Falconry Displays

Just to repeat I will not be offering falconry flying displays for the 2025 season. Sorry about that.  I have been concentrating on my book ‘Falconry – aspects of care of the trained falcon and hawk’.

As I have said in an earlier blog Jarvis is a 2024 lanneret that I bought at 11 weeks old. I present a diary of his training in the book. We lofted him for the first winter to protect him from wing tip oedema (WTO) and then during the warmer weather of spring I got him flying again and flew him to the beginning of his first moult at the end of April. During the first year we tried to loft him in flying condition. I did this in short periods. Birds in flying condition can get increasingly difficult to get out of the loft and it is important when signs of this is occurring to put the bird back on a block perch. Then later try again and keep going. As the bird tames loft time can increase until it becomes a permanent option. For some birds this is never attainable but still the loft is useful for rest periods when the bird is not in flying condition and therefore not taken out every day to be flown.

So, I made progress with Jarvis but as my diary entry said in the book I was frustrated by the weather and never had a good run of things when I could fly him every day and get him fit. Since then, he has moulted through and he is now flying well, and I am delighted with his progress.

One always reviews what one has written. I am not a writer, but I have tried to convey things in as few words as possible supported by instructional pictures. But it is important not to forget the sheer joy of training and flying a bird and the way it can enrich life. Falconry does have a magical property, and I guess I am one of those people where it has had its effect. Despite my illness it still has an enduring appeal.

Of course, I no longer do shows. Formerly Jarvis would have joined my event team and hopefully at some point he would have been flown at a show. This is a very big thing for a young falcon or hawk. But now I am flying Jarvis for fun and his development is still something that gives me great pleasure. Alongside this he is developing a personality as he matures, and I certainly won’t have things all my way. No doubt at some point I will lose him – hopefully temporarily. The learning curve when this happens is steep and overall beneficial in the development of the falconer.

So, I am happy with Jarvis.

I will sign off with a picture of Duke the best all round falcon I had over my long career. He adorns the front of my book. We had him for twenty-three years – he was a wonderful bird.