For my birthday weekend, we headed off to the beautiful heritage village of Adare in County Limerick in the West of Ireland. During our stay, we had the most amazing Falconry Experience with Adare Country Pursuits.
Adare Country Pursuits offers a range of fun activities including falconry, archery, clay pigeons and dogs. All of which are set on the impeccably kept, impressive grounds of Adare Manor. The experiences are private, so they are exclusive for your family or group.
Falconry
Falconry runs for 90 minutes and we got to meet 7 of their birds, all of which we were able to handle with the exception of the two eagles. Our trained falconer, Liam, was a wealth of knowledge and we learned so much about these raptors.
The experience began by putting on a special leather glove that enables the birds to sit on your hand safely. Liam was wonderful at guiding us through the experience, step by step. It was really nice and relaxed with it being a private experience just for us 5.
We began the experience in a lovely location in the trees with views of Adare Manor in the background. We had loads of photo opportunities and I have so many wonderful photos and videos of each of us bonding with these incredible creatures.
Handling The Birds
We each got to meet and handle three lovely owls including a Barn Owl, Scots Owl and Great Grey Owl. We also were able to handle a Buzzard Hawlk and a Peregrine Falcon, the fastest animal in the world!
Many of these birds are native to Ireland except for the Great Grey Owl who is from North America and used to cold conditions. There are some cool distinctions between different raptors and we learned how truly amazing an owl's hearing is. The owls could actually hear our heartbeats. They can hear a mouse scurry along from 90m away! And because their wings are silent when they fly, they are highly efficient predators.
As you can see, the birds are in excellent condition and so well cared for. They get to free fly every day. We could feel the passion that Liam has for their well being and for educating others about them.
American Bald Eagle
We had the very exciting experience of meeting an American Bald Eagle, named Saoirse, which means freedom and independence in Irish - the perfect name!
This incredible bird has a wingspan of 6' and weighs 9 pounds. Which is so much bigger than the birds we handled! We learned that although these beautiful creatures were nearly wiped out, they have been fully restored and are on the not concerned list now, thanks to swift and effective conservation efforts.
Flying
We had two fun and exciting flying experiences with the birds. The first was having a Harris Hawk fly to our hand! Liam placed a small piece of meat on our glove and the hawk flew from a tree to our hand.
The second flying experience was watching an American Fish Eagle free fly in the walled gardens a short walk away from where we began our Falconry Experience.
You can see both of these flights and more in the short video below.
Additional Information
Booking is essential. You can contact Adare Country Pursuits for pricing, booking and further details.
Address: Adare Manor Hotel & Golf Resort, Adare Manor, Co. Limerick, Ireland
Phone Number: +353 87 684 5497 | +353 87 657 5576
Email address: wf@adarecountrypursuits.com
Besides the wonderful experience of meeting and handling these magnificent birds, you can also take a stroll around the stunning grounds of Adare Manor after your Falconry is finished. We went for a very magical walk around the Fairy Garden which is near the Walled Garden where we saw the eagle fly.
Final Thoughts
I'd highly recommend Falconry with Adare County Pursuits. It was the highlight of my birthday weekend and an experience none of us will ever forget! Thanks to Liam and Willie for having us!
Have you ever held a bird of prey before? Let me know in the comments. And if you have any questions for me, pop them in the comments! Thank you for reading. x
