Are those claws sharp? That’s the most asked question about my hawks and owls that I fly. And YES!! They are sharp!
Claws? Talons is a more correct word used for birds of prey. Talons must stay sharp as they are the tools the bird uses to grab, hold, and tear prey apart. Not only are they sharp, but there is immense power in the hawks “pressing power” This is her ability to squeeze, whether its prey, or as it perches on my glove.
When training a hawk, a great way of knowing her mental state is by how she is pressing/squeezing my gloved arm. If she’s nervous or scared she clamps down with intensity. If she’s relaxed there is very little if any pressure coming from her talons When my hawk gets excited to go hunting she will “dance” on my glove with a grab, release, grab then release motion indicating her raised level of excitement. So I do talk or should I say communicate with her. She makes me aware of her thinking by the amount of pressure applied to my glove.
These talons and beak must stay sharp! The beak and talons are critical tools that these birds of prey use for their survival. Hawks have a way of sharpening their tools. It’s by continually using them. If you place a hawk in a pen, always giving it cut up meat (they don’t eat salads ya know), their beaks will grow abnormally long. This would require a manual process called “coping” to file the beak down to where it would function. My hawks must always be able to rip and tear their food. They have been created to do just that.
“Talons/tools” used on your spiritual journey
What are your ‘tools’ that you must use on your spiritual journey? A) If I’m not continually sharpening my relationship with God, it stands to reason that it will grow dull. A dull, boring walk with God doesn’t give you the joy and peace that would come if you stay sharp.
B) Another tool I value is my guidebook (the Bible) to keep me on the right path and provide spiritual food.
C)I value the power/tool of prayer as it sharpens my awareness of what I’m sharing with God as well as what He’s sharing with me.
D) I value the worship that I have to Jesus for His not only forgiving me, but His desire to walk with me each and every day
All those tools just mentioned are our “talons” that have been given to us to keep us going and growing on our spiritual journey. How do you stay sharp? By continually using these “tools/talons”. My prayer for you this week is that we stay hungry, and that we stay sharp!
I have come to realize the power that talons give my Redtail hawk. (I’ll show you my scar from wearing too short a glove one day.)
For the Word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword (or talon I might add). It penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Hebrews 4:12 Now that’s sharp! See Ya! Dan Ainsworth Wilderness Preacher
Hundreds of hawks are riding in this thermal. It can carry them sometimes for hundreds of miles. These birds of prey soar in the rising heated air. They don’t have to flap their wings! They fly! They soar! But first, they have to wait.
I took this short video with my son in Houston Texas last week. It was an amazing sight to behold.
The science and biology class is now in session. From the website allthingsbirding.com is this explanation. “Birds use gliding and soaring to save energy while flying. Gliding is when a bird flies without flapping its wings. Birds can glide by using the wind to stay aloft. Soaring is when a bird flies without flapping its wings and gains altitude by using rising air currents. Birds can soar by using thermals, which are columns of warm air that rise from the ground.“
Class dismissed.
How can a hawk fly such a long distance as well as stay aloft for great lengths of time? Thermals. Riding the thermals allow these hawks to soar for hours and travel many, many miles. Again understand that they don’t flap their wings. They don’t have to. BUT,………they have to wait!
Thermals are only active during certain times of the day. (Usually mid-morning until late afternoon.) As you drive out and about, look for hawks. You’ll tend to see hawks perched on trees and powerlines during early morning and towards the end of the day. There is no thermal activity then. That’s when they are waiting. During the middle of the day, take a look above you. Odds are you will see a bird riding the thermals of the sky. It may be a vulture, a seagull, a hawk, and yes, even an eagle.
They stretch out their majestic wings. Wings stretched out, feathers lined up in patterns that catch the power and forces of the wind, this bird of prey can travel effortlessly. By waiting on the thermals, they now have the power and the ability to travel on their journey. You and I get to see these magnificent creatures being and doing what God created them to do. They live this way because they know they have to wait.
They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint. Isaiah 40:31
So, live your spiritual life like a hawk. Be ready to soar, but also be ready to wait! Wait on upon the Lord.
That doesn’t mean wait by sitting on the couch eating Cheetos! No it means waiting on the Lord for His strength, His power, His direction. Wait like a hawk by looking for the next “thermal.” Oh sure, you can live this life on your own, but you will constantly be “flapping your wings”,…… and growing tired!
Instead, wait upon the Lord. “Go with the flow”, in the “thermals” that He supplies for you. It causes you to focus on His direction and His timing. It causes You to be in “His Will”. It causes you to rise as if on Eagles wings.
How can you find the “thermals” that God provides for you? Leave me your comments. We will continue this adventure on finding God’s thermals for YOU in the next blog.
Until then, listen to the song by Chris Tomlin– I Will Rise
See Ya! Dan Ainsworth wildernesspreacher
Soaring in this life, not because of me but because of my Lord
There it is! That first step of trust and the bond that will grow between two very different creatures. One creature is a very wild hawk, the other creature is …….me.
