’t sleep thinking about it, and when I went over to her house the next day, she had told me it was a relative,” Clark said.

It was Fuller, who is her great uncle, who happened to live just minutes from Clark all along.

“I couldn’t believe it,” she said. “I contacted his daughter, Cathy Jo, who gave me his phone number and I called him.”

He invited her to hunt with him and his dog, Raven, who is usually always by his side while out with a bird. Clark wanted to experience the hunt, and see what it really entailed. It only took one more trip out with Fuller for Clark to realize this is something she wanted to do.

Now, apprenticing with her great uncle two years later, Clark has her own bird. Her name is Juniper. The two trapped it locally.

“We were out a couple of hours trying to find one, when we almost gave up to go home,” she said.

As they headed back toward the direction of Clark’s home, they spotted a red tail on a pole.

It was an unexpected turn of events to an emotional day, as Clark’s mother had just been diagnosed with cancer.

“That weekend I trapped her, and she’s helped me cope with everything and keep my mind from going crazy,” she said.

Getting a permit wasn’t easy for Clark. Each apprentice must pass a written test given by the Pennsylvania Game Commission (PGC) before they can get a bird.

“It was hard and nerve-wracking,” she recalled. “I didn’t sleep that night and had questions in my head all night.”

Comprised of 150 questions, the test covers terminology about the sport and bird, methodology and care of the birds while a falconer has it.

Upon passing, she awaited an inspection of the mew – the place to keep a bird – from a state game warden with the PGC.

When the mew passed, it was time to trap an immature red tail (mature birds are not allowed to be flown).

Clark and Fuller brought the bird home and placed her in the mew overnight. When Clark opened up the door to the enclosure and saw her, this wild red-tail hawk, her first bird of prey, she said she knew this was going to be her bird. Her first bird to hunt.

“I knew instantly she was the bird, and the way she was acting toward me was so good. She was the one,” Clark said.

Clark is Fuller’s second apprentice. His first was about 15 years ago.

“She is someone to beat the brush with,” he said. “It’s great to find someone like her. She is a super hunter and she does a really wonderful job with the bird. No lagging and she is interested in it. All I expect of her is to be a better falconer than me, and I am sure she will be. She is really coming along.”

Not only did Clark find family she didn’t know she had, falconry also brought her closer to her late grandfather.

“I can’t get over how awesome this experience is,” Clark said. “I figured this all happened to me for a reason. My grandfather just passed away in 2016. I mean, this is how this whole thing started.”

She hasn’t seen her paternal grandparents since she was 2 years old. When she tried to reconnect with them 24 years later, she found out her grandfather was ill.

“Unfortunately, he was sick and had cancer, and I wasn’t able to go up and actually meet him on the day he passed away,” she said. “I was on my way up to see my gram. On my way to my gram’s, there was a bald eagle flying into the mountains and I was on the phone with Gary.”

That image resonated with Clark.

That evening Clark’s mom gifted her a painting of a bald eagle flying against the mountains.

“I was shocked,” she said. “My grandfather painted it for my mom and she thought I would enjoy having it. I knew it was a calling for me. And the way she (the bird) is with me, it seems almost natural.”

Clark will stay with Fuller, her sponsor for two years, until she becomes a general falconer.

“He kind of always remains my sponsor through my whole falconry thing,” she said.

They hunt their birds together, and have not only built a strong relationship with the red-tails – like all falconers should- but with each other.

“I love this sport and working with Gary,” Clark said. “It’s amazing to be able to go out with a wild predator and have control over her, and knowing she is going to come back. I can get a squirrel or a rabbit, and she’s doing amazing. You can be out there in nature and you don’t have to be out with a gun to enjoy it. We get along good.”

Both Fuller and Clark released their birds on March 19.

Clark said, “It’s been an amazing year.”

For this first time falconer, it was amazing to watch her bird dive and maneuver through the trees.

As for the sport, Clark said it gives you an experience with a wild animal and an appreciation for nature and learning a lot.

“I learned so much this year and it was all thanks to Gary. He’s taught me so much I couldn’t be more blessed,” she said. “To release her today I was very nervous and I got sick to my stomach with nerves. It was a bitter sweet moment but I was happy I did it. She’s a wild bird and she belongs out in the wild. I’m happy that I got the chance to help her become a better hunter. We helped each other. It’s a bond I will never forget. I can’t wait to start a new chapter with another bird in the fall.”

Upon finishing her apprenticeship, she can take on a sponsor herself, and fly other species of birds.

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