Team Members

ADAM CHAVEZ, MBA

The owner of Adam’s Falconry Service has been practicing falconry since 1975. Adam is currently the President for the California Hawking Club the largest state falconry club in the US with over 200 members. Adam is also the Director-at-Large for the North American Falconers’ Association which has over 1800 members. Adam has participated in and judged numerous sky trial competitions. Adam is the Chairman of the Abatement Committee for NAFA. To date, Adam has personally trained 24 apprentice falconers. Some of his projects include: resorts, agriculture, HOA’s, golf courses, beaches, landfills, transfer stations, retail centers- warehouses, malls, and industrial parks. Adam has a BS in Finance from the University of Nevada Reno. He also has a MBA in Health Care Management from Southern California University.

RAYMOND GUZMAN

A Master Falconer with over 30 years experience. Raymond is also a 2nd generation falconer learning the art from his father who is still an active falconer to this day. Raymond has flown a variety of raptors that are used in falconry and abatement. Raymond has mainly focused on the Goshawk. He like the challenge of working with this somewhat difficult raptor. The Goshawk seems to give him the most joy to work with, all though he likes them all. Raymond started doing abatement work in the early 2000’s at a hotel keeping Seagulls at bay and a vineyard keeping starlings and other small birds from eating the grapes. We are glad to have such a great and knowledgeable falconer on the team here at Adam’s Falconry Service.

VANG VANG

Vang is a Master Falconer with 10 years experience. He is currently flying a Golden Eagles and a passage Prairie Falcon. He has worked in the abatement field in agriculture as well as at landfills. He is also a pretty good hood maker.

CHRIS ALLEN

A Master Falconer with over 30 years of experience. Chris is one of our netting specialists (birds inside of stores). Chris has participated in our water quality improvement project at the beach. By removing the nuisance seagulls we were able to restore the water quality to acceptable levels as well as improve the public’s health and safety at this location. Chris is well known as one of the premiere small birds of prey falconers.

PETER MARINO

A Master Falconer who has worked at several landfills and has experience with Saker Falcons and Harris Hawks. Peter was instrumental at reducing a flock of 5000 gulls down to a very manageable flock of several hundred. This was accomplished at one of the most difficult landfills to work in Southern California due to its proximity to the coast which attracts fresh groups of gulls throughout the day coming in from different locations to try and find a snack.

JAMES YU

James is a Master Class Falconer with a passion for dirt hawking. He started his career in falconry after rehabbing a Western Screech Owl in 2012. Since that faithful day, James has dedicated himself to the pursuit of falconry and the rehabilitation of injured raptors. A Monterey County, SPCA Wildlife Rehab volunteer since 2013, he’s rehabilitated Red-shoulder Hawks, American Kestrels, Red-tailed Hawks, Peregrine Falcons, Cooper’s Hawks and assisted with the Golden Eagles and Ferruginous Hawks. For the past two years, he has concentrated on flying and hunting his Harris Hawk, Gotham and his Goshawk, Bruce. James is proud to be joining the Team and starting a new chapter in with Falconry Based Abatement. James has a degree in Psychology from UCSB.

DAVID FELICIANO

David is a General Class Falconer who has been passionate about animals since he was a young boy. He grew up around large parrots, and took a strong interest in birds and reptiles. He has a Bachelor’s degree from Cal State Long Beach in Geography with an environmental science emphasis. He understands the positive impact nuisance species abatement has on the environment and is excited to learn the art of falconry. David also has volunteer experience in animal husbandry and education at the Aquarium of the Pacific where he developed a passion for educating the public about animals and environmental issues. David has professional experience training dogs and large parrots. He is currently training his American Kestrel, Yeti, and is excited to become a part of the team.

ROXANNE WORD

Roxanne is a General Class Falconer working under the guidance of her sponsor Adam Chavez, owner of Adam’s Falconry Service. Growing up she always knew she would work with wild animals, and birds have proven to be a perfect fit. In addition to training raptors, she also loves working with parrots. Roxanne has experience free flight training a large variety of birds for shows including ravens, hornbills, parrots, and of course birds of prey. She’s excited about taking this connection with the wild to a new level through falconry.

