My big shed is very useful.  Not only is it a decent sized indoor school for riding in but it can also double as a place to train birds.  Today Jo and Robert (her son) brought their Harris Hawks, Freyja (pronounced Freya) and Vi, to practice Harris Hawkery stuff.  I am not going to pretend to know what they were doing or the technical terminology for it as no doubt Arthur Putey somewhere will tell me I am wrong.

Birds, wings, meat, gloves, flying, lots of string, leather and rope…. now you know.

Fiona had also brought along Hreyfing, her Icelandic mare, for a lesson. She worked on bending and listening.

We let everyone get used to each other.  All good.

After the lesson, Hreyfing was tied up by the door and it was the birds’ turn.  They flew with a creance on (A creance is a long light cord used to tether a flying hawk or falcon during training in falconry.) It took me a while to get the idea of photographing them in flight.  The light was not brilliant and I had the amazing ability to miss all the action but here are a few of my pictures.  It would be much better outside.   I do not pretend to be a bird or raptor (new word – oooooh) photographer.

Interestingly, though, while Hreyfing and Fiona were working, there was a murmuration of starlings on the roof outside.   Their clatter was unsettling Hreyfing so Jo and Robert walked outside with their birds and the noise stopped.  One look at them and the starlings immediately took flight and never returned.  They knew!  Well, you would, wouldn’t you?