A longtime falconer will share her experiences on July 16, 2018, in
Dorothy Ramon Learning Center’s next Dragonfly Lecture, “A Raptor As a Guide:
Lessons on connecting and listening to the natural world gleaned from hawks,
eagles, and falcons.”
Rebecca K. O’Connor of Banning will discuss her 25 years of
working as a licensed falconer with birds of prey, and how this experience has
given her a meaningful connection based in respect and honor for wild animals
and the open spaces she shares with them.
For falconers, a successful hunt and more importantly, a partnership with a wild and free-flying bird of prey, is a constant conversation between human and bird, O’Connor says. The falconer must learn to speak the hawk’s language, be willing to listen, and trust in their relationship. This conversation ultimately grows into a larger and deeper conversation with a landscape and the other creatures that inhabit it.
Also explore a few traditional Native American relationships with wild birds of prey
and their landscapes, led by Center President and Elder Ernest Siva
(Cahuilla/Serrano) and the Learning Center.
DETAILS: 6 p.m. Monday, July 16, 2018, at The Center’s Gathering Hall, 127 N. San Gorgonio Ave., Banning. Your $5 donation will help the 501(c)3 nonprofit Dorothy Ramon
Learning Center save and share Southern California’s Native American cultures,
languages, history, and music and other arts.
About Rebecca K. O’Connor
She's the author of the award-winning memoir Lift published by Red Hen Press. She has published essays and short stories in South Dakota Review, Iron Horse Literary Review, Los Angeles Times Magazine, West, divide, The Coachella Review, Phantom Seed, Prime Number Magazine and The Rumpus. Her work has been anthologized in New California Writing 2011, New California Writing 2012, No Place for a Puritan: The Literature of California Deserts and Animal Companions, Animal Doctors, Animal People. She has also written several reference books on the natural world and several books on pets including The Perfectly Trained Parrot, a best-selling parrot training guide. Her latest novel, We Were Wilder, was self-published on Amazon in 2016.
She's the author of the award-winning memoir Lift published by Red Hen Press. She has published essays and short stories in South Dakota Review, Iron Horse Literary Review, Los Angeles Times Magazine, West, divide, The Coachella Review, Phantom Seed, Prime Number Magazine and The Rumpus. Her work has been anthologized in New California Writing 2011, New California Writing 2012, No Place for a Puritan: The Literature of California Deserts and Animal Companions, Animal Doctors, Animal People. She has also written several reference books on the natural world and several books on pets including The Perfectly Trained Parrot, a best-selling parrot training guide. Her latest novel, We Were Wilder, was self-published on Amazon in 2016.
Along with her 25 years as a falconer and animal trainer, O’Connor
serves as development director for Rivers and Lands Conservancy, where she
combines her passion for preserving open spaces with her love for connecting
people with the wilderness.
