We’ve been lucky.  Traveling on days of rain and waking up to sun and clouds.

We filled up on a bountiful breakfast, local meats, cheese, eggs, and all sorts of goodness

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Then, off to the primary event, Ireland’s School of Falconry.

The compound reflects the care that each falconer embodies.  Hawks, Falcons, and Owls appreciate the Irish flora.

First, Dingle came out to say hello.

Then others met their match for a walk.

It seems to me there are rare occasions when species on this earth communicate with each other.  The simple example is walking down the street and meeting a dog.  You bend over and say, “Hello,” and give a scratch around the ears.  What of the aviary species?  That cross-species connection seems dominated by the home team.  The victorian cage of the canary.  Imagine being able to fly through the air, honing in on every movement below and knowing exactly where you are going to land; and allowing  humans to get a hint of the experience.   We had such an affair today.  A very intimate connection as we walked through the forest with Oscar Wilde and Millicent flying overhead at times so close the air from their wings blew our hair.

Connor was our guide.  He got his undergraduate degree in Zoology and his masters in Biodiversity and Conservation.  Luck of the draw.  I’m sure all of the eleven staff at the Ireland School of Falconry are competent but having been there only a year, Connor oozed a  sense of awe living with these beautiful creatures every day.

He explained the life of birds of prey.  We think they are active 23 hours a day, but really, they are lazy.  Sitting in their nests hanging out and only when motivated by hunger do they go out and forage for food.  In fact, the leading cause of death among falcons is starvation since the impulse to hunt is lagging.  Connor introduced us to many of the falcons in the compound, including a Peregrine that Connor had to yet achieve certification to fly, given their dive speed is 120 miles per hour.  Each is at home in the territory of their perch.

Then he introduced us to Millicent and Oscar Wilde.  She was named for the moldy nest where she hatched, first called mildew, then afforded the nickname, Millie, then formalized turning into Millicent.  Oscar was simply borne with a brood that were named after authors.  His brother is Bram Stoker.

Oscar and Wayne.

Me and Millie.

After some very pointed but necessary instruction from Connor, we were off to the forest and the release to flight.

as always, click to enlarge

We quickly made friends.

And learned how to interact.

Then, it was off to the races . . .

We spent an incredible forty-five minutes walking through the forest with these regal creatures.  They were always the ones in control.  We were merely the observers.

We had another adventure walking through the grounds of Ashford Castle but we’ll leave that for another post.