Page 98 - WDT MAGAZINE IRELAND ISSUE WINTER 2018

A young woman introduced herself as our instructor
and showed around the facility. She was passionate
about her birds, although she says the birds aren’t at-
tached to any one instructor. Instead, they love the glove
because it holds food, usually chicken heads. They’re
crunchy we were told.
Our instructor demonstrated how to position your arm
and glove so that the bird felt safe. The secret is to hold
your arm out away from your body with the gloved fist
pointed up. That way when the bird flies back to you and
lands on the glove, you open your fist to offer a reward
of chicken heads. (Cut up rodents are another favorite.)
We also learned not to pet your hawk; bare fingers look
a lot like snacks.
Our brief lesson behind us, we met our lady Harris
hawk, named Sausage, of all things. She didn’t seem to
mind her embarrassing name; she just eyed the glove
Mary was wearing. I wasn’t sure if Mary would accept
a sharp-taloned, sharp-beaked bird on her arm, but it
didn’t seem to faze her. In fact, she seemed thrilled. And
off we went down a path in woods to fly Sausage.

98 WDT MAGAZINE WINTER 2018