digital | The Hawking Centre

The Ultimate Guide to Our Falconry Experience Days

digital — Mon, 22 Feb 2021 11:58:49 +0000

Unsure which falconry experience to go for? To help you out, we have gone through our experiences and explained a bit more about what to expect.

Whether it’s for yourself or a gift for a loved one, we have something to suit everyone!

The Half Day Falconry Experience

By far the most popular experience we offer, it is perfect for all ages. Not too short, not too long and you get to be up close and personal with some of the worlds best-known Bird of Prey species.

The Full Day Falconry Experience

Coming a close second to the Half Day experience, the full day is for the true nature lovers. From 9:30am – 15:00 pm you get to spend the day with your falconer flying our range of birds of Prey on the formal lawns of Eastwell Manor.

At 1 pm you will be escorted to the Manor House to enjoy your lunch before carrying on your experience.

Fly the Big Four

Our newest experience day… Perfect for those that like to test their strength and their courage. Step right in and meet Maggie the African Hooded Vulture, Moët the Chilean Blue Eagle, Arthur the European Eagle Owl and Xavier our Bald Eagle.

1 Hour Falconry Experience

Short but sweet and packed full of feathered fun. Perfect for those on a tight schedule but with a penchant for falconry and the outdoor world.

Falconer for the Day

Take a leap into the world of falconry as you shadow your falconer on this full-day experience. Learn the basics of why a falconer does what they do, followed by a scrumptious lunch in Eastwell Manor. 9:30am – 15:00pm.

Talons and Targets

A delightfully fun day out in the English countryside. Fly a range of stunning Birds of Prey before taking your lunch at Eastwell Manor followed by an afternoon of Archery and target practice. 9:30am – 15:00pm.

VIP Half-Day

A one on one falconry experience. This experience enables your falconer to focus on you and your relationship with our team of Birds of Prey. Get up close and personal like never before and witness nature at its finest.

VIP Full Day

A truly unique and personal falconry experience day set to the background of Eastwell manors formal lawns and gardens. Get up close and personal like never before and witness nature at its finest.

From 9:30 am – 15:00 pm you get to spend the day with your falconer flying our range of birds of Prey on the formal lawns of Eastwell Manor. At 12:00pm you will be escorted to the Manor House to enjoy your lunch before carrying on your experience.

If you’re interested in booking an incredible falconry experience with us, visit our falconry experiences or get in touch with us if you have any questions.

Lurch and Helgas Love Story

digital — Fri, 26 Oct 2018 11:47:01 +0000

Lurch and Helgas Love Story

31st October 2018

Wow, what an explosive year! We have attended over 250 events nationwide, we are due to appear at the NEC for the National Pet Show in November highlighting conservation issues with Birds of Prey and how they don’t make good pets! And looked after many of you and your families our on our ever popular experiences.

Some birds have moved abroad to Holland to join another Centre www.wingsofchange.nl who work with people with special needs and animal therapy and Lurch the African White Backed Vulture is on loan to a new breeding programme as his species is critically endangered in the wild and we want to do our best to help! He is currently being flown and awaiting the arrival of his future girlfriend from a German Zoo… we will keep you posted on Lurch and Helgas love story!

Christmas is coming and you can now get 20% off all orders between now and Christmas! Use code XMAS20 when you checkout. We’ll also be introducing you to new birds who have joined the team this year, so if you haven’t signed up to regular updates YOU MUST!

A lot of the summer team of birds are now resting and the winter team are out and flapping the dust off their feathers ready for you to come and experience… so, book up now if you are a summer flyer with us and experience the winter team.

Check out the new website and get excited for new things happening with The Hawking Centre Team.

The Hawking Centre History

digital — Sun, 14 Oct 2018 20:33:59 +0000

The Hawking Centre History

From the age of 13 The Hawking Centre was my dream, to spend every day doing something I love. My parents allowed me to have a Barn Owl, and I hand-reared Lucy from three weeks old. I was fascinated, in awe of this ravenous, squawking ball of fluff, and so excited I couldn’t sleep properly for weeks!

School in Tunbridge Wells was an unwanted distraction from my new focus, but one day I saw a guy in the common room practising tying the falconers knot with a piece of cord on a chair leg. We bonded straight away, and the over the next three years Adam Vaness and I trained and flew our birds together in the nearby villages and local Kent countryside. We joined a falconry club, and had great times gaining more knowledge and experience during those days together.

Through my teenage years my passion for bird-flying just grew stronger. At 16 I received a job offer at a falconry centre over 5 hours away from home, across the country in Wales, and I didn’t hesitate. I upped sticks and left friends and family to follow my dream. The experience was amazing, but having £40 cash paid in wages every Friday night was not a sustainable lifestyle for a 16 year old. After six months of fantastic training I came home (hungry), and spent the next few years being a teenager, planning my future, and learning how to make a week’s wages last longer than two days!

