Peregrine Falcon

We find ourselves back in the 1940s. Brodsworth Hall in Yorkshire has been requisitioned and is now a base for the Home Guard, amongst many others.

It is relatively unknown about how Birds of Prey were dealt with during the war. But when you consider that the Allies were using pigeons as carriers of messages, which could so easily be taken down by a falcon flown by someone on our side, that most people had to give up their falconry hobbies. However, some maintained, exercised their falcons on a "leash" and used them to supplement the dinner table with their kills.

Later, these same falcons would be used to stop penetration by the Enemy Carrier Pigeons!

We saw several beautiful birds flying this weekend, but none is so beautiful and "powerful" as the Peregrine (so named because it is found across the globe...a peregrination is a "travelling" and people thought that these falcons would travel far and wide...in fact they were just indigenous to lots of places).

This bird is the fastest animal on the planet (other than Leika the dog!). It is stunning. It is to be admired.