Kilts and Falconry

[Omar Zaragoza]

Hello lads,

I'm, starting a project which is called Air Titans or Titanes del Aire in spanish.

We want to look for captive hawks or eagles in order to rehabilitate them and take them back to nature, right now we just found a 28 days old Harris hawk down in the floor, he felt from the nest and there was no sign from his mother, so we are going to train him, rehabilitate him, we want him to have family and then he will be back to nature.

We want to create conscience on children, that why we are starting a little show, with a medieval knigth, a pirate, a middle east guy, and I would love to add a Scotsman.

Of course we are going to talk about the ecosystem, the habits and everything about the birds of prey

Of course everyuthing is legal.

I just wanto to know if historically there was any trace of falconry in Soctland and what kind of birds of prey they use to train.

Heres is a picture of Duncan, the baby Harris

[Andy Ternay]

I think this is a great idea!

I know falconry was a popular aristocratic activity in the middle ages, but I don't know how widespread it was in Scotland. However, googling "Falconry in Scotland" brought up several links to falconry schools and tourist experiences in Scotland. I wonder if these folks could steer you to more information: http://www.educationscotland.gov.uk/...king/index.asp

[Riverkilt]

There was/is a kilted falconer on this board.....??? Remember sending his pic to my cousin in Montana who's a falconer since his youth, but yet to be kilted...

[Cygnus]

Thistledown is a falconer - hopefully he'll chime in.

[ThistleDown]

Did I hear your trumpet, Macqueen?

[Omar Zaragoza]

Thanks for your comments and thank you so much for the link Andy, I saw some very interesting stuff in there

As far as I know, there are some birds of prey in Scotland right now

- Golden Eagle
- Osprey
- Peregrine
- Red Kite
- White-tailed Eagle

In the middle ages Scotland, did they had the same birds of prey?, the link just mentions:

Hawking was mostly a done on foot, with trained birds of prey used to catch small animals and birds rather than weapons. Like hunting, hawking or falconry had strict hierarchies and rules regarding who could use which kind of bird of prey, and what equipment.

I just want to know if its historicaly correct to be a kilted falconer.

Here ir a picture of me with another Harris Hawk, just before we started this new project, I was just helping a friend of mine with his show, but that day I was dressed like a pirate, it was a pet show, since that day I started to cook this project "Air Titans"

[Jock Scot]

To add to your list we have:-

Sparrow hawk.
Kestrel.
Buzzard.
Goshawk.
Merlin.
Hen Harrier.

I am sure all in both our lists would have been present in the middle ages. Most became rare and in the case of the white tailed eagle(sea eagle), osprey and red kite became extinct in Scotland during the Victorian and Edwardian times. I have pleasure to report that these three species are now doing reasonably well in Scotland today as are the other species mentioned.

[ThistleDown]

These two photos of me have appeared on XMarks a number of times. I have generally kept Harris Hawks because they are low-flying and prefer rabbits to small birds and rodents as prey. To me, however, it is the sport before the hunt that is appealing. The training of both me and the bird.

Hawking has been a practice of the landed class from feudal times and some names (Faulconer, for example) come from those retained to keep these birds. The sport was less practiced in the Highlands than in the Lowlands, it seems, and only moved north with later stages of feudalism.

Today all the birds you list are well-protected by law. You may only own a bird if it is the offspring of an already domesticated bird; the Harris you found would be turned over to a seasoned professional to raise and, hopefully, be returned to the wild. There are several licensed conservators and many schools from Fife to Skye, with some accepting one-day sessions on the moors and hills. Dunrobin Castle in Sutherland has a superb display of faalcony every day in the tourist season.



The above in Glen Isla with Fidget, a Harris.

This was my avatar here with a couple of years:

[maeah613l]

This is amazing. My last name is English and directly related to Falconry- we're assuming our first ancestor must've been a falconer. Once you determine the legality of possessing these birds, check out local, small newspapers online. In the US we have craigslist and greensheet, for example- you can find hedgehogs and other unusual wildlife for sale there.

[Cymburrleah33]

Thank you for sharing these pictures...simply beautiful. I appreciated your comments on falconry.
Cheers