Falconry

During a falconry meeting in Vernal a few years ago, we happened upon a fellow from Michigan who had lost his young peregrine falcon during a training exercise. We put him in touch with a friend who does raptor rehab, and together they located the falcon -- sitting on the roof of the local Walmart, of all places!

Here's Stan with his recovered bird.

Later, we went to see a display of all the birds.

I thought this Gyrfalcon was particularly beautiful.

We talked to some falconers who were looking for a good place to take their birds and hunt rabbits. Since we've covered a lot of local territory, we offered to lead them to a bunny-rich area and go hawking with them.

Here's Peter with his golden eagle. Eagles prefer jackrabbits. We scared one up and watched the golden hunt.

Here's Lee with his pair of Harris hawks, Tweety and Sylvester. The birds work as a team. They caught several bunnies.

I felt a little sorry for the prey, but it was fascinating to watch the birds hunt.
To see a variety of worlds, click here.