Weekends just get weirder…

Well I never thought I’d say this but I managed to find myself last weekend with a bird on my arm called Jeff… Confused?? Well let me rewind a little…

Picture the scene…. Last year I reached the monumental milestone of my 30th birthday. My wife decided that this was a suitable time for a bigger than normal birthday present. And so she bought me one. I was presented with a little voucher that explained what would happen, where I needed to be and when. And my excitement started to build. So the day finally arrives last weekend and we head off into the wilds of Cheshire, to the Cheshire Waterlife Centre in fact. And this is where the tale becomes a little clearer, for Cheshire Waterlife is the home of the largest falconry display team in the country. And that was what I was doing for the day, flying birds of prey. And I can tell you what a stunning day it was too.

Being able to get so close to protected species (all of Britain’s Raptors and owls are now protected) such as the Harris Hawk, Bengali Eagle Owl, and even being able to hold a baby (with a 7 foot wingspan) White Tailed Sea Eagle is an experience I will never forget. If you are fascinated by these birds as I am then it is well worth the money to go up there for the day. The morning was arena flying with 6 birds of prey. Even rain can’t take the edge off this experience as the birds swoop down low and deftly land on your glove to eat the food that you have for them.

The afternoon (if you’re doing the full day activity that I did) was then spent with 3 Harris Hawks out in the local forest with them flying off to hunt, as they would do if they were living in the wild. Unfortunately due to the rain there was nothing around for them to hunt, and so when these birds get fed up of flying you have to give them a free ride and carry them back to the vans. My bird for this journey was Jeff, a young male Harris Hawk who sat quite happily and enjoyed watching the scenery move past as he hitched a lift.

All in all a stunning day, and something I’d love to do again, and again, and again… Now if only I have somewhere to keep one!!