Historically, we have provided full days of hunting with our incredible birds of prey.
Rabbits have been the mainstay of the majority of falconers in the UK for hundreds of years.
As has been reported across our whole country, rabbit numbers are in substantial national decline. Our former full day experience day would see the first half of the day aimed at rabbit hawking. Although small pockets of good population remain, the man made disease VHD2 has had a catastrophic affect on the rabbit population nationally. From a standpoint of sustainability, we have decided to stop any hunting specifically focussed on rabbits. Aside from the sustainability standpoint, we also want to ensure that our hunting days produce a good deal of action. Lots of attempts at catching quarry by the hawks, and with luck, a few successes. The low numbers of rabbits remaining mean that our confidence in ensuring that level of action is limited which is a compromise on the quality of day that we are not prepared to risk.
These combined reasons have led us to withdraw the full day hunting day, and replace it with a new hybrid product.
Our new experience is a hybrid between our existing half day experience, then flowing directly into what used to be the second half of our hunting days.
During the morning, you will delight as your falconer takes you for a gentle stroll around the farm or the woods with an owl. The owl will fly from perches naturally existing in the environment, between trees and hedges etc, interspersed with many flights to your gloved hand.
From the owl, we move to a hawk, moving higher, faster and with more urgency around the woods. During this period, we will take you and the birds into areas which (considering the hunting aspect of the day) may hold pheasants, and if flushed, some very challenging and sporting flights may ensue.
After a short break, we return (by Land Rover) out onto open ground or small hill on the farm, and you will enjoy a kite, falcon or caracara demonstrate its own particular strategy for securing a meal. The final bird before lunch will be one of the smaller and more friendly eagles. If the weather is right, the eagle could make tremendous height, and when in the right place, a signal is given and the eagle will stoop at great speed, before slowing to land gently on your gloved hand. If the weather won’t allow the bird to make height, it will be encouraged to fly a circling pattern above our heads and make multiple flights to your fist.
After a break for lunch, we return directly to a hunting strategy. Working with a Goshawk, combined with the sensitive nose of one of our team of pointers we’ll take to the field in search of partridge. With a tremendous population maintained and supported in the area, finding game is almost guaranteed. The fieldcraft, steadiness of the dog, the weather, the experience of the quarry, and the explosive, almost unbelievable acceleration of the Goshawk all conspire to decide whether the flight is successful.
If time allows at the end of the day, we will set up a mock hunt with an eagle.
We hope this hybrid day will bring some exciting variety to the day, and still supply some heart racing hunting activity with the Goshawks and sustainable quarry.
This experience includes an aspect of hunting. To assure we abide by legal game hunting seasons, and ensure we are working with hawks in a fully fit condition, the day can only be supplied between October 1st and January 31st. The day can be scheduled or purchased at any time, but can only be executed between these dates.
Price £275. Non Participating guests price. £90.
