ParaSailing With A Hawk

[SeaBreeze]

Interesting video of Hawk hanging out with a parasailer...

 

[That Guy]

Cool. A guy who flew with my dad in WWII was a hang-gliding pioneer and would talk about eagles soaring by to check him out.

 

[Raven]

Great video SeaBreeze. The Hawk seemed interested in checking out the the flying machine.

 

[Ina]

WOW,Talk about soaring with the eagles. I wonder if they trained the bird for fun, if not, what the purpose might be.

 

[SeaBreeze]

It seems that these birds are rescues, and people pay to be able to do this with them. Proceeds go to a vulture conservation project in Nepal, this is from the parahawking site...

Parahawking is paragliding with a trained bird of prey. It was pioneered in Pokhara, Nepal by renowned bird trainer and paraglider, Scott Mason.

Rescued and rehabilitated raptors such as Egyptian Vultures are trained as part of an award winning enrichment program, to fly with paragliders and, by using their incredible ability to conserve energy, can guide the paragliders to the best thermals.

They will then land on the passengers gloved hand for an inflight reward. Parahawking is a perfect mix of adventure, eco-tourism and conservation.

A Parahawking Tandem Experience is more than just a paragliding flight with a trained bird, it's an education into vultures and the problems they face in the wild. Proceeds from Parahawking tandem flights go directly towards vulture conservation projects in Nepal.

 

[Ina]

Sea, I wonder if we do anything like it here. Like search and rescue.

 

[SeaBreeze]

There are organizations in the USA that rescue and rehabilitate birds of prey, like this one...http://www.raptorhouse.org/

 

[SeaBreeze]

I think these birds would have done a lot better without all the people and noise around, but here's another rescue center in action.

 

[Ina]

This would be good for teenagers to get involved with. Kids have so little opportunity to interact with wildlife and the habitat it needs.

 

[SeaBreeze]

I'm all for kids and teens getting involved in nature...builds good character!

 

[Kaya]

Love it!!

 

[nan]

That would be so great to do.

 

[That Guy]

Keeping my feet on the ground and just enjoying the soaring red-tailed hawks living in the big old dead oak nearby.

 

[SeaBreeze]

Same here, lots of those wonderful birds by me, got a couple of close pics in my own back yard.