Enjoy either a half day or full day falconry course in Gloucestershire led by expert falconer Ben Long. Ben’s fascination with birds of prey started in the early 1970s and since then he has become one of the leading falconry experts in the country. Ben loves to impart his in-depth knowledge of raptors and the sport of falconry so you’ll learn lots on these informative and fun falconry courses.
Just five minutes’ drive from J12 of the M5 finds you deep in the Gloucestershire countryside on a large estate near Hardwicke. From here Ben will guide you around the ‘weathered’ birds – that’s to say the birds are tethered to their perches outdoors where you’ll learn about the history and background to each of the species presented.
The full and half days offer you the chance to handle and fly these domestically bred but still wild at heart birds of prey including the world’s fastest creature the Peregrine Falcon – a rare privilege indeed. You will be shown what looking after these birds of prey involves and you will be treated to assisting with birds being flown from swinging lures and from lures suspended hundreds of feet in the air tethered to kites or balloons.
Those choosing the full day falconry course will benefit from extra time flying the birds so you can start to feel a real affinity with the birds as you walk out with ‘your’ falcon on your arm. All in all it’s a truly magical experience that all the family will enjoy.
It has to be said that Ben doesn’t open up his collection to the general public so these small and intimate group falconry courses in Gloucestershire are the best way to get up close and actually be able to handle all types of raptors with a true falconry expert.
