Phillip Kenney

In my youth I was a Boy Scout and had a love for the outdoors and a special attraction to birds of prey. In the scouting program there is an honor camper's society called Order of the Arrow. This society is based on American Indian Lore. In my quest to make an Indian outfit I meet a fellow in school who mentioned that he had some feathers that I might find of some use and I could come over after school to get them. The first thing I saw upon arriving at my friend's house was an adult female red-tailed hawk. That was the end of my life as I knew it!

As a falconer I took the usual course of prey: rabbits with a broadwing, then ducks with a longwing, and on to the most challenging of all quarries, wild grouse with a waiting-on falcon. I have made many of life's decisions based on my need to be near grouse populations. Fortunately as an aerospace engineer I have been located in the heart of greater prairie-chicken country (tympanuchus cupido is the fastest grouse in the United States) as well as the aerospace capital of the world, Wichita, Kansas. I begin my day at 4:30 a.m. in order to get off work and make it to the vast prairies of this part of the U.S. in time for a flight with my preferred falcon, the female gyrfalcon or imprinted female gyr-prairie, at dusk.

Grouse hawking demands a methodical and determined nature in its participants. I like to think that these qualities have been carried over into every detail of the "ground up" approach we have pursued with Flint Hills Falcons. I have learned through the years that a second-rate approach is a waste of my time. If one seeks the best and has the will to be tenacious in one's pursuit of a dream, the rewards will always be worth the initial sacrifices.

Tim Hickok

My passion since childhood has been falconry. Many life choices have been driven by the unflagging desire to experience this ancient art/sport in its fullest. I have a Bachelor of Science degree in Wildlife Biology, Kansas State University, 1979. I did my senior thesis on the subject of imprinting and have used this information on our own birds which are often artificially inseminated to produce either hybrids or purebreds. My passion for raptors has led to a respect for the one of the ultimate longwing quarries, grouse. I have spent many hours observing the fascinating mating rituals of my local grouse, Tympanuchus cupido, the greater prairie-chicken. I have been to the far corners of the earth studying animals and consider the lekking (mating) behavior of this dwindling species to be the most intriguing in the entire animal kingdom. Please consider a contribution to help save North America's grouse species via the North American Grouse Partnership.