Adventure

Southern Living, May 2000 by Stith, Mark G

Guests learn to appreciate the ancient sport of falconry as they stand cheek-to-- beak with these majestic birds of prey at The Greenbrier's Falconry Academy

The disbelief: A huge, chocolatebrown Harris hawk is perched on your gloved hand, the bird's dark eyes peering intensely from under its deeply furrowed brow. The reality: A huge, brown hawk is perched on your gloved hand as the bird scans the forest around The Greenbrier, an idyllic resort tucked into the hills near White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia.

You raise your glove slightly, and the hawk springs from your hand, flaps open her yard-wide wings, and disappears into the woods. She alights on a branch, and then dives down into the parchment-brown leaves that blanket the forest floor.

"She's probably seen a squirrel or something," says Mike O'Dell, head falconer and our guide on this short but amazing sojourn into the world of falconry. "Do you think she'll get it?" asks Mary Glass Newbrough, one of the class participants, somewhat apprehensively. It's safe to say our small group is more on the Bambi side of nature lovers.

"Well, sometimes she does, but usually she comes up empty," Mike reassures her. "Now, to get her to return, wait for her to fly back up into the tree; then hold the bait in your glove. Hold the glove up high so she'll see it"

Before our walk with the hawk, Mike met our group in an open field by the wood's edge, where he keeps several hawks sheltered in a low, wooden shed. Among the birds kept are a peregrine falcon, a prairie falcon, two Tanner falcons from Africa, a red-tailed hawk, three Harris hawks, and a European eagle owl. He described their habits and gave us a quick history lesson about the ancient sport of falconry, which dates back some 4,000 years. Using trained birds of prey for hunting originated in China, but is perhaps better known as "sport of kings," referring to its popularity with European nobility from the Middle Ages onward.

Our introductory lesson included an opportunity for each of us to don the long, thick leather glove and have a hawk perch on our gloved hand. Then we set out on a woodland walk, accompanied by one Harris hawk, for some imaginary hunting.

Back to the flight: After scuffling the leaves for naught, the hawk flaps up out of the forest floor, and then alights on a branch some 100 feet away from the path we're on. "Now," says Mike. Mary holds up a small strip of raw meat in her outstretched glove.

The hawk immediately drops from the branch and glides silently, effortlessly, and gracefully down to us. The sight of having a large bird of prey, wings outstretched, heading straight for you, can be downright scary. Mary takes an involuntary step backward but keeps her glove held high. "Remember, she's not after you," Mike says with a smile. Mary's husband, Mark, offers words of encouragement-at a respectful distance.

"Well it sure looks like it," Mary laughs nervously. The bird comes in fast, seemingly too fast, out of the woods and onto the path, swooping down just inches from the ground upon her approach. But in one quick, balletlike motion, she curves her wing tips forward, extends her talons, hangs in midair, and then alights delicately on Mary's gloved hand. The eaglesorry, hawk-has landed. The look on Mary's face is a mixture of childlike delight, astonishment, and more than a little relief.

"Wow!" gasps the group, almost simultaneously. "I can't believe she alighted so softly," Mary says as she lowers the glove a little closer to her.

"Let's walk a little farther and then let her go and give the glove to somebody else," Mike says. We follow him like the enraptured children we are, eager to explore the woods on this new adventure. Mary calmly walks with the bird on her glove, still in somewhat of a state of disbelief that we all share on this fine morning: There is a hawk perched on your gloved hand.

Mark G. Stith

For more information on the Falconry Academy at The Greenbrier, or for reservations and other package vacations, call 1-800-624-6070 or visit their Web site at www.greenbrier.com. Cost for the introductory falconry lesson (approximately one hour) is $65 per person; $40 ages 5-15. Intermediate lessons are $65 per person; $60 ages 5-15 (by appointment). Lodging at The Greenbrier ranges $243 to $328 per person, including breakfast and dinner. Children 17 and under receive breakfast and dinner free when staying in the same room as their parents. Other outdoor activities offered at The Greenbrier include golf, tennis, fishing, horseback riding, mountain biking, trap and skeet shooting, and the Land Rover Driving School.