Thanks, I love the pictures.

Last fall I was at Stanley Park in Westfield, Massachusetts shooting some scenic photos of the park and I kept hearing a whistling sound off in the distance. Finally out of curiosity I went to see what it was. To my complete surprise I found it was a guy in his backyard, which adjoins the park, and he was training a Red Tailed hawk in the art of "Falconry" (Hunting by means of a raptor). I quickly hung a long telephoto lens and began shooting pictures. In a few minutes the guy noticed me and invited me to come in a bit closer. I moved in to about 20ft where he and I could talk yet my presence would still not excite the hawk. In our discusssion he told me that he is one of only 7 ppl in the entire state who are currently licensed to practice the art of Falconry. According to him it takes 6 years in an apprenticeship to get a license and they must have the license before they can posses a bird. During that 6yr period they must work with a raptor rehab facility to learn how to care & feed the birds as well as handling characteristics. He also stated that they cannot buy a bird. To get a bird they have to live trap one in the wild, but they are limited to only trapping birds that are presenting some form of nuisance. In his case, his bird had taken up residence in a residential neighborhood and had been hunting bird near ppls bird feeders or small cats, most of which were to large for the bird to carry off so it just killed a cat, then consumed what it could on the spot and leaving the remains to the total dismay of the cat owners. . . . . . Here is a photo of me doing my imation of a handler.....LOL

bob_n_bernie: I mean EXACTLY like that; and it appears another Dove has been caught by a superior aerialist. I think I may have posted this in the past, but I was washing dishes in the kitchen of my farmhouse one morning, about 10 years ago, or so, and looking out the window and the 18 inches of snow that had fallen overnight. All of a sudden I heard a "thump" on the roof, above my head, and saw a Mourning Dove fall out onto the snow, right in front of the window. It wasn't dead, but it couldn't fly, and was thrashing about in the snow, wings outstretched. I just couldn't figure why the Dove would fly into the roof--the roof was also covered with snow, and it should have been obvious to a (healthy) Dove. So I put my boots on and went outside to see about the Dove, and no sooner had I rounded the corner of the house, than a Peregrine Falcon took of from the roof, where it was perched, and flew toward the woods. It looked back at me a time or two, and seemed to be giving me a dirty look--as though I had spoiled what would have been a just reward for superior hunting skills. And I also realized, that the next time I witnessed such an event, I should wait a bit before sticking my nose in; I probably would have gotten to see EXACTLY what you photographed. And although it may be "gory" to some, it's "Raptor Reality" to me--it's simply survival, for raptors. I agree with gailr--great photo of a most-interesting subject. A beautiful photograph of a beautiful bird is a beautiful thing: one that tells such a story, as the one you posted, is doubly ineresting and rewarding. I have a photo that I took 10 years ago, or so. It's only a silhouette--all in black, because it was too far away, taken with an inferior camera I had in the car, but I still think highly of it. I was driving down the highway, and saw a Sparrow Hawk ascend from a field, toward a power line, with something in its talons. First chance I got, I made a U-turn and went back, while getting my 35 mm camera out of the glove box. I stopped opposite the Hawk, now perched on the wire, and managed to take 4 or 5 pictures, from about 50 or 75 yards away, before it flew off--carrying its prey. Later when I got the pictures developed, one of the pictures was exactly what I had hoped for--a percect silhouette of a Sparrow Hawk sitting on a power line with a mouse, hanging down, in one talon. Of course I would have liked to have a close-up of such a thing--but the Hawk and mouse, clearly silhoutted on the wire, was a rewarding accomplishment, also. Hawks won't always sit still to have their photo taken, particularly when they're aware of your presence. I had the photo enlarged and framed, and keep it on my wall in the country, to show to all those who accuse Sparrow Hawks of eatinng their "chickens", or some other ridiculous assertion.

way cool shots. his story about the merlins is fantastic.