FEMALE FALCONERS
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29 de august 2016 - Amy Wallace
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My name is Amy Wallace and I live in Yorkshire, England. I have been flying and hunting birds of prey for eight years now, but still feel like I am only at the beginning of what will hopefully be a lifelong lesson. There is so much to understand about working with raptors successfully that we never really stop learning. I have been lucky to be fully immersed in falconry since I began, as I fly birds all through the year, and have been able to work with everything from falcons and hawks, to eagles, vultures and owls. Although it’s hard to choose, my favourite birds to work with have always been the falcons.
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Most of my daily work is focused on educational displays and experience days for non-falconers, flying falcons, hawks and owls. It has taught me about the importance of sharing falconry with others and igniting a passion for birds of prey. This is so vital for the future of raptor conservation. By simply changing attitudes towards the importance of wild raptors, we can hope to encourage the support of raptors worldwide for many future generations.
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Through the winter months I also take time to hunt my 2 female harris hawks and a female goshawk, which is hard work and time consuming, but very rewarding. It is incredible how quickly the birds start to take over your life, but through the ups and downs it is definitely worth it.
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Bringing female falconers together
From the moment began in falconry, I found that it was not very common to meet other women falconers. I have made great male friends in falconry who have been, and continue to be, excellent mentors, but my path did not often cross with other women and I was interested to meet others like myself.
I set up a facebook group a couple of years ago aimed at connecting female falconers in the UK, and it wasn’t long before many women were joining in and starting to communicate with each other.
It quickly became apparent that many women were looking for some kind of group for female falconers. Talking to other women I found out that some felt isolated, shy of joining more traditional clubs which are predominately occupied by men, or were simply looking to meet and fly their birds with other women.
Inspired by the values of the Women’s Working Group and after much discussion over a couple of years, we put all our thoughts together and I finally manged to start a group designed for women falconers.
In June this year, the Female Falconers Club was born. It is open to women of all ages and abilities. Currently our youngest member is just seven years old. She flies a lanneret and an American kestrel.
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Our youngest member Megan with her American Kestrel, “Sparky”
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The main aim of the Club is to provide a positive and encouraging space for female falconers across the UK, as well as to run field meets, and social events throughout the year. We want to promote responsible falconry and best practice in raptor management, and support women who are interested in becoming falconers. The Club is certainly not about excluding men, but about celebrating and supporting the work of women in falconry.
Although the Club is only in the beginning stages it has already started to grow well, and we’ve received a really positive response so far. I am thankful for the support of all the women involved. It is their help that has allowed us to set up a selection of events and field meets through the coming season, and hopefully this will continue to grow.
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Roxanne Peggie hunting with an eagle in Scotland. She will be hosting a field meet for the Female Falconers Club later this year.
The 1st Women’s Falconry Weekend
As a big kick-off to all our future endeavours I am really excited for the first event in our calendar, the Women’s Falconry Weekend, which happening in October. This will be a great chance for female falconers to meet each other, share their skills and ideas, as well as enjoy some excellent free flying bird demonstrations and talks.
The weekend is open to female falconers, as well as those who are just interested in starting out in falconry, and our wonderful male supporters too. There should be a great selection of birds on view being flown by women falconers across the country. We look forward to seeing you there, and it will hopefully the first weekend of many.
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Find out more
More info on the group and our events can be found here:
http://femalefalconersclub.co.uk/
https://www.facebook.com/ukfemalefalconersclub/
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If you have any questions about our work, or would like to get involved please do get in touch:
femalefalconersclub@gmail.com
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