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Dr. David Glynne Fox BA(Hons). MA. PhD Falconer

Dr. David Glynne Fox BA(Hons). MA. PhD. Falconer

I began my falconry career as a primary schoolboy during the 1950’s when I acquired a Little Owl, which I kept for a while as a pet. To this day, I have no real idea what it was that sparked off my interest in birds of prey and falconry, for no former member of my family, as far as I am aware, ever held any interest for the sport.

From the Little Owl, I graduated to a Common Buzzard, upon which I learnt the rudiments of falconry furniture with the aids of books, because for many years, I never knew or met another falconer. When a Tawny Eagle came up for offer I snapped it up with great fervour, without realising that this bird was to become the embodiment of my future great love for the big eagles. Although I lost this bird through a snapped leather leash, the seeds were sown.

As the years progressed, I experimented with Kestrels, Goshawks and Sparrow Hawks and then began to import birds of prey from abroad. This opened up a whole new perspective and I encountered and used raptor species that many of today’s falconers can only dream about. I even trained and flew a Pallas’s Sea Eagle, which in my ignorance, I thought was a Golden Eagle. Then came Sable, my first real Golden Eagle. She was a huge Berkut, weighing 17 pounds and I flew her successfully for some time until she was sold to the well-known falconer, the late Phillip Glasier. I lived in the middle of Nottingham in those days and worried that she might kill a dog and get both myself, and  falconry into trouble. I always regretted this sale.

I then obtained a female Imperial Eagle named Ajax, who stayed with me for 24 years until her death in 1993. All this became the focus for my first book entitled “Garden of Eagles,” which was published by Patrick Stephens Ltd. in 1984. This marked a great milestone in my falconry career, not least because it brought me in contact with other falconers whom I may never have met as a result, great friendships have been formed.

In addition to my falconry passion, my first real past time was entomology, the study of insects, which is still very strong today and I often organise moth watches to locate and record species. I am also a wildlife photographer, specialising in macro photography or close-up. Much of my work has been published worldwide and I am a member of the celebrated Oxford Scientific Films picture library. I use my own extensive slide library to illustrate the many lectures I give annually and also articles that I frequently write. Recently, I have had two articles on training Golden Eagles published in The Falconer and Raptor Conservation magazine and the International Falconer. My very first article to be published was on my Sparrow Hawk breeding project and this came out in two parts in Cage and Aviary Birds. I have also published articles on the Harris Hawk and DNA profiling in raptors, amongst others. In addition to the above, I am also qualified Hand Glider pilot, although I have since given up this sport.

I left school with no qualifications but put this right in the 1990’s when, following my passion for the Anglo-Zulu War of 1879, I successfully completed a 3 year BA(Hons) degree on South African and Zulu history. I obtained the highest marks in the country that year. Then followed a Master’s degree and finally, a PhD thesis.

I continued to fly many raptor species including Peregines, Saker, Barbary and Red Headed Falcons, various Hawk Eagles and other unusual species, but my great love has always been the big eagles and I yearned to acquire another Golden Eagle. However, it was to be some time before this act came about and so in the meantime I bred Sparrow Hawks and Harris Hawks. The latter I flew for many years having great success, but they were not eagles, and I yearned more and more for another. Some Golden Eagles were indeed now being bred but were very expensive. However, I decided that before I became too old, I would take the plunge and purchase firstly a 14 pound very aggressive female and a year or so later, a 10 pound male Berkut Golden Eagle, both of which I still have as I write.

Much of the latter is now the subject of a follow-up to Garden of Eagles, the Life and Times of a Falconer, which includes the tentative subtitle “The Next Chapter.” I have a publisher who is interested in this work and hopefully it will see the light of day in the not too distant future.

Dr. David Glynne Fox BA(Hons). MA. PhD Falconer will be appearing at the following shows:

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