Today, we learned about birds of prey from falconer Bob Edwards. A falconer is a person who trains birds to hunt for food.

Falconry is an ancient sport. During Shakespeare’s time, hunting with birds helped provide meat for the table.

Some of the sayings we use today come from falconry. The saying “hoodwinked” comes from the little hood put over a falcon’s eyes before a flight.

Bob showed us how his bird, Lady, finds food. He swung a little pouch in the air. This was a target for her to hit. The pouch is about the same size of an animal that Lady would prey on. When Lady saw the pouch, she swooped down to hit the target. Each time she tapped the pouch with her beak she was rewarded with a little bit of rat -- a favorite snack.

Bob even gave us a chance to let his hawks land on our arm. These hawks were named Richard and Tweed.

We wore a special glove called a gauntlet. This protected our arms from the hawks’ sharp talons. As soon as Richard saw that I was holding a tasty treat for him he would fly over and perch on my arm to get his snack. The treat was a raw chicken leg.

Up, Up, and Away,

Leaving a mark: History of Print.

Copyright © 2009 ProjectExplorer, LTD. All Rights Reserved.