Contact Joe Ford     |     birdman0188@hotmail.com     |   603-568-1096

Experiences at The New Hampshire School of Falconry

We have amazing experiences for everyone, starting with hands on/flying for young children to our introductory class for everyone from ten to ninety-nine in which they will handle the peregrine falcon and have the hawk flying to and from their gloved hands. Follow a hunting dog and a hawk as they work in the partnership of an actual hunt. Choose a demonstration for your family, your club, or your business associates here at our beautiful facility.

How To Register for a Class

Explore our selection of classes, workshops, and experiences below.
Take note of our FAQ and fill out the form to express your interest.
Joe will contact you by email with final steps and payment information.

Handle the Peregrine falcon and Actually FLY A HAWK!

Falconer’s Workshop

with Joe Ford, Master Falconer
This 2 hour introductory class is suited for all ages from mature 10-year olds to “retiree-plus”. It is our class most given on gift certificates because it is perfect for everyone who loves nature, wildlife, birds of prey. 

Containing insights on wildlife that will stay meaningful through many years, it is also a class with lots of hands on experiences, from learning to lift and hold the peregrine falcon to having a hawk fly to and from the student’s glove multiple times. 

Non-participants are allowed so that family/friends may come to watch and take pictures. Student fee is $175 each, and a non-participant (no hands on experience) fee of $50 per each.

Details

- 2-hour workshop
- Most popular gift certificate
- Ages "mature 10" to "retiree plus"
- Hands-on experience
- Non-participates allowed

Cost

$175 per Participant

$50 each NON-Participant
Registration Below

A Stellar Experience for All Ages and Groups!

Group Demonstrations

with Joe Ford, Master Falconer
Are you looking for a front row seat to excitement for your family or friends? 

Done here at our school facility, a demonstration is an educational, thrill-delivering experience to share as a family memory-maker, a corporate outing, as a church, scout, camp or homeschooler group event. 

It consists of one hour including a brief talk, an exciting up close and personal flight demonstration, natural history of the six falcons and five hawks here on our property, time for a question/answer period, and lots of photo opportunities. At the end, the hawk is flown to each person one time. The demonstration is perfect for a group or family of mixed ages. 

Rates begin as low as a group of five persons for $200 and rise by $50 for each additional five persons. Inquire about pricing for especially large groups.

Details

- 1-Hour demonstration
- Educational experience
- Perfect for a group or family of mixed ages
- Great for corporate events, family outings, church or camp activities, and home school trips

Cost

$200 group of up to five participants

Price increase of $10 each additional group member

Inquire about pricing for especially large groups.
Registration Below

A One-on-One Hour That Allows a Younger Child to Handle the Falcon and Fly the Hawk

Child’s Falconry Workshop

with Joe Ford, Master Falconer
This one hour class is similar, but briefer, than the two hour Falconer’s Workshop. 

It is suitable for children ages five to eight. It is a one-on-one class of instructor to student, so only one student is booked for the class. An exception will be made if a family has two siblings of close ages, and then the class may run slightly over the hour. 

While the information given is necessarily less to accommodate the attention spans of younger children, it has all of the hands on experience of the longer Workshop, so your child will handle the peregrine and fly the hawk multiple times. 

A requirement is that at least one responsible adult also be enrolled into the class as a nonparticipant (no hands on).  Fees are $195 per student and adult chaperone and $35 per additional nonparticipant.

Details

- 1-Hour workshop
- One-on-one with instructor
- Suitable for children age 5 - 8
- Child must have adult present at class

Cost

$195 Workshop Fee
(1 Child & 1 Adult Chaperone)

$160 each additional child

$35 each additional adult NON-participant
Registration Below

While flying a hawk in changing localities, the younger student works one-on-one with the instructor, gaining confidence and understanding.

Child’s Walk with a Hawk

with Joe Ford, Master Falconer
This one hour class has been devised for younger students who have taken the Child’s Workshop. It is a confidence and skill building interlude during which the instructor works with one child in a changeable setting. 

