I am sad to have learned that Brian Bunce has passed away. Brian was a Master Falconer. He taught me some things about our different birds of prey.

Many people like birds. Often, we put out food for them in the Winter. Folks will grab their binoculars and go out “birding” (something that we used to call “bird watching” when I was young).

Birds of prey are something truly special. Not everyone likes them. Farmers that raise chickens have no soft spot in their hearts for hawks. I understand that. But many people are fascinated by these winged predators. I am.

Brian would bring some of his birds to Federation events, such as our great Kay Danchak Memorial Youth Day at the Grahamsville Fairgrounds (free for the kids, mark your calendars for next September!). He also brought them to help attract people to our booth at the Fair itself. His birds were always present at the wonderful Jakes event that is held each year by the Sullivan County Longbeards Chapter of NWTF (bring the kids to that free event next Fall, too!).

Sitting at the Fair, it was amazing to see the look of awe in the faces of the children (and adults, too) when they saw Brian’s birds. Sometimes people would think the birds were stuffed if they happened to be motionless at that moment. It didn’t matter who was walking by. Everyone was drawn to the birds.

Brian was always quick to engage folks and teach them about each one. A perennial favorite was his Eurasian Eagle Owl, often assumed to be a Great Horned Owl until Brian explained. He especially enjoyed teaching children.

Many of our readers probably saw Brian and his birds at these events, but there was another, albeit similar, side of Brian that I witnessed that other folks probably don’t know about.

I used to work in the IT department at Catholic Charities (formerly the Recovery Center) treatment facility in Monticello. Brian would bring his birds there and use them as a tool to help engage clients in the process of recovery from drug and alcohol abuse.

Different things help different people along their path to sobriety. The love and fascination with birds of prey would help some of the clients to open up and interact more. Kudos to Brian; both for understanding, and for going above and beyond to help others.

The next time you see a bird of prey, think of Master Falconer Brian Bunce and his love of the birds and his joy in teaching and helping others. I will miss him.

Let’s all enjoy the outdoors!

John S. Van Etten is the current president of the Federation of Sportsmen’s Clubs of Sullivan County, Inc.