Category Archives: Falconry

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Wings of Eagles

Hundreds of hawks are riding in this thermal. It can carry them sometimes for hundreds of miles. These birds of prey soar in the rising heated air. They don’t have to flap their wings! They fly! They soar! But first, they have to wait.

I took this short video with my son in Houston Texas last week. It was an amazing sight to behold.

The science and biology class is now in session. From the website allthingsbirding.com is this explanation. “Birds use gliding and soaring to save energy while flying. Gliding is when a bird flies without flapping its wings. Birds can glide by using the wind to stay aloft. Soaring is when a bird flies without flapping its wings and gains altitude by using rising air currents. Birds can soar by using thermals, which are columns of warm air that rise from the ground.“

Class dismissed.

How can a hawk fly such a long distance as well as stay aloft for great lengths of time? Thermals. Riding the thermals allow these hawks to soar for hours and travel many, many miles. Again understand that they don’t flap their wings. They don’t have to. BUT,………they have to wait!

Thermals are only active during certain times of the day. (Usually mid-morning until late afternoon.) As you drive out and about, look for hawks. You’ll tend to see hawks perched on trees and powerlines during early morning and towards the end of the day. There is no thermal activity then. That’s when they are waiting. During the middle of the day, take a look above you. Odds are you will see a bird riding the thermals of the sky. It may be a vulture, a seagull, a hawk, and yes, even an eagle.

They stretch out their majestic wings. Wings stretched out, feathers lined up in patterns that catch the power and forces of the wind, this bird of prey can travel effortlessly. By waiting on the thermals, they now have the power and the ability to travel on their journey. You and I get to see these magnificent creatures being and doing what God created them to do. They live this way because they know they have to wait.

They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint. Isaiah 40:31

So, live your spiritual life like a hawk. Be ready to soar, but also be ready to wait! Wait on upon the Lord.

That doesn’t mean wait by sitting on the couch eating Cheetos! No it means waiting on the Lord for His strength, His power, His direction. Wait like a hawk by looking for the next “thermal.” Oh sure, you can live this life on your own, but you will constantly be “flapping your wings”,…… and growing tired!

Instead, wait upon the Lord. “Go with the flow”, in the “thermals” that He supplies for you. It causes you to focus on His direction and His timing. It causes You to be in “His Will”. It causes you to rise as if on Eagles wings.

How can you find the “thermals” that God provides for you? Leave me your comments. We will continue this adventure on finding God’s thermals for YOU in the next blog.

Until then, listen to the song by Chris Tomlin– I Will Rise

See Ya! Dan Ainsworth wildernesspreacher

Soaring in this life, not because of me but because of my Lord

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The First Step of Believing

A Step of Trust

There it is! That first step of trust and the bond that will grow between two very different creatures. One creature is a very wild hawk, the other creature is …….me.

“Dak” has experienced being trapped from the wild, tethered to a perch in his new home, and placed repeatedly back on my glove. I gently work with him for hours (called manning) to get him use to my presence. From the very beginning, all he knows if fear. In his previous wild world, it’s eat or get eaten. It’s kill or be killed. Nature is cruel, nature is tough. It’s truthfully the survival of the fittest.

The first few hours, I place “Dak” on my gloved fist. He will try to fly away, but I have him leashed to my glove. He attempts to fly, I gently swing him back on the glove. All the time, I don’t look directly at him. Think about why I don’t. You see, in the wild, when a hawk (with that intense eyesight) looks at another animal, he’s either looking to kill it……or it’s looking to kill him. Dak must learn to trust and believe in me as someone who is not going to hurt him. Incredibly, hawks trained in falconry learn in just a few days that I am not a threat, but someone who actually protects and feeds them.

It’s easy to tell when the hawk is calming down. As I walk around his mews (the fenced pen) with him on my glove, I feel his talons gradually relaxing on my glove. Thank goodness, because when he clamps down with those talons it’s with a surprising amount of strength. If that thick glove wasn’t there, I’d be getting plenty of tattoos from those claws. I have a few scars from the past to prove it!

