Ancient Art of Falconry

How incredible are humans? Pretty dang rad... we've managed to tame aspects of nature which are beyond my understanding. Like, who was the first guy to attempt Falconry? Falconry is hunting with a FALCON! You may have seen one of these rad birds of prey perched on a guy's well protected arm. The falcon wears the cutest little head covering, but when that blindfold comes off BAM! That bird of prey's instincts kick in like a guided missile it seeks and destroys. And not just other birds but they hunt rabbits, foxes and even wolves. Back to my earlier question, how radical was the first man to attempt falconry! Imagine seeing a falcon / hawk / eagle hunt it's prey and think "I got to catch that bird and bond with it so it'll hunt for me!". Well, that first guy would now be close to 4000 years old because Falconry dates way back. Turns out it's an ancient art. I'm not giving a history lesson but it's insane to see an art form from Mesopotamia, ancient Mongolia, through the Medieval Ages continue to this day with little change. The only thing technology has evolved in falconry is enabling the falconer to track their birds so that do not loose them. I still can't get over how these birds of prey return to these guys. Imagine how magical it must feel to release these majestic birds, like an eagle, watch it fly off and hunt, then return to you. The feeling must be intoxicating, training an apex predator to hunt for us, imagine having a pet wolf out with you on a hunt for deer? And even though it's hunting, falconry is rad because its like organic hunting.  

Now I use the word Falconry because it's what I've always known it as. But there are all sorts of terms - Hawking, Austringer, and Accipiter. And the terms go with different birds of prey. Golden Eagles, Peregrine Falcons, and even Owls are used to hunt. It truly is one of the most incredible accomplishments of mankind. I can't even get a bird to stay in a tree near me when I move closer to see it. 

I fell more in love with my wife when this obscure topic came up in conversation and she not only knew about it but discussed it with the same admiration I had. I hope this ancient art continues through the linage that it's passed down from. In fact, even though these birds of prey frighten me a bit, I think they would be excellent security. Let me explain. A lot of people use dogs, which is great but they can't cover the same area a GOLDEN EAGLE can. When I eventually have my sustainable marijuana farm, dogs would potentially harm the land by digging, roaming through it, or just being dogs. But having a some big ass Golden Eagles perched at each corner of the property wouldn't hurt the land at all and their eagle eye-sight would be able to scan much farther than a dogs. A dog's bark is a great deterrent but imagine hearing the screech of a friggin' eagle?!! Guard birds!

If you've never seen falconry... this is the video that made respect this art. It's from the show Human Planet on BBC. Warning this video is graphic.