The 21st Century Matriarch

Our last session at the Festival of the Cranes was titled “Deadly Beauty Photography” with falconer and wildlife rehabilitator Matt Mitchell. We saw three different trained raptors. The falconer had raised all the birds from their birth.

The first was a hybrid gyrfalcon and several different peregrine subspecies. It was a challenge to follow in flight, so I was thrilled to get even one good picture. The others are portraits which are still better photos of raptor sightings in the wild. My favorite image is the one with the falconer and the bird…obviously a bond there.

The native peregrine was the second bird and I didn’t manage an image of it in flight. The one of the peregrine on the ground shows how it hides its meal from prying eyes!

My favorite raptors were the pair of Harris’s hawks (sisters). The species hunts in groups. We moved to a location with more shrubs to give the birds places to perch. The two responded to prompts (and treats) flying around the area…plenty of opportunity to get them in flight.

One of the birds discovered at a young age that she got a treat very quickly if she perched on a person’s head…so she has done it since. I took a picture of my shadow when she was on my head. We had been instructed to wear a hat to the session…for just this situation!