Heritage Festival and a Little History

Photo by Sally Dickinson

Again this year we attended the Peterborough Heritage Festival and although we tried to do a Falconry display on the Saturday it was just to hot for our birds, with Reno our older Harris Hawk making a protest about being asked to fly by sitting on to of the Cross on the Guildhall in Peterborough City Centre. We would like the opportunity to say thank you for everyone's understanding why we had to cancel our Falconry displays over the weekend.
So over the weekend we just kept the birds cool and on a static display at the side of Peterborough Cathedral and met many wonderful people including the Brumvik (Viking re-enactment group) The Sealed Knot and many old friends from the re-enactment circuit.
On Sunday at the end of the final parade and announcement was made for Gary Baxter that he was in 2018 only doing 2 event and they would be The Heritage Festival and Festival of the Forties. As I have come to find out Gary and Backwoods Falconry is well know around the events and will be greatly mist.

Falconry is the ancient art of taking wild quarry with a trained bird of prey. Originally, falconry was using a bird of prey as a tool for catching food for the table.
The art is first thought to have originated in the far east, with the first recording being as far back as 1700 BC. It is thought falconry reached the British Isles in AD 860. It is thought that the sport was restricted to the upper classes, but their lives were recorded more than the lower classes. It seems falconry could be practised anywhere as nearly all land was for common use. When the Normans arrived, land became privatised and falconry was then restricted to the upper classes.
Falconry was taught to sons of gentry along with archery and riding. The gentry would go out for a days hawking with their birds, but the day-to-day care and training of the birds was carried out by a residential falconer. If the hunt was successful the falconer would be highly praised and vice versa. The Royal Falconer was treated with great respect and was sometimes considered fourth in line of seniority in the Royal courts.
Falconry suffered a set back with the invention of gunpowder. It was a lot easier to look after a gun than a bird of prey and the gun provided more food. It was still practised by some gentry and according to a published list in 15th Century a different species of raptor was assigned to different ranks in society. How strictly this was adhered to, no one is very sure.

The Vikings were perhaps even more avid falconers and worshipped their birds to such an extent that they were even buried with them!
The Gyrfalcon was so prized by the Vikings that only the highest ranking Kings could afford to own them. Lesser ranking Earls might sport a Tiercel Peregrine, Knights a Saker, Yeomen perhaps a Groshawk or Hobby, Priests had Sparrowhawks, Knaves, servants, and children were restricted to Kestrels.
The Viking here in this photograph is holding one of our Gyr Saker Falcons. Once again big thank you to the Brumvik for coming over so we could do this photo.
The Brumvik have a Facebook page here.

During the weekend Backwoods Falconry team was looked after by a very special Lady and we can not thank her enough for all she did over the weekend. So  to finish up this post a very big and special thank goes out to "Matron"
Matron trying to get some shade and checking on the Falcons on Saturday afternoon.
You can find Backwoods Falconry on Facebook
Or visit our website at www.backwoodsfalconry.com
 We specialise in Avian Pest Control so if you have a Pigeon or Seagull problem and need it sorting then just visit our website and give us a call no problem is to big and our team of birds are always up for a challenge.

Till the next blog entry and I hope it will be a little sooner this time.
     Rupert