Authors: Ben Ruhe
Date Submitted: February 28, 1999
Article Type: Journal

The sport of falconry-using falcons, hawks or eagles to catch game-has been in existence for several thousand years. Its traditions and techniques were established early on and have continued virtually unaltered over the centuries.

Something innovative has recently changed the sport for the better-the use of high-flying kites for training purposes. And the inventor of the technique, Dr. David Scarbrough, of Fairfax, Missouri, remembers the very moment of his inspiration.

"I was parasailing-something I had always wanted to do-on Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts on July 10,1994," he recalls. "A falconer since my teenage years, I had always wanted to see what the earth below looked like to my birds as they cruised along. There I was flying at 400 feet, finally getting to see and feel just what my falcons saw and felt. Then I looked up at the shroud lines and I realized the parasail was just a kite-a big, fancy kite. I made a mental note. ‘When I get home,’ I said to myself, ‘I’m going to investigate kites as a training device for my birds.’"

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