Red-footed Falcon

Okan Kocagyit

Some people will know exactly why a slate grey falcon with red boots/feet is important to me...er...to Sybil. Today though, I thought I'd simply highlight the species and give it some extra press time.

The Redfooted falcon (falco vespertinus) hunts at dusk on the plains of eastern Europe and western Asia in summer. I think the slanting, evening sun highlights insect prey perfectly, but perhaps if I were a djinn pretending to be a falcon, I might hover around at NOT twilight.(*ahem*)

The falcons roost in whatever sparce tree cover they find. Since a colony can range from half a dozen to a thousand, these birds need a lot of space.

Of course, man likes to build and farm grassy plains, so the species is now categorized as "near threatened" due to loss of habitat. It would be pretty difficult to house a thousand birds, once the people move in and take out all the trees, kill all the bugs, and pretty much destroy the neighborhood. Occasionally the birds are seen as far west as the UK, and recently some were even sighted on this side of the Atlantic in Martha's Vineyard. Are they looking for new habitat?

In Turkey, the Redfooted Falcon is known as Aladoğan. Each year it migrates through Cyprus on the path to it's winter home in Africa.

(Cyprus is another reason this falcon is important to Sybil. Sorry, Peregrine falcon, but I think your red-footed cousin is a better fit for my story.)

image via www.outdoorconservation.eu

Rapture on Raptors

via National Geographic

I like raptors. There's something about the hoot of an owl or the cry of a hawk that conjurs magnificence.

I specifically love the Peregrine falcon. That may be because DDT almost killed them all by the time I was born, so conservation efforts focused on the Peregrine for years afterward. I remember touring the Kennedy Space Center as a teen and the highlight of my visit was a Peregrine falcon sighting. Go figure!

The bird really is extraordinary. It dives up to 200 miles per hour, making it the fastest creature on earth. The name "Peregrine" comes from the wandering tendency of the bird and various subspecies are found on every continent, except for the polar regions. The agility of longwinged Peregrines is amazing, better than the higher ranked (by the Book of St. Albans) broadwing eagles. Exceptional vision also make it highly favored by falconers. 

Falconry was once a noble pursuit in Europe, the Middle East and even Japan.  In the UAE, the sport is an important part of national heritage. Conservation there has taken on epic proportion, with the country spending millions of dollars on breeding centers and falconry events. (I lived there for a while so I've even had a falcon on my arm...I must have a picture around here someplace...)

Symbolically, the falcon means good things:

• The sun. Egyptian sun god Ra is portrayed with the head of a falcon.
• Nobility
• Strategy 
• Loyalty  (It mates for life.)
• Focus

All of these things make for a good hero and serendipitously, Freya (see Goddess Culture) wears a cloak of falcon feathers. 

This is a clip of an American farmer and his tame red-tailed hawk.  Some of you may not appreciate watching a bird hunt down a rabbit, but I'm amazed by nature at work.

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