Erik has a school assignment called The Great Brain. The children are supposed to choose a subject that they want to learn more about. Then they read books about this topic, keep a notebook on it, prepare a simple poster and present the information to the class. Erik wanted his Great Brain project to be birds of prey, more specifically, falcons. We went to the library and checked out a bunch of books and began reading.Well, this week I mentioned Erik's Great Brain project to a friend. She replied that her brother was a Master Falconer and would we like to meet him and his birds? I replied "Yes, of course!"
(Side note: I read the book "My Side of the Mountain" when I was younger. In the book there is a boy with a falcon named Frightful. After reading the book I too wanted a falcon or small hawk and began reading about them and trying to convince my parents that owning one was a good idea. It didn't work. I had to wait until I was an adult and then bought baby chickens instead. Not quite the same. Sigh.)
Last night I took the kids to meet Shane and his Praire Falcon. I gotta tell you, it was love at first sight with this bird. The falcon was beautiful. We spent close to an hour hearing stories and asking questions and Erik even got to hold it!
The funniest part was Megan's reaction when she first saw the falcon. She said, "I like your chicken! How many chickens do you have? Can I pet your chicken?" She then went up to the hooded bird and began petting its back.
Shane carefully moved the bird and said, "That might not be the best idea." And I told her this bird might bite her fingers off. Megan didn't seem too bothered by this and replied, "I like your chicken!"
