Paul greeted
us with a Gyr Falcon on his fist, which was hooded. On the hood are the
feathers of the bird of prey’s usual quarry. In the case of the Gyr Falcon they
hunt on large birds, cranes, heron and storks.
Falconry was
first recorded in Anatolia, on the Syrian/ Turkish border some 4500 years ago.
At this point falconry was used to supplement the diet. By 600BC falconry was
widespread across China, Japan, India and most of the Middle East. In 5th-6th
century the Europeans , especially the Vikings and Anglo-Saxons were falconers.
The first 8 yards of the Bayeaux tapestry was devoted to falconry and hunting
of Wild Boar, hare and deer, all of which were domains of the wealthy. The
Crusades were a time when the Europeans advanced their knowledge of falconry as
the Arabs were extremely skilled in their art. By the time of the third
crusades Richard the Lionheart took falcons to the Holy Land, and bonds were
made with Saladin as Saladin helped to feed the European falcons when food was
short. Many kings were famous falconers, most notably Henry II and Henry VIII.
Charles II kept his birds in the New Park in the New Forest. Falcons were a
sign of enormous wealth, and people would take them to chapel, to market and on
visits to neighbours. In the 18th century falconry started to
decrease .
Paul
mentioned many terms in modern usage that have falconry origin.eg Fed up – when
a bird of prey eats until it can eat no more and sits in a tree for a couple of
days to digest. Mantle –surrounding their food with wings, gives rise to mantlepiece
around the fireplace. Also “making a pass”, “codger”, “Rouse yourself “and”
Hoodwink”.
In falconry
birds are classified by body shape, broad wings, short wings or long wings. A Buzzard is a broad wing, and generally they circle looking for carrion. There
is little power in the beak, all the power is in the feet. The short wing birds
of prey, such as Goshawk, are the true hawks. Birds of prey are not technically
a falcon unless they are in the long wing group, the Peregrine is the ultimate
example, and they hunt by the stoop method, and can gain speeds of 238 mph.
They are adapted by an extended eye brow, and a black line under the eyes to
prevent glare, also having baffles in their nostrils to prevent suffocation
during speed.
The last
bird of prey Paul showed us was a European Eagle Owl, the largest species of owl
in the world. These birds hunt by stealth, their feathers adapted to be silent
in flight , they can turn their head through 270 degrees, but both ways and can
carry off prey to the size of small Roe Deer.
The audience
had many questions at the end of the talk from Paul, which showed the level of
interest in his fascinating skill. During this time we learned that, although
more people are now flying birds of prey, sadly few are true falconers – the
ancient and awesome art where one must accept the birds are always wild.