Falconry Experiences & Classes
Note – Birds will not be flown if the temperature exceeds 80 degrees. West Coast checks daily temperatures the night before and will contact guests in the event of cancellation and reschedule. INTRODUCTION TO FALCONRY
Learn about the colorful history of the sport of falconry, meet our hawks and falcons, and experience what it feels like to hold a live bird of prey on your glove. This course answers all your questions about raptors, their role in the environment, and the efforts of falconers to conserve their natural habitats.
Price: $30 per person (no group discounts)
Time: 45 minutes
Participants: 1-15
Available year round by appointment
BASIC FALCONRY LESSON
Our instructors guide you in learning to hold a hawk, cast it from your glove and then call it back again. Activities may also include creance work with falconry birds in training. This is the foundation for working with a falconry bird in the field. You will also learn about the history of falconry and the role of our raptors in their natural environments, as well as conservation. This class is a great primer for talking a hawk walk or enjoying a falconry experience.
Price: $50 per person, Tag-a-long/photographer – $25 per person
Time: One hour
Number of participants: 1-8
Offered year round by appointment
HAWK WALK
While walking though California’s beautiful Sierra Foothills, you’ll study trained birds of prey in a natural setting. Learn to identify falcons and hawks in flight or at rest. Your instructor will demonstrate casting hawks from the fist and calling it back and you will be able to have a bird flying to and from your glove.
Price: 1-2 people – $100 per person, 3-4 people – $90 per person, 5+ people – $80 per person, Tag-along/photographer – $50
Time: 90 minutes, not including drive time to site
Number of participants: 1-8
Offered year round by appointment.
This is a cool weather activity and is subject to cancellation due to stickers,
FALCONRY EXPERIENCE
Learn about the ancient sport of Falconry and the role raptors play in our environment. Our Falconry Experience is a half-day, hands-on encounter with trained Birds of Prey.
When you arrive at West Coast Falconry Center we start a bit of morning refreshment and introduce ourselves. Afterwards, we take you to meet the birds and learn basic field etiquette. We walk out with our falcons into a nearby meadow and watch these stunning raptors in a lure flying demonstration. Our birds can reach amazing speeds in an aerial demonstration of swiftness and agility.
We return the falcons to their mew, eat brunch and enjoy plenty of time for socializing with falconers, exchanging stories and experiences. When we are well rested, we all glove up and take our hawks through forested hills behind West Coast Falconry Center. You and your falconer will cast the hawks from the fist and call them back. Our walk is leisurely as you learn about the nature history of the birds and experience their agility and antics.
Includes custom meal and all supplies. Bring camera, sunscreen, water bottle. Wear sturdy shoes, dress in layers. Transportation to fields available. Wheelchair accessible to some extent.
This makes a great gift for a loved one. Bring your whole family for an experience you’ll never forget!
Price: 1-2 people – $250 per person, 3-4 people – $230 per person, 5+ people – $210 per person, Tag-a-long/photographer – $125 per person
Time: Starts at 9:00 am and concludes at 1:30 pm
Number of participants: 1 to 8
Offered year round by appointment
HUNTING EXCURSION
If you enjoyed a hawk walk you will want to see these winged predators do what they were made to do–take game in their natural environment. Meet us at the school for early morning coffee, then join our hunting Harris Hawks as we venture out into the field. Learn about the hunting raptors role in the environment, field etiquette, and dressing game taken by the hawks. A bag lunch is provided in the field.
Price: $300 per person
Estimated time: 3-4 hours
Number of participants: 1-5
Offered during hunting season