Gradually, this wild creature begins to accept my presence. In Dak’s case it’s happening very quickly. In less than five hours from being trapped, he’s eating from my hand! It could be because he has a gentle personality. All the hawks I’ve flown over the years were different. Some were gentle, some acted nervous, some aggressive. “Tama”, one of my best hunting hawks from a few years ago could only be described as Wicked!!!

But Dak is very calm. I place a small piece of chicken in front of him. Remember, I don’t look directly at him during any of this training. (Just looking at him from my peripheral (side) vision.) He actually doesn’t eat the chicken. What I do is touch the sides of his beak with the meat. He bites at me and the meat gets caught in his mouth. FREEZE!  I don’t move. For however long it takes, I don’t move. He is standing on my glove with a piece of fresh meat in his mouth. Amazing what his body language shows. See, Dak’s not moving either. He’s still scared. But the whole time he’s sitting (on my glove) he is now tasting fresh food that is resting in his mouth. That’s when it happens……….. He swallows a nourishing morsel of food. The body language? Suddenly from fear to a small step of trust. His talons relax, his wings are not rigid, his eyes are no longer focused on “kill or be killed”. What next? Quickly another piece of food is placed in his mouth. FREEZE! Again, don’t move until he swallows his meal. Then quietly and gently I exit his new home. I’ll return in the morning. He’s been given plenty to think about.

The next morning I return with more time spent manning Dak. He’s still getting used to me. Learning to trust and believe in me. I spend this time walking around with him on my glove. I make noises, pick up items and move them. Sit down, stand up, walk backwards…….. doing any and everything. All the while Dak is riding and resting on my glove. He needs to know he can feel comfortable standing on the glove. Occasionally he will attempt to fly from the glove. I gently place him back on for more training. Now for the next big step! Literally!!!

Dak remembers that I fed him yesterday. Today I show him a piece of chicken by placing it in front of his beak. Today he snatches it from my hand. No need to try to get him to bite me, he’s hungry and he’s eating from my hand. Success!! Now for the next step and I do mean a step.

Since Dak knows there is food in my hand he readily wants to eat it. But I now want him to come towards me, to take a step towards me. There is a giant leap involved in the hawk’s mind in doing this. For him to step towards me is so foreign to his way of thinking. He has all this time been trying to get away from me. I am a creature he is afraid of. For him to take even one small step towards me……….involves a decision. It’s a decision of trusting and believing. Dak has taken his first step to believing that I no longer want to hurt him, but that I want to help him.

The first step!

Dak is taking his first step to me! Notice the body language. (I can feel it as well.) The claws are clamped, the wings are ready to spring into flight, and the eyes are filled with fear. In spite of this natural fear of me, the belief that I am not a threat but instead someone to trust has taken over! This thrills me to no end!

“Dak” now believes in me!

The picture shows the same bird but with a totally different mind set. A change in his way of thinking. His trusting and believing in me can even be seen (and felt). Claws are relaxed, wings in the resting and calm position. You can even see a different expression on his face. Two entirely different creatures are now beginning an adventure based on trust and believing in each other.

Overhearing what they said, Jesus told him, “Don’t be afraid; just believe.” Mark 5:36

This is a great scripture talking about believing. (I’d encourage you to read the whole chapter. Several instances of unbelievable miracles that Jesus is doing). Here in Dak’s situation it was a remarkable thing for me to see. Once Dak believes in me and no longer is afraid of me,……. well, it’s game on!!! The excitement I have of interacting with this magnificent creature is one of my greatest thrills! He has taken one small step to me. This will quickly lead to him taking 3 steps to me. Then he will jump to me. Then he will take a short flight to me. Then in such a short time period, he will be free flying and hunting WITH me. I am DELIGHTED!!!!

Just like God delights in you trusting in Jesus and taking a small step of belief towards Him! (stay tuned, till next time, Dan Ainsworth wilderness preacher, having taken a small step of belief of my own towards my Lord and Saviour!)

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Staying Hungry

This wild hawk has developed a trusting relationship with me. This bond we have together is because of one thing…… she’s hungry. She has learned that I will feed her, and feed her well!!

