About
Falconry world is edited by me Stephen Lea. A long suffering falconer based in England.
I’ve been flying for over fifteen years and mainly fly longwings.
I started with Harris hawks when I was at University and ran patterdale terriers in a pack to hunt rabbit and flew with Terry Large and learnt alot of the basics from him. Terry was a great guide but after five years or so I wanted something more challenging. I then got into flying at crows with a pere/saker hybrid after watching a Nick Fox video on the crow falcon. I flew this bird every day pretty much, even taking her to work at the British Association for Shooting and Conservation, where I worked as a press officer. She even had her own permanent block and I’d hunt in the surrounding area often chasing crows and turning a lunchtime break into an entire afternoon.
There I met another falconer Jeff Olstead, who luckly was my boss. After pushing my afternoon breaks to the limit and thinking afternoons ain’t long enough, I took over the family business and moved from Cheshire back to Lancashire.
I then lost my pere/saker to a sheep fence and had to re-think pursuit falconry.
I then met Robert Wolstoncroft, possibly one of the best field falconers in England.
He lives half a mile from my house so I would fly and learn game hunting, experiencing some fantastic flights with his female hybrid.
We are surrounded with exceptional falconers here in the north west of England, so I had to raise my game. Robert, guided me into flying game hawks. I flew a gyr/pere with good success, for four seasons and enjoyed many classic flights taking grouse, partridge, pheasant, mallard and teal.
Alas he died after stooping a cock pheasant in high winds at the BFC Woodhall Spa meet in 2006. They always say good birds die young.
I had a short spell as the press officer for the British Falconers Club, but couldn’t make any meetings on Saturday so had to give it up.
I’ve flown sparrowhawks for the last three seasons, but always go back to longwings and last year was kindly given a tiercel peregrine whom I unfortunately had to have put to sleep in 2007 due to my own stupidity.
Not to be put off I got a Goshawk and enjoyed some good sport at the back end of the season before putting him down for the moult.
I got out of full time work about five years ago to have more free time to fly and now work two days a week as a freelance camera man for Sky Sports, covering football, boxing and darts. I have remained married, which seems to be quite unusual in falconery, as my wife (or falconry widow as she calls herself in the hunting season) runs her own site www.flexibleworkinglife.com
I count grouse for Wemmergill moor in the north of England with my team of english pointers, which gives me access to the most fantastic red grouse country in the world. I have a little boy called Aidan who is four, who has to endour trogging through fields for hours or sharing his place in the car with a sparrowhawk on his knee.
I hope you like the site, please contact me and maybe you could become a contributor if you’re as addicted to the life style as much as I am.
Good hunting.
