By Jeff Gilbride/Daily News staff
Daily News Tribune
Posted Feb 19, 2009 @ 12:09 AM

WALTHAM —

Natasha Hawke said she doesn't know exactly why she started trapping hawks and teaching them to hunt with her.

"I don't know. I always thought it was cool," the Waltham resident said yesterday. "I finally figured out how to do it and did it."

A mother of five, a licensed falconer and the vice president of the Massachusetts Falconry and Hawk Trust, Hawke introduced local families yesterday to Cupid the barred owl and Brady the red-tailed hawk.

"You have to trap a wild bird of a certain age and a certain species and then you train it ... then you need to try and convince it you're on its side," she said. "There's a saying, 'there's no such thing as a falconer that hasn't lost a bird, there's only falconers that haven't lost one yet.' "

The school vacation week presentation at Prospect Hill Park was sponsored by Waltham Land Trust, a private, nonprofit corporation dedicated to preserving open space in the city.

"We had people from the Audubon Society come last year and they brought a variety of animals," said Inge Uhlir of the Waltham Land Trust. "They brought a woodchuck and an owl. It was very popular, so we said 'let's do another vacation program.' I hope they get an understanding of some of the local wildlife that really counts on us to keep the city green."

As children sat on the floor and parents snapped pictures, Hawke answered questions from young and old alike. Many parents had questions about hawk sightings in their neighborhoods.

At one point, Hawke fed Brady two dead mice, a highlight for 10-year-old James Brenner.

"I liked the hawk eating the mice," he said. "It was surprising because the hawk chopped off the head and ate the body and then ate the head."

Kerry Kokkinogenis, a friend of Hawke, brought her two daughters Solana and Rhea to the event.

"They are really interested in animals," Kokkinogenis said. "It was a lot of fun."

Hawke said she uses specialized bird traps to catch the animals in the wild. What comes next is an intense training process in which she slowly gains the animals' trust through feeding methods.

Once the birds are comfortable with her inside her home, she starts training them outside. Eventually, Hawke will release the birds from restraints to see if they return to her for feeding. Once that happens, the hunting begins. She will release the bird and it will kill smaller prey and return to her.

Hawke said after a single hunting season with the birds, she usually sets them free. Hawke said she plans to release Brady soon. Cupid will remain with her. The owl was found in Vermont after it had been hit by a car and one of its wings does not work properly.

"I always personally have been a big fan of releasing the birds," she said. "A raptor is not a pet, a raptor is a wild bird. I've taken it from the wild."

Jeff Gilbride can be reached at 781-398-8005 or at jgilbrid@cnc.com
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Photos by Lisa Cassidy/Daily News staff.