Heckled By ParrotsBlue Sky WritingRebecca K. O'Connor

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Category Archives: Falconry

Thanksgiving is for Falconry Homework

I’m really really slow to get started this year and am thinking that’s okay. The nasty weather only just finally pushed into the north, meaning that my quarry which is still wintering comfortably far away is about to get an eviction notice from Mother Nature. 
I’ll be in DC at the end of the week and by the time I [...]

A Peregrine Stooping

There is a place in Lift I often find myself reading from at bookstores that describes Anakin falling and refers to Ken Franklin’s video of sky diving with his peregrine Frightful. I remember the falconry meet when Ken was keynote speaker and showed us the raw footage of the soon to be National Geographic special. The [...]

I prefer the term falconatrix…

I know I have some folks wandering in because they’ve heard about or read LIFT. (Yes, I realize it’s probably about two of you, but there’s no reason not to cater to to my fan club of two.)  And I feel horrible that I’m not blogging about my falconry season. The truth is…well, I haven’t started my [...]

A Bond with the Wild

Last Saturday I had the pleasure of presenting at the International Society for Anthrozoology/ Human- Animal Interaction conference on falconry and how high level relationships with wild (rather than domesticated) animals have positive psychology and health implications. I know this all sounds very scientific, but mostly what I was saying in a nutshell that, “Humans ARE nature, [...]

Animal Teachers Past

One of the things that falconers learn to accept is that the animals we love the most are not ours to keep. Some we choose to have in our lives for a short period, lending them a helping hand and sending them on their way. Whether they are foster dogs on their way to a [...]

Falconry for the Greater Good

Every once in a while a falconer will take in a bird that has been injured in the wild, work with it as they would a “working” bird and give it an opportunity to regain its wings, hunting skills and return to the wild. Over the summer Joe O. took the time to use his [...]

A Train of Feathers

It’s happening. The weather is cooling and it doesn’t matter that my days are packed with Ducks Unlimited, working out, writing, lecturing and traveling. I’m ready to fly falcons.
My falcons, however, are not ready to fly.
Last night I dreamt that I found the final two tail feathers, the outer two of the train shaken loose from [...]

Lift: A Memoir

Captivated by a chance meeting with a falconer’s peregrine as a child, the indelible memory leads the author to flying a peregrine falcon of her own and discovering that the journey is not as much about training the falcon as what it is the falcon has to teach her. Exploring themes of predator and prey, [...]

Actually….that’s barbeque sauce…

It’s that time of the year again. Baby hawks abound.
This one, obviously has just recently fledged and is figuring out where to get a real meal in NYC. Makes you wonder what mom was bringing back to the nest.  Read the whole thing here. (Nice try buddy.)
My mom is now living in my house in [...]

How Your Telemetry is Made

Since I was in Salt Lake City on business, I couldn’t resist popping in to Marshall Radio Telemetry to check out how telemetry is manufactured. (Plus I had heard the Robert Bagley is an excellent host.) It was definitely worth my while.
Marshall still has the feel of a garage-based operation, small enough and friendly enough [...]