It鈥檚 not every day that you get asked to go hunting with a prince.
Master falconer Gary Worley had that experience once, many years ago, while in England.
Worley, whose fascination with birds of prey began at age 11 when he lived in the United Kingdom, will be bringing two hawks to help dissuade the seagulls from feasting at the upcoming Charcuterie on the Pier event on Sept. 2 in White Rock.
He grew up to run the National School of Falconry in the UK for 20 years, flying and breeding falcons and raptors of all species for falconers all over the UK and the Middle East.
鈥淚 had my first bird of prey when I was 11. I鈥檓 63 now, and I鈥檝e had a bird of prey every day of my life since then,鈥� he said, remembering the time he even did a presentation for Queen Elizabeth II.
鈥淏asically, we bring a couple of Harris hawks and we fly them around and try to keep the gulls away 鈥� that鈥檚 our job,鈥� he said, noting that seagulls can be very persistent.
Worley moved to Canada, where he opened the first Bird of Prey centre in B.C., directing falconry demonstrations for Grouse Mountain, Kamloops Wildlife park, and the Aldergrove zoo.
He also has a contract with the City of Burnaby to help keep unwanted gulls away from the Burnaby Eco-Centre, and currently has more than 100 birds of prey.
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For Charcuterie on the Pier, which is also a Guinness World Record-breaking attempt for longest charcuterie board, he said Harris hawks are ideal.
鈥淭hey鈥檙e the only birds of prey who live in family groups in the wild 鈥� they hunt in packs, like dogs, so they have a different mentality to most birds of prey,鈥� he noted.
鈥淭hey鈥檙e just super tame.鈥�
He recalled the time he ended up hunting with some of his hawks with Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, who died in 2021 at the age of 96.
鈥淚 rented a farm on a lord鈥檚 estate in England and his name was Lord Cavendish, and he had this big, stately home with famous gardens called Holker Hall, and the gardens were open to the public. He was friends with Prince Philip, who was well-known for carriage driving,鈥� Worley said.
Prince Philip would come to stay at the lord鈥檚 house sometimes, so one weekend, Lord Cavendish asked Worley to bring some birds of prey and put them in the gardens, as he thought Prince Philip would love to see the birds.
鈥淚 said 鈥榮ure.鈥� So my son and I got our shirt and tie on and we took 鈥� I think it was 12 birds 鈥� and then Prince Philip comes out with his shirt sleeves rolled up and he says, 鈥業 love the birds. OK, time to go hunting!鈥欌��
鈥淢y son and I looked at each other, thinking, uh, hunting? We weren鈥檛 planning on doing any hunting,鈥� Worley shared.
鈥淧rince Philip says, 鈥淟et鈥檚 go catch these pigeons around here! Then Lord Cavendish says 鈥楴o, no, no! Those are ornamental pigeons 鈥� they live in the garden,鈥欌�� he recalled.
鈥淭hen let鈥檚 go try to catch some rabbits!鈥� was the prince鈥檚 reply.
He and his son shared another look, thinking none of the birds they brought are going to catch any rabbits, he said.
鈥淲e had Katie, one female Harris hawk 鈥� she catches rabbits, but they have to be in a certain condition,鈥� Worley explained.
Another hawk they had brought was named Oscar.
鈥淥scar was seven years old 鈥� we tried to catch rabbits with him for seven years and he would never catch them, but he would catch pheasants and partridge,鈥� he said.
So off they went to try.
鈥淔irst of all 鈥� there were thick bushes 鈥� we wondered how are going to get the rabbits out of the bushes we didn鈥檛 bring our dogs? But Prince Philip said not to worry, and he got his bodyguards to take their jackets off, and they had to beat through the bushes to put the rabbits out,鈥� Worley said.
鈥淚鈥檓 stood next to Prince Philip with Oscar, who鈥檚 never chased a rabbit in his life, and I鈥檓 just chatting away to Prince Philip and he moves his right foot just slightly, and up gets this rabbit! Then off goes the rabbit 鈥� and off goes Oscar! He chases him all the way down, turns 鈥檙ound, chases it all the the way back towards us, and he catches it right at Prince Philip鈥檚 feet,鈥� he said.
鈥淧rince Philip, he pats me on the back, and he says 鈥榃ell done! I鈥檝e been out many times with birds of prey and have never seen any of them actually catch anything.鈥�
He and his son just stood there, looking at each other, thinking 鈥淲e cannot believe this hawk just caught this rabbit,鈥� Worley said with a chuckle.
鈥淎nd he never did catch another rabbit, that hawk.鈥�
Worley said he and his hawks will do their best to keep pesky seagulls from guests at the upcoming charcuterie event, which is about 75 per cent sold out.
鈥淏uy your tickets now! It鈥檚 less than two weeks away,鈥� said said Sheila鈥檚 Catering owner Wes Levesque, who owns the business with Brant Darling, noting that they鈥檙e expecting the event to sell out.
He鈥檚 hoping the weather will co-operate as well, but is staying optimistic as they prepare for the event.
A fundraiser that will benefit Sources food banks as well as Friends of the Pier, the event will also feature a consecutive 500-foot charcuterie board, long enough to break the Guinness World Record, set right down the centre of White Rock鈥檚 iconic pier.
Tickets can be purchased at charcuterieonthepier.com
tricia.weel@peacearchnews.com
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