Note – Birds can not be flown in conditions of extreme temperatures and hard rain. West Coast checks weather conditions daily and will contact guests in the event of cancellation and reschedule. 4/9/2012 – INQUIRIES AND QUESTIONS CAN BE IN THE FORM OF EMAIL BUT ALL APPOINTMENTS MUST BE MADE BY TELEPHONE, PLEASE.
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.
Wheelchair accessible.
Price: $30 per person (no group discounts), $40 per person for private classes.
Time: 45 minutes
Participants: Up to 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.
Wheelchair accessible.
Price: $50 per person, observer/photographer – $25 per person, $60 per person for private classes
Time: One hour
Number of participants: Up to 10
Offered year round by appointment
HAWK WALK
While walking though California’s beautiful Sierra Foothills, you will 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, observer/photographer – $50
Time: 90 minutes,
Number of participants: 1-8
Offered year round by appointment.
This is a cool weather activity and is limited to early morning Summer months.
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 with an introduction of ourselves and take you to meet the birds and learn basic field etiquette. With your help we walk out with our falcons to 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 mews, eat brunch and enjoy plenty of time for socializing with falconers, exchanging stories and experiences. When we are well rested, we 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 it back. Our walk is leisurely as you learn about the natural 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.
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, observer/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. West Coast Falconry will host lunch afterward at a local cafe.
Price: $300 per person
Estimated time: 3-4 hours
Number of participants: 1-5
Offered during hunting season
OWL ENCOUNTER
The most primitive and perhaps fascinating of all raptors is the owl. Its large, round eyes made ancient man feel as if it could see into his soul, and the mythology surrounding this stealth hunter from the land or our dreams is replete with images of arcane wisdom to the fearful expectation of death.
Learn the facts about the most primitive raptor on the planet, its role in nature, its habitat, and how falconers have related to this enigmatic bird in the past and now in the present.
Our Eurasian Eagle Owl is representative of the largest species of owl on the planet. Attending the experience gets you up close to this giant, silent flier. You will witness her ability to fly as her trainers take her through her exercises, and if you dare, hold this amazingly beautiful and immense bird on your glove for pictures.
This program has been developed by popular demand by our past clients, and now we are offering it as an event perfectly suited to the summer, when our hunting hawks and falcons are usually resting from a busy season.
Wheelchair accessible.
Price: $50 per person, $60 per person for private classes.
Estimated Time: one hour
Number of participants: 1-8
Offered by appointment only