Fledgling Days: Memoir of a Falconer

Beginning at the age of five years old, Emma Ford embarks on a lifelong journey from the countryside of Kent to the Arabian Peninsula as a falconer, and lover of all animals God put on this earth. Fledgling Days is Emma's memoir of her precious and cherished years as a young girl lucky enough to be raised on a farm in the country right next door to a historical English castle. These sweet and often hilarious stories are of her slow education into the lives of creatures large and small, as she too grows from child to woman. Drowning in soppy clothes as she learns the hard way to milk a goat, breaking toes as she gets trampled on by a horse while she picks his hooves, teaching ferrets to round up rabbits for supper, and flying her first kestrel, are all in a days work as animal husbandry takes over Emma's life. Living with her mother, Emma has a rather independent life, and is fearless and brave as she experiences one animal escapade after another. Cats, dogs, owls, eagles, kestrels, falcons, cows, goats, horses, and ferrets, all jockey for a place in Emma's heart as she learns to care for them, house them, train them, love them and lose them. Trials and tribulations of Emma and her pets, and the steady growth of her knowledge, and of herself as a mature woman, grace these pages with charming antidotes. These are delightful tales of one woman who lived for a life with falcons and any critter that crawled her way. Training next door at the castle to fly and show falcons at their visitor display led her into offers of writing books on falconry, television shows, parts in movies, and later on an esteemed privileged trip to visit a Sheik on the Arabian Peninsula that culminates into a job offer to live and train his birds of prey. I sincerely loved Emma and enjoyed watching her grow up as the story progresses, and was truly enlightened as an animal lover to hear of her wonderful life learning to be a full time falconer. This book is highly recommended for any lover of birds of prey or animal lovers in general. Heartwarming, funny, and entertaining.

I made the mistake of cracking this book's spine just before dinner & everyone wandering in, drooling to be fed, found me gone into the wilds of Kent in England where a young woman discovers her heart's desire in the form of falcons. I relished Emma Ford's memoirs of her early days with owls, falcons, eagles & a hilarious assortment of four legged friends & foes.The only child of divorced parents, Emma Ford labored to fulfill her mother's kind expectations of a proper profession for herself; eagerly taking on her school assignments the quicker to take off to the castle & continue her training in falconry. Sounds like something out of medieval times? Yes & no, this is one thoroughly modern young person who follows her heart & finds herself a player in medieval recreations, her eagles starring in films & dashing off to Arabia to hob knob with a sheik. All the while her sense of honor & dedication is developing even as a charming, self-possessed Heroine emerges. This is one fresh, focused young women who has garnered for herself & her beloved menagerie a unique & fascinating niche. A fabulous gift idea! Do check out my full review at [my website]

it is an honestly written book that tells of the authors experiences-- her disappointments, her hopes and how she was introduced to falconry. it contains a variation of experiences, and there are more instances not related to falconry than expected.