Falconry Displays

The late May Bank Holiday is upon us and historically and this looks like being the same it is normally wet! Thankfully or not thankfully my Show days are over, and, in that sense, I do not have to worry about it. Although more generally the extremes of weather we are now having these days are a worry.

So, no shows for me this weekend but as I have explained elsewhere, I still fly the remaining birds that I have every day. I have discovered the interest is still there and when after 35 years as a professional falconer came to an end I found I still love the sport.

After I have written my book ‘Falconry – aspects of care of the trained falcon and hawk’ I think about falconry because of my book more than ever. Instead of just doing it I had to work out how I did it and why and write about it. Many years ago, and I cannot quite remember the circumstances I wrote down part of my commentary that I used at shows. That was a big mistake! I felt I was reading my own words and could not get away from them. The Spontaneity had gone, and it was sometime before it came back.

Well changing the subject, I saw a hobby this morning down where I fly my birds. It was very high and Frank the lanneret started chirping to it. It was pretty much in the same spot of sky that I saw it the other day. Hopefully we will see it hawking swallows at some point this Summer – which is incredibly exciting.

They are such dashing falcons. The kestrel remains my favourite falcon and indeed my favourite raptor. Its that feeling that they live nearby and are inextricably linked to the farm landscape that surround us. They are a beautiful falcon in flight and their ability to hover makes them extra special. Their colouration of russet browns is just wonderful and reflects the farmland landscape they are from.  As I have discussed elsewhere their numbers have sadly declined over recent years. We still have a couple of pairs around where we live, but they are no longer the dominant birds of prey in these parts – buzzards now are.

Many falconers particularly older ones have a real soft spot for kestrels because they were often the first bird they had. They are not really suitable as beginner’s birds because of their small size.  They can also be quite difficult to train and of course they are not birds that you can hunt with. Although having said that Phillip Glasier once told me about a person who caught a lot of sparrows by throwing his trained kestrel eastern style like a dart out of the hand. This method being normally reserved – where used -for Sparrowhawks and shikras. So, there you go.

These days of course it is the Harris hawk that is often the first bird for the beginner. This is due to their size, trainability and the fact you can catch things with them. Buzzards were often recommended before Harris hawks became available through captive breeding. Buzzards are tough good-sized birds, but they are difficult to get hunting. These days with all the wild buzzards you would not know what bird you are looking at! You would have endless encounters with wild buzzards.

Below is a picture of ‘Pete’ the kestrel on the lure down at the Knowle. Sadly, I gave Pete to a falconry friend when I was ill.  Even sadder the Knowle is no more. It has 460 new houses sitting on it!

There is some good news on the rabbit front and our lone rabbit now has some friends which I am very happy about.