“Grab your hawk by the head and squeeze!” I laughed so hard!!

The dogs facial expressions are priceless 🤣

Me after the English sparrow answer: “Don’t take that big of a bite!” 😂

Thank you for posting this video! As an interested non-falconer in the US, I found this video quite encouraging -- the exam doesn't seem to be as bad as I had imagined. I'm shocked that "grab the hawk by its head and squeeze" was the correct answer to Question 25 -- wouldn't that kind of harsh treatment irreparably damage one's relationship with the bird?

Ahh gotta love the state falconry test. The American exam can supposedly vary by state (as some states have more strict falconry laws than others) although when I took one in Florida about 2 years ago there were no state law specific questions. Got a 95. However, I did get a question that was about flying a goshawk with a peregrine. Goshawks are not native to FL and even worse, FL is so hot and humid that owning a goshawk here would be borderline impossible. Temps are almost always above 25 C (and are usually low 30s) with like 70-80% humidity, except for about 1 month at most. At least that's what it's like where I was, which was more southeast than Disney World. Going north the weather is slightly better. Now I'm in Texas and hawking with some people, still looking into getting sponsored (hopefully in the next 2-3 yrs) and I was told to hold off on taking their state test until I get one. It's a major pain to get started, but I will say I've had a blast shadowing the falconers. Thanks for listening to the rant lol.

"Falconry Karens" hah! Loved that😂

I was following this with you, got the nest intrusion one wrong, but I've dealt with some seriously aggressive breeding Red Tails before (But former hunting birds habituated to people is probably a different kettle of fish to a completely wild bird). I shared your reaction to the "What to do if you get footed". The first thing I could think of when seeing the suggestion of squeezing the bird's head is "That's a way to get a dead bird!" I had similar incredularity when it came up. Luckily I've only been seriously footed by a medium to large raptor a couple of times. The "Distract it with food" answer worked on both occasions. I guess if it's in the exam it would work but man alive I wouldn't want to try it. Ever. Gotta admit I did enjoy your reaction to the manning question. That was great. I was also undecided thinking "Buzzards are generally a bit chill" but also "RTs can be evil." I'd quite like to see you tackle the other parts of the exam. Would be interesting to see what's involved and see more perspective on it. I also agree about the "Falconry Karens" thing. I like going out hunting and I'll go out with people in the field for it, but personally I do prefer "Display style" working with the birds. Low stress and can be a lot of fun and I can find it a great way to unwind. Personally I fly a kestrel and will probably continue to fly micros to the lure because it fits around work and the like a lot easier. Merlin's my current dream bird.

New to this subject - but you’re my go to Falcon guy just for calling out the Karen’s. W creator.

i'm loving the longer videos! as probably one of your youngest viewers, they're helping me tons during my pre-apprenticeship phase. going through the questions and getting a good ~95% of them correct here already is keeping my hopes up for the upcoming test! i know it's not going to be the exact same, but anything i didn't get correct was something to learn from. even if this video was on the more comedic side, i'm grateful for it nonetheless! your videos have helped me so much. reading and studying with your information in the background on my laptop is incredibly helpful! i hope you're enjoying making these videos as much as i enjoy watching them. keep up the good work, dan, and say hello to kit for me!

Yes we have English Sparrows and they’re an invasive species so we can kill as many as we want 😂 This was great fun to watch! Thank you

Also, looked like you were eating jalapeño peppers which are usually hot but sometimes not. The ribs and seeds are the hottest parts so you just going in and biting into it is admirable! I love spicy food but still wouldn't just chomp into a jalapeño!

English sparrow is a misnomer… as others have stated they are an invasive species of weaver finch.. almost cosmopolitan in almost every country

Dan you should have positive reinforcement for getting the answer right lol, I'm sure you would have done even better with out answering with hot chilli brains although very funny. It is an interesting subject, the difference between UK laws and others, I often thought it may help if we had similar laws where a test is needed but squeezed birds heads as changed my mind. Please carry on with these tests it's good to see how good acquired practical knowledge stands up. Good luck.

🤣karens, Lol, falconry displays and standup ? its a novel idea , good job mate.

I see a ton of comments about squeeze head answer. Without knowing if she’s hungry or not (like assuming she had DIDN’T have an appetite) I think that answer makes since. It is the first I’ve heard of such a technique however, seeing as we use hoods in manning, the head squeeze while applying the hood might be familiar and the question could have been intended to lead the test taker to that conclusion. I’m just pondering …and becoming a bit obsessed with finding the explanation LOL

Dan, Dan, Dan. You're mad. But you're more educated now 2B sure :D

Very entertaining Thank you

Hi Dan nice video hope your doing good, the falconry centre we’re I work is so amazing I’m learning more then ever, I was exspecting an answe like squeeze your bird head cuz it is an American test and they are not very clever 😂😂 great video

I feel so bad for you over those chilis. Your dog was ready to call emergency services. Squeeze your bird's head? Big WTF there- you shouldn't have punished yourself for that one. Were have more English Sparrows here than you do in the UK. We call the maggots with wings. I love the Northern Harrier in my back garden because she keeps them thinned out. I got 29 out of 38. Not a pass, but I'm thrilled I have learned so much. This time I give the credit to my good collection of field guides.

Dan this had me crying with laughter. 😂😂😂

Falconry Karen's...If I'd had food or drink in my mouth, it would have been all over my screen and keyboard. That cracked me up. Oh, man, I felt so bad for you eating those peppers. I can handle spicey foods, but I understand the discomfort you're enduring. I think I'd have stopped and finished the test later for safety reasons. :0) Respect though for pushing through. I think I'd have had maybe 28-30 right, but I've not even gone on a hunt yet, so again, I'm just watching too many falconry videos. :0)

Well done! Also literally whats up with squeezing hawk’s head tho tf it should definitely be revised.. Falconry Karens must have written that.

What would you do if a falconry Karen was right there in front of you? Me:release the krak-i mean kestrel

English Sparrows are invasive here and we are encouraged to hunt them! I’m really confused by the “grab the bird by it’s head and squeeze” answer wow!!

I’m in pain for…..STOP!!!!! Thank you 😊

New York state needs to get help to rewrite their exam! Why would you squeeze your hawks head! Well done and sorry for the pain!

Bro turn the gain down on the mic while you’re eating or something 😭🤣

I got a 99 on mine, 1st take.

What happened to the ending. You just cut out. We only got 22 questions

i like ur vidio

You didn't take the seriousness of the situation into acct. The question is stated so that the saftey of your hunting partner is paramount to the saftey of your bird. Grabbing the head is like a serious version of hooding that takes the bird from attack mode to life preservation mode. You would only do this in a very serious situation.

I hate spice food to

can two falconers train the same bird

Do the other test.

Eating those peppers self punishment for you? You must Ave a cast iron stomach

I'd like to see you complete all the sections, but you don't need to eat hot peppers lad!

Should have eaten one pepper for every wrong answer..... Just saying......

Falconry Karens! LOLOLOLOLOL!!!! Nice.