In 1997, when I was 19, The Hawking Centre was born. I had a clunky old word processor, and a £3000 loan from the bank. My first move was to go bird and equipment shopping… next I wrote letters to all the tourist attractions in Kent. My first reply was from Doddington Place Gardens, and my second from Farming World. I had my first bookings for that first summer; DPG for two days and Farming World for six. Discussions followed soon after, and almost before I knew it, The Hawking Centre had become established at Farming World full-time. My first falconry centre was being built, and soon my passion became a shared one. Jo joined The Hawking Centre in 1999 as my partner, and we followed our dream together.

Fast forward eight years, and life had moved on apace. Married with two children, Jo and I were invited to move The Hawking Centre to Leeds Castle, and we loved giving demonstrations and flying experiences in Henry VIII’s old hunting grounds. The next eight years seemed to fly past as quickly as the first. But eventually it was time for change, to move on and create a strong and exclusive brand for the future, for both our amazing, loyal clients and for new ways forward. New birds, including some of the world’s largest Eagles, character-filled Vultures, stunning white Gyr Falcons and beautifully unusual Owls and Hawks were the additions to our team, and we moved to our new location of Doddington Place Gardens. It was so good to return to this exclusive, gorgeous and picturesque private estate, where it all began 16 years ago!

With a current team of 15 members of staff, a beautiful location, amazing reputation and a team of birds that even a 13 year old boy couldn’t have imagined of owning, we are looking forward to what the future brings…

Interesting Call

digital — Sat, 29 Sep 2018 12:06:32 +0000

Interesting Call

29th September 2018

Occasionally we receive a really interesting call that makes you think of times gone by and ancient Falconry… and we received one of these last month from a London antiques company and the British Museum looking at Vervels.

Vervels are Medieval leg rings for birds that had the owners name etched on to it as a way of identification… The leg rings are solid and generally put onto a young bird at between 7 and 14 days old, and then never removed until the bird has died. Split vervels (or rings as we call them) can be put on at any age of bird due to a gap in the ring and then tightened around the bird’s leg using pliers.

The 3 Vervels pictured below are very small and would have been for Sparrowhawk, Kestrel, Hobby and Merlin… Possibly the split ring may have been used on a larger bird but only up to the size of a male Peregrine. These are 17th Century so 1600 ad to 1699 ad…. So, up to 400 years old!

Birds And Beasts

digital — Sat, 15 Sep 2018 12:23:24 +0000

Birds And Beasts

15th September 2018

The sun was twinkling over the water of the Thames as we arrived at The Excel Centre for one of our favourite spring events. Two exciting days presenting our team of birds and beasts at The London Pet Show. ExCel was a hive of activity on Friday evening, with a countless number of fluorescent jacketed supermen and women dashing around to make sure the venue was public-ready for the morning. Then, from the moment the doors opened at 10am, visitors upon visitors piled in to enjoy a taste of creature-heaven. Exhibition stands stretched out across the great hall, and a bustle of excited chatter as families arrived and enjoyed new things was constant through the day.

The weekend was filled with a fantastic array of animals of all shapes and sizes, from tiny beetles to Bald Eagles… and some literally bald creatures too, like Sphinx Cats and Mexican Hairless Dogs! Even ponies, pigs and llamas made an appearance, and the variety of animal breeds on show was fascinating to see. With other stands exhibiting merchandise including grooming products, foods and toys, the ‘stand with the best name’ award had to go to ‘The Dog Poo Wormery’. And yes, that’s exactly what you think it is.

We took along a fantastic team of birds including Caius the Bald Eagle, Elsa the Bengal Eagle Owl and Pickle the Peregrine Falcon. As ever, Maggie the Hooded Vulture was a great ambassador for us to have the opportunity to talk about the plight of endangered vultures in the wild. With four shows each day combining birds and beasts, Neville Longbottom the Bearded Dragon also made a star appearance, and so did Rosie, our 10 foot long Albino Burmese Python.

It’s always great to have people visit for a chat and go away more informed and aware than they were before they came. And we loved the action and thrill of the live shows.

Unpredictable as always, but that’s part of the fun! The two days flew by (pun alert) and before we knew it, it was time to pack down and get back on the road to go home. The hall was emptying as we left, all the animals gone, except one. A single feral pigeon remained, skimming around, swooping over the rafters, flashes of metallic green on his neck catching the light as he passed overhead. He’d been with us all through the show, taking it all in with his bird’s eye view. We stopped for a moment to ponder what he might be thinking…and decided it would be total relief. He’d probably never come across so many predators in one place before! Wonder if he’ll still be there next year…