Growing up as a person more interested in animals than other people, the day I stepped into the world of birds of prey it was obvious this was what I am supposed to do for the rest of my life. While many friends found themselves normal Saturday jobs at the age of 16, I was being pushed into arenas at country fairs with a bird and a microphone.
So far in my career I have helped run businesses, worked in large centres with a huge variety of birds of prey, I have been involved in breeding, and I have done pest control with hawks and falcons. In a relatively short time in falconry, I have experienced most sides of the industry. In 2017 I began setting up Mercer Falconry, making display appearances at events such as the British Falconry and Raptor Fair, and other game fairs. The business slowly grew behind the scenes for a couple of years until I was ready to officially begin trading in 2021. Heading into 2022, Mercer Falconry’s first full year of trading, we currently have 12 events across the UK booked for displays
While many people believe the main point of a bird of prey display is entertainment, my mission is to provide an educational message, at the same time as entertaining. I strongly believe and stick by the phase ‘the first step to conservation is education’. Therefore it is the responsibility of Mercer Falconry to educate anyone watching the displays. Each bird flown on our displays has their own unique personality and flying style, giving people watching a variety of experiences. Our Owls glide silently and gracefully between perches, our Hawks show how falconer and raptor become a team, our Falcons show of their immense speed stooping for the lure, our Kite slowly soars above the trees, while our Caracara shows how intelligent birds can be.
The day to day life of all the Mercer Falconry birds can be seen on our YouTube channel and social medias @mercerfalconry