Saturday 5 November 2011

A bird in the hand

Just a short post today with lots of pictures. My daughter Kara and I had a fantastic morning out at the Phoenix Falconry centre near Gleneagles, a birthday gift from my kids. Falconers Adrian and Steph gave us a wonderful insight into the world of raptors as we flew, among others an African Eagle Owl, a rare Caracara from the Falklands, a north American Buzzard that was actually an eagle, and an enormous Bald Eagle called Pilgrim. Passionate, professional and packed with interest, they ensured a memorable day in a wonderful location.

We were hugely impressed with the whole set up. I'd recommend it to anyone and definitely go back, maybe next time to go for the Walk on the Wild Side, when you fly the birds to catch their own dinner!


Kara with Measles the eagle owl

One man and his owl

Edith the Caracara (that's the one with wings) and Steph

She was noisy and fearsomely intelligent (the one with wings)

Kara and the gloriously marked buzzard

It was incredibly elegant in flight
They hit it off really well

The snake-eating eagle packed a punch

But the bald eagle was the pick of the bunch

Wow!

Happy landings

How could you not love it?


Adrian was a font of knowledge with a host of wonderful tales

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

grt blog Doug and excellent photos certainley takes the bait
bryan j

Emily said...

Wow, just LOOK at those pictures! Incredible!

What a great experience!

Doug said...

It was a great day, Emily. We enjoyed every minute. There's something about being with these creatures that makes you smile.

I took a look at your blog. Looks like you have a very interesting life in Japan.
All the best

Doug