Icarus Falconry

#throwbackthursday to when Lily was just a baby living in Jo’s house and getting into lots of mischief! #icarusfalconry #barnowl #tytoalba #owlsofinstagram #babyowl #imprinting

Come along if you’re thinking of getting married and see what our birds can do for that little something different at your reception!

We are extremely lucky to be based at such a beautiful House as Holdenby so we thought you might like to know a little more about the history of this stunning house, which makes a fab backdrop for our experience days. If you would like to visit us here go to icarusfalconry.co.uk for details

You might think that things slow up at the centre in the Winter, but as you can see we keep everyone busy updating and improving the facilities here. This work in progress might look messy now but watch out for the after photos! In the meantime we will keep the workers and staff supplies with tea!! #icarusfalconry #workinprogress #improvements

Ive seen this film quite a few times but it never fails to amaze me! It demonstrates just how well owls are designed for what they do! So just had to share it with you once again!

We love to hear Wurzel, our young bald eagle, letting us know it’s breakfast time! #icarusfalconry #bald eagle #haliaeetusleucocephalus #breakfasttime #noisy

A New Year means change for us at Icarus Falconry. Over the last two years Tom Morath has been our General Manager and Head Falconer at the centre but now he's moving on. He'll be handing over the reins to Dave Sharpe in January who will become the new General Manager with Jo Askew as Head Falconer.
Tom said "It has been a fantastic two years managing the centre I grew up in and where my passion for raptors ignited. The team here are the very best of people and I will certai...nly be sorry to be no longer working with them. I'm absolutely sure that the high standards in customer service and exemplary bird welfare will continue to be at the forefront of the work ethic at Icarus. Thank you to everyone who has supported me and the centre during my time here. Without you all we couldn't have achieved what he have here."
Tom will be working with the Hawk Conservancy Trust, our conservation and International Vulture Programme partners. Go visit him sometime if you get the chance.
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Merry Christmas from all of us here at Icarus Falconry. Wherever you are and whatever you're doing we wish you all the very best.

Merry Christmas one and Owl! 🤣 Our owl workshop today was fabulous. Great to see families enjoying quality time with our birds. And the sun shone!

If you're coming along to our Family Owl Workshop tomorrow which a lot of you are (It's a fully booked session!) please be sure to bring suitable clothing along. The forecast is for sunny spells but we have had some rain so the grass will be damp and muddy in places. It may also be chilly if there's a breeze!

Thank you so much to Mr Ken Evans. Ken came to visit us earlier in the Autumn and promised us he would use the photographs he took on his experience to paint portraits of some of the birds. He popped in to see Jo and Pam yesterday and left us with his original artwork of Galileo, Sage and Delilah (who is especially well captured in her favourite position - the sunbather!).

Last deliveries before Christmas. Today is your last chance to get a voucher in the post guaranteed in time for the big day but remember you will still receive an email confirmation if you purchase after today and your voucher will still be posted. Of course if you're local you'd be more than welcome to pop in and see us to purchase in person (please telephone or email ahead to let us know you're coming!)

Our Christmas present to ourselves! A beautiful carving by friend of the centre Bob Wilson who came to visit us today. A stunning addition to our beautiful surroundings.

The most wonderful time of the year when volunteers bring in home made bakes. You heard it here first but we predict that Katie will be in the famous Bake Off tent before too long... #cakes #christmas #yummy #volunteers #icarusfalconry

Just about enough time to drop some massive hints about what you want on the big day... 🎄 Why not make it an experience with us in 2019?

Horizon our Black-Chested Buzzard Eagle being put through his paces with some up-hill fitness work. He's a big fan of hanging on the wind and stooping in but this type of flying makes him work much harder and helps to build muscle. Think of it as a day at the gym! This will make him an all round fitter and healthier bird.
Apologies for the annoying plane in the background! 🛩

Profile pic vs tagged photo... 📸😂 Bald Eagles can look majestic, frightening and sometimes very silly but we love them none the less!

Our family Owl workshop on 22nd December at 10:30 is starting to fill up. If you want a space for you and up to three others, spending the morning flying our owls, please do get in touch soon before we're fully booked!

There's still time to make someones Christmas by giving the gift of an experience day with us. We offer 2 hour Taster Sessions, Half and Full Day Experiences - all are available as gift vouchers as standard. www.icarusfalconry.co.uk for more info or tel 01604 770055.

What a wonderful experience! Fantastic and a memory to treasure. Wonderful staff, knowledgable, informative with a good sense of humour �. Beautiful and amazing birds of prey, wonderful to enjoy them up close, and you can see how well they are cared for. Great sanctuary, and in such a beautiful setting. Loved every single second of it. Hope to return in the Summer months to fly little Pedro! Thank you to all the staff for such a lovely time.

