It's a...BIRD!

I had the privilege of going with my uncle Ed to fly falcons out in Cedar Valley one early (Did I mention EARLY?...6:45 to be exact) Saturday (Did I mention EARLY and SATURDAY in the same sentence?) morning. But it was so worth it. Once in a lifetime opportunity.

He brought two falcons. Walker and….dang it…I can’t remember the other bird’s name. ..probably because I favored Walker. He flew the best. Not kidding. It’s amazing to watch. Walker made his rounds soaring upward maybe to 700 ft (that was a complete guess). Then Ed released a live quail (aka prey). That falcon dove down so fast I almost missed it. Caught it’s prey mid-air and then landed. Ok my description is terrible. You just have to see it yourself. If you’re wondering why I don’t have any pics of this action…I couldn’t take my eyes off the bird. It was hard to keep track of the bird in the first place due to the sun peaking over the mountain. If I ever get the privilege to go again maybe I’ll try to get some video footage. Afterwards I did get some pics with them though.

A few other “bird flyers” (that is my choice title for them…or maybe “bird enthusiasts”…ok I’m not creative…at all) also showed up 15 minutes after we arrived. So they helped us fly our falcons and then we did the same. Ed knew them—“Bird flyers” are pretty much their own community. Some fly their birds in competitions. My uncle just does it for fun. He flies his birds 3 or 4 times a week. In fact the other guy (whom I found out knows my dad and his siblings from high school—it’s a small world) used a massive (and I mean massive—I estimate about 5’x5’) helium balloon to fly his bird. Now you’re wondering what the heck I’m talking about. So he attaches the prey to the balloon, then hoists the balloon about 700 feet in the air (they can actually hoist it to about 1500 ft), and then let’s the falcon go. The falcon circles his way up to catch the prey, and then the balloon is lowered. I know, you never knew such a thing existed…I knew nothing about this either, for lack of better term, “bird world”. Fascinating huh. Ok maybe this is all so boring to you. But that’s because you haven’t seen it for yourself. I hope you get the chance one day.

They're beautiful...pics just don't do justice