Just as hunters choose a particular shotgun to hunt a specific animal or bird, the falconer chooses a particular bird for a particular quarry. To hunt woodcock, for example, a small hawk, like a Cooper's or sharp-shinned, is used. A red-tailed or gos hawk would prey on rabbits or squirrels but wouldn't be fast enough to go after game birds. A falcon, like Fanning's T.G., can be used to hunt ducks or pheasants. Another consideration is the terrain.
Hawks are woodland hunters, while falcons are aerial hunters.
In open spaces out west, falcons can hunt water fowl, sharp-tailed grouse and sage grouse. In Maine, though, the only way to hunt with a true falcon is to target ducks on salt marshes, usually in the hours just before and after high tide, Fanning says. He spots and stalks the ducks while T.G. is hooded. Once within about 100 yards of the prey, Fanning unhoods T.G. and gives the bird a chance to rouse - ruffle its feathers in preparation for flight. When he casts T.G. off into flight, the bird positions itself a couple of hundred feet in the air and circles until Fanning flushes the ducks.