Falconry, Pointers & Grouse Hawking | Gun Dogs and Beyond

Gun Dogs and Beyond – Episode 4: Falconry, Pointing Dogs, and the Art of Grouse Hawking

Podcast Overview

In Episode 4 of Gun Dogs and Beyond, host Nick Lambert sits down with one of the most experienced falconers in the Highlands to explore the fascinating relationship between falconry, pointing dogs, and traditional grouse hawking.

With decades of hands-on experience training birds of prey, working pointers on the hill, and managing some of the UK’s most demanding falconry environments, Andy shares remarkable stories from a lifetime spent with hawks, dogs, and wild game.

From sparrowhawks and Harris hawks to peregrines flown over grouse and woodcock, this episode offers a rare insight into the fieldcraft, patience, and deep understanding required to work at the highest level of falconry.

This is not falconry as a hobby, it is falconry as a way of life.

Meet the Guest: A Lifetime with Birds of Prey

Andy’s journey into birds of prey began in childhood, shaped by both of his grandfathers.

One grandfather bred canaries and budgies, teaching him the importance of breeding lines and selection, knowledge that would later influence his falcon breeding. His other grandfather became known locally as the person people brought injured wildlife to, and it was through him that Andy first encountered birds of prey.

His first bird was not a falcon at all, but a tawny owl.

A rescued young tawny owl lived in his bedroom as a child, followed later by an injured kestrel rescued from a chimney. That kestrel became his first true falconry project, teaching him the basics of care, rehabilitation, and eventually flight training.

From there, things escalated quickly.

Learning the Hard Way: Sparrowhawks and Early Lessons

Rather than choosing the “easy” route, Andy moved from kestrels to sparrowhawks, widely regarded as one of the most difficult birds in falconry.

Without formal instruction and before reading all the books that said it should not be done, he successfully flew two sparrowhawks together while hunting pheasant poults, partridge, jackdaws, and other quarry.

This hands-on approach forced him to learn fast.

He mastered:

Feather repair (known as imping)
Hood making
Falconry furniture and equipment
Weight management
Behavioural control
Hunting strategy

His view is simple: learning the difficult way teaches lessons that stay with you forever.

As Andy puts it, starting with sparrowhawks is a bit like starting with an English Pointer before training a Labrador, once you’ve managed the difficult one, everything else becomes easier.

Moving North: Falconry in the Highlands

Eventually Andy moved to Dornoch in Sutherland, deep in the Scottish Highlands.

This became the centre of his falconry life.

There he met the legendary falconer and pointer breeder Stephen Frank, one of the most respected names in grouse hawking and English Pointers.

Their friendship would shape the next several decades.

What started as casual conversation over dogs and hawks soon turned into years spent hunting grouse, woodcock, and snipe together across the hills of northern Scotland.

Stephen introduced Andy to elite-level peregrine falconry and the world of working English Pointers on grouse moors.

This became the pinnacle.

Professional Falconry: From Skibo Castle to Dunrobin

Andy initially resisted the idea of becoming a professional falconer, worried that turning a passion into a job would ruin it.

But after a serious roofing accident while working on Skibo Castle, he changed direction and accepted an offer to manage and train hawks for guests at the estate.

From there, his professional career grew rapidly.

He worked with:

Harris hawks
Peregrines
Goshawks
Eagle owls
Red-tailed hawks
Lanner falcons
Hybrid falcons
Multiple eagle species

Eventually he managed over 35 birds at Dunrobin Castle while also breeding and training additional young birds each season.

For nearly 30 years, falconry became seven days a week.

Training, hunting, educational displays, guest experiences, and breeding all became part of daily life.

Harris Hawks: Underrated and Brilliant

One of the strongest opinions in the episode concerns Harris hawks.

While some falconers dismiss them, Andy strongly disagrees.

