Francis Heatherley

Name: The Peregrine Falcon at the Eyrie — Introduction
Author: Francis Heatherley

The Peregrine Falcon at the Eyrie… (1913)

Summary

“The Peregrine Falcon at the Eyrie — Introduction”, published in 1913, is a work by Francis Heatherley. It explores elements such as eyrie, collectors and Tiercel.

Quotes from The Peregrine Falcon at the Eyrie… (Francis Heatherley)

Francis Heatherley, The Peregrine Falcon at the Eyrie… (1913)

“ Although in my belief the Tiercel is fiercer and bolder than the Falcon, yet in the relaxation of the eyrie I have seen him, when wailing to the Falcon to bring him food for the young, assume a whimsically childlike and plaintive expression that might have evoked sympathy from a dove. Those who remain unsatisfied—and I hope there will be many—have only to spend a little time and trouble in making a hiding-shed and finding an eyrie, and then they will see something far better—the birds themselves. ”

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Source: Wikisource

Francis Heatherley, The Peregrine Falcon at the Eyrie… (1913)

“ His quiet dignity, or the haughty stare with which he surveys the world from his stronghold, or the quick scowl with which he looks at something that displeases him, may not convey the deep craft of the raven, but they indicate something nobler—absolute fearlessness, with a quiet reserve of power that enables you to realise that this is the bird whose swoop is the terror of the bird-world ”

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Source: Wikisource

Francis Heatherley, The Peregrine Falcon at the Eyrie… (1913)

“ My friend, Smith Whiting, whose bird photographs are a joy to all his intimates, holds strong views against the publication of any accounts of rare birds, as this, in his experience, only serves to betray them to egg-collectors, who really, in their lust for the eggs of such, seem to be born stamp-collectors who have, unfortunately, missed their true vocation. I do so, however, in the hope that my narrative may raise new friends for the Peregrine Falcon and other rare birds, and so lead to their better protection. ”

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Source: Wikisource

Francis Heatherley, The Peregrine Falcon at the Eyrie… (1913)

“ The female is an inch or two taller than the male, and of more massive build, and in olden times, when falconry was the fashion and the Peregrine was the favourite of kings, she was called the Falcon and her less powerful mate the Tiercel, because he is, roughly, one-third smaller. We found this dominance of the female a marked feature of their domestic life, so that suffragettes could not choose a bird more suited to them as a totem, for the Falcon is nearly always away hunting, while the Tiercel stays at home and minds the babies. ”

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Source: Wikisource

Francis Heatherley, The Peregrine Falcon at the Eyrie… (1913)

“ In the feathered world there are many different races, and as occupation stamps men into different classes, so is it possible to trace their likenesses among birds. The eagle has from time immemorial been looked upon as the king of birds, and the Peregrine is of the blood royal. ”

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Source: Wikisource

Francis Heatherley, The Peregrine Falcon at the Eyrie… (1913)

“ I came to the conclusion that probably most of the feeding was done early in the morning and late in the day, and that if I wanted to see anything I must sleep in the tent. My friends demurred on account of the risk of the tent being blown bodily away with me, should a gale spring up in the night. But after our boatman had lashed it to his heart's content, with a few additional pounds of new rope, to the adjacent rocks, I was allowed to have my own way and found, as I expected, that at sunset life in the eyrie began, and was carried on next day as if no one were present. ”

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Source: Wikisource

Francis Heatherley, The Peregrine Falcon at the Eyrie… (1913)

“ Now that the Sea Eagle and the Osprey are extinct, mainly through the depredations of egg-collectors, and the Golden Eagle is only tolerated in parts of Scotland where sportsmen find the bird useful in thinning down the grouse and hares that interfere with deer-stalking, the Peregrine Falcon is the grandest bird of prey we have left in England. ”

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Source: Wikisource

Francis Heatherley, The Peregrine Falcon at the Eyrie… (1913)

“ The shed itself was quite satisfactory, but a new focal-plane shutter, in which I had invested four pounds, was apparently unfinished when finally delivered a day or two before I started, and ruined most of my exposures. The weather only permitted three watches at the eyrie, and, to crown all, the young left it a week sooner, as, owing to there only being two of them, they were more abundantly fed and developed more rapidly, a fact I had previously noted with ravens. ”

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Source: Wikisource

Francis Heatherley, The Peregrine Falcon at the Eyrie… (1913)

“ It may be gathered that there is not much love lost between bird-photographers and egg-collectors. On the principle of what is fair in love and war, collectors pass themselves off as photographers and so obtain entrance to bird sanctuaries whose gates are afterwards found closed by the bird-photographer. ”

Francis Heatherley

Summary

Quotes from The Peregrine Falcon at the Eyrie… (Francis Heatherley)

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