“I caught this morning morning’s minion...”

Gerard Manley Hopkins was an Englishman, so the “dapple-dawn-drawn falcon” in “The Windhover” was undoubtedly a common (Eurasian) kestrel. And he “caught” the bird only in the metaphorical sense of “catching sight” of it... But the poem still seems singularly appropriate for September, when falconers on this side of the Atlantic will set forth to trap American kestrels and other hawks to train and to fly — another kind of poetry.

This list is dedicated to hunting birds with the American kestrel, the Eurasian kestrel, and other “windhovers” from around the world.

If you are not a falconer and have found a young or injured kestrel, it is recommended that you take it to a wildlife rehabilitation facility. Many countries, including the United States, have laws against keeping kestrels without a permit. If you are interested in becoming a falconer you must go through proper legal channels and a license is required first before a bird can be acquired legally.