As the instructor tells the child, “The Hawk is your teacher.” The young student is taken through a repetition of each step in calling down and then releasing the hawk. The class moves from location to location, placing the youngster into the role of falconer choosing the best perch towards which to launch his or her hawk, and to mapping out the trajectory the raptor will take to and from the student. 

Aimed for ages from six to ten, a responsible adult is required to attend the class but will remain on the sidelines. With the limit of one child per class, one-on-one instruction, in various localities on school grounds, this experience leaves the student with a much better understanding of the connection between falconer and raptor and a mastery of basic skills.

Details

- Prerequisite: Child's Falconry Workshop
- 1-Hour workshop
- One student only
- Hands on flight experiences
- Suitable for children age 6 - 9
- Adult non-participant required

Cost

$200 Workshop Fee
(1 Child & 1 Adult Chaperone)

$25 each additional NON-participant
Registration Below

Experience a One-on-One Partnership with a Harris's Hawk

Walk With A Hawk On the Wild Side

with Joe Ford, Master Falconer
A prerequisite to this class is having been a student in the Falconer’s Workshop or Child’s Workshop class.

This walk is an exciting, hour-long trek in an adventure you will never forget, over the 28-plus acres of our school’s wooded trails.

This is an intense one-on-one partnership with one of our school’s Harris’s Hawks and is NOT like “hawk walks” offered by any other Falconry school as you stroll through beautiful forest along a cascading brook. An instructor is along to give advice when needed, but eventually you are sent off on your own to work independently with the raptor which now serves as your teacher.

This is a one-student class. Non-participants are allowed. Couples or family members who wish to take a trek together should inquire about special pricing.

NOTE: This Walk is not strenuous but our land has a slight, steady incline. A foot rolling on a rock or acorn can cause an unpleasantly twisted ankle so BOOTS OR ANKLE SUPPORTING FOOT GEAR IS A MUST.

Walk fee is $175 per student and $25 per nonparticipant.

Details

- 1-Hour trek in the woods
- One-on-one with instructor and Harris's Hawk
- Must have previously taken the adult or child Falconer's Workshop
- Students under 16 MUST have an adult chaperone
- Sturdy footwear is a MUST

Cost

$175 per Student

$25 each NON-Participant or Chaperone

Students under 16 MUST have an adult chaperone as a non-participant

Registration Below

Follow a Hunting Dog, Hawk, and Falconer in an Ages-Old Hunting Experience

Hunt in the Field

with Joe Ford, Master Falconer
A half day field hunt in which clients follow a hunting dog and a hawk working together is an opportunity to watch the ages old Falconry partnership between raptor, canine and human.

US Fish & Wildlife mandates that students may observe the action, but may not handle the hawk or the prey. Do not be discouraged as you will find once engaged in watching this ancient tableau, being a spectator gives you all you can handle!

Group size is flexible and this is suitable for families, but not for small children. Persons under the age of eighteen must be accompanied by an adult. Our hunts take place in various locations. When you book a hunt, you will be advised of the rules. The day commences by meeting at on NHSF grounds 9 AM.

This is a very action-filled , exciting and beautiful experience as you watch the three-member hunting team. Most of the action can be viewed from up close, but students are encouraged to “follow the flight” across country if necessary. Foot gear with ankle support is strongly recommended, meaning boots with low heels and a rise over the ankle, or hiking sneakers offering ankle support (No “fashion” boots, please).

No nonparticipants. Cost is $295 per person.

Details

- Half day field hunt - 9AM start time
- Follow hunting dog & hawk
- Group size is flexible
- Not suitable for small children
- THOSE UNDER 18 MUST BE ACCOMPANIED BY AN ADULT
- Appropriate gear required

Cost

$295 per Person

NO NON-Participants
Registration Below

Buy a Gift Certificate to Adventure!

Gift Certificates

Workshops & Experiences with Joe Ford, Master Falconer
We do gift certificates! It is the perfect and unique gift for the wildlife lover. There are three easy steps to getting a gift certificate from New Hampshire School of Falconry.

