When you think about your dream job, what do you think about? Most people would say, a high-paying executive job, a creative career, maybe something that involves traveling. Adam Baz’s dream job was working with birds of prey.
Adam Baz is a professional falconer – his job is training birds of prey such as falcons, owls, hawks and so on to sit on his hand, fly and come back on command. His interest in falconry started when he was working toward his master’s degree in ornithology, or “bird science” as he puts it. He wanted to take his theoretical understanding of birds and nature an put it to use, which is how he ended up in falconry.
Being a falconer isn’t easy. The birds Adam works with are used to the wild, and they have strong beaks and claws that can make quite a lot of damage when threatened. It takes patience, calm and confidence to get them to trust you and listen to you.
But what do falconers actually do? Originally falconry trained birds to help in hunting. Since today hunting isn’t really a thing anymore, Adam uses his birds as natural pest control. He trains his owls, hawks and falcons to fly over buildings and public areas and scare away pests such as pigeons and rats. It’s a natural, harmless way to maintain the city clean and safe.
But at the end of the day, for Adam, falconry is a way to connect with nature, and appreciate the beauty of the majestic creature that rule the sky.
