Date: 1/25/26 9:36 pm From: Charlene via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: Re: [Tweeters] falconry in "Hamnet" movie
I thought the exact same thing! Such an odd choice! They really dropped
the ball.
I also liked the accuracy of the dirt fingernails. 😄
My friend and I thought we heard a red-tailed hawk cry twice in the film
though.
On Sun, Jan 25, 2026, 9:19 PM Nancy Crowell via Tweeters <
<tweeters...> wrote:
> Hi Gary - what a gun bird-geeky film review! Love it!
>
> Nancy
>
> Nancy
> "Images for the imagination."
> www.crowellphotography.com
> ------------------------------
> *From:* Tweeters <tweeters-bounces...> on behalf
> of Gary Bletsch via Tweeters <tweeters...>
> *Sent:* Sunday, January 25, 2026 3:25:51 PM
> *To:* Tweeters Tweeters <tweeters...>
> *Subject:* [Tweeters] falconry in "Hamnet" movie
>
> Dear Tweeters,
>
> The movie *Hamnet *will presumably win some Oscars this March. I just sat
> through it. It wasn't bad, although I think I still prefer *Shakespeare
> in Love. *
>
> That said, the beginning of the movie had me scratching my head. The
> leading lady, a falconer of sorts, was flying a Harris's Hawk. "Wait," I
> thought, " Harris's Hawk? I thought this was a movie about Shakespeare!"
>
> I went home and checked. Sure enough, there weren't any Harris's Hawks
> being flown in Europe until well over two centuries after Shakespeare's
> death.
>
> This movie was filmed in Britain. The woodland birds that I heard on the
> soundtrack sounded like British birds to me. That was a pleasant surprise,
> since most movies feature Red-tailed Hawks and California Quails
> vocalizing, no matter on what continent the plots transpires.
>
> There were all sorts of other nice details in this film that the producers
> got right--even down to the prevalence of filthy fingernails!
>
> There are lots of falconers in Britain. Certainly, the Harris's Hawk is
> one of the most popular choices for falconers there, but he production team
> could have found any number of birds that would have been available there
> in Shakespeare's time, so Eurasian Sparrowhawk, Common Buzzard, Eurasian
> Goshawk, Saker, Peregrine, Eurasian Kestrel, and so forth.
>
> Sheesh, Mr. Spielberg!
>
> Yours truly,
>
> Gary Bletsch
>
>
>
>
>
>
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