Sky Falconry – Fly a Raptor Hawk Walks San Diego
Sky Falconry, located in the quaint town of Alpine, just 30 miles from the coastline of San Diego, is a bucket list must! We offer a variety of falconry lessons for everyone on our private ranch with stunning views of San Diego County.
One of our favorite experiences is the Hawk Walk, a raptor adventure. The Hawk Walk is held in small groups, creating a more intimate interaction with the our birds. We go meandering on smooth, easy trails in the San Diego mountains, free flying the hawk to and from the glove. This stunning natural setting, close to town yet completely surrounded by national forest, allows for innate behaviors of the birds that would not otherwise be seen. Participants get long, graceful flights from high in the tree tops down to the glove. You see special maneuvers through rocks and around curving paths. The inquisitive nature of the birds of prey is in full display during our Hawk Walks, allowing a unique view into the intimate lives of these majestic birds.
Falconry Classes For Everyone San Diego
Sky Falconry, located in Alpine and nestled in the mountains of San Diego, offers falconry for everyone. Our falconry school gives the rare opportunity to glove up and free fly a bird of prey in a safe environment created by our instructors and stunning natural setting. We offer a variety of falconry classes to cater to a wide range of ages, group sizes, and any physical limitations to those living in Southern California and visitors to San Diego.
We are often asked how old participants need to be. Our age limit is set at seven, however, we allow well-behaved six year old children to also work with our birds. We have celebrated numerous birthdays of people in their 90’s. What a great honor to give those that have lived such long lives a new experience! Sky Falconry makes a wonderful outing for those visiting solo, with family, as an intimate adventure with your partner, or celebrating a special occasion. We strive to give each person individual attention, making sure everyone gets ample time with our raptors, feels safe in their interactions, learns about birds of prey and their role in the environment with conservation tips on things everyone can do to have a positive impact on our natural world.
We invite those near and far to visit what everyone raves about on Yelp and TripAdvisor, book your experience today!
Falconry Lessons in California
Sky Falconry, a falconry school based in San Diego, offers a variety of falconry lessons to those in Southern California and visiting from across the country. Our classes are accessible to everyone interested in birds of prey and to experience hawks and falcons up-close. We are located in the town of Alpine, a short distance from coastal San Diego and a comfortable drive from the Los Angeles environs and Orange County.
Learn to fly a bird of prey without any prior handling experience. We teach about falconry, raptor biology and conservation while participants are gloved up, free flying a hawk to and from the glove, and playing interactive, bird training games. Flying birds of prey on our 20 acre ranch nestled in the mountains allows one to experience raptors natural behaviors while interacting with participants. Fly a raptor down winding paths, through rocks and from tree tops, to your glove for awe-inspiring memories. The hawks natural instincts to hunt allow a more intimate view into what it is to experience falconry in California. We have classes that offer flying a Harris’ Hawk as well as a falcon experience where both a hawk and falcon are flown back to back for a deeper understanding of the different species.
Book your experience today!
Sky Falconry is a falconry school offering interactive experiences with trained birds of prey in California
Sky Falconry is a falconry school offering interactive experiences with trained birds of prey. Located a short distance from coastal San Diego, nestled in the mountains of Alpine, our location feels worlds away while being a comfortable drive from downtown San Diego, Inland Empire, Los Angeles and environs.
One of our most popular experiences is the Basic Falconry Lesson. Done in groups up to 13, participants glove up and free fly a Harris’ Hawk while learning about the ancient art of falconry, raptor biology, and conservation. The class allows for participants to experience the awe of a hawk flying to, resting on, and casting her from the glove multiple times throughout the course. We play interactive bird training games that allow the hawk to hone her hunting skills. Photo opportunities are welcomed throughout all of our falconry classes. We offer the rare opportunity for everyone to experience falconry in California. Book your experience today!
It’s Falconry! Not Falconrey, Falconary, Falconeering, Etc.
We at Sky Falconry hear a lot of different words used to reference falconry and our falconry school. These include falcondry, falconary, falconrey, falconeering, and falconing to mention a few. The noun is falconry and verb is hawking. Yes, that sounds a bit confusing but that is just the English language, not science. No, we are not necessarily a hawk school, raptor school nor do we teach bird training classes. We do love that those seeking these things eventually find their way to Sky Falconry. We are a falconry school, with raptors that have been trained.
In an effort to create clarity, we would like share a bit about Sky Falconry. Sky Falconry is a unique school on the West Coast in Southern California with birds of prey trained to hunt and work in our educational classes with the public. We offer a variety of experiences for everyone to learn aspects of falconry, raptor biology, and conservation. Our falconry courses allow participants to glove up and fly a bird of prey and play interactive training games with hawks and falcons. In our classes, we are not aiming to teach you to become a falconer or give you a bird show but instead, offer a window into the natural behaviors of raptors and their incredible skills that help them to be such great hunting partners with humans. Experience a flying raptor gently brushing their wings on you as they glide past to fellow participants, soaring from treetops and down winding paths to your glove. We aim to teach people about raptors with our intimate free flight experiences so they may be more inspired to protect birds of prey in the wild and their natural habitats.
