Falconry World

I was in the middle of a dream (Scarlett johanasson was in a starring role) when I was awoken by the phone at 6am this morning. My wife (Scarlett Johansson) learned over and said its early it’ll be for you. I was taking a while to come around.

She was right, it was for me. Apparently a bird of prey was sitting on a mast at the local sailing club and it had jesses hanging down. It was described as a hawk, brown in colour with yellow feet. It was a Harris Hawk, I told him following his description. After thawing out some frozen chicks I jumped in my new falconry van, and arrived. Now the sailing club is on a nature reserve, full of ducks, so I wanted to catch this thing up quick, so as the ranger didn’t have another escaped bird of prey upsetting the artic terns or other rare nesting birds. The gentleman that called was still watching and that was when I could see this was no easy(ish) to catch Harris hawk. The red nape shaheen was sitting watching the ducks…..

Now change the scene to yesterday evening and a local breeder is feeding his nice big white gyr falcons and enters the corridor to feed his red nape shaheens. It’s dark and windy and as he enters the corridor where the birds are temporarily tethered after recently arriving he see his female take off and exit through the wind struck door. He can’t believe it. For the wind to blow at the exact moment that she baits away, and for her to have chewed through a leash. He calls his wife (I blame mine for anything that goes wrong) and must have felt that horrible feeling many of us have encountered on such an occasion. He drive’s round for the rest of the night hopelessly looking for an unmanned, unbelled falcon that is more than capable or becoming self sufficient in a very short space of time.

Now cut back to me. I’m expecting a Harris hawk. I look at my miserable looking defrosted chicks and think to myself, I’ve got more chance of luring in scarrlott johansson with these than this falcon. She eyes me, as I cautiously walk around her swinging two chicks tied together and let drop to the ground and pull to make twitch. She bobs her head, and then watches the tufted duck on the water. I get my binoculars. As I’m watching her, the wind picks up and a wind tube inflates and begins to flap, she tightens her feathers and……

She’s bait but her jesses have by a miracle, caught on a knot attached to the mast. I run and scale the mast like the little chimpanzee that lives in us all, take hold of her feet and lower myself down with one hand. After some flapping, biting, name calling and general abuse, my wife lets me back in the house with the newly caught falcon that is being surprising well mannered.

And here she is, before she goes back home. She’s still not interested in that chick. Anyway back to bed to see if I can get back to where I was….