Photos Provided Falconers meet for last year’s annual Ohio ladies’ falconry meet.

HOLLOWAY — The Ohio Falconry Association is hosting its third annual Ohio ladies’ falconry meet from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday at the Holloway Old Timers Baseball Association.

Wyetta Adams, member of the Ohio Falconry Association and organizer of the annual Ohio ladies’ falconry meet, said the event will feature raffles, food, educational information about birds of prey and flying demonstrations by federally licensed falconers. Adams said some of the birds of prey that will be at this year’s event are a red-tailed hawk, Harris’s hawk and an American Kestrel.

“I put this together three years ago mostly because there was nothing like that around here, and it gives us women the opportunity to get out together without the guys. It’s just good camaraderie,” Adams said.

She said more women have joined the sport over the years.

“I think the women in the club have really grown in the past three years, so I’m so excited about that. It was a lot of guys. Now it’s the women that are really growing in this sport,” she said. “There’s some really amazing women falconers that will be there. That’s the great thing about this is we do learn from each other, too, and it’s so much easier to learn from somebody that’s like-minded, a woman that’s like-minded. It’s just really cool.”

Adams said anyone interested in birds of prey can attend the event and just watch. She said she would prefer the event to be for women only, but she will not turn anyone away.

Adams said people interested in falconry can attend the event to learn more about how to take care of birds of prey. She said that owning a bird of prey can be more work than people think.

“Don’t get into the sport because you want to get into the sport. Make sure that it’s going to fit your life. You need to make sure that it’s going to fit your lifestyle,” she said. “We’re in it for the conservation, and falconers are so passionate about the health and just the conservation of birds of prey. We’re there to educate, basically. That’s why we open up falconry to people that want to learn about birds of prey.”

Adams said that OFA hosts many events to educate the public.

There is a fee to attend the event Sunday. Adams also asks for anyone interested in attending to RSVP on Facebook so that she has an approximate headcount. The event can be found by searching “annual Ohio ladies falconry meet” on Facebook.

She said she doesn’t know an exact headcount of how many people are coming, but based on the number of people who showed interest in the Facebook event, she is guessing that about 30 people will attend.

The Holloway Old Timers Baseball Association is located at 421 E. Main St., Holloway.

Adams said attendees can show up on Saturday night and spend the night in the event hall. She recommends that anyone choosing that option bring sleeping bags and be prepared for cold weather.

“It’s nothing fancy at all. I mean, we’re in sleeping bags and it’s cold. But if you’re a falconer and you’re tough, you can’t be afraid of the cold because that’s our hunting season,” she said.

Adams said many of the falconers travel across the state or from neighboring states to attend the event, so it is more convenient for them to travel on Saturday night. She said games will be set up at the Holloway Old Timers Baseball Association on Saturday night.

Adams said she plans to spend the night there since she has to get everything set up early Sunday morning.

Adams encourages anyone interested in falconry to become a member of OFA. She said that the members step up to help each other out, especially if a bird gets sick.

Anyone interested in becoming a member of OFA can visit its website at ohiofalconry.org or contact OFA Treasurer Mark Kennedy. He can be reached by email at treasurer@ohiofalconry.org or by mail at 50820 Crammer Road, Bellaire.

Visit the annual Ohio ladies falconry meet event page on Facebook for more information.