On a visit to Ireland's School of Falconry, Amy Laughinghousemeets her fears head-on and gets friendly with some feathery raptors
IF YOU'RE FRIGHTENED by the faintest flutter of a sparrow's wings, and the closest you care to come to our feathered friends is a bucket of extra-crispy bits from KFC, you might think that falconry is not for you.
Before visiting Ashford Castle, a turreted stone fortress that now functions as a luxurious hotel in Co Mayo, I had suffered my own share of avian misadventures. One recent spring, a misanthropic magpie nested along my favorite walking path and would swoop down every time I ventured within 30m of its tree. That problem was neatly solved by moving nearly 6,000km across the Atlantic to London - only to find myself set upon by Satan's own swans in Kensington Gardens.
So it was with some trepidation that, accompanied by my husband, Scott, I knocked on the wooden gates of Ireland's School of Falconry, nestled on Ashford's 140-hectare estate. The school, run by the husband-and-wife team of James and Deborah Knight, offers "hawk walks" around the grounds, where novices learn about the physiology and hunting habits of birds of prey - and, more importantly, get to fly them.
The gates creaked open to reveal Deborah Knight herself, a lithe woman in an Indiana Jones-style fedora and cracked leather glove stretching nearly to her elbow. Together, we crunched across the pea-gravel courtyard to a stone barn, where we were quickly kitted out in similar attire.
Then Knight introduced us to some of her 27 birds, which were hunkered on their perches in a wire-mesh enclosure opposite the barn. There was a dainty kestrel, a species famed for its ability to hover like a helicopter; a couple of formidable falcons, capable of achieving speeds of 300km/h or more; and several Harris' hawks, the only birds of prey that live and hunt in packs, making them ideal for hawk walks, where several birds may be flown at the same time. In a pen nearby, a European eagle owl with eyes like amber marbles announced his presence with a hoot like a tiny trumpet.
Although falconry is a form of hunting where trained birds share their catch with the falconer, Knight said the thrill is in watching the chase. "It's about seeing the bird dive down from a tree, twist and turn, and slip through a narrow gap at breakneck speed," she explained, her voice rising to the short, sharp staccato of an announcer at the horse track. "Falconers live to see every wingbeat their birds make. We have these flights stored in our head and replay them again and again until the next time we see something spectacular."
Knight's enthusiasm is contagious, and I found myself actually looking forward to handling the Harris' hawks - a father-and-daughter team known as Blasket and Beltra that we would fly that day. First, she introduced Scott to Beltra, a placid nine-month-old female still attired in her tortoiseshell-coloured baby feathers.
Knight advised Scott to hold tight to a pair of short leather straps called jesses, which were attached to each bird's bright yellow feet to prevent them taking off between flights. Then Knight handed me Blasket, who was about the size of a parrot and surprisingly light at little more than 500g. Resting on my gloved left hand, he was only inches from my face, within easy pecking distance, and his dark brown eyes seemed to gaze right into mine - although Knight said he was actually looking past me, probably scoping for a mousey morsel.
The birds were happy to hitch a ride on our gloves as we marched through the gates and on to a wide path that sliced through the woods. After a short walk, Knight told Scott to let Beltra go. "Open your fist to release the jesses, then raise the bird up to say 'Get ready'," she directed. "Then give a push forward to say 'Now off you go'."
Feeling the gentle swish of Scott's arm, Beltra launched into flight, landing a short distance away on a branch. To retrieve her, Scott stood with the back of his fist to the bird while Knight placed a small piece of meat on his glove. Within seconds, Beltra swooped in for a landing, settling gracefully as she took the meat in her pointed beak.
Blasket, anxious for his turn, began to flap like mad, his short, rounded wings fanning my face as he did his best impression of a whirling dervish. Fortunately, Knight had warned me that he might try to "bait", and I held on tight. Within moments, Blasket settled down, sitting peacefully on my glove as if nothing had happened.
In fact, something momentous had taken place inside me. I was able to launch the hawk effortlessly into the air and call him back again, unperturbed by his wide gliding wings and the whooshing sound of the wind in his feathers as he landed on my glove and snatched his meaty reward. It was just another day at the office for Blasket, but I'll always remember it as the day I conquered my fears.
Next up for me, swimming with sharks, or perhaps a weekend course in lion taming. If I'm feeling really brave, I might even try to feed the swans.
Ireland's falconry programmes
Irelands School of Falconry. Ashford Castle, Co Mayo. 094-9546820, www.falconry.ie. A variety of programmes, including one-hour hawk walks for €70 per person, with reduced rates for additional people.
Adare Manor Hotel Golf Resort. Co Limerick. 061-605200, www.adaremanor.com. The hotel doesn't have a falconry school, but it can arrange falconry displays and hawk walks on the premises.
Animal Magic. Kilmallock, Co Limerick. 063-98777, mobile: 087-6243546. www.animalmagic.ie.
Falconry Flights. Midlands School of Falconry, Shannon Cottage, Esker, Banagher, Co Offaly. 087-6273313. www.falconryireland.com.
Falconry Ireland. Falconry and Bird of Prey Centre, Woodenbridge,
Arklow, Co Wicklow. 0402-35028, 086-3442905, www.falconryofireland.com.
Newgrange Falconry. Drogheda, Co Louth. 00-353-86-8866738, www.newgrangefalconry.com.
Northern Ireland School of Falconry. Ballymena, Co Antrim. 048-25898555.
Woodlands Falconry, Co Carlow. www.woodlandsfalconry.com.