Falconer for a day in the province of Pisa

What would it be like to spend a day as a falconer? There’s no need to wonder, because you’re about to find out!

In Santa Maria A Monte, in the province of Pisa, you’ll be able to watch a real falconer at work and get up close to over 40 birds of prey, including golden eagles, vultures, Harris’s hawks and owls. A truly huge family that will welcome you… with open wings!

During the 6. 5-hour mini-course, you’ll learn the basics of falconry, watch high-flying falcons in free flight and learn how to call certain species back to your fist. The first step towards becoming a professional falconer? We’ll leave that up to you to decide.

What we will do

We’ll meet in Santa Maria A Monte (PI) at 9. 30 am.

The falconer will welcome us to his farm, which is home to more than 40 birds of prey of various species: from the golden eagle Valchiria to the vulture Hannibal, and from the European eagle owl Morgana to the buzzards Thor , Ares and Cordelia. Once all participants have gathered, the falconer will hold a brief briefing and begin the activities at around 10. 00.

We’ll spend the day as real falconers, starting with an inspection of the aviaries. Among our first tasks, we’ll weigh the birds of prey to check their physical condition, recording the results in a special notebook. At this point, the falconer will decide which birds to release and explain the behaviour expected of us during the afternoon’s activities.

Between 12. 30 and 14. 00, we’ll have a free lunch break; we can choose to sit at the tables provided by the centre with our packed lunch (not included) or drive into the village centre, where there are cafés and restaurants.

At 2. 30 pm, we’ll resume with the free flight of the birds of prey. We’ll be able to interact with some of the species present, such as Harris’s hawks, the Bengal owl, the barn owl, scops owls, Virginia owls and the vulture. The falconer will teach us how to call them back to the glove and make them fly from fist to fist.

Afterwards, the falconer will fly some noble falcons, such as the peregrine falcon, the saker falcon and the lanner falcon: we’ll watch them soar high into the sky and be brought back down using the ‘logoro’, one of the most useful tools for a falconer. It will be a truly marvellous spectacle, demonstrating just how far the art of falconry can go.

The activity will end at 5. 00 pm, lasting a total of 6. 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.

Any accompanying persons may attend the activity free of charge, without participating.

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 a companion.

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