A special birding experience

The thing about this job is you get the chance to have a go at various experiences and this was such a good one.

I had got to know Mick over the previous months ever since one of his birds had flown a bit further than he was expecting and he published an appeal for people to keep an eye out for it as it was AWOL.

It turned out that he was going to launch a series of courses and I got the chance to fly a hawk which was such a rewarding experience.

Here is the article and the supporting first person piece that I wrote in 2005.

THERE will be a chance to experience flying birds of prey this summer, as a new business venture prepares to spread Its wings and take off.

Falconer Mick Hitchin (37) has spent the past year setting up the Raptor Centre at Elsham Hall and hopes to encourage people to ‘have a go’ on various Experience Days.

And, for a fee, people will be given an hour’s introduction to the wild creatures and have them fly to their outstretched gloved hand to grab meat titbits.

Mr Hitchin said he housed 30 birds at the centre and people who became more interested could sign up for Intermediate and week-long courses.

The birds include Harris hawks, eagle owls and a red-tailed hawk, and visitors would be taught how to care for them properly.

He said he hoped to show people the importance of hygiene, providing birds with a varied diet, demonstrating how to hold the birds, handle equipment and how to exercise them properly.

The first flights are planned to initially take place over this Bank Holiday weekend, between Saturday and Monday. And Mr Hitchin said he was hoping to be open every day except Mondays over the summer.

He said although most people were afraid of the birds at first, the courses – open to those aged between 12 and 65 – should prove popular as birthday presents.

The introductory course is described as a ‘fun course’ and costs £30 with a five-day course costing £150.

“We are going to offer three or four different experience days,” said Mr Hitchin. “They are for people who want to come down to the centre or for someone who has an interest in birds of prey.”

He added the advanced courses would be aimed at people who were thinking of owning a bird of prey.

“With the medium courses, they would be all about what the equipment is, and what the requirements are for keeping a bird of prey.

“There’s no qualification at the moment. However, some of the falconry clubs have got together with a training organisation, Lantra, to set up training courses with specific guidelines.”

He added there had already been interest from members of the public who had contacted the centre
about the new venture.

He said the courses could even cure people’s fear of birds and added: “Eight out of 10 people will have a bird sitting on their hand by the end of the day. People misinterpret what a bird of prey is they think it kills everything.

“It kills to survive, not for the sake of it. What we want to do, as we get set up, is produce proper leaflets about the birds and go round schools.”

Mr Hitchin added the centre had a zoo licence and was hoping to launch an ‘adopt an owl’ scheme.

“We are going to ask companies to sponsor us eventually,” he added.

Experience a nice one, Cyril!

I WAS naturally nervous when Cyril – a five-year-old Harris hawk – started squawking very loudly in my ear.

I had visions of this avian killing machine pecking my face in a whirlwind of beak, feathers and talons, and I knew who would come off worse.

But falconer Mick Hitchin, who first became interested in the hobby when a friend bought him an owl 12 years ago, said the birds sometimes do not like people wearing spectacles.

Without any further encouragement I quickly put them in my pocket and followed Mick to the flying field of his Raptor Centra at Elsham Hall.

I was thankful to be wearing a hawk glove on my left hand, with Its reassuring double layer of buckskin and over my shoulder there was a hawking bag of tasty meat titbits.

Mick demonstrated how to hold my arm outstretched and clutch a piece of food firmly between finger and thumb.

And from a nearby post my new feathered friend launched himself towards me with a glint in his eye.

I could not help but keep my head as far back as possible, but Cyril landed gracefully and ripped the food out of my hand. Cyril’s meat is small creatures which are bought in bulk, frozen.

Mick advised I keep my back to the bird when I fished the next morsel out of the bag.

I did as I was told – but Cyril was wise to me! I looked down to my left and saw him hopping along on the ground at my feet, like an overgrown sparrow.

Mick said the hawks were very intelligent and quick and he demonstrated by throwing a piece of food into the air which Cyril deftly caught in mid-flight.

“People can’t believe how intelligent the birds are. You’ve just flown one of the most intelligent birds there is,” he said.

“People are looking in the bags to try and get the food out and the birds are on the ground watching them.”

And, after only a few minutes of flying, I found myself more confident in flying and handling a hawk and handling a hawk and realised what beautiful, graceful creatures they are.

From the Scunthorpe Telegraph on Thursday, March 24, 2005.