IT has long been thought that the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach…
But who knew this old cliché also applied to birds of prey?
A few morsels of finest steak proved key to recapturing an eagle which had been missing from its stately residence in St John for five days.
The absence of Hemlock, a 26-year-old steppe eagle and regular star of falconry displays at St John’s Manor, had sparked increasing worry from owner Richard Hall, who was concerned that the bird of prey could starve if he was not recaptured.
After a weekend’s fruitless searching for Hemlock, who may have been blown beyond his normal “patch” by the recent high winds, there were several sightings from Islanders who believed they had spotted the bird.
Yesterday morning brought the first verified sighting, with a picture confirming that Hemlock had been near L’Auberge pub in St John, and although he had disappeared by the time Mr Hall arrived, the search ended close by a few hours later.
Mr Hall said: “A chap was working on a house nearby and called me after seeing him in a field, and he kept an eye out until I arrived.”
Once on site, it was a simple case of tossing a bit of steak on the ground for the hungry bird, then capturing him in the type of net used by anglers to land their catch.
Hemlock was none the worse for his excursion, his owner said.
“He’s lost a bit of weight; I don’t think he’s eaten, but otherwise seems fine and we’ll keep him inside the aviary for a few days while we build him back up.”
Before the successful recapture, Mr Hall dismissed fears that Hemlock might pose a risk to household pets, pointing out that he had never been trained to hunt and routinely took no notice of the chickens, geese and ducks he lived alongside. Hemlock won’t be off work for long, with Jersey Falconry having bookings for displays in the lead-up to Christmas.
“We’ll give him until the weekend after next, and then he’ll have to start earning his keep again,” said Mr Hall, who may need to order extra supplies of steak for the aviary’s festive menu.
