About us
Northern Gyrfalcon is a small private breeding centre in the far north of the Vologda region. We keep a few pairs of gyrfalcons descended from captive-bred birds and raise young falcons the old way: patiently, without hurry, with daily work to the lure and in the field.
The gyrfalcon is the largest of all falcons. It nests in the tundra and forest-tundra, endures bitter frost and wind, and in flight it impresses with power and stamina. Its plumage ranges from dark grey to almost pure white — and the pale birds have always been the most prized.
We do not sell birds and do not receive visitors. On this page we tell about our work and about the long history of hunting with the gyrfalcon.
Our birds
How we work
The chicks stay with their parents until they fledge. Then the manning begins: the bird gets used to the glove, the falconer's voice and hands, the hood and the people around. Only then come the lure, flights on a creance and the first free flights.
We keep a log for every bird: weight, food, moult and behaviour. A good falconer knows his bird's weight to within a few grams — its hunting mood and its health depend on it.
A short history of hunting with the gyrfalcon
Hunting with birds of prey reached Europe and old Rus' from the steppes of Eurasia. Among hunting birds the gyrfalcon always stood apart: rare, strong and beautiful, and hard to obtain — its eyries hide on the cliffs of the far North.
Medieval Rus'
Falconry and hawking were known in Rus' from the age of the princes. In his "Instruction" Grand Prince Vladimir Monomakh proudly writes that he kept the hunting establishment himself and looked after both falcons and hawks. Hunting birds were a princely privilege and a precious gift.
The pomytchiki and the northern routes
Gyrfalcons were trapped in the Russian North — along the Pechora and the Dvina and on the Murman coast. This was the work of the pomytchiki, hereditary trappers of hunting birds who were granted privileges for their service. The captured birds were carried to Moscow under constant care: the journey took weeks, and every bird was guarded like a jewel.
The royal hunt
Falconry in Muscovy flourished in the 17th century. Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich was a passionate falconer: the hunt was run by his Privy Office, and in 1656 the "Book of the Falconer's Way" (Uryadnik sokolnichya puti) set out the ceremony of initiation into the order of falconers. The falconers' settlement outside Moscow gave its name to today's Sokolniki district.
"Be keen, amuse yourselves, take comfort in this good sport… so that no sorrow or grief may overcome you."
— from the "Book of the Falconer's Way", 1656
A gift for kings and sultans
White gyrfalcons from the Russian North were among the most valuable diplomatic gifts and were sent to the courts of eastern rulers and European monarchs. In the English "Book of St Albans" (1486), which assigns a hunting bird to every rank, the gyrfalcon belongs to a king. Emperor Frederick II, in his treatise "The Art of Hunting with Birds" (13th century), ranked the gyrfalcon above all other falcons.
- 11th–12th c.Hunting birds at the courts of the Rus' princes; Vladimir Monomakh's "Instruction".
- 13th c.Frederick II, "The Art of Hunting with Birds".
- 1486The "Book of St Albans": the gyrfalcon is the king's bird.
- 16th–17th c.Pomytchiki in the North; gyrfalcons as Moscow's diplomatic gift.
- 1656Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich's "Book of the Falconer's Way".
- 2010Falconry inscribed on UNESCO's list of Intangible Cultural Heritage.
The gyrfalcon today
The wild gyrfalcon is listed in the Red Data Book of Russia and in Appendix I of CITES: taking birds from the wild is prohibited. Today's falconry gyrfalcons are captive-bred, and each of them has papers proving its origin.
We believe captive breeding helps preserve both the birds and the art itself: the old techniques of manning and flying live on as long as there are people who master them.
