The Queen of the Forest
Josefine Gebendorfer
Southern Germany
Josefine hunts in a forest she has known since childhood, one she moves through with an ease that only comes from long familiarity. Some of the trees were cared for by her great-grandfather, and others have been there long enough that no one remembers when they were planted.
When she describes a typical day with her goshawk, she begins not with the bird, but with the place.
"Thinking of a typical day with my goshawk, I always think of the forest I grew up with. The trees, the hills and everything within, I know since I was a child. I think of me standing on top of one of the small hills there, surrounded by big old trees even my great-grandfather took care of. I listen to the loudest silence imaginable: leaves moved by the wind, birds that recognise us and call out as loud as they can. I think of the smell of the forest floor, wet ground, wood and rain. Standing there, I look at my little goshawk and she seems calm. That's when I know we are exactly where we belong. Home."
Early Lessons
Josefine's path into falconry began through hunting. As a child, she followed her father into the forest and learned early how the land, weather, and animal behaviour are tied together. At seventeen, she completed her hunting exam in Germany, absorbing different methods along the way. Falconry appeared briefly during those lessons and stayed with her only as an idea, long before it became a frequent practice.
For several years, she hunted in more conventional ways. Falconry remained something she intended to return to. It was not until 2020, when she had work, stability, and time, that she completed her falconry training and began flying birds seriously.
Shaped by the Forest
Her choice of a goshawk was guided by the ground rather than by ambition. The area around her home is heavily forested, with little open space and few long flight lines. Falcons would struggle there. Eagles would be poorly suited. A goshawk made sense.
"I thought falcons or eagles wouldn't have the best time with me at this place," she explains. "I wanted to make sure to fly with a bird that could cope with the conditions here, just in case the bird would decide to live by herself and not come back to me."
Responsibility is at the foundation of that decision. The bird must fit the place, and the place must be one the bird can survive in without her.
A Living History
Josefine draws from a range of falconry traditions. She reads German texts that stretch back centuries and has studied Slovakian, Asian, and Arabian approaches as well. Tradition matters to her, but only when it serves the bird in front of her.
"Without traditions, I wouldn't be able to handle a bird of prey," she says. "But I would not agree that one tradition fits every bird."
Two falconers shaped her early years most strongly. One, a German falconer experienced with goshawks, taught her steadiness and consistency and took her to good hunting ground. The other, a Slovakian falconer she met while working at a falconry centre, taught her how to adapt when methods failed, how to calm a bird, and how to provide proper medical care. Between them, she learned to observe closely and adjust rather than impose.
The Queen’s Intelligence
Goshawks are often called the queens of the forest, and Josefine's explanation carries no exaggeration.
"Goshawks live in the forest, which means they know everything about it. They know every tree, every bush and every hedge. They know how their prey behaves and anticipate every move it will make. While flying, a goshawk is the most agile bird of its size. Even places that seem unreachable can be the perfect place to catch prey. She never chooses the easiest path, but always the best one."
Her bird's temperament reflects that intelligence. Josefine describes her as calm, but quick to lose patience, a bird that processes sensory information far faster than a human ever could.
"They think differently than humans," she explains. "They recognise things we don't even consider."
The Daily Routine
A hunting day begins with routine. Josefine prepares herself and the bird before entering the forest. Once there, she checks the weather carefully, paying close attention to wind. She chooses where they will hunt, prepares the lure, checks her knife, and only then takes the bird from the transport box. While fitting jesses and telemetry, she watches posture and mood. Often it is only at this moment that the goshawk shows her motivation.
She lets the bird guide her movement through the forest, trusting its sense of where prey may be lying. Sometimes she uses a thermal camera, not as a replacement for instinct, but to improve the bird's chances. If a hare is found, she approaches from a direction that will push it downhill, where escape becomes harder.
As soon as the goshawk leaves the glove, Josefine runs. Some days the hare is simply in better shape, turning at the right moment or jumping high enough to break contact. Sometimes the bird chooses not to take a particular hare at all.
When a catch is made, Josefine redeems the hare cleanly and allows the bird to eat the heart, lungs, and one foreleg. Afterwards, they return to the car and the bird is given time to settle. They spend a short while together before the day continues or comes to an end.
The Silent Hunt
Josefine prefers to hunt alone or with one other person. Larger groups bring noise, and noise changes behaviour.
"Hunting alone is way more silent," she says. "You see more of the prey's nature if you walk carefully and respectfully through their territory."
Over time, she has learned to read the forest more deeply. Wind direction, temperature, and light all matter. She notices tracks in the leaves and signs in the ground. Often, she knows how prey will escape, even if she cannot explain why.
"Most of the time I know how the prey will escape, but I can't tell why. It's a feeling you develop if you watch closely."
The bird reads the forest with greater clarity still. Josefine recognises the signs: the way her goshawk bows forward to look more closely, tight feathers when she disagrees with direction, calm, puffed plumage when everything feels right.
The Art of Trust
Some lessons come slowly. One of the hardest was learning to let go and trust the bird's judgement. Josefine once believed that if weight and motivation were right, the bird should hunt.
Experience taught her otherwise.
After reclaiming the bird from the moult, she tried to rebuild recall through practice, only to find the bird more interested in flying free and searching for prey. Eventually she adapted, allowing hunting itself to rebuild recall.
"Standing underneath, panicking and calling will not help," she says. "I learned to watch, stay calm and give her the time she needs."
There have been moments that surprised her entirely. On one occasion, while searching for a hare, the goshawk flew into a small tree and stared at the ground. Josefine waited. Recall brought no response. Suddenly the bird dropped into thick cover and took a young roe by the head, an animal she had never been trained to hunt. The bird had been responding to something Josefine could not see.
A Sense of Belonging
Josefine continues to practise traditional German methods such as "abtragen", carrying the bird until trust forms, and "freie Folge", free following in the woods, which allows the bird the greatest freedom possible while maintaining control.
When asked why flying a goshawk in this forest matters, her answer is measured.
"Flying a goshawk in my forest has taught me where I belong. As humans, we have moved away from our roots, but nature and culture don't have to be at odds. If we pay attention, we can still live within the natural world rather than outside it."
The goshawk is known as the 'Queen of the Forest' because she belongs to it entirely. By walking beneath her, Josefine has learned to do less and observe more, trusting in what the bird and forest reveal in their own time.