Lanner Falcon

Chris Cameron, director of Camp Ocean Pines, has become an apprentice falconer. Today the camp welcomed visitors to the annual Sculpture Symposium, but we got a close-up view of his new falcon. This female is about three weeks old and hatched from an egg about the size of a bantam egg.

She's a Lanner Falcon, a native of Africa but hatched locally by a master falconer. The birds are popular with Arab falconers. Private individuals are permitted to own them. 

She will grow up to serve for about three years as a working bird, chasing wild birds away from local vineyards. After she arrives at full maturity, she'll go into a captive breeding program.

He's confident she's a female -- the egg she hatched from was sent for DNA testing to determine her sex. The pink dye on her head was applied when she hatched to prevent confusing her with other hatchlings.

Thanks, Chris, for sharing this unusual bird with us.