Today we drove from Galway to Westport.
The first stop was Ashford Castle in Cong.
We spent most of the time at the Ireland School of Falconry. It was originally part of the castle, but now focuses on training falcons and other birds of prey. The picture above is of an owl by the way.
Everyone who wanted to got a chance to feed this Haris Hawk, which is native to the southwest USA. At the desert museum in Tucson you can see the same bird, although you don't get to feed them. They are also the only bird of prey that hunts in a group.
The bird flew into the tree, and then flew back to get fed by each volunteer. You do not want to mess with the beak or the talons. Click the play button to watch this short video of Vera and our Hawk.
We continued on to Westport, passing through beautiful and desolate valleys formed by glaciers long ago. We had lunch at the head of one of Ireland's only fiords. The landscape is much like that of parts of Norway.
We stopped at a memorial dedicated to 100s of peasant Irishmen who perished in the bitter cold after they petitioned England for help during the potato famine. Unfortunately, they got no help. David Cameron, while Prime Minister, apologized for England's lack of help to the Irish at that time.
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