By Beth Bruno

A steady breeze blew across the field, its bent grasses catching the light of the midday sun. I raised my arm toward the Harrier Hawk perched high overhead. In response to my signal it swooped toward me, glided low across the meadow and landed lightly on my gloved hand, beak outstretched for a tidbit of meat. I wrapped the two leather thongs attached to its talons around my fingers to secure the bird until the next toss skyward to hunt for prey.

This was my first exposure to falconry, reputedly the oldest sport in the world, originated in the Far East around 2000 BC. Falcons were trained to hunt game for the table; only later in history, about 860 AD, did falconry become a sporting pastime. British royals considered it a noble art - an essential part of every young prince's education. The first British School of falconry was founded at the Gleneagles Hotel in Scotland in 1982. Its founders, Steve and Emma Ford, are world renowned experts on birds of prey, Emma as author of seven books and Steve as pre-eminent trainer of eagles. Their school was so popular with guests that Emma and Steve were invited to open a second school at The Equinox in Vermont.

My husband Gordon and I recently took a lesson at the British School of Falconry in Vermont, established in 1995 as the first school of its kind in the U.S. When we arrived we were introduced to a variety of eagles and hawks that have been trained to hunt on command by licensed falconers. The birds learn to obey gestures or whistles paired with food rewards. They do not develop loyalty or affection for their captors, even those raised in captivity. Birds of prey captured in the wild can also be trained to hunt; and return unaffected to the wild.

Daily training sessions familiarize the handlers with each bird's normal flying weight, a critical statistic. If a bird of prey is taken out to hunt when it's full, it will fly away and never return, no matter how well it has been trained. The birds are released to hunt only when they weigh less than their usual weight after feeding, i.e. only when they are hungry!

Half-day or all-day hunting expeditions take falconers and students into heavy woods and underbrush where a hunting dog sniffs out prey and "points" to it. The hawk waits overhead in the trees for the falconer to flush the prey out. It attacks on sight, grabs the pheasant or quail by the throat and strangles it instantly with powerful talons. The falconer approaches the feeding hawk from behind, tosses fresh meat in front of it to lure it away from its kill, snatches the "catch" and stuffs it quickly into a leather pouch. Out of sight, out of mind. The falconer can't allow the hawk to feed on its prey, because it would no longer be hungry enough to continue the hunt.

Our introduction to falconry was fascinating - being close to these magnificent birds, sending them off and receiving them from flight, watching a video about the training process and talking with our instructor, a licensed falconer who had learned and practiced the sport in England and the Middle East. The experience capped off a glorious Vermont getaway weekend.

The British School of Falconry at The Equinox
Route 7A
Manchester Village, VT 05254
Telephone: 802-362-4780

Links:

Falconry: http://www.arab.net/falconry/

English School of Falconry: http://www.english-falconry.com/