The Falcon experience @ Bovey Castle (English version)

A while back, we stayed at Bovey Castle for a proper knitting retreat. You wouldn’t expect us to have a real falconry experience there. Readers might be scratching their heads. What does a bird of prey show have to do with knitting? Nothing, indeed.

As an animal lover, my expectations were high. I thought back to the giant falcons I’d seen years ago at Para Daiza. Magnificent specimens; brute strength and that classic eagle gaze. Falcon gaze… that just doesn’t roll off the tongue.

With exaggerated enthusiasm, a forest ranger emerged from the bushes. We had been mistaken. The man was our companion for the next two hours. I soon learned that we were supposed to call our companion a falconer. I will never forget the appearance of this cartoonish man. His name, however, I will. Let’s just call him John.

John wasn’t exactly an introvert. I’d describe him, to put it mildly, as a chatterbox. A chatterbox with a crazy glove and a pigeon fancier’s hat. Forgive me, dear reader, for not fully mastering the terminology of falconers. John’s explanation went by pretty fast, and the reader must also realize that English isn’t my native language.

The moment of truth came when John took a peregrine falcon out of his white van. We gazed in awe at this wonder of nature. To be honest, the falcon turned out to be a little smaller than expected, but the bird remained impressive. With small pieces of meat, the bird proved itself to be a stunt bird. My joy was immense when I was allowed to have a falcon fly onto my hand. John watched with a keen eye, looking quite pleased. I was proud when I posted my bird video on Facebook. I knew right away it would be a hit. Not a picture of a plucked chicken, new sneakers, or a currant bun, but a video where I showed off as an experienced falconer. This could very well go viral #ilikefalcons. And indeed, there were lots of likes.

But there was also a razor-sharp comment. “You do know that those animals are stolen from nests in Africa and that only one in 20 survives the journey. A hobby for psychopaths.” John the passionate falconer was suddenly brought down from his pedestal, so I quickly posted a photo from the musical Mathilda. A 5-year-old smart aleck lecturing adults. Surely no one could object to that?

Translated with the help of DeepL.com