The Falconry School

Clover on point high over Wensleydale.

Clover and Daisy today grouse counting in the clouds on a moor in North Yorkshire. This was a point on one pair of grouse about 25 yards distant, who were kind enough to sit to the point. Many are very jumpy at this time of the year.

Bit of an adventure today. We were about to fly a peregrine to a lure suspended from our trusty old Phantom 1, when one of the batteries on the quadcopter spontaneously combusted. Luckily it was still on the ground. It's a pretty exciting sight when they go up, with plenty of intense flames and black smoke. Didn't do the drone much good, but surprisingly it still seems to work, apart from one of the electric motors which has power to it but doesn't spin properly. No prizes for guessing which one. Hopefully a motor and propeller replacement will sort it, but it's never going to look quite the same. Don't forget, keep those LiPo batteries in a sealed metal box!

Update on Corah's progress. I spent a two hours today looking for her when she disappeared while we were hunting today. At about 4pm I suddenly lost the signal from the transmitter. Pretty much in despair, I went to somewhere near the point where I thought her last signal came from, but I still couldn't pick up anything. Suddenly I heard her bell. She hurtled past me and I was able to call her in to a lure. Took her up, slightly in disbelief at what had happened. It was almost dark, and she had recognised me as I walked across the field, even though I wasn't swinging the lure. The transmitter (from a very well-known supplier) was totally dead. Not out of power, but just stopped.

Corah's story: A 2016 peregrine, Corah has some history. In August 2016 she got a crop infection and was the sickest hawk I have ever seen that didn't actually die. Mercifully saved by Tom Dutton at Vets Now at Swindon. Last year, fat out of the moult, she managed to unpick the leash button and disappeared off the weathering lawn, complete with swivel. After much searching, 48 hours later her bell was heard and she was spotted only about a mile away. After some coaxing she ca...me down just to a lure, and found to be still 2oz over flying weight. About 7 weeks ago, just flying free the second time after the moult, she clipped a fence at full speed and broke her wing. It looked like it was all over. She was taken to Vets Now, where Tariq pinned the wing. She spent 3 or 4 weeks in a box to avoid further damage, and had the pins out. She was rested a while, followed by small amounts of flying. She could fly, but very lopsided, and to start with only flew short hops to the glove. About 10 days ago she commenced flying to a lure suspended by a Phantom quadcopter, which she had never done before, and her strength started to return. She quickly got excited by the sound of the drone taking off. Today she was cast off and she quickly climbed over our nearby pond. Ducks were flushed and she took her first ever mallard from a 150' pitch. It's not over 'til it's over!
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Out doing some proper hawking yesterday with old friends Paul and Richard.

Our tiny tucking little owl showing off his skills.

Guess who's back at Alnwick castle again...it's Toffee! A very blustery start to the day, unfortunately too risky for flying today. Hopefully tomorrow things will settle allowing for some spectacular stoops.

The team in beautiful autumnal surroundings at Lucknam Park earlier this week.

It's been a wet and miserable start to the day at Chepstow Racecourse, but nevertheless we have our champion of a falcon, Cilla the Killer!

We had a lovely visit to a school today, made to feel very appreciated by enthusiastic pupils and teachers.
We asked the pupils to tell us what type of bird this is, giving the clue that it is the same as a famous wizard, and so it turns out we have a Dumbledore!

This weekend we finished our final series of shows for Living Heritage at Essex Game and Country Fair.
7 events up and down the country, hours of work put in by many staff and helpers, 35+ displays, 40-50 birds of prey, couple of horses, 3 pointers, numerous costumes, the list of what has gone into these shows goes on. But now we can breath a sigh of relief to have successfully got through this busy series of shows. Thank you to everyone who has helped and who have supported us at these events!

"Willow" has been a fond favourite for many and once again he's looking fantastic, fresh from his moult.

This is "Midge", a 2018 merlin who has come to join us. Ben, John and James have now all had a go at facing her tight twists and turns, surviving with their dignity more or less intact.

Here are some awesome shots from our weekend at Bowood.
Taken by Freya Cox, who was there to help us out with the birds.

Another Living Heritage game fair done and dusted! Despite the weather, all was a success!
The birds can now enjoy a well earned rest until the next one in two weeks time in Essex.

We are off to Bowood House this weekend for another Living Heritage game and country fair!
Come on down to see our stunning team of birds in variety of exciting displays.

Introducing Kiera!! A large addition to the school, she is a female steppe eagle.
She's been with us just over two weeks and is coming on well, flying good distances on a training line.
Her beak has been coped since the first big beaky picture.

great day out flying a variety of different birds of prey with a very knowledgeable falconer beautiful setting and lovely people would highly recommend this experience to anybody with an interest in birds or aviation will be going back for more

Wow!!! My mum and son went to the Falconry school for a three hour experience. They both had the most wonderful day. Thank you to all the staff that made their day so special.

