Parahawking

January 23, 2009 7:47 PM

Hawkman of the Himalayas.British falconer Scott Mason and friends have combined paragliding and falconry into the art of parahawking. [Via]
posted by homunculus (7 comments total)

Related post.
posted by homunculus at 7:48 PM on January 23

Parahawking, the Segway for Falcons.
posted by rageagainsttherobots at 8:26 PM on January 23

Sparrow, the hawking of flight, segue the reverse.
posted by Mblue at 8:39 PM on January 23

madness. beautiful.
posted by mwhybark at 10:05 PM on January 23

wow. Incredible. Amazing how he manages to fly, whistle for the birds, film himself, paraglide, find the thermals. This guy is a multi-tasking superhero.

Really enjoyed this video, thanks homunculus.

I love black kites, had one briefly as a pet. Or should I say was privileged to care for one after taking him in after he'd been conked on the head in a storm. They're regal in their demeanor, beautiful. That ugly fledgling vulture is adorable. What a schnozz of a beak.

One of the many cool things about living in the Himalayas is that houses are built on the sides of the mountains and when one looks out the window it's at eagle-soaring level. It's easy there to see how birds tilt those feathers with great subtlety, navigating the thermals with finesse. I like lammergeiers, the bearded vultures, blond and huge wingspan, marvelously dramatic tufted legs, usually quite shy and only findable in the quiet high mountains.

A piece of hawking trivia: in London the very small streets are called mews because once they were the places hawks were kept by aristocrats and when hawks moult they make mewing sounds.
posted by nickyskye at 10:50 PM on January 23 [1 favorite]

Masterful.
posted by stbalbach at 10:51 PM on January 23

There seems to be a distinct lack of people being bashed in the face with a mace in the link. Please revise.
posted by mightygodking at 12:21 AM on January 24