[FunOnTheNet] Paragliding With Hawks

Breathtaking new extreme sport takes paragliding to new heights...gliding next to HAWKS

By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 3:31 PM on 9th February 2011

Most people can only dream of being able to soar through the sky with the birds.

But one British made his dream come true when he invented this claw-rious new extreme sport.

Scott Mason, 39, pioneered the extreme sport by paragliding next to hawks then inviting the birds to land on his arm.

Flying high: Jessica Love, the pilot, Scott Mason, a passenger, 'para-hawking' alongside Bob the Egyptian Vulture in Pokhara, Nepal

Winging it: Scott Mason, now piloting, flys with Jeckle the Harris Hawk in Berga, Spain, in the new extreme sport he invented

He will fly the nest from the foothills of the Nepalese Himalayas to head for the Spanish beaches of Alicante this summer in a bid to make the sport the latest must-do-holiday activity.

For 120 euros passengers will be able to enjoy a 30 minute tandem flight by feeding and interacting with British bred harrier hawks in the spectacular backdrop of the Mediterranean coast.

As these action packed pictures show passengers are lifted high into the air on thermal winds, which is shared with the hawks, called Heckle and Jeckle, both one-year-old males.

Passengers can then act as a landing pad for the hawks in mid-flight by offering their outstretched arm to the predatory birds.

Parahawking, as the sport is known, is the brainchild of pilot Adam Hill from Brighton, and falconer Scott Mason from Dagenham.

Scott and Adam, both 39, established the art of paragliding with orphaned birds of prey in Pokhara, Nepal in 2003.

The British duo became the first people in the world to realise the dream of flying with the birds - by training hawks to cruise alongside paragliders in the crystal clear skies over Pokhara, Nepal.

Light as a feather: Scott hopes that parahaking will become a must-do holiday activity when it is launched in Spain this Summer

A wing and a prayer: Scott hopes that parahawking will become a must-do holiday activity when it is launched in Spain this Summer

Feathered friends: Scott Mason and girlfriend Anita Hjertas, holding hawks at their new parahawking centre, Berga, Spain

Wing fan: Scott holds a hawk as he prepares to take off on a parahawking trip. He glides on thermal air shared by the hawks to attract their attention

Since Scott met his Norwegian girlfriend, Anita, in 2008 the couple have successfully built up their parahawking business together.

They also run a bird rescue centre in Nepal, mainly for Himalayan vultures that would be unable to survive by themselves in the wild.

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