These hawks that are used in falconry are true athletes. It’s amazing watching them as they fly. Why doesn’t she just fly away when we are out hunting? That’s the whole point, she can if she wants. She has free will. But she knows that I have food. She knows me well enough now to realize it’s a good thing to hang around this guy. If we don’t jump a squirrel for her to chase and catch, then there’s always the drumstick or piece of meat held in my hand. Here’s how this works.

You come over to my house. I say to you, ” If you will run to my mailbox (several hundred yards), I will give you a good ole hamburger and fries.” But you’ve just eaten and maybe you’re a little bit lazy and full. Since you are NOT HUNGRY, you are not gonna do it. That’s fine, no problem. We will just wait till tomorrow. Now, you ARE HUNGRY! I say “If you will run to my mailbox, I will give you a steak and bake potato.” Bam!! You’ve gone!! And I keep my word every time. You now have a nourishing good meal. ENJOY!

That’s how I train my hawks. I don’t starve them, that would be bad. These flying athletes have to be in top shape to do and BE what they are. A weak starving hawk would not survive very long it’s sad to say.

But a strong hungry hawk,…….. now that’s a sight to behold. The passion these birds exhibit. The skills they possess. It’s so hard to describe once you’ve seen them up close…… and held them in your hand.

How do I know when they are hungry? I weigh them. Yep, it’s how falconers have done it for centuries. This red tail hawk with a wingspan of four feet weighs between two and three pounds! Remember, they are designed for flight. Their bones are hollow, their feathers light. Most people guess “Dakota” weighs 8 to 10 pounds just by looking at her. She looks that big, but her actual weight is two pounds and five ounces. Her targeted flying weight is two pounds and four ounces.

What do I mean her flying weight? It’s what she weighs when she is the most focused on ME. I weigh her every time I fly her. I’ve learned that if she is heavier than 2lb 4 oz, she acts lazy. She won’t fly to my glove as quickly. Actually she tends to just want to sit in a tree on a perch and look around. She may even have thoughts of flying away. In a day or two when she gets hungry again, she might entertain the idea of coming back to me. But that’s time we’ve lost that we could have been together.

If she weighs less than 2lb 4 oz, she acts tired and lethargic. The day I trapped her from the wild she weighed UNDER two pounds. She was on the verge of starving. (Remember, she had the injured talon.) I had to feed her quite a bit to get her energy level up and have her in a healthy condition.

But,…… when her weight is exactly 2 lb 4 oz ….. it’s almost magical. It’s when she comes alive. She is focused on me. She’s focused on my glove and food. She’s focused on my every move. Most importantly, she wants to be with me as we travel seeking game and opportunities to fly.

2 Corinthians 4:18 So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

For this year’s resolution, I’ve asked God to keep me hungry in my relationship with Him. The world thinks I’m missing out,….. that I’m starving. Nope, Nada, far from it. I’m hungry for a Word from God. A strong Christian ……….now that’s a sight to behold. A strong Christian is what I want to be.

“Hearing” a word from God can be received in many ways. A song, a coincidence, through a conversation with another person, everyday life, all are ways that God speaks to us. But careful,……how do I know My Lord and Saviour is speaking to me in a small coincidence? Here’s how.

By staying focused on God. That small “coincidence” must be backed up and confirmed with scripture. A word from God must always line up with the Word of God (The Bible).

Maybe look at it like this. I communicate with “Dak” while we are out flying. How? By voice commands and whistles. But I also communicate (talk) to her by my body language, how I’m moving/walking,…… where my glove is,… even little things like what my fingers are doing. (reaching for a piece of meat). When “Dak” is hungry, she sees each and every little move I make. She is focused. She knows my will and what I’m wanting from her. She goes where I go.

Everything I do and say while out hunting with this hawk is done to keep this trusting relationship strong between us. (That’s the falconry Bible).

So if you are sensing a Word from God in your own life, I am so happy and proud for you. But when you are focused on Christ, it won’t be just one Word. It will combine with the Holy Spirit’s moving in your life. It will combine with the Bible, your everyday activities, your thoughts and prayers,……. your life itself. And you will be “going” where God is going.

Stay hungry my friends!

Dan Ainsworth wilderness preacher, falconer, seeking a word from my Heavenly Father