Learn more about the falconry classes we offer in San Diego at skyfalconry.com. Book your experience today!
Sky Falconry – Holiday Gifting Falconry Lessons
Gifting experiences over things…an abundance of research has proven that gifting experiences over things creates deeper joy that is more lasting. Why is this? There are many layers to the answer. The anticipation the receiver has of experiencing something exciting and new. The opportunity to live in the moment of the experience, keeping the ever-wandering mind in place, if only for the duration of the experience itself. The opportunity to weave these memories into the fabric of one’s life that will continue to serve as a source of happiness in the future. To create an opportunity for connection, to others in the experience, to self, and to the world around us.
Sky Falconry offers the rare opportunity to glove up and free fly birds of prey while learning falconry, raptor biology, and conservation. Our private 20 acre ranch nestled in the mountains of San Diego is a unique location that feels a world apart while being only a short distance from the coast of San Diego and a comfortable drive from the Los Angeles environs. Sky Falconry is a bird of prey school that allows one to learn falconry through a variety of falconry courses. Our experiences offer the opportunity to step away from the bustle of life and connect into the natural world of raptors. Experiencing a hawk flying from a tree top and gliding to the glove is awe-inspiring!
Give the gift of falconry with Sky Falconry Gift Certificates! Let your loved ones experience the gift of a lifetime. “Thank you for the magical day. My husband and I had such a great experience and I have to say that was one of the highlights of his life..it was a bucket list of his and what a memorable day it was!“
Audubon San Diego Falconry
Sky Falconry joined with San Diego Audubon Society to offer a Falconry Lesson at Sky Falconry’s private ranch in Alpine, California. Birders from all over San Diego County joined the event to learn more about Harris’ Hawks with engaging educational talks and free flight experiences. The Audubon Society has worked tirelessly for over a century to protect birds and their habitats. Their pursuit to raise awareness through education and experience goes hand in hand with Sky Falconry’s mission of preservation through education. We believe that an intimate interaction with wildlife enhances the desire to take action for conservation and deepens one’s appreciation for the natural world we live in.
Sky Falconry offers the rare opportunity for everyone to free fly a bird of prey in it’s natural habitat and ranks among one of the top animal encounters in Southern California. Interactions with our trained birds of prey give an intimate view of birds of prey flying, up close and personal, while learning their biology and plights in the natural world. We offer a variety of falconry experiences in California, a short distance from coastal San Diego.
A huge thank you to the San Diego Audubon Society for the amazing work you do to protect all birds and their wild habitats. We were honored to share our morning with you!
Sky Falconry – California Raptor School
What is falconry? Falconry evokes images of queens and kings on horseback, birds of prey with hoods, gloved fists….but what is falconry?
The technical definition of falconry is hunting with a bird of prey to take quarry in it’s natural habitat. The types of raptors used in falconry are eagles, owls, hawks, falcons and some species of old world vultures. Falconry is one of our oldest hunting traditions dating back thousands of years. It was used as a main source for obtaining food for our ancestors. Today, falconry is still used as such however, hunting in general is actually more associated to nature conservation than one might think. All hunters must obtain a hunting license through US Fish and Wildlife Service. The funds generated through hunting licenses are a main source of funding for conservation programs that benefit all wildlife.
At Sky Falconry we aim to teach the need for conservation through preservation of this ancient art of hunting. Falconry allows one to not only connect through a working relationship with a raptor, but also the natural world around them. Sky Falconry offers everyone the opportunity to experience the magic of interacting with a bird of prey through falconry classes in California. Our private ranch in Alpine, only 30 miles from the coast of San Diego, draws those interested in birds of prey classes and animal interactions from not only Southern California, but all over the United States. Sky Falconry is one of the few birds of prey schools that offer an intimate window into the world of falconry and these majestic creatures. To see birds of prey flying in the pristine beauty offered by the natural setting of our ranch that is surrounded by hundreds of acres of national forest is a rare and wonderful opportunity. We invite you to join us for one of our Basic Falconry Lessons, Hawk Walks, or the ultimate Private Raptor Experience!
H is for Hawk
Helen Macdonald’s best-selling book H Is for Hawk, is a favorite here at Sky Falconry. This book walks the reader through her journey as a grieving daughter who found healing in training a goshawk. Her recent story has now premiered on BBC and PBS Nature, where she digs deeper into the world of raptors by following a family of goshawks in the wild and raising one of her own.
We were honored to have hosted the composer of the music for H is for Hawk, Cody Westheimer, at our private Sky Falconry Ranch in Alpine, California, 30 miles east of San Diego. Cody joined us from Los Angeles for a Private Hawk Walk. Being a raptor enthusiast, he felt compelled to experience what it was like to free fly a bird of prey to the glove on this outdoor raptor adventure offered in Southern California. Cody’s passion was contagious. We all had an amazing time, including our Harris’ Hawk, Hayduke!
Sky Falconry classes offer everyone the opportunity to free fly a trained bird of prey to the glove.