Falconry

Lydia and I headed out to experience some falconry at the English School of Falconry at the Birds of Prey Centre (http://www.birdsofpreycentre.co.uk/) out at Biggleswade. Getting there was a bit of a mission - train out of Kings Cross then a 10-minute taxi ride from Biggleswade station - but once there, we were surrounded by fields, trees and (on this occasion) bright blue skies and a strong breeze.

The trip was part of a Groupon voucher experience, which kicked off at 10:15 with flying some birds. First up was a diddy Barn Owl, who battled courageously against the winds to fly from a tree stump to the glove. It was really cool having the bird fly to your hand! Next up was a cheeky Harris Hawk, who completely epitomised the problems of working with animals, by flying up into a tree after just two flights (for first in the queue, me and Lydia!), then refusing to come back down for 20 minutes...

The next part of the experience was to meet some of the centre's birds, starting with the eagles. As Lydia learned, having a heavy sea eagle sit on your arm whilst the guide waxes lyrical about their attributes requires some strong muscles! I was very impressed by the knowledge which the centre's staff had about all the different birds - they really did know what they were talking about, adding another level to the experience. After this we met a whole host of owls - big, small, fat and baby. The two-week-old chick was pretty much just an ugly grey ball of feathers!

The day finished with a falconry display and the centre put on an impressive show, keeping the flights very near (and mostly right over the top of) the spectator benches. A section of the audience would instinctively duck every time the falcons dived down straight towards the benches, to try and catch the lure being swung by the handler. The show also included an overly friendly yellow-headed Caracara who liked sitting on hats and two large pelicans! Who knew they could fly?!

This was a really fun and unusual day out - and good value for the £15 Groupon. Unfortunately, due to the delays caused by the tricksy Harris Hawk, we only got to fly two birds, rather than three. However the experience of the rest of the day was enough to make up for this. I would love to try this again, although I don't quite see myself sitting at home nursing a baby bird of prey just yet!

This is for you if...

If you're looking for a day out with a difference, this is certainly one to try. The birds at the centre were really well trained, so it's an excellent way to try out falconry.

Recommendations

I would recommend taking a car to the centre, if you can. Its in-the-middle-of-nowhere location is great for the view but not so much for the public transport. Also, definitely go with a friend so that there is someone to take awesome photos.