We had a great time last saturday morning. It was a present for my partner and I came along to take pictures. We both loved it and were pleasantly surprised by the content and how small the groups were. Beautiful location and lucky for us, it was a beautiful day � x

We had a great morning at Icarus with Tom and Sophie. We really enjoyed our visit. So much more than we expected. Thank you 🙂

We bought our 11yr old son a half day experience for his birthday and finally had it booked in today. Despite the rain, cold and wind he had a fab time (and so did I as his chaperone) - Tom and Jo are so knowledgeable and the birds are so happy and well trained. Alex certainly has a soft spot for Willow the Tawny Owl now - thanks for a fab time and it didn’t take too long to thaw out but was worth it

Truly wondrous experience. I have absolutely no hesitation in recommending Icarus Falconry for their fantastic knowledge, passion and love for their birds. The care is manifestly evident and the power and majesty of these creatures is truly a sight to behold.

The people who run this are the good guys - they deserve your support and you will reap some timeless memories from the experience!

OMG an amazing day! Tom and Jo are so full of knowledge and passion for their feathered family! We met so many amazing birds: owls, falcons, vultures (I am totally a vulture convert after meeting Bentley and Eclipse). Thank you for helping me have a day to remember forever xxx

My new husband and I would like to extend a huge thank you to the team at Icarus for attending our wedding and putting on a fabulous display, everyone loved every minute and are still talking about it. The birds are beautiful & you made my childhood dreams literally come true! We can not thank you enough!!! I will be doing my best to book in for a course in the near future. Particularly my thanks go out to Tom for the handling of our booking from start to finish & putting our minds at ease with any concerns we had and ensuring everything went without a hitch on the day. We will be recommending you :) xxxx

My daughter and I had an amazing time with Icarus Falconry. The staff were just lovely, very knowledgeable and quite obviously had great love and passion for what they do. We had lots of fun and learned loads and we will most certainly be back. Thankyou guys and thankyou to the stars of the show, the birds themselves. ��

Just spent an amazing day with the Icarus team. Their dedication really shines through. So knowledgeable and the love they show their birds makes this a truly personal experience. A brilliant time making some forever memories. Thank you all so much ���

I booked a half day hawk and owl experience for my 10 year old niece and it was s super experience. Hearing about all the birds of prey first and the conservation work that they are involved in for vultures was very enlightening. Flying the owls and hawks was a thrill and the team were so friendly and knowledgeable about the birds. What a great place to work and visit. I highly recommend it to anyone.

Had an amazing day out the various birds of prey, having them fly to your hand, holding them up close and even throwing food for the kites! All the birds seem well looked after and its nice to hear they they are all worked and not just for show, and its really nice to hear that the centre takes an interest in conservation, both native and exotic, and studbooks as well! Overall a great day out and would definitely recommend to anyone else! Even the bits of rain couldn't ruin the day!

Had an absolutely amazing day and got to see lots of different birds. There was always lots of information about each bird and their species. We went a few years ago where we saw the Great Grey Owl Galileo as a little chick and now had the chance to fly her.

Getting to fly Sage the tawny owl a second time was brilliant as well as getting to fly the black kites for the first time. Karen was so patient with both of them and was able to give us so much information and at no point was anything rushed.

Watching Bentley the vulture and having her land on your hand is something special.

All the staff, Tom,Jo and Karen are so friendly and always available to answer any questions you have.

Had a great day here flying some beautiful birds, tom was brilliant giving us lots of information about all the birds and managed to show them all off at what they do best! Would highly recommend.

Had a fantastic day earlier on this morning at Icarus Falconry the team where all fantastic and look forward to a return real soon for a longer session.



Thanks again to the team and Suzanne Carr for my birthday present.

First Class set up. The birds are so well looked after, the staff so knowledgeable.

The morning was spent being introduced to all the birds. Pedro the little burrowing owl was a star. We all had a chance to have him fly to our open hand. Then we watched the breath taking skill of a Harris hawk. It too landed on our gloved hand, but also flew "through" us at hurtling speed. Fantastic.

Met Willow a tawny owl, who also entertained us and lastly, two black kites.

A truly memorable morning.Thank you Tom and Jo and thank you beautiful birds.

Brilliant experience for my lad George.. excellent all round. How do you add photos to your page? I’d like to share a few shots with you

At Jr Wildlife club with T, it is great. The staff are friendly and helpful. T says its the best part of the week. So much knowledge and a beautiful selection of birds too. The backdrop of beautiful gardens and nature at its best, just make the visit even more special. I have as many pictures of the surroundings as I do the birds I think.

Thank you all so much.

An amazing day out. Getting to see the different birds or prey and hold an owl, kestrel, falcon and feed them. Not only do you get to see them up close and personal, you also get to learn more about each bird from staff that care and nurture them from birth. The staff are really enthusiastic and happy to share their knowledge and experience with you. The experience is quite personal too as they cater for smaller groups so that the birds are not overwhelmed. Make sure you call ahead and check which birds you can interact with as seasons make a difference. This also means you can go back at different times of the year and have a different experience.

A great falconry set in beautiful grounds. We took part in the half day hawk and owl experience, which was great value; we had the opportunity to handle and fly each bird multiple times. Staff were very friendly and polite; taking time to learn our names, and they obviously know a lot about their birds. We flew and handled a burrowing owl, great grey owl and Harris' hawk, watched a luring display with a kestrel and fed three kites on the wing. It was raining on and off throughout the morning, but the birds were not put off in the slightest. The Icarus Falconry and their staff deserve a lot of praise and recognition for their hard work and dedication!