Sky Island Falconry Eperience

02/05/22

Sky Island Falconry Eperience is one of only a couple dozen outfits in the country licensed to provide falconry education. After a brief talk on the history of falconry and the equipment used, we were introduced to three birds.

The first bird was a Red-naped Shaheen. This is a falcon similar to a Peregrine Falcon, but smaller. We watched it fly around and try and catch a lure the trainer was swinging. After several attempts, the trainer let it catch the lure and then traded it some food in exchange for the lure.

The second bird was a Barn Owl. We put gloves on and the trainer put the owl on our glove for a few minutes.

The third bird was a Harris' Hawk. It would fly to a perch somewhere and we would then call it down to our glove. Each of us were able to do two calls.

The experience was a lot of fun. It was particularly exciting to see the hawk flying quickly towards you from a distance and then slowing down at the last minute to land on your hand. The one downside was that it was very windy and that affected the birds a bit, especially the owl.

Steve Winker