Ventana, Big Sur: Falconry in northern California

I have the world's fastest creature on my arm. Well, perhaps not this one specifically, but his species certainly. While hunting high above, the peregrine falcon can swoop at speeds approaching 480km/h, curling its talons into fists to punch smaller birds out of the sky.

A few minutes ago, such facts might have seemed unrelated to my situation, but I'm hearing them from Antonio Balestreri, a master falconer who has devoted a good part of the past 45 years to studying and working with birds of prey.

We're in a grove of woods known as the Redwood Cathedral in Ventana, Big Sur, a luxury resort perched on a bluff overlooking the Pacific coast. This is where guests come to unplug from the world: sip cocktails by the pool, indulge in a spa treatment or glamp beneath the Redwood canopy. But it's also a place where dreams can come true and when I see a falconing experience as an additional activity, I don't hesitate.

Balestreri, who worked in construction until a few years ago, has been fascinated since childhood with anything that flies. Dressed in a green camouflage shirt and with ruffled grey hair, he has a kindly, somewhat avuncular air but also an unmistakable, almost unhinged, passion for his craft.

Beside our wooden benches, several metal boxes each contain a bird. The peregrine, Lex Luther – turns out Balestreri is a huge Superman fan – is returned to his box while Roja, a stunning red-tailed hawk, is coaxed from hers. Weighing in at around 1.4 kilograms with a cream chest and vaguely homicidal eyes, Roja is a beautiful creature, breathtaking to behold so close.

I'm struck by the calmness of the birds, but this quietness, which seems to indicate the birds have trust in their handler, took Balestreri years to cultivate and can be undone in a split second if careless. Several of his birds are imprinted, meaning they are openly hand-reared by Balestreri as the foster parent.

The birds he shows us are native to North America and specifically from California. And while there are some who decry falconry and maintain that birds should remain wild, it is falconers such as Balestreri who have aided conservation efforts, helping to return raptor numbers to healthy levels after being all but decimated in parts of the US in recent decades.