Saturday we got the family out of bed just a bit early to make the hour and a half trip to Rush Valley, Utah for the annual Utah Sky Trials. Any of you who know me at all know that I am a complete bird brain. That being said, I am a huge falconry enthusiast. And this is the one time of year where I get to spend even just a few hours with men and women who share my love for birds of prey and the outdoors.
This past week I've been getting the kids ready by reading through various falconry books that I have, watching videos on youTube.com or Cornell's Ornithology Lab Site, and generally discussing the sport of falconry. John can tell you if a bird is a falcon, hawk, or owl. Kelsey refers to all of them very enthusiastically as "b! b Daddy!"
This was an absolute blast. I can't wait for the time when I'm able to come out with a bird of my own.
This past week I've been getting the kids ready by reading through various falconry books that I have, watching videos on youTube.com or Cornell's Ornithology Lab Site, and generally discussing the sport of falconry. John can tell you if a bird is a falcon, hawk, or owl. Kelsey refers to all of them very enthusiastically as "b! b Daddy!"
I tried to get a family shot, but I couldn't get the kids to sit still. They were so excited to see all the different birds. Falconers were there with many different falcons (peregrine, gyr-peregrine hybrid, saker-gyr hybrid, etc, merlin, kestrel), hawks (red-tailed, harris), and even a cute little Western Screech Owl that both John and Kelsey were able to pet.
John and Kelsey also loved the Rooster Steve Chindgren brought along for a little skit he did. Trust me when I say you would have to understand falconry to get any of the jokes he was telling, but it was dang funny. Below is a picture of Steve's setup. One of his falcons wasn't in the truck when I took the picture, but you'll see in the back cages his dog, Wally the Rooster and then upfront two of his falcons.
John and Kelsey also loved the Rooster Steve Chindgren brought along for a little skit he did. Trust me when I say you would have to understand falconry to get any of the jokes he was telling, but it was dang funny. Below is a picture of Steve's setup. One of his falcons wasn't in the truck when I took the picture, but you'll see in the back cages his dog, Wally the Rooster and then upfront two of his falcons.
This was an absolute blast. I can't wait for the time when I'm able to come out with a bird of my own.
