Neligh Falconer Brings Red-Tailed Hawk To Area Schools

Daniel Parker of Neligh, a licensed falconer, brought his red-tailed hawk “Buster” to area schools earlier this week.  

He visited Clearwater-Orchard elementary students on Tuesday, explaining how he captured the juvenile hawk, trained it to trust him, and how he hunts with it.  

Parker caught Buster north of Orchard. He uses the hawk’s natural instincts to train it to do as he desires.  Buster wears bells on his talons, so that he can be heard and found. Because Buster is still a juvenile, he doesn’t yet have a red tail.

Parker and Buster were accompanied by their teammate “Bugs,” a dachshund that flushes out rabbits for them to hunt. Working with Parker and Bugs, Buster has a much easier life than he would have in the wild. Bugs and Parker flush the rabbit out while Buster watches from his perch in the trees.  Once the rabbit is out, Buster swoops down upon the furry prey.

With a hood over his head, Buster calmly sat perched upon Parker’s gloved arm during the presentation. The preschool through sixth grade were enthralled by Buster spreading his wings and soaring through the school gym. Buster, tethered by a rope, flew from Parker to his wife, Nicole, at the far end of the gym and then returned. After the presentation, Parker answered questions from the students.  

In the next few days, Buster will be released once again into the wild.