1. Look over our list of classes and experiences and decide what you would like to give.

2. Send payment by check to Joseph Ford, 4 Hunt Club Way, Pepperell, MA 01463 (It is advised that you send checks via certified mail to ensure delivery) or pay using a credit card through PayPal or Venmo (my PayPal identity is my email address birdman0188@hotmail.com and my Venmo account is @birdman0188). Include your email address so that I send the certificate to you, or if sending directly to the recipient tell me how you want the TO and FROM lines to read as well as the recipients email address. The certificate goes out once payment is received. 

3. Give your Gift of Adventure and bask in the thanks you will get! Our contact information for phone and email is on the certificate so the recipient contacts us when he or she is ready to book the class, hunt or experience. Gift certificates are good for ONE year following the issue date. Tell them NOT TO LOSE the certificate as it is their ‘ticket’ to a marvelous adventure and must be turned in upon arriving for class. Please have the certificate number ready at booking.

You will receive an email with this information once you submit your request.
Request Information Below

Request Information

Frequently Asked Questions

Please Read Carefully

Just to give you a heads up on things you might wonder about…Here are what people ask most.

Why does my class start at 9 AM?

Simple answer and it is the truth: The Hawks like it better. Learning about instinct, handling the falcon, then learning the natural histories of the raptors here puts the flying near the middle of the day. A later start time puts the flying in the hottest part of the day. Harris’s hawks might be desert birds, but even the ones in Arizona do not fly in the hottest time of the day if they can avoid it. So, simply, if we start at 9 AM, the hawks fly better.

What should I wear? Do I need protective clothing?

Please dress in layers. On our ridge, something on your arms will keep you comfortable, and you can take off layers as the day warms up. You do not need protective clothing. The raptors want to sit on the heavy leather glove we will provide. I ask, and this is important, that students taking the Walk with a Hawk on the Wild Side wear ankle protecting footgear…hiking boots or hiking sneakers…because the trail is on an incline. A slip on an acorn can cause an ankle to twist and ruin your day. For the other classes, you will be on lawn. Wear footgear that does not require you to watch your steps. I want you watching the HAWK! Sneakers work great for those classes.

What if rain is predicted for my chosen class date?

I watch the Weather Channel, the WMUR forecast, and use my weather sense of what happens here. If it is obvious that your day will be rained out, I will contact you the day before (with the BEST contact number you have given me- make sure your voicemail isn't full!) to reschedule you. Weather prediction is a dicey process, at best! But you will not lose your investment in the class.

What if I have to cancel?

I have no problem with re-booking you to another date as long as you give me notice. Be aware, however, if a change is phoned or emailed to me AFTER CLASS START, there will be an added $50 rebooking charge to get a new date.

When do gift certificates expire?

In 2020, I began setting an expiration date of ONE year from the date of issue marked on the certificate. I will honor the certificates issued before then, of course.

Can my dog (kitty, other pet) come with me to class?

PLEASE DO NOT BRING ANY PETS. I understand that if you are traveling with pets, you cannot leave them in a hotel room, but if that is the case, they must remain confined in your car and you will have the responsibility of moving your vehicle from time to time to keep it in the shade. UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES MAY YOU TAKE YOUR PET OUT OF THE CAR ON SCHOOL PROPERTY. If you need to walk your pet, I will direct you up the road where you may park and take your pet out.

Where are the HUNTS done? Will a bird or animal lose its life in the hunt?

Hunts are conducted in various locations based on game availability. There are some hunting rules and if you have signed up for the hunt, you will be advised of these at the time of booking. And, yes, if the raptor takes game… this will be small game such as cottontail rabbits and grey squirrel…the prey will give up its life. This is a normal and expected part of hunting, and, certainly, is exactly what happens when a wild raptor takes prey. We are never sure if game will be taken. Sometimes we have great chases to follow, but the prey eludes the hawk. This is all part of participating in a falconry hunt.
Things You Did Not Ask But Need to Know
THERE IS NO SMOKING ALLOWED ANYWHERE ON THE PREMISES. 
Disturbing class - or making things dangerous for our raptors, dogs, or other students - will be asked to leave the premises immediately.

Rules like these make everyone’s experience here a pleasure!

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