We got there about 8 am, and met Amber and Kathie - they fitted us with gloves, and introduced us to Hancock, a Harris Hawk.
I had a little fun looking at their driveway garden - it's full of tasty-looking bird treats ;-)
We heard all sorts of interesting facts about falconry. Here are just a few:
- There is archeological evidence that humans used birds of prey to hunt for food as long ago as 12,000 years ago!
- Many of today's sayings are rooted in falconry - "wrapped around your little finger" and "under your thumb" come from the ties used to hold the bird to your hand
- Harris hawks (like Hancock here) are the only raptors that hunt in groups - and they'll take to a new hawk pretty quickly!
- These raptors usually like a small rodent to eat; hunting larger animals, like rabbits and snow leopards =-O takes special training
After a little while, we got to fly Hancock - it was really amazing just how light he was, and how easily he landed!
After our class, we meandered around the pens, looking at the other birds (pictures here, and descriptions here).
Wee Hamish was just too cute!
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West Coast Falconry (#westcoastfalconry) is in Northern California, off Hwy 20 in the Sierra Nevada foothills. They run classes/birding sessions ranging from one hour to several days.
In addition to falconry, Kathie is also an artist - you can see her work here: http://kathiemiller.com
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