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.
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Sweet. For centuries this was the considered the highest form of hunting, but it's largely a lost art. Thank you for the post.
ReplyDeleteVery interesting post. I had no idea golden eagles were so big.
ReplyDeleteGreat pictures. I love this.
ReplyDeleteWow very interestig to see the hawks right up so close.
ReplyDeleteOh how absolutely COOL! My husband and I have (for the last three years since being back in Indiana) attended the Eagle Watch Weekend in Monroe County, Indiana. (See the links to birdcountry.us and returntothewild.org on my blog, if interested). Return to the Wild brings their injured 'residents' to the program and they have quite the variety, including a Gyrfalcon. I, like you, think it is a particularly beautiful bird.
ReplyDeleteOn another note, Indianapolis has a pair of nesting peregrine falcons that just this past week gave birth to four chicks. There are two 'falcon cams' installed in the nesting box. If anyone wants to take a peek, just copy this link. http://blogs.indystar.com/falconblog/
Love the names of the Harris' Hawks! We see those frequently in the Arizona desert.
Great post, as always! :)
Very interesting Janie.... I'm glad that man from Michigan found his falcon.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that I would feel sorry for the prey.. BUT--it would be fun watching the birds hunt their prey.
Thanks!!!!
Hugs,
Betsy
I remember when that happened! I'm sorry I didn't get to go with you guys for the "hunt."
ReplyDeleteHow cool! What an awesome experience to see these magnificent birds hunting. The Golden Eagle is huge.
ReplyDeleteFascinating! Imagine losing your falcon and finding in on top of a Walmart - conjures up some hilarious images. I love watching falconry shows, but I've never seen hunting in the wild.
ReplyDeleteJanie, interesting story. It seems this form of hunting is still well alive. The birds are beautiful. I feel sorry for the prey as well, but that is how nature has intended for the birds of prey to get their food.
ReplyDeleteWhat a fascinating post and such beautiful birds. I love seeing falcons hovering above their prey then diving down to catch it.
ReplyDeleteGreat post and wonderful shots. Your mentioning the falcon on top of walmart reminded me of one that flew in a grocery store. A friend of mine called me and a lot of other friends and we pressured the store manager until the fans were cut off and doors open to give the falcon a chance to fly out (the manager didn't want to do it but finally did). The falcon didn't fly out so we got an animal control person to the store and ironically, it ended up being my friend who managed to catch the falcon and get it into the control guys cage. Then the falcon was taken by the control guy somewhere to be released. This post certainly called up memories of that afternoon (took 3 or 4 hours to resolve it) when I was part of the effort to get the falcon safely out of the store.
ReplyDeleteWow, after our little owl escapade, I really enjoyed these beautiful raptor photos... that golden eagle is quite impressive on his handler's arm! I think it would be interesting to watch them hunt also... although I would feel sorry for the bunnies too.
ReplyDeleteOn a side note, our lab brought a headless bunny to my attention last night.... EHW!!!! I think he wanted to bring it in the house, which, of course, I would NOT allow. :-0
I find it interesting that a person can keep a falcon or an eagle, but other wild animals are prohibited. I wonder how those decisions are made?? Beautiful birds. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful shots and how lucky of him to come across you as you helped retrieve his bird. Very nice!
ReplyDeletewhat an awesome sight it must have been to see them in action..and yes, a little sniffle for the bunnies.
ReplyDeletebeautiful birds...absolutely stunning.
Yes, it's fascinating to watch these great birds hunting! Fascinating that there still exist places in our "modern" world where things like that are possible! Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteJanie: I love to see these birds flying freely around in the sky.
ReplyDeleteThese birds are just a beauty! Interesting tale about the lost falcon and found at the local Walmart.
ReplyDeleteOh wow! I love these photos. I guess even birds are drawn to Wal-Mart, HAHA!
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed this interesting post. I've watched wild hawks hunt, but never trained falcons. It must have been fascinating.
ReplyDeleteHow wonderful to see those beautiful birds up close and to have the opportunity to see them hunt!
ReplyDeleteWow! Very impressive! Falconry is also very popular here in Saudi Arabia, but I haven't been fortunate yet to see it myself.
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