Harry pays Anzac a flying visit

13 August 2007

By CHAP Duncan Becsi

A falcon called Harry, quite unexpectedly, changed an ordinary day on HMAS Anzac last month into something extraordinary.

Anzac of course is on deployment in the Northern Persian Gulf and Falconry is very popular in many parts of the Middle East.

Go to places like Bahrain or the UAE and you'll see a variety of post cards that depict magnificent portraits of man and bird working as a team.

What we never imagined was that Anzac was destined to become foster parent to one such falcon who had seemingly lost its way.

Whether it was blown off course or simply became curious as to what we were doing here we'll never know. What we do know is that those of us who were lucky enough to witness Harry's short, albeit, eventful stay (Harry flew away after a two day sojourn) experienced a moment in time that lifted our spirits out of the ordinary.

Life is many things. It could be argued that it is for the most part even mundane.

Then when something like this happens you are reminded again how special those brief moments can be.