My post yesterday generated quite a lot of heat so here’s a respite.
I saw the following video on Naked Capitalism but was sure that previously I had included it on Learning from Dogs. So if you have seen it before, apologies, and if not, enjoy. Here’s a comment left on YouTube to give you a flavour.
It’s so moving to see how everything we humans think we know about flight and took so long to learn completely and flawlessly executed by such a majestic bird as this owl. Note the fact that the head never moves, only the body. Note the adjustments made in each wingstroke, then compare the end of the flight to what a pilot must do to facilitate a landing. Humans deploy the plane’s flaps; the owl does everything with the subtlest of adjustments. Absolutely gorgeous!
Big thank you to Dennis L. for forwarding this video
Will say no more – just watch
And if that gives you a buzz, then you might want to read a Post that I published on the 30th July Free as a Bird reproduced in full below,
The wonderful combination of paragliding and flying with hawks.
Thanks to Dan Gomez for passing me a short video about this amazing activity. It was a matter of moments to find out the background. But first a picture.
Copyright Scott Mason
There’s a full description of the history of parahawking, as it is called, on WikiPedia.
Parahawking is a unique activity combining paragliding with elements of falconry. Birds of prey are trained to fly with paragliders, guiding them to thermals for in-flight rewards and performing aerobatic maneouvres.
Parahawking was developed by British falconer Scott Mason in 2001. Mason began a round-the-world trip in Pokhara, Nepal, where many birds of prey – such as the griffon vulture, steppe eagle andblack kite – can be found. While taking a tandem paragliding flight with British paraglider Adam Hill, he had the opportunity to see raptors in flight, and realized that combining the sport of paragliding with his skills as a falconer could offer others the same experience. He has been based in Pokhara ever since, training and flying birds during the dry season between September and March.
The team started by training two black kites, but have since added an Egyptian vulture and a Mountain hawk-eagle to the team. Only rescued birds are used – none of the birds has been taken from the wild.
There’s an interesting website for those that want to take a closer including more details about Scott Mason and his team here.
Learning from Dogs 