“Dak” has experienced being trapped from the wild, tethered to a perch in his new home, and placed repeatedly back on my glove. I gently work with him for hours (called manning) to get him use to my presence. From the very beginning, all he knows if fear. In his previous wild world, it’s eat or get eaten. It’s kill or be killed. Nature is cruel, nature is tough. It’s truthfully the survival of the fittest.
The first few hours, I place “Dak” on my gloved fist. He will try to fly away, but I have him leashed to my glove. He attempts to fly, I gently swing him back on the glove. All the time, I don’t look directly at him. Think about why I don’t. You see, in the wild, when a hawk (with that intense eyesight) looks at another animal, he’s either looking to kill it……or it’s looking to kill him. Dak must learn to trust and believe in me as someone who is not going to hurt him. Incredibly, hawks trained in falconry learn in just a few days that I am not a threat, but someone who actually protects and feeds them.
It’s easy to tell when the hawk is calming down. As I walk around his mews (the fenced pen) with him on my glove, I feel his talons gradually relaxing on my glove. Thank goodness, because when he clamps down with those talons it’s with a surprising amount of strength. If that thick glove wasn’t there, I’d be getting plenty of tattoos from those claws. I have a few scars from the past to prove it!
Gradually, this wild creature begins to accept my presence. In Dak’s case it’s happening very quickly. In less than five hours from being trapped, he’s eating from my hand! It could be because he has a gentle personality. All the hawks I’ve flown over the years were different. Some were gentle, some acted nervous, some aggressive. “Tama”, one of my best hunting hawks from a few years ago could only be described as Wicked!!!
But Dak is very calm. I place a small piece of chicken in front of him. Remember, I don’t look directly at him during any of this training. (Just looking at him from my peripheral (side) vision.) He actually doesn’t eat the chicken. What I do is touch the sides of his beak with the meat. He bites at me and the meat gets caught in his mouth. FREEZE! I don’t move. For however long it takes, I don’t move. He is standing on my glove with a piece of fresh meat in his mouth. Amazing what his body language shows. See, Dak’s not moving either. He’s still scared. But the whole time he’s sitting (on my glove) he is now tasting fresh food that is resting in his mouth. That’s when it happens……….. He swallows a nourishing morsel of food. The body language? Suddenly from fear to a small step of trust. His talons relax, his wings are not rigid, his eyes are no longer focused on “kill or be killed”. What next? Quickly another piece of food is placed in his mouth. FREEZE! Again, don’t move until he swallows his meal. Then quietly and gently I exit his new home. I’ll return in the morning. He’s been given plenty to think about.
The next morning I return with more time spent manning Dak. He’s still getting used to me. Learning to trust and believe in me. I spend this time walking around with him on my glove. I make noises, pick up items and move them. Sit down, stand up, walk backwards…….. doing any and everything. All the while Dak is riding and resting on my glove. He needs to know he can feel comfortable standing on the glove. Occasionally he will attempt to fly from the glove. I gently place him back on for more training. Now for the next big step! Literally!!!
Dak remembers that I fed him yesterday. Today I show him a piece of chicken by placing it in front of his beak. Today he snatches it from my hand. No need to try to get him to bite me, he’s hungry and he’s eating from my hand. Success!! Now for the next step and I do mean a step.
Since Dak knows there is food in my hand he readily wants to eat it. But I now want him to come towards me, to take a step towards me. There is a giant leap involved in the hawk’s mind in doing this. For him to step towards me is so foreign to his way of thinking. He has all this time been trying to get away from me. I am a creature he is afraid of. For him to take even one small step towards me……….involves a decision. It’s a decision of trusting and believing. Dak has taken his first step to believing that I no longer want to hurt him, but that I want to help him.
The first step!
Dak is taking his first step to me! Notice the body language. (I can feel it as well.) The claws are clamped, the wings are ready to spring into flight, and the eyes are filled with fear. In spite of this natural fear of me, the belief that I am not a threat but instead someone to trust has taken over! This thrills me to no end!
“Dak” now believes in me!
The picture shows the same bird but with a totally different mind set. A change in his way of thinking. His trusting and believing in me can even be seen (and felt). Claws are relaxed, wings in the resting and calm position. You can even see a different expression on his face. Two entirely different creatures are now beginning an adventure based on trust and believing in each other.
Overhearing what they said, Jesus told him, “Don’t be afraid; just believe.” Mark 5:36
This is a great scripture talking about believing. (I’d encourage you to read the whole chapter. Several instances of unbelievable miracles that Jesus is doing). Here in Dak’s situation it was a remarkable thing for me to see. Once Dak believes in me and no longer is afraid of me,……. well, it’s game on!!! The excitement I have of interacting with this magnificent creature is one of my greatest thrills! He has taken one small step to me. This will quickly lead to him taking 3 steps to me. Then he will jump to me. Then he will take a short flight to me. Then in such a short time period, he will be free flying and hunting WITH me. I am DELIGHTED!!!!
Just like God delights in you trusting in Jesus and taking a small step of belief towards Him! (stay tuned, till next time, Dan Ainsworth wilderness preacher, having taken a small step of belief of my own towards my Lord and Saviour!)
