Falconer for a day in the province of Pisa

What would it be like to experience a day as a falconer? No need to ask yourself many questions, because you are about to find out!

In Bientina, in the province of Pisa, you can watch a real falconer and get to know more than 40 birds of prey up close, including golden eagles, vultures, Harris's buzzards and owls. A truly huge family that will welcome you... with open wings!

During the 7.5-hour mini-course you will learn various falconry skills, witness the free flight of high-flying falcons and learn how to call certain species to your fist. The first step to becoming a professional falconer? That's for you to decide.

What we will do

We will meet in Bientina (PI), at 9.30 am.

The falconer will welcome us at his farm, which is home to more than 40 birds of prey belonging to different species: from the golden eagle Valkyrie to thevulture Hannibal, from the European eagle owl Morgana to the buzzards Thor, Ares and Cordelia. Once all participants have gathered, the falconer will give a short briefing and start the activities around 10:00 am.

Ours will be a real falconers' day, starting with theinspection of the aviaries. Amongst the first tasks to be carried out, we will proceed to weigh the birds of prey to check their fitness, to be noted down in a special notebook. At this point, the falconer will decide which birds of prey to put up for flight and will explain the behaviour to be adopted during the afternoon's activities.

Between 12:30 and 14:00 we will have a free lunch break; we can decide to sit at the tables provided by the facility with our packed lunch (not included) or we can drive to the town centre, where there are bars and restaurants.

At 14:30 we will resume with the free flight of birds of prey. We will be able to interact with some of the species present, such as Harris's buzzards, Bengal owls, barn owls, scops owls, Virginia owls andvultures. The falconer will teach us how to call them to the glove and fly them from fist to fist.

Following this, the falconer will fly some noble falcons, such as the peregrine falcon, the sacred falcon and the lanner falcon: we will watch them soar high in the sky and be swooped down by the lanner, one of the most useful tools for a falconer. It will be a truly wonderful spectacle, a demonstration of how far the art of falconry can go.

The activity will end at 5 p.m., for a total duration of 7.5 hours.

Who it is aimed at

The activity is suitable for everyone from the age of 10. Children under the age of 18 must be accompanied by an adult.

It is also possible to participate in the experience in a wheelchair, subject to prior arrangement with the falconer.

Other information

The activity is available all year round. From June to September, on weekends, a minimum number of 2 participants is required.

Dogs are welcome at the farm, but for safety reasons they are not allowed during the activity; if present, they must be left in the care of an accompanying person.

The meeting point can be reached by public transport, with a bus stop in front of the farm (bus services do not run on Sundays). A car park is available on site.

Recommended clothing

• Comfortable clothing
• Trainers

Don't forget to bring

• Packed lunch
• Water