Falconry with Great Away Days

Have you ever tried Falconry? Experience the delights of working with our wonderful birds of prey when you spend a day with Great Away Days that is both special and memorable.

Scotland is home to a fantastic array of birds of prey and has a great tradition of falconry. During our falconry activity, you'll meet some fascinating feathered friends, including eagles, hawks, falcons, buzzards and owls, and you'll have the chance to try flying one of the birds for yourself.

Falconry is available at either our 700-acre Perth venue amidst the scenic Perthshire countryside or our splendid 50-acre Edinburgh venue.

What is Falconry?

Falconry is the flying of a trained bird of prey at a chosen quarry. The bird is neither tame nor domesticated, but chooses to work as a team with its handler in pursuit of the quarry.

Each bird flies and hunts using different skill sets: the eagle has power and strength; the falcon has breath-taking speed; and the hawk combines assurance with agility. All of our birds of prey have undeniable beauty and grace, and when you spend time observing falconry, you'll almost certainly become hooked on this most ancient of sports.

Introducing some of our birds…

• The Harris Hawk is the most common bird used in falconry in Britain today, and it can be used for hunting or for simply following on and flying to the glove from the trees. Females are more popular for hunting, as they are larger than the males, but both sexes are extremely sociable and adaptable, with a calm disposition which makes them great to work with.

• The Common Buzzard is ideal for demonstration work and educational visits. It is a lovely bird to fly, however, it is noted for its lazy attitude, as it is smart enough to know that it does not need to hunt when there is a ready supply of food ‘to hand' - cheeky!

• The Falcons are used for demonstration work, photo work and educational visits. Each has its own area of expertise: the Peregrine Falcon is known for being able to fly at 130 mph, the Kestrel for its agility and sense of fun, and the Lanner for its steady temperament when flying to the lure.

• The Owls range in size from the Turkmenian Eagle Owl to the White Faced Scops Owl. All are great fun to fly free and to watch in demonstrations, as they are undoubtedly amongst the most stunning of birds. None are used for hunting, mainly due to their size, which is either too big or too small.

Top flight fun for friends and families

We can arrange whole leisure activity weekends, stag weekends in Scotland and hen weekends in Scotland featuring your favourite activities along with any you'd like to try for the first time. When you celebrate a special occasion, including stag or hen weekends clan gatherings and birthdays, in addition to falconry, we can offer you mini highland games, our adventure zone plus an eclectic mix of other fun outdoor activities…

Take Flight and Soar with Great Away Days- From Only £55.00 Per Person.