The Creance Period
The creance is your safety net—a long training line that lets the bird fly while ensuring it can’t disappear into the sunset. It’s where everything you’ve built during manning gets tested.
What is a Creance?
A creance is simply a long, light line (typically 50-100 feet) attached to the bird’s jesses. It allows the bird to fly freely while giving you a way to recover it if things go wrong.
Think of it like teaching a child to ride a bike with training wheels—eventually they come off, but first you need to build skills and confidence safely.
The Goal
By the end of creance training, your bird should fly eagerly to the fist from any reasonable distance, in any direction, without hesitation. When you achieve this consistently, you’re ready to fly free.
Creance training builds on operant conditioning—the bird learns that flying to the fist produces a food reward. Each successful recall strengthens this association, creating a reliable behavioral pattern. The gradual increase in distance is critical because it allows the bird to build flight muscles and aerobic capacity while simultaneously reinforcing the recall response at increasing levels of difficulty. The creance line itself serves a dual purpose: it prevents loss during the learning phase and gives the falconer confidence to work at distances where the bird must actually fly rather than hop, which is essential for developing proper flight mechanics.
Prerequisites
Before starting creance work, your bird should:
- Be well-manned: Comfortable on the fist, eating readily
- Jump to the fist: Reliably hop from perch to glove for food
- Be at flying weight: Keen but not starved
- Recognize the food call: Respond to your whistle or call
Equipment Needed
- Creance line: 50-100 feet of light cord (braided nylon works well)
- Creance swivel: Prevents line tangling
- Stake or anchor: To secure the line (or a helper)
- T-perch or bow perch: Starting point for the bird
- Garnished glove: Food visible on the fist
- Open field: Clear of obstacles and distractions
Step-by-Step Process
Step 1: Short Jumps (1-3 feet)
Start absurdly close. The bird should barely need to open its wings.
- Place bird on perch, stand one step away
- Present garnished fist at bird’s chest height
- Use your food call
- Bird should hop immediately
- Reward and repeat 3-5 times
Step 2: Increasing Distance (5-15 feet)
Once the bird hops eagerly, add distance gradually.
- Increase by 2-3 feet per session, not per attempt
- Bird should now be flying, not just hopping
- Watch for hesitation—if the bird won’t come, you’ve moved too fast
- End each session on a success
Step 3: Full Creance Length (50-100 feet)
The bird should fly strongly to the fist from the full length of the creance.
- Multiple successful flights at distance before progressing
- Vary your position—don’t always stand in the same spot
- Try calling from different directions
- Introduce mild distractions (another person present, etc.)
The 10-10-10 Rule
Many falconers use this guideline: before flying free, the bird should come instantly (within 10 seconds) from at least 100 feet, 10 times in a row, on 10 different days. Consistency matters more than single successes.
Common Problems
Bird Won’t Come
Cause: Weight too high, distance increased too fast, or poor manning.
Fix: Go back to shorter distances. Reduce weight slightly (carefully). Make sure the bird is actually hungry.
Bird Flies Past You
Cause: Bird is more interested in something behind you than the food.
Fix: Choose a different location. Position yourself so nothing interesting is behind you. Check for prey animals in the area.
Bird Lands Short
Cause: Lack of confidence, or line is creating drag.
Fix: Make sure creance isn’t dragging on ground. Use a lighter line. Practice more at shorter distances.
Bird Bates Off Perch
Cause: Startled, or trying to get to you before you call.
Fix: Don’t reward this behavior—return bird to perch. Be more predictable in your routine. Work on patience.
Safety Considerations
Critical Safety Rules
- Secure the line: Always anchor or hold the creance. A bird dragging 50 feet of line can get tangled and injured.
- Clear the area: No trees, fences, or obstacles where the line could snag.
- Check equipment: Inspect the creance, swivel, and attachment before every session.
- Never wrap line around hand: If the bird takes off hard, you could lose fingers.
- Weather awareness: Wind can make creance work difficult and dangerous.
The most common creance problem is a bird that flies to the end of the line and then refuses to come the remaining distance to the fist. This usually indicates the bird is not hungry enough or the food reward is not visible or appetizing enough. Try using a larger, more visible tidbit or slightly reducing the bird’s weight by a few grams. Another frequent issue is line tangles, which can be minimized by using a smooth, round braided line without knots and by choosing an open field free of obstacles. If your bird consistently veers off course during creance flights, check for wind direction and position yourself so the bird flies into the wind rather than with it.
When to Fly Free
The decision to remove the creance is one of the most important in falconry. Fly free too soon and you may lose your bird. Wait too long and you’re just wasting good hunting weather.
Ready to Fly Free When:
- ✓ Bird comes instantly every single time on creance
- ✓ No hesitation, even with distractions present
- ✓ Consistent over multiple days, not just one good session
- ✓ Bird’s weight is dialed in and stable
- ✓ You have telemetry (highly recommended)
- ✓ You’re flying in a good location with recovery options
The First Free Flight
When the day comes, treat it like any other creance session—but without the line:
- Choose a calm day with light wind
- Use your usual location (familiar is good)
- Start at short distance, just like when you began
- Have telemetry on the bird (seriously, get telemetry)
- Keep the first session short—end on success
- Celebrate quietly; don’t spook the bird
That first free flight is one of falconry’s great moments. All the work—the manning, the weight management, the creance sessions—comes together in that instant when your bird chooses to return to you with no string attached.
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As your bird becomes reliable on the creance at distances of fifty to one hundred feet, begin introducing environmental variables that mimic real hunting conditions. Change locations between sessions so the bird learns to respond to you rather than to a specific place. Vary the height and position of your fist to encourage different flight angles. Some falconers introduce a garnished lure during late-stage creance work to begin building the association between the lure and food reward that will be critical for recall during free flight. The goal is a bird that responds instantly and directly to your signal regardless of surroundings.