Laura Culley

I am allowing Laura to speak for herself about her passion for falconry in her own carefully chosen words. Greatly respected and adored by those who knew her, she was a skilled falconer, writer and naturalist. Despite great physical challenge, she is remembered by many for her passion and perseverance in pursuit of falconry. She maintained a strong positive attitude and created alternative tools and methods for handling her birds in the field.
Laura maintained long-time friendships with many across the United States and repeatedly her clarity of thought and well-spoken nature are mentioned. She was a calm presence, with an ability to distill the essence of a subject from what was spoken to her. Laura hosted many falconers in her home, no matter where she was living and she attended many falconry meets throughout her life. She lived in Wyoming, Texas, Louisiana, Colorado, New York and Arizona and traveled across the United States to falconry and car racing events. She was proud to have flown and hunted hawks in 11 states.
Laura was intelligent and eloquent in her writing. She attended the University of Texas at Arlington, pursuing a degree in English. She continued her education, pursuing a Master’s degree in Native American History, and was only one semester short of completion. This skill in writing allowed her to express herself clearly and concisely, and to help others better express themselves as well. She served as the Media Director for the North American Falconer’s Association from 2001-2007. She also served as an editor and marketing director for American Falconry Magazine from 1999-2001. Laura primarily submitted well written and entertaining hawking articles to her Texas club, but some were also published in other states such as Virginia and California as well.

Laura was also passionate about car racing. Her passion before ever encountering falconry, she traveled across the United States to attend and report on races. She edited many racing publications, including On Track Magazine, Performance Racing Industry Magazine, Hot Rod and Restoration Magazine, and Excelerate Communications for decades. Laura was also hands-on in racing in her younger years and would serve as a highly successful one-woman pit crew for a Triumph Spitfire MK III that she campaigned with her then husband.

Laura had a tremendous online presence, starting with an online group in the 90’s called the Raptor Repertoire. Through this online group, she started many friendships which she maintained throughout her life. In 2012, she started to moderate for the Cornell Hawk Cam chatters group the very year the cameras were installed. She was beloved by this community for her ability to provide complete and factual answers to their many questions, and her lack of hesitation in correcting misleading information promptly. When “pearl clutchers” in the group would be upset that a chick was too close to the edge of a nest and might fall, she instantly gave her signature response: “eons! This has been going on for eons they won’t fall out!”