In March 2001, we had a talk by Steve about his Harris Hawks. On that evening, we held a raffle and the first prize was (of course) "A Walk With a Hawk". Read on for the winners description of the prize....

A walk with the hawks

On arriving for our appointment with Steve we couldn't help feeling a bit apprehensive, having never had dealings with hawks before. We were also wondering how hawks could possibly react naturally in the middle of a Milton Keynes housing estate. However apprehension soon disappeared after introducing ourselves to Steve, our host for the next three hours. Steve started by introducing us to his macaw parrot whose party piece was to lift its leg off the perch and wave to us on Steve's command.

We then moved to the rear of the garden where six Harris hawks and a buzzard were sat on perches, just watching, waiting and looking very alert. They were all facing the same way and we couldn't help but smile as they reminded us of shooting targets at a fairground. Eric the buzzard was released by Steve whereby it flew to the roof tops flapping its broad wings and giving a distinctive call. Steve then introduced us to the hawks that would be used for the walk; Goldie and Wimbledon. This was followed by intensive instruction on how to handle the hawks, along with the necessary dos and don'ts that make them feel comfortable on one's hand.

On completion of our induction, the hawks were quite willingly placed in travelling cages in the back of Steve's Land Rover. Feeling quite excited now, we got into the Land Rover and travelled approximately five miles to a farmers field for our guided walk. Stepping out of the Land Rover and having further instruction with the hawks, Steve placed a hawk on each of our left hand. On our right arm he placed a shoulder bag containing food for the hawks. Finally we put on a leather glove and were ready to fly them. The hawks flew from us into nearby trees where we gave them a few minutes to settle. Then with outstretched arms and looking over our left shoulder, we enticed them back with a little piece of meat discretely held in our hand. Almost immediately the hawks returned, landing with such ease and gentleness. This process was repeated several times and had to be the best part of the walk.

On one occasion one of the hawks flew off after spotting a pheasant further afield and was quickly joined by the other one. Harris hawks normally hunt in groups in the wild, so seeing this was an added bonus for us and much enjoyed. Only too soon our walk was over and time to return, thus ending a most memorable and highly recommended "walk with the hawks".