Bird brains!

Meet Hedwig, the young snowy owl, who introduced herself with a loud shriek as I arrived at Leighton Hall's Falconry Centre.

The bundle of downy, grey feathers was chilling out in the cool air of an electric fan then hopping about at the feet of her new mum, falconer Denise Barrow.

"She goes everywhere with me at the moment," explained Denise. "She even sleeps in my room. We had a joiner come round to the house who looked at her not thinking she was real. Then she moved. He got quite a shock."

Denise is currently "imprinting" Hewig, building up a rapport with her young feathered friend. Hedwig shrieked again and was treated to a newly-thawed rat. It disappeared in one gulp.

It was a bizarre beginning to a wonderfully strange and exhilarating day. When dealing with birds of prey you meet nature "red in tooth and claw."

"Here's some baby chicks," said Denise later, "can you pull off their legs and squeeze out the yolks?"

There's no room for sentiment in the world of the predator, just astonishment and awe.

Some of the birds have jagged bones in their feet which lock when they have their talons fixed on their prey. It's like a ratchet, they'll never let go. Others have eyes that see way beyond our field of vision into the ultra-violet spectrum. They see colours we can't see. Their hearing is also incredible, picking out the rustle of grass from high in the sky. It's so acute they even know that it's Denise who is walking up the gravel path by the sound of her footsteps.

It was all fascinating stuff. I was looking forward to meeting the rest of the family. I said hello to Jarreth and Shadow the Harris hawks, the noble Saker falcons Raphael and Fortune, little Domino and Midge, the small but deadly kestrels, Ellie the buzzard and Harley, who's known as a ferruginous.

Then there was the barn owl, Yo Yo, the tawny owls who are waiting to be named by a local school and the star of the show, Gorbachev, a statuesque Russian Steppe Eagle who performs for the crowds at Leighton Hall.

"Depending which side of the bed he's got out of, Gorby's either a mummy's boy or a spoilt actor," explained Denise, who has learnt to appease this Russian prima dona.

"Sometimes he just flies into the tree and sits there looking at me. It can be quite embarrassing."

We set off on a "hawk walk" with Jarreth. Having learnt how to correctly tether a bird, I donned a glove and Jarreth kindly sat on my hand. Then he was off, flapping then gliding majestically into the boughs of a nearby tree.

Denise handed me a chicken leg and whistled. Jarreth swooped down from the branches and approached at speed, bearing his talons. He grabbed the food in my hand, quickly ate it then scanned the landscape.

It's quite a feeling having such an incredible creature sat on your arm.

Denise explained that these birds don't fly for fun, they fly to catch prey. You can't dominate a bird of prey, you can only ask nicely. The birds at Leighton had discovered that following Denise and her bag of chicks legs was a very efficient way of hunting.

"They could fly away any time they wanted," she said. "It's all about trust."

This was evident during the public demonstration when Shadow swooped from the ramparts to land inches away from the heads of grandmothers and young children. The audience marvelled at the aerial acrobatics and then Gorby arrived - five and a half pounds of hungry eagle.

He headed straight for the tree but when Denise called him he stayed put, distracted by something on the horizon. She called him again worried that the star attraction could be having one of his "off days" when, in his own good time, he stretched his wings and glided down onto her hand.

Not one to over tax himself, Gorby performed a couple more swoops before deciding to take it easy. It had been a successful sortie, the crowd were happy and the show was over.

Back in the camp little Hedwig was still chilling out by the fan.

"It's an unusual job to say the least," added Denise, surrogate mother to the shrieking fluffball.

"No two days are the same. That incredible feeling you get when a hawk lands on your hand never goes away. And when Gorby stares you straight in the eye you really know you've been looked at. I feel very privileged working with them and also very humble. There's a saying - even the highest prince in the land has to get on his knees before his falcon."

For a once-in-a-lifetime experience you too can fly hawks and spend a day at the Falconry Centre at Leighton Hall receiving one-to-one tuition. It's a fantastic birthday present idea and comes highly recommended. Special "hawk walks" can also be organised. For more details call Denise Barrow on 736925.