Recently Amy and I went to the Renaissance Fair that was in town locally.  It is always fun and there are many interesting aspects to them.  This year one of the aspects was Falconry.  Just as the Renaissance Fair deals with medieval times, so Falconry began in medieval times.  So it was not surprising to see a display about Falconry.

Now I have to be honest, I am not one for seeing naturally wild animals tethered to a string.  I believe that wild animals should live in the wild.  That’s is why you will not often find me at a zoo.  But I also know that I do not have enough knowledge to fully expand on falconry and the sport it is.  My understanding is that these birds were born in captivity and would not survive being let go.

However, that said, it was a real treat for me to get up close to some semi wild raptors and to be able to photograph them.   The birds that I believe were on display were a Harris Hawk, a Falcon, an Eurasian Eagle Owl and a Barn Owl.

Below are the images I managed to get of these beautiful birds.

The Eurasian Eagle Owl is a stunning bird and they had a pair of them on site.  It is one of the largest owls in the species.  It is nocturnal and hunts for birds and small mammals.  They also hunt for insects, fish, large insects and reptiles.    The male is the provider of food when there are chicks and they will look after the chicks until they are 5 months.

The Falcon that was on display was an incredible looking bird.  I would like to say that it is a Lanner  Falcon but I am not certain.  What I loved about this bird was the incredible feather formation that it is displaying below.  If it is the Lanner Falcon, the bird can grow between 43-50 cm in height.   The bird has light underparts.  The falcons typically eat insect, dragonflies and occasionally small birds.  The Lanner Falcon has a reddish color to the back of its head.

The Barn Owl was a sweet looking bird and was very affectionate to it’s owner.  The Barn Oul is a common owl and is distributed across many areas of the globe.  They typically range between 33 and 39 cm in height with a wingspan of 80 – 95cm.  Their face resembles the shape of a heart and it is normally white.   The Barn Owl hunts  prey living on the ground.  They hunt small mammals.  The Barn Owl will generally mate for life.  However, if one mate dies, then a new bond may be formed.    The Barn Owl will generally lay 4 eggs in a hollowed out tree or on a cliff.  The female will sit on the eggs and care for the chicks while the male does all of the providing.

The Harris Hawk is a social bird and often flies in sets.  One display were three birds.  The Harris Hawk is around 46-59 cm in height and has a wingspan of about 103-12-cm.  The juvenile hawk is mainly streaked. Harris Hawks live in sparse woodlands.  The hawk eats small birds, large insects, mammals and lizards.  The female does most of the incubation of the eggs. Interestingly the young stay with the parents up to three years.

Thank you for joining me for this month’s Inspired by Life.   Please note that this blog is my personal views and does not reflect the views of the blog group.  This is a circle blog. Please take time to visit my fellow blogger Kym Heaton in Australia and see what she has for you this month. Keep following the circle to see what the other photographers have shared this month. Don’t forget to leave a little love on their pages.

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