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By: Ikedi Ani-okoye.

Falconry Demonstration

The annual Falconry Demonstration that is offered between the months of April and August is called the Ballet de Rapaces. Offered three times daily, the Falconry Demonstration is a perk of visiting the Castle in Bouillon. The times for the Falconry Demonstration are set at 11:30 am, 2:00 pm and 3:30 pm respectively. Each show lasts approximately ½ hour, just a short time for travellers to see the beautiful falcons and their abilities.

Falconry explained

Falconry is the sport of taking wild prey (or quarry) in its natural state and habitat by means of trained hawks. It has never been easy, and the present day conditions add many obstacles to the achievement of success in the sport.

Mere enthusiasm, momentarily fired by the sight of trained hawks being flown to the lure at a Country Fair, or on a TV programme, is not an adequate base from which to launch oneself into this most difficult of sports. A great deal of dedication and study is needed before a beginner gains a proper understanding of how to manage a hawk. Many falconers choose both their livelihood and their home so that they can have proper opportunities of following their sport, and they sacrifice many other interests to do so.

The Falcon

A swift bird, gliding high above the grassy plain, is the focal point of a group of hunters scattered below. The falcon, its identity betrayed by its size, speed, and shape appears as merely a speck cutting across the sky like a shooting star. It suddenly tucks its wings and begins to dive, its stream-lined silhouette growing slightly larger, until a flock of mallards on the small lake take notice and begin frantically to disperse.

But for one duck, slightly too young and inexperienced, it is too late. The peregrine has already chosen its feathered target, and the duck is killed instantly as the peregrine slams its razor-sharp talons into its flesh. The two birds fall to the ground together as the men emit a muffled cheer and begin trekking toward the landing site to recover the prey and the falcon.

CONCLUSION

Falconry is truly an ancient hunting sport, practiced 2,000 years before the birth of Christ. The first record of falconry is a bas relief depicting a falconer which was found in the Khorsabad ruins (1700 BC) in Mesopotamia. Aristotle (384-322 BC) wrote of hawking in Greece. A mosaic in Argos, Greece (Villa of the Falconer, 500 AD) is the earliest pictorial documentation of falconry in Europe.