My name is Amy. I was born in England, but I now live in the Angus Glens of Scotland with my husband James and our son Alfie.
I have been a falconer for 17 years, and more recently have spent time documenting some of my work with birds of prey, as well as my raven called Fable. I spent many years engaging with the general public by running falconry experience days and flying my birds at public demonstrations.
I have learnt that if you want people to care about something and want to protect it, you first need to show them up close, in a way that is both exciting and easy to digest.
It is too easy these days to get wrapped up in the mundane stresses of our lives, and before we know it we stop finding opportunities to connect ourselves with nature. Getting outside in nature really can make a huge difference to our mental health, our wider perspective of the world and our own lives.
HOME LIFE
James and I have worked in the countryside for most of our lives and we are truly passionate about our native wildlife, exploring new places and learning more about the world we live in. We have lived very rurally for many years. I personally love wildlife watching, photography, hiking and trail running in the hills where we live. James also enjoys his time living and working in the hills. When the weather conditions are right he is drawn to the coast, as his personal lifelong passion is surfing.
We both are at our happiest in the wild, quiet places where we can observe nature uninterrupted. It is in these moments that you have the privilege of observing fascinating, unique interactions between different animals in their natural habitats.
We have been trying to increasingly live a sustainable life in the last 5 years; harvesting our own meat, home grown vegetables and eggs, and we are now looking at off-grid alternative power solutions for our home. Having spent our lives outdoors surrounded by nature, we are now keen to make minimal impact to the world around us now. Our rural, homesteading journey is a continued challenge and one we are going to start documenting soon.
FALCONRY
I have had a huge passion for raptors my whole life. I have worked birds of prey for 17 years – training, flying, hunting and breeding a range of falcons, hawks, owls, and other raptors. My oldest bird, a female striated caracara, is now in her mid 30s. Working with these intelligent, long lived birds has taught me so much about the complexities of predators’ lives, their unique psychology and physiology. It has also helped me to learn a lot about myself – teaching me to find patience and to learn the value of trust shared between animals and humans.
I was always been very driven to support others to get involved in working with birds of prey. I founded the Female Falconers Club in 2016 to support women to get actively involved in falconry, going on to Chair the club for 6 years.
In 2020 I set up A Future With Falconry in order to further promote falconry and its growth in the UK. AFWF published articles and news about the work of individual falconers, provides free resources on falconry & bird of prey conservation, and promotes best practice welfare and husbandry standards for UK falconry.
I am currently part of a small working group that is fighting to protect upland eagle falconry in Scotland. You can learn more about that here: Eagle Falconry at risk in Scotland.
CREATING A COMMUNITY
There has always been an incredible, international community built up around our YouTube channel (originally named ‘Falconry and Me‘ until we rebranded in 2024), who have followed our adventures for many years. We hope you can feel a part of it too.
Please join in with the discussion on the posts here and our social channels, and hopefully we can keep growing the wonderful community of people who share a love for birds, animal relationships, wildlife and the outdoors.
THE WILD SPARK
We also run a small, sustainable business from home called The Wild Spark – selling our self-published nature books, ID cards and other resources, as well as other locally produced nature products. We hope to inspire children and families to learn more about our wildlife, and enjoy the outdoors on their doorstep too.
When we set up The Wild Spark we knew that we wanted to try to operate with as little impact to the planet as possible. Our books and other resources are printed on FSC certified paper, which is made of responsibly sourced wood fiber. Our packaging is made from recycled materials, as well as being sustainable and carbon neutral.
Every order plants trees, removes plastic from the ocean and offsets carbon through our partnership with Greenspark.
