When
you think of the sport of Kings what do you think of? Polo perhaps?
Chess with human pawns? A royal tournament of jousting? How about
training eagles and falcons to hunt on command? Can you guess which
one of these is actually a popular sport in America? If you guessed
falconry you are correct! :)
Recently
we went to a Raptor night at a local conservation area. To say we
enjoyed ourselves would be an understatement! There was a
presentation and video of hunting with hawks and falcons, followed by
the best part: getting to meet the birds in person! There were Red
Tailed Hawks, the introductory level bird for falconry. There were
also Harris Hawks as well as an elite Gyrfalcon and Peregrine Falcon.
This
sport isn't just for anybody! It requires a two year apprenticeship
before you are allowed to hunt on your own. As neat as the birds
were we don't think we'll be taking up falconry any time soon. They
almost sound like more work to take care of than kids!! We have our
hands full with that already! :)
Marie being a big girl during the presentation.
Red Tailed Hawk
Another Red Tailed Hawk
Cole enjoyed being in the Ergo!
Harris Hawk
Peregrine Falcon
Gyrfalcon
Derek's favorite bird.
Looks like great fun bu Marie doesn't look too impressed. How do they get the government to go along with this?
ReplyDeleteI personally think Marie is just trying to look like Winston Churchill whenever we go anywhere!
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There are actually hunting regulations for falconry just like other forms of hunting, including limits on what you can hunt and how many you can get. Plus the training is selective, and there is a limit to how many birds you can have. Also, the birds are catching what they would catch in nature anyways. In many ways, the eagles and falcons are actually helping control overpopulation of a lot of smaller species (including skunks! Maybe we should send some out to Oklahoma!).
This looks really interesting! I would have loved to see those birds! Maybe I could keep and train some sort of sea birds here at Virginia Point? Remember the diving birds in Ping? (Make sure you read Ping to Marie when she's old enough!)
ReplyDeleteI sure do remember the diving birds! I will have to make sure to read that to Marie pretty soon.
DeleteP.S. I absolutely love the picture of Marie! That face! Makes my heart burst to see her!
ReplyDeleteThis is Charlotte. Look's so cool😁 I like the Harris hawk!
ReplyDeleteHi Charlotte, the Harris Hawk was a really neat bird! I can see why you like him. He just sat there, looking around the room at everyone while we were there! You could tell he'd much rather be out finding something tasty to eat!
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