ART OF FALCONRY A WILD PASTIME ACTON MAN SHARIES UNIQUE BOND WITH BIRD OF PREY.

Byline: Angela M. Lemire Staff Writer

ACTON - Sheba is wild, a fact the red-tailed hawk's keeper, Bob Armbruster, does not forget.

The Acton man and the bird of prey share a unique bond in falconry, an ancient hunting skill.

But for hundreds of years - before gunpowder nearly made the skill obsolete - early falconers combed hunting grounds in search of small game such as rabbits or quail. The hunters ``scared up'' their prey from the protective covers of camouflage, rocks and bushes, forcing them into a vulnerable line of sight that signaled another predator that circled hundreds of feet above, a falcon or a hawk.

The falconer had engaged nature's foes into an instinctive game of chase, then waited to share in the bounty if his trained falcon emerge victorious.

Armbruster, 42, is among a rare group game hunters who perform this ritual in modern hunting circles.

More than a sport or a hobby, it's a lifestyle, he says. It requires years of study, adherence to strict state Department of Fish and Game requirements, proper equipment, a two-year apprenticeship and tremendous commitment to training and to keeping the birds healthy.

When he's not ``flying'' Sheba, he keeps her in a specially equipped, ``mew,'' an 8-by-8-foot cage inside his home.

And when he does ``fly her,'' he drives to desert fields as far away as Lancaster and Palmdale after leaving his construction job nearly every day so she can hunt.

``It's not a sport where you buy a glove or a bat and put it on the shelf when you don't want to do it,'' said Armbruster.

``Most falconers don't want to display their bird as a parrot. There's a big difference between a bird-keeper and a falconer.''

Since Armbruster trapped Sheba in the wild three years ago, the 18-inch red-tailed hawk has come to know Armbruster as her sole source of food.

And Sheba requires a steady diet of small, whole animals year-round for proper nourishment. That means Armbruster must ``fly her'' nearly every day during hunting seasons and weather-permitting conditions. He freezes her ``left-overs,'' raises small animals for her and orders special foods from distributors during the off-season.

While it sounds like a lot of work, falconry has given Armbruster the opportunity to admire wild birds of prey from a uniquely close-up perspective.

Armbruster, Southern California apprentice chairman for the California Hawking Club and a resident of Santa Clarita Valley for 32 years, has been mystified by hawks and falcons since he was young.

He remembers seeing golden eagles, prairie falcons, kestrel hawks and red-shoulder hawks circling the Santa Clarita Valley skies, and he still catches glimpses of them today.

``We're losing tons of habitat for these birds all the time, but they're still right here around you,'' he said. ``You just have to look for them.''

He was introduced to falconry at age 14 when he saw ``My Side of the Mountain,'' a film about a city boy who moves to the mountains, traps a falcon and uses it to hunt.

Falconry has been a part of his life for nearly two decades now.

The experience is much different than keeping a domesticated dog, cat or even a parrot, he said, because the hawk or falcon remains wild and still needs to act on its most basic instinct to hunt. Then, with special hand and vocal signals, the hunter calls back the falcon or hawk.

``It's quite a feeling,'' Armbruster says of the hunt. ``It's an amazing feeling when something that's so wild comes back to you.

``The idea is to let her do what she does naturally. She's still wild after three years, but she allows me to be part of her world.''

CAPTION(S):

4 photos

Photo:

(1 -- color) Bob Armbruster holds his red-tailed hawk, Sheba, as the two prepare for a hunt. The wonder of falconry, says Armbruster, is that the wild bird willingly comes back.

Tom Mendoza/Staff Photographer

(2 -- color in Valley edition only) Sheba takes off from Bob Armbruster's arm while hunting for jack rabbits. Hunting is the main source of Sheba's food, although Armbruster also raises small animals for her to eat.

(3 -- color in Valley edition only) Using a pair of binoculars, Armbruster watches a flight by Sheba over her hunting grounds in Palmdale.

(4 -- color) no caption (Sheba the hawk closeup)