Lockdown 83

Lockdown Day 83 - 17 June 2020

This morning all three of us got up at 05h00, left home just after 6 to go and meet a very special pair. Precisely at 06h30 we met up with them and followed them to a remote farm. We were dressed in thick winter clothes, ready to see something we have never experienced before.  Francois the falconer introduced himself and presented Pearl, his Peregrine falcon. And what a beautiful specimen she was. 

She was perched on his gloved hand and had little bowties securing her so she could not just take off. Also, she was wearing a little leather hood called a Rufter, used to calm her. It allows ease of control for Francois in situations that otherwise could startle her. 

He explained that without the rufter, she would do what she was designed to do: be on the alert for anything she can hunt! We proceeded to walk into the open field where we waited for first light, as the peregrine falcon is not a nocturnal hunter. She keenly listens to all the sounds of dawn, knowing she will be flying free very soon. 

Francois had two bags on a harness strapped to his body where he keeps live doves as lures or rewards for Pearl. They pose for a quick pic and then the moment arrives for Pearl to fly. Francois moves away from us and holds his arm out, loosening the bow ties on his glove as well as removing the rufter from her head. She immediately checks us out, and then scans her surroundings. 

After hesitating a moment, she takes off. She flies in a circular pattern over our heads and climbs steadily to a height of over 1000 metres high. We can see her, but she's just a speck against the cloud cover. And then Francois releases a dove, shouts out a loud "hey", but Pearl doesn't catch on. Then, with the next shout and dove released we see how she instantly locks onto her prey and dives down incredibly fast,  and in the blink of an eye it's all over. 

Francois explains that she actually kills or stuns the dove by striking it with a clenched fist and then either catches it mid air or chases it to the ground. This morning Pearl followed her prey to the ground but it got away. Francois called her, luring her back with a second treat attached to a long wired lure. She pounced on it and dragged it into the long grass, the weight of the wire keeping her close to us. 

Pearl is a wild animal. She is only patient with Francois because he makes her hunting easier. He says they normally get these birds when Nature Conservation recieves them from farmers or people who don't know what to do with them. They normally stay with him for two years and are then released back into the wild. They are not easily domesticated and after a week in the wild they will not consider their former handler a friend. 

True to her nature and design, Pearl showed us today how to exalt her Maker doing what she was designed for. Flying so fast the human eye can barely follow her, she also proved to us why she deserves the accolade of fastest bird on the planet. We left, feeling enriched by the simultaneous simplicity and complexity of God's creation. 

I know deep in my spirit I desire to do the same. To exalt my Creator by doing what I was designed for. I will forever remember Day 83 as Pearl's day. And what a pearl it was! To see such a magnificent bird serves as a reminder of God's love and provision for us, as the words of Matthew 6:26 says, "Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?" 

Yes, God's definitely got this.