The owners of Chester cathedral have applied for a zoo license with the plan of opening a falconry centre later this year: - Chester Cathedral look to host falconry centre within grounds
I find this incongruous and slightly worrying: many cathedrals, and indeed large churches, are now important breeding sites for wild peregrines in England. Have any peregrines been seen in the vicinity recently? Would the proposed mews etc deter wild falcons? I trust that these questions will be asked and answered satisfactorily before planning permission is granted. Alan
Even better is the fact that they say the guy is one of the FEW PROFESSIONAL FALCONERS in the UK,yes one of what must be a few thousand these days given how many Falconry centers and Bird of Prey experience flying company's there are in the UK!!
Aren't there Ravens nesting on Chester Cathedral? There will be fireworks if any hapless raptor gets too close to their nesting site!
McNally is a professional falconer in the sense that he uses birds of prey for pest control purposes. I believe he is already employed by the cathedral to keep it free of pigeons.
Planning application here for anyone interested 15/00533/FUL | New Cathedral Falconry and Nature Garden | Land Rear Of Bishops House 1 Abbey Street Chester
Went for a short visit this afternoon - The center is located around the back of the Cathedral in what appears to have been a garden or courtyard previously. They currently have 12 species listed although not all appeared to be onshow. The current species list is as follows.. Golden Eagle Chilean Blue Eagle Peregrine Falcon Lanner Falcon Saker Falcon Gyr Falcon Eurasian Falcon Indian Eagle Owl Barn Owl American Black Vulture Red Tailed Hawk Harris Hawk Overall its a nice addition to the area and is well worth a visit. Will add some photos into the gallery shortly
The collection now has a juvenile Red-footed Falcon, seen on a visit today. I believe this is a relatively new addition.
Other species seen today that are not currently listed on the list on zootierliste were Ferruginous hawk and Domestic Ferret.
Eurasian Falcon is for some reason becoming a more common name for a hybrid falcon if it was a hobby it would surely be listed or stated as such. Possible hybrid cross would be Saker/Gyr Falcon this is the most common hybrid Falcon around Europe and as such one of the most common at small birds of prey centres or displays hope this helps.
There was nothing listed as a Eurasian Falcon on my visit today, however there were Lanner, Gyr, Peregrine, Saker, and Red-footed Falcons.
