COLORADO SPRINGS — If you've ever wondered about the ancient pursuit of falconry, wonder no more! There's a master falconer situated at the Broadmoor Outfitters who has a passion for raptors (birds of prey) and educating others all about them.
Deanna Curtis has spent the past 22 years of her life dedicated to the pursuit of falconry, a path that she says has been fun, exciting, and well worth the effort.
The road to working with raptors has meant extensive volunteering, apprenticeship, time spent with and then leading the Colorado Hawking Club, the creation of her own raptor-centric non-profit organization and then, in 2018, taking on a job at with Broadmoor Outfitters to educate others about falconry.
Her job entails caring for 12 birds, a group which breaks down into four hawks, five falcons, one eagle and two owls; all of these animals unique in their needs.
"And they are used for education, absolutely," commented Deanna, "so we have falconry school permits at the Broadmoor and that's what we utilize our birds for is for teaching people about the ancient art of falconry."
A regular day in this falconer's life consists of waking up each day and weighing her birds. This action helps her determine how much food to prepare for each bird and whether it's time to go out on a hunt.
From that point, there's hunting, exercising, and enriching of her feathery friends.
The goal, at the end of the day for Deanna is to pass on the tradition to the next generation and educate others to respect raptors.
To learn more about the program you can visit the Broadmoor Outfitters, or visit the Colorado Hawking Club to learn more about the pursuit of falconry.
