I just dug out these photos, taken some time ago by customers at North Devon Hawk Walks. The top one demonstrates the gyroscopic effect, which means that once the hawk " locks on" to it's prey, it's head will remain still even if the rest of it's body is performing all sorts of strange acrobatics. This is so as to minimise the chance of losing sight of the prey, of course.
The second photo illustrates the hawk's unofficial motto " Height is safety". So although it's good to be on the upper slope of a hill, it's better to be on top of a car at the top of the hill. It's even better to be on top of the bike, on top of the car, on top of the hill.
I always remind customers of what I call " The pirate and the parrot effect". If the arm on which the bird is perching starts to droop, the hawk will walk up the arm to settle on the shoulder, or sometimes the head. People usually only need telling once.
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