Hunting with God’s Majestic
Birds of Prey
On Sunday, December 5, a group of more
than 60 TFP supporters and friends, mostly fathers and
sons, gathered for a falconry exhibition organized by
the TFP’s Louisiana Director Thomas Drake.
After Mass, attendees gathered for lunch
at a restaurant and then headed to the Feliciana Retreat
Center about an hour outside of Baton Rouge. There they
attended a presentation given by a veteran falconer who
answered questions and gave a hands-on presentation of
how to handle the majestic birds of prey.
After displaying his Harris Hawks, he
explained that a falconer does not teach a hawk to hunt.
The instinct to hunt is natural to the bird. What the
falconer must teach them is to hunt near him and to return
on command, where they are rewarded with a morsel of food.
He explained that the Harris Hawk is
one of the only birds of prey that will hunt together
in groups, utilizing teamwork in a very effective way.
After many participants had the opportunity
to hold and pet the birds, the attending priest gave a
blessing and everybody headed out for the hunt. Although
it was a rainy day and little game was moving, no one’s
spirits were dampened. Watching the hawks gracefully fly
through the trees and perch just a head of the drive waiting
for action was enough to leave everyone excited and admiring.
Throughout the day, only one squirrel
was spotted by the keen birds and barely eluded his captors’
menacing talons by jumping to the ground from fifty feet
up.
When night fell, the birds were
put away and the group went to the pavilion for a dinner
of Jambalaya which had been prepared by several TFP supporters.
There was plenty of lively conversation as young and old
discussed the day’s activities and continued to
ask questions of the falconer. Everyone agreed that they
would readily return another day if the opportunity arose
to join in on a hunt with God’s majestic birds of
prey.
