Today was a truly unique experience.
We drove to Arezzo & spent the afternoon with a man who has dedicated his life to birds, not just any birds but birds of prey (raptors)- falcons, hawks, eagles, owls- He is known as an Il Falconiere.
Falconry is an ancient art that became known in Europe around the 6th century and continued through the Middle Ages. Training birds of prey to hunt to bring food to the table eventually evolved into a popular sport and status symbol for nobles of Europe. The "Golden Age" of falconry ended with the invention of the shotgun around the 1600s but there are some today like Gherardo Brami whose love of the birds has kept this tradition alive.
We learned that training these birds is really more of a lifestyle as it requires complete dedication 365 days a year from the trainer. It reminded us all somewhat of the caretakers for orphaned elephants who must be with the calves 24/7 for the first year, except in the case of falconry there is no bonding to the trainer from the bird's point of view. A falconer must give his life to train the bird to fly free and return to captivity all the while knowing that because there is no human attachment he may choose not to return. Matt likened it to unrequited love...
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| Gherardo & one of his birds- He makes with his own hand each bird a custom hood, but does not give him a name. |
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| Gyr Falcon |
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| Peregrine Falcon |
Our interpreter told us that it was not likely that the boys (because of their young ages) would get to handle the birds, but to their grand surprise they got a wonderful experience!
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| It began with feeding a 1 month old falcon... Falcons cannot fly at this stage but like adults, eat their prey feathers, bones & all. |
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| Next the owls perching on a the arm... |
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| "He is not as heavy as he looks" |
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| From one brother to the other- |
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| Look at the wing span- |
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| Wings, sharp beaks & talons close the face can be intimidating- |
Our time was ended with watching Gherardo perform a training exercise with the falcons that keeps them healthy and ready for hunting. It was amazing to see them soaring at speeds up to 200 miles per hour (not a typo), navigating around trees, through the loggia of the house and diving right over our heads to make their "kill".
The boys may not remember all that we have seen and done in Italy but this is one piece of our journey that I think will not soon be forgotten.
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