He describes Harris hawks as:

Exceptionally intelligent
Highly social
Extremely efficient hunters
Ideal for practical field use

He regularly flew multiple Harris hawks together with pointing dogs and even alongside goshawks.

Their natural ability to follow dogs, work as a group, and adapt quickly made them hugely effective rabbit hunters.

He also believes Harris hawks have saved many beginner falconers from losing sparrowhawks due to poor management, simply because they are more forgiving birds to learn with.

His advice is clear: do not judge a species you have never truly trained.

The Pinnacle: Peregrine Falcons and Grouse Hawking

For Andy, nothing compares to peregrine falcons over grouse.

He describes grouse hawking as the pinnacle of falconry:

Peregrines waiting on high above the hill
Pointers holding grouse on point
Reading wind, terrain, and bird movement
Perfect timing between dog, hawk, and handler

When everything comes together, few sporting experiences compare.

But success depends on fieldcraft far more than flying skill alone.

Understanding grouse behaviour is critical.

Key lessons include:

Grouse prefer to flush into the wind
They use terrain to slow attacking falcons
Younger birds behave very differently from older birds
Positioning yourself correctly before the flush matters enormously

As Andy explains, if you want to catch grouse, you must first understand grouse.

Why Dogs Matter More Than People Think

Falconry at this level depends heavily on good pointing dogs.

Andy believes many people make the mistake of trying to train both a hawk and a dog at the same time.

His advice:

Train the dog first.

A well-bred, properly trained pointing dog should come before the hawk.

Without that foundation, grouse hawking becomes chaos.

He recommends:

Start with a good dog from proven lines
Spend several seasons learning dog work first
Observe experienced falconers
Join a club and watch before rushing in

Trying to train an unproven dog and a hawk simultaneously is, in his words, “a recipe for disaster.”

English Pointers and the Influence of Stephen Frank

Although Andy originally worked other types of gundogs, Stephen Frank introduced him properly to English Pointers.

Watching Stephen’s famous Embercombe Pointers work changed his view completely.

What impressed him most was not simply the dogs’ ability, but Stephen’s understanding of them.

He could read:

When a dog was on point before seeing it
When a dog had left a point and returned
How dogs communicated without obvious signals
The individual temperament of each dog

Andy believes this kind of understanding only comes from observation, not theory.

Great dog handlers learn by watching.

Fieldcraft Over Obedience

Interestingly, Andy notes that Stephen’s dogs were not heavily obedience-trained by modern standards.

But they worked.

Because Stephen understood them completely.

Andy himself values stronger stop whistle control and precision, especially when working multiple dogs together, but he recognises that true fieldcraft goes beyond formal obedience.

Dogs, hawks, and quarry all teach lessons if you are paying attention.

His philosophy is simple:

If you want to learn falconry, learn from your dog and your hawk.

The Modern Challenge: Declining Grouse and Bird Flu

The conversation also turns to a difficult reality, declining grouse numbers and changing landscapes.

Andy believes many traditional grouse moors have been lost to:

Forestry planting
Wind turbines
Rewilding schemes
Habitat fragmentation
Reduced keepering
Bird flu and disease pressure

This has changed falconry dramatically.

Rather than large falcons taking high numbers of grouse, Andy shifted to smaller tiercels (male peregrines), creating a more technical and sustainable style of hawking with less impact on grouse populations.

Later in the season, work often shifted to woodcock and snipe, where highly fit tiercels became extraordinarily effective.

Still, he admits modern falconry faces serious challenges.

For someone who has spent a lifetime managing wild game and working dogs on the hill, seeing empty ground is difficult.

Final Advice for New Falconers

For anyone considering falconry, Andy’s advice is refreshingly straightforward:

Join a falconry club
Observe experienced people
Learn patience first
Train your dog before your hawk
Respect fieldcraft over shortcuts
Use telemetry and proper management
Never stop watching and learning

Books help, but observation matters more.

Episode 4 - Falconry, Pointing Dogs, and the Art of Grouse Hawking