Here we offer beginner falconry courses. We offer advanced falconry training for more advanced falconers. You can be part of falconry workshops designed to give you the tools you need to improve your career. Get involved with bird of prey handling to help you prapare. We are offering bird of prey experience days to help tailor your learning. Join falconry classes for all ages so you can gain the skills you need to improve your knowledge. Learn falconry skills which will help you better understand and manage a bird of prey. Falconry apprenticeship programs offered at low prices, available to everyone. Be a part of helping bird of prey conservation through unique oppurtunities in learning. Falconry certification courses recognised by an independent body to improve your learning. These are unique wildlife courses available in the UK. Be a part of hands-on falconry training offered by expert falconers. Improve your learning by signing up to educational falconry experiences tailor-made for you. We are offering bird of prey rehabilitation courses so you can improve your career in the animal industry. Get experience in falconry and wildlife management through our unique learning oppurtunities. You are a part of a community of falconry enthusiasts, all willing to help you learn. Valuable falconry bird of prey techniques only available through falconry course. We offer exciting falconry training for beginners improving your future career prospects. Be a part of interactive falconry experiences brought to you with the use of video learning aides. We are just like other local falconry schools with an online learning element. If you’re interested Write to Dan Mercer for more course information.
Can I legally hunt with a bird in the UK and what species can be hunted?
The idea of flying a hawk or falcon over open countryside has drawn people into falconry for centuries. One of the first questions newcomers ask is whether it is legal to hunt with a bird of prey in the UK, and what species can be taken as quarry. The reassuring truth is that it is fully legal to hunt with a bird of prey in the UK, as long as you follow the relevant wildlife law and understand where falconry fits within modern regulations.
Falconry has a long, well established place in British field sports, and the legal structure reflects that. UK falconry hunting laws sit mainly within the Wildlife and Countryside Act (1981), which sets out which species may be hunted and which are protected. The law does not require a hunting licence specifically for falconry. Instead, the focus is on protecting certain species, respecting closed seasons, and making sure land access is lawful. So the first step is always acquiring landowner permission, because you must have explicit permission to enter any land with the intention of hunting.
People often want to know the practical differences between hunting with hawks and hunting with falcons. Hawks are short winged birds that excel at woodland or rough ground hunting. Falcons specialise in open country flights and fast aerial chases. Both forms of hunting are legal, but the types of quarry vary depending on the bird, the terrain, and the law.
The UK keeps clear lists of quarry species for falconry UK. These are species that can be hunted legally by trained birds of prey. This includes some mammals and some birds. When people ask what can you hunt with a hawk in the UK, the usual answers include rabbits and some feathered quarry. Rabbit hawking remains one of the most traditional and accessible forms of falconry, especially for newcomers. Some hawks will also pursue certain birds within the law, and this is where pigeon and pheasant hawking appear as established branches of the sport.
Different hawks have different strengths. For example, hunting with a Harris Hawk is popular because the species is often co-operative and suited to mixed terrain. Hunting with a Goshawk sits at the more powerful and athletic end of the spectrum, with the bird capable of taking larger game within the legal quarry list.
Falcons bring a different flavour. They are known for long, fast flights that end in high speed stoops. This style opens up opportunities to hunt quarry that favours open ground and high visibility. These quarry choices are guided by the Wildlife and Countryside Act (1981), making sure that protected species are never pursued.
Seasonal rules also matter. UK hunting seasons falconry apply to certain birds, just as they do for shotgun or rifle shooters. They are designed to protect breeding populations and maintain sustainable numbers. Falcons, hawks, and the people who fly them must work within these seasons even though the birds themselves do not know the calendar.
Falconers sometimes work in pest control contexts. Falconry and pest control includes the use of birds of prey to deter or remove certain species that cause agricultural damage, such as corvid control. Permissions and local rules must be checked carefully before flights begin. The intention is always to work within the UK bird of prey hunting rules, which keep conservation and welfare at the heart of the activity.
The overall picture is simple. British law does not restrict who may fly a bird for hunting, nor does it require special licences for the act itself. Instead, it relies on a framework of falconry hunting regulations, species protection rules, and solid landowner permission. These create a system that respects wildlife while allowing falconers to practise the oldest partnership between human and bird.
Hunting with a raptor is not a loose, unstructured pastime. It is a craft shaped by law, by long tradition, and by the skill of the falconer. Once you understand the rules and learn the rhythms of your bird, you step into a world where modern legislation and ancient practice sit side by side, giving falconry its distinctive place in the British countryside.