Birds Blog - Former Clemson Tigers Safety Denzel Johnson Has Taken Up The Art of Falconry

If you follow Barstool Sports daily YouTube show, The Yak with Big Cat & Co., or if you're simply an avid fan of birds and/or quality documentaries, then you might be familiar with Listers. It's a documentary about a couple brothers who dedicate a year of their lives to birding. Despite having no prior birding experience, they spent a full year living in a van and traversing the lower 48 to identify as many birds as possible. Along the way, they meet dozens (probably hundreds) of avid birders who help ingratiate them to the birding community. It's an awesome look into a world that most people have probably never even bothered to consider. The documentary is free on YouTube (and it shouldn't be). 

Just thought I'd give the Listers guys another shoutout. Because I watched the documentary last night. And this blog is about birds. Although to be honest, I'm not sure what the birders in that documentary would think about falconry. Falconry seems like it might run counter to their love of birds. I have a feeling true birders may frown upon people who hold birds in captivity. I would guess they aren't huge fans of the bird box.

However, I did just learn (from the following YouTube video), that there was time when DDT nearly wiped out the Peregrine Falcon in the United States, and it was the practice of falconry that helped bring it back. So falconry is also a pretty good conservation tool. 

You also don't need a literal falcon to practice falconry. Falconry is defined as, "the hunting of wild animals in their natural state and habitat by means of a trained bird of prey". Denzel Johnson falcons with a red-tailed hawk named Draven. 

Falconry is an underrated bad ass… thing to do. To be able to say, "Hey bird. Go kill me that squirrel". Then he actually does it. Then he brings it back. That's pretty cool. A man with a leather glove who can summon a predatory bird from the sky to his arm is a man who commands respect. A man with hawk is more well-protected than a man with a gun. If you have a well-trained hawk on your arm, there's not a dangerous neighborhood in the world you can't safely walk through. Nobody in their right would test a man with a hawk. The last thing you want to do is tangle with a bird of prey. If a red-tailed hawk, or a peregrine falcon sets their sights on you, best case scenario, you're leaving that encounter with no eyes and half-dozen bird diseases. 

Falconry is a sport of kings. In fact, the richest thing a man can do, perhaps even more rich than buying a professional sports team, is purchasing every seat on an airplane so your personal falcons can travel internationally. 

That same man later went on to dismantle the PGA Tour and ruin professional golf as we know it. Probably. 

Falconry, much like listing birds, is also competitive. Denzel Johnson and his hawk are slowly climbing the ranks of most squirrels killed in the state of South Carolina. 

The Post and Courier – Falconry isn’t football, but they keep stats. Johnson is in a text chain with a small band of falconers — there are only about three dozen actively flying birds in South Carolina — and they keep a running tally of their kills.

Jackie Barry and her feathered friend were up to 22 squirrels. Will Zuschlag and his hawk, Bobbie, had 14. Draven, in only two months with Johnson, has snatched seven. Plus a couple of rats and field mice. Plus a handful of snakes. Plus a box turtle.

What a fun unique way to get your competitive energy out. Good stuff, Draven. Good stuff, Denzel. You know the woodland critters outside of Clemson, South Carolina hate to them coming. Denzel Johnson now joins a short list of athletes I know (2) who have taken up birds as a hobby. Although I still think I'd rather cross Denzel and his falcon in a dark alley than Mike Tyson and his hoard of pigeons. 

One more bird related recommendation. If you're a fan of board games, one of my favorites is a bird related game called Wingspan.

Takes a minute to learn. Kind of a bitch to teach to friends if they're not committed to learning it. But once you know it, it's a phenomenal strategy game. There are million ways to go about trying to win. Every game is different. I've been playing for years and I still don't feel like I have the best strategy down. And you learn a lot about birds while you play. Highly recommend.