Falcons, deer mounts and snakes, oh my!

Outdoor enthusiasts filled the Vicksburg Convention Center Saturday to experience the fourth annual Warren County Wildlife & Outdoor Expo.

More than 25 vendors joined animal trainers and wildlife educators to give event-goers a day packed with entertainment.

Master Falconer David Hall brought two Harris’s hawks and talked about some of the common myths involving birds of prey.

“Hawks can carry about half of their own body weight,” he said.

When people tell tales of dogs being picked up by hawks, they typically aren’t true, Hall said.

“People also say they can see for miles,” he said. “It is true they can read newsprint from across a football field in good light.”

Hall said the problem with that is, the birds typically hunt at dawn or dusk, so there isn’t very good light.

When hunting with the hawks, Hall said he gives them treats for bringing back game, which keeps them coming back.

“There’s an old falconer’s saying: a good hunt is when you go home with your bird,” he said.

Hall said in the 1980s there were 18,000 to 20,000 falconers, but the sport has been waning.

“We’re competing against Xbox and Playstation and all these other things that offer instant gratification,” he said. “There are about 6,800 of us left.”

Audience member Sharon Sparks was able to hold one of the hawks during the presentation.

“At first I was a little nervous,” she said. “I have a cockatiel and a parakeet at home, but nothing quite like that.”

Sparks said she was impressed with Hall’s presentation and she would like to come to see it again.

“I never imagined he’d allow a bird of prey like that to be held,” she said. “It makes me interested in learning to do that.”

Children and adults alike were also thrilled to be able to hold Hercules, a 30-pound boa constrictor and Sunny, an albino ball python.

The snakes belong to Percy King, a former zookeeper for the Jackson Zoo, who took care of elephants for 15 years.

“I’ve always collected animals,” he said. “Now I take them to nursing homes, schools, birthday parties. That’s why these guys are so calm, because they’re so used to people.”

King said he uses the animals to teach people about snakes and their habitat and how owning a large snake isn’t always a good idea.

“That’s how I got most of these animals because people get them as pets not realizing they’re going to get up to 10-feet long,” he said. “The animals are all donated from different people, including the Mississippi animal rescue.”

King brought along cockatoos, a parrot, a sugar glider, an iguana, a tortoise, ferrets, a rabbit and a savannah monitor among other animals.

When a child asked what the snakes ate, King joked back, “I feed them chickens and rabbits and little boys and girls, whatever I can find.”

King said this is his second year to come out to the Expo.

“It’s been exciting,” he said. “I’ve had so much fun meeting new people and making new friends.”

Andrew Lanier, a senior at Vicksburg High School, held both Hercules and Sunny at the same time.

“I wasn’t scared,” he said. “I love snakes.”

Lanier’s love for snakes led him to create the piece that won first in his division and best in show for the Outdoor Art Contest.

“It’s mostly sharpie except for the eye, which is what everyone keeps telling me draws them in,” he said. “It’s pointillism, which is all dots.”

The winners of the art contest were announced at 2 p.m.: division 1, Jasen Coon, a second-grader from Bovina Elementary; division 2, Alex Lawson, a sixth-grader from Bowmar Elementary; Division 3 and best in show, Andrew Lanier, a senior at Vicksburg High School; and division 3 honorable mention, Tierra Wince, a senior at Warren Central High School.

This year’s Expo hosted the first outdoor cooking competition, and the winners were announced at 2:30 p.m.: first place, CJ’s Barbeque with ribs and pulled pork; second place, Tattooed Chef with gumbo; and third place Justin McCain with pulled pork.

Event chairman Lee Roberson said the turnout this year seemed larger than last year.

“We had a consistent group of people coming through,” he said “I think it was a large crowd, and we were happy with that.”

Lee said the Trophies of Grace presentation was a great example of how the message of Christ can be shared through a common interest in the outdoors.

“Scott (Porter) is a great guy, and they come up from Pensacola and use their deer display to share about Christ,” he said.

The Expo provides a great family environment, Lee said.

“We target the family, and we want to do something with kids and give families something they can look forward to every year,” he said. “Next year we plan on having it about the next time, and we’re working on having a sanctioned duck call.”

For more information about being involved in the next Warren County Wildlife & Outdoor Expo, contact Lee Robinson at 601-529-2347.