DYLAN CHAVEZ

A second generation General Class Falconer who loves all animals and has grown up around raptors. Dylan prefers micro falconry which means flying the small birds of prey. He used his apprenticeship to work with his Kestrel named “Apollo” before transitioning to his Gyr x Aplo. He is now working full time in the family business. Dylan also helps out on weekends with our Falconry Experience in San Juan Capistrano, CA. Dylan enjoys working with kids and is especially talented in building confidence with our younger guests who may need a little extra help during the hands on portion of the experience. Dylan has his Bachelor's Degree in Communications from CSU San Marcos.

DANNY DUQUE (AKA BRUNO MARS)

Danny is a General Class Falconer who is learning the ropes from his mentor Tim Browne. He is flying a Gyr x Peregrine and works on various projects: transfer stations, HOA’s, landfills, and resorts. He also likes to ride his motorcycle and has taken a cross country trip recently.

ALBERTO ARCEO

Alberto is from Mexico City where he got involved with falconry at a young age. He has always been infatuated with animals especially big cats and reptiles. Alberto is a General Class Falconer. He has experience with various birds of prey and a number of different bird abatement jobs such as protecting blueberries in Washington with Aplomado and Peregrine Falcons. He has experience flying 3 aplomado falcons together along with my gyr x peregrine at the same time. He is currently working at transfer stations and landfills keeping the seagulls at bay. In Los Angeles he also works on a number of pigeon projects. Alberto said ” I am very happy to be part of Adam’s Falconry for he gave me the opportunity and confidence while working on his team to continue to develop and grow in what is my passion.”

GIAVANNA CAPUTO

Gia is a General Class Falconer that has experience as a Rehabilitation Technician. She is trained in wound management and rescue and transport of wild animals. She is efficient at drawing and reading blood samples. She also has prior experience in proper handling of raptors, aquatic birds, song birds, mammals and reptiles. She has a Bachelor of Science Degree in Animal Science from California Polytechnic State University (Cal Poly).

COURTNEY CHAVEZ

Courtney has joined her brother Dylan in the falconry ranks. She is currently training a Saker Falcon. She runs the desk at our educational events we do at A Stones Throw Winery. She is a recent graduate from UC Santa Cruz in Game Design. She is a General Class Falconer.

"Leonard" Okoye Melvin

Desert Boy. Love the lifestyle of falconry. I was introduced to falconry by my brother and never looked back. I enjoy the day to day grind of growing the bond between falconer and raptor. Learning the skills from the Masters is what intrigues me the most. Being able to participate as a partner to my raptors. Fulfilling their instincts to hunt and catch in the wild is the ultimate gift from nature. Leonard is a General Class Falconer.

Luke Deloye

Luke is a General Class Falconer who happens to be Dylan's best friend and was exposed to falconry at the age of 9 when he attended his first falconry meet. He is currently flying a male kestrel. Luke is a few classes short of getting his degree in Business Analytics.

Chelsy is a General Class Falconer. Following in the footsteps of her older sister Jennifer Stephenson, a Master Class Falconer. Growing up Chelsy always had a huge heart for animals. After finding a love for the sport of falconry, She is now continuing her dream to work with wild animals. She is flying her Harris Hawk Sophira, to aid in eco-friendly pest control for Adam's falconry Service.

Chelsey Stephenson

Kati Alcaraz

Katie is a General Class falconer. She has experience working with aquatic animals through 6 years of summer internships at Sea World San Diego. She is now continuing her love for working with animas through falconry. Kati has a bachelor's degree in Criminal Justice from San Diego State University. She currently is hunting with her Redtail Ozzie.

ROBERT "BOOGIE" HENDERSON

Boogie is a Master Class Falconer, and a Veterinary Technician since 2005, with a passion for animals of all kinds. Boogie had a desire to get involved in falconry for many years working with raptors on the medical side. It wasn’t until his wife took him to Adam’s Falconry Experience that he learned the path to his falconry dream. Boogie started off with a Redtail Hawk named Max, his first year as an apprentice, and has since flown a number of raptors. Boogie works part time filling in at Adam’s Falconry Service.

STAFF

OUR BIRDS

Our birds are highly trained for all the right jobs. They are on special diets and treated by Raptor specialists in Southern California.

STAFF

Staff

Team Members