Say Hello to Rosie!

Well it was Gileseys' birthday but man I thought it was mine! An extraordinary day that I simply don't have enough superlatives to fully convey the experience! A whole afternoon with Martin from Dartmoor Hawking and his Owls, Eagles, Falcons, Harris Hawks and Bald Eagle!! The weather and  setting were amazing, looking down at Bovey Tracey castle which is now a hotel. Martin was a "card" - very entertaining, amusing and informative. We were left in no doubt he has no time for small children, Golfers, stupid dog or bird owners and his ex wife!! He was friendly to me even though I came from Cornwall - Devon is the best county according to him and everyone else who live in Devon!!
The most frightening part of the day was Rosie - he is her seventh owner and her previous ones had not dealt with her responsibly and she believes she is the top of the chain,  she will attack anyone, even him! She has put him in hospital 5 times!! She can only fly attached to a wire, previously knocking out a golfer as he was teeing off and he would have killed him if Martin had not got to Rosie in time! A dachshund was also a fatality!!! He did not turn his back to her as he left her on the far perch, and we stepped over a line dug in the ground and back again as soon as he told us. With the speed Rosie  flies at, and her  huge talons and size, we were not going to mess about! I was the last to give her food and although nervous was not going to miss the opportunity to experience feeding her! Sad thingis all the birds, and the 3 dogs ate chicks!!
The dogs!!! So gorgeous! They chased the birds and if you look at the extra of the men taking photos, you will see one of  the dogs try nearly biting the birds wing! They also knocked my chocolate fingers out of my hand and had a good feast! When Rosie came out all but one of the dogs disappeared down the filed and did not return till she was gone!! The one that remained did not attempt to do more than sit at the perch when she was at the other end of the field! 
As if all this was not enough we then went onto the moors and 2 Harris Hawks flew around freely, coming in to take food from our hands, hitching a ride for a while, hopping on the ground and sitting on Martins head! The sun set in a blaze of colour and it was just the most incredible experience to be with them.
So - fast driving home to close up the   chicken coop as on duty cover, locked up Tilly, threw food at the fish and fat Cat, changed my shows and back into Tavistock for Gileseys' birthday meal! What a day! Loved every minute of it! 
I took over 700 photos - not really expecting to get any of the birds in flight, oh what fun that was trying out camera settings and moving quick enough to actually get the bird in frame! I have got it down to 200 on my Flickr Album, but still have more to do of Gilesey and her friends!!! I have used my extras if you are interested but really don't want to look at umpteen photos of the same owl, Falcon, bird of prey etc!! Impossible to choose one to blip - martin asked us all to name our favourite bird or dog - all so gorgeous how could I choose! But this one has the magic of the day for me! Was nearly Rosie!