Falconer to appear at BBQ Bash
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Collin Waybright, the Laurel Fork Falconer, will appear with his birds at the Almost Heaven BBQ Bash on June 16 and 17 in Buckhannon.
BUCKHANNON -- The Almost Heaven BBQ Bash is excited to announce and host Collin Waybright, the Laurel Fork Falconer, on Friday and Saturday, June 16 and 17, from noon - 4 p.m., featuring a variety of West Virginia birds of prey and exciting falconry flight demonstrations.
Waybright is a licensed master class falconer and is one of the youngest master class falconers in the state of West Virginia. He started this adventure by trapping his first Red-Tailed Hawk, Ace, from the wild when he was only 14 years old.
Waybright has also trained an American Kestrel for the Carnegie Museum of Natural History in Pittsburgh, and is one of the youngest people in the U.S. to train a bald eagle, officials said. The bald eagle, Mr. Spectacular, is a non-releasable bird and is now an educational ambassador.
Waybright was homeschooled and graduated in 2018, and then spent 10 months working at the Ararat Ridge Zoo located at the Ark Encounter in Williamstown, Kentucky. Over eight years of experience working with a Raptor Rehab Center, and the Ararat Ridge Zoo have allowed Waybright to work with a number of different birds including some that a raptor would consider "lunch."
Waybright was the executive director of a raptor rehab center in West Virginia for over a year and traveled more than 10,000 miles doing Raptor Education programs during that time. In the summer of 2022, Waybright presented a falconry program for the Embassy of the Czech Republic and the European Union in Washington, D.C.
The Laurel Fork Falconer can be reached at 304-402-7095. You can also visit the website at laurelforkfalconry.com and find them on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Youtube as the Laurel Fork Falconer.
For a close-up look at some of West Virginia's amazing birds of prey including Red Tailed Hawk, Barred Owl, Harris's Hawks and Peregrine Falcon, come to the Almost Heaven BBQ Bash the weekend of June 16 and 17 at Jawbone Park in downtown Buckhannon.
Depending on weather and birds involved, they will be at the BBQ Bash from noon - 4 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, and will hopefully provide some Falconry demonstrations during both days.