Lanner Falcon

 This is such a stunning looking bird, so perfectly adapted to make it a deadly hunter. It feeds of small birds and bats, it will fly to about 3000' and then stoop at high speed to snatch its prey on the wing. 

They are so effective as hunters that they are popular in falconry and are bred in captivity. One bird recently sold for over $70,000 dollars.

All Day Breakfast

A few weeks ago I shared a series of photos taken at an owl and bird of prey sanctuary and while it was a thrill to see so many beautiful birds of prey up close it cannot match the thrill of seeing one of these birds close up in the wild.

Today was my first chance to get out with my camera for a while and I was hoping for some good photo opportunities. I went to the Lancashire Wildlife Trust reserve at Brockholes near Preston. 

Top of my list of species I hoped to see was the Kestrel and so I was really excited to see this male Kestrel as I pulled into the car park. The bird in all four pictures is the same one, the first image though was taken at the start of the day when it was very dull, the other shots were taken about an hour later when the bird was tempted back by a handful of tasty mealworms put out by another visitor.

As you can see from the second shot he didn't waste any time at all snatching his first mouthful before he had even settled on the post and then in the third shot that expression seems to say "stay back, these worms are mine!"

These pictures were shot at 300mm (or thereabouts) but with fairly low shutter speeds and high ISO because of the poor light meaning they are a little grainy. I was able to get really close though so I haven't needed to crop these pictures at all.

Hybrid Theory

Choosing today's picture wasn't difficult, actually I had already decided yesterday to share this portrait of a beautiful hybrid falcon. It is a cross between a Gyr Falcon and a Saker Falcon (you will have seen a shot of it in flight in yesterday's post) and it is super sleek and elegant. It is also very fast and supremely agile and it was a real treat to watch it flying to a lure.

Did you know that the art of falconry has been practiced for over 4,000 years with evidence from Mesopotamia (The Epic of Gilgamesh) providing accounts as far back as 2,000 B.C. (That makes me think of the song "The Mesopotamians" by They Might Be Giants but that really has nothing to do with falconry). 

I remember a presentation by a falconer at Beaulieu Abbey a few years ago, he described how falcons were prized possessions and extremely valuable. A good bird was seen as a status symbol. Falconry remains a niche sport especially in Gulf States like Qatar and good birds fetch ridiculous prices. In 2015 it was reported that a Gyr Falcon was sold for a whopping $250,000 (£180,000) that's just a little bit out of my league so I will just have to get my fix visiting places like the sanctuary where this little beauty was on display.

Lanner Falcon

Today's offering from the Turbary Woods Owl & Bird of Prey Sanctuary is this beautiful Lanner Falcon.

This is not a native species but is normally found in Africa and Southern Europe. In 1666 some were reported in The Forest of Dean and Sherwood Forest but these were likely to have been escaped hunting birds.

They have a different hunting style to the Peregrine Falcon which tends to stoop attacking its prey at great speed from above, the Lanner by contrast has a more horizontal flight and takes its prey in flight. This bird was part of the flying demonstration and it was truly a great spectacle. As it flew above the trees a large flock of pigeons scattered noisily before the falcon returned to the arena to chase the lure. It whooshed past at speed and getting a photo of it in action was incredibly difficult we will see later in the week whether I was successful or not. For now these three shots of the falcon on its perch will have to do.

I think the first picture is my favourite because it is looking straight at the camera with its piercing gaze. I have cropped the third image to get a little closer to highlight the detailed markings on its face and to show off that imposing beak.