We had a lovely time and have come away full of knowledge as well as making memories. Thank you to the team for a wonderful day!

Thoroughly enjoyed our afternoon here today (1.8.17) with the excellent John & his team. Lots of info on the birds, but not too much. Lovely to see them close up and handle them & have them fly towards you, landing on your glove (provided). Highly recommended.

Thanks for such an enjoyable afternoon, my dad loved his father's day treat! We found the whole experience both informative and fun. The host (sorry can't remember his name but owns "cloud" the barn owl) was fantastic and was very patient with my selfies!lol. Would definitely recommend you guys! You're birds are truly magnificent.

Thank you for making our family party extra special. You were both so friendly, knowledgeable and great presenters. Thanks alsalso to all the birds for being so good!

Present for my wife, fantastic experience, made to feel very welcome , the birds are in lovely condition and obviously very loved and cared for by the handlers

Many thanks to Ben Long and all the members of his team for their expert knowledge, skills and guidance during my visits to The Falconry School whilst working on my Raptor Awards courses. From the theoretical and practical classroom work through to flying the amazing Falcons and Hawks the team covered all subjects in great detail whilst making it a fantastic very hands on learning experience. Completed the practical assessments on site and the Raptors Awards Tests online for the 8 modules required to pass the two courses 'Keeping Birds of Prey' and 'Training Birds of Prey'. Telephone and email support provided throughout from the team.

I have just returned home from this fully immersive falconry experience. The friendly team were both humerous and informative whilst imparting their wealth of knowledge and obvious love of this art. The opportunity to hold so many different birds was exciting and their beauty was captivating. An excellent gift experience I would wholeheartedly recommend to anyone with an interest in falconry, or anyone who has a dream to hold such beautiful creatures. Word of warning- if you visit in wetter weather a good insulated pair of wellies is essential and wrap up warm. You will be outside for over 3 hours! This was an amazing experience I'll never forget. Thimble was my favourite, she was beautiful :)

I did the 3 hrs experience today, with my 5 year old son . Can honestly say it was amazing !

The staff was brilliant, info was second to none , would recommend it to anyone!

My son " when can we go back dad " �

Thanks guys great days ���

Had an thoroughly amazing experience yesterday for my 3 hour session. Learnt so much and flying those beautiful birds will live with me forever. Many thanks to Matt and John for the knowledge they passed on to us - so valuable!!! This experience is one of the best of my life and I would recommend it to anyone. I will definitely be back next year when the weather is a lot warmer!!! Excellent does not come anywhere near it. Fantastic!!

Had a three hour falconry experience as a birthday surprise and it was brilliant. Ben and his colleagues were so welcoming and friendly and made it a very special afternoon. It was a privilege to be so close to such beautiful birds and an experience I won't forget. I have already recommended this experience to family and friends.

Had a great visit to the school prior to starting my course in Aug, now can't wait to start.

Had a great day out yesterday at the Falconry School, getting up close and personal with a number of different birds of prey. There were a good number of holding sessions, alongside demo sessions where you could watch the birds in action; the closest you'll get to seeing something away from a documentary on TV.



Great day out, would highly recommend!

Fantastic 3 days spent here. Learnt so much from Ben,cain and John. Wonderful facilities and birds. Would recommend to anyone thinking of taking up falconry or just interested in learning more about it. 5/5

Conditions were questionable up above in this summer washout. Purchased for my 21st as a birthday gift this whole experience didn't disappoint. Directions to site were clear however a sign from the main road would be helpful.



We flew a variety of different birds getting a close experience in appreciating these magnificent birds. With all the falconers showing expert knowledge in handing and informing about these birds. Defiantly not a commercial operation which is refreshing to see and an absolute must for families or couples as in small groups makes it enjoyable.



Thank-you once again for a fantastic experience team will definitely be back ��

An absolutely fantastic day, would recommend to anyone. A very experienced, friendly team meant the day was more than 'just' flying a few birds, it was informative, entertaining, amazing and not only a Christmas present I will never forget, but one I would love to repeat.

A great experience, made to feel welcome and looked after very well with food and drinks. Being so close to birds of prey was amazing and they were very gentle and understood exactly what they had to do.

A fabulous falconry experience learning and flying raptors and owls. Set in the beautiful Gloucestershire countryside this small falconry school offers the novice an afternoon of handling falcons and learning about the birds. There is plenty of opportunity to get up close to hold and feed the raptors and watch them in flight. Thoroughly recommend this experience.