Frequently Asked Questions

What kind of events do you take your birds to?

All kinds! Any event that can be planned to be safe, legal, and ethical for the birds and humans involved is up for discussion.

We offer intimate, private, interactive falconry experiences; group demonstrations for parties such as weddings, milestone celebrations, graduations, birthdays parties, college decision day, sports team signing days; we can provide services for even very large events such as fairs, festivals, and corporate events. We have also collaborated with other businesses who like our programming and have presented at breweries, tattoo shops, and more. Our Eurasian eagle owl and lanner falcon can participate in personal or commercial photo and film work as well.

We ask that you submit an inquiry for your event with at least two weeks’ notice from your event date.

We are fully licensed and insured and are able to add your venue or business as an additional insured to our policy.

Can I hold and fly the birds?

Medusa (our Eurasian eagle owl) can be held by guests on private programs. Hermes can also be handled by members of the public, and is the only bird currently trained to fly to guests. For groups larger than 10, one guest of honor may handle our Eurasian eagle owl (ages 15+ as she is very heavy!) and our lanner falcon (ages 10+).

How much does a program cost and what does it include?

Pricing and interaction with the birds depends on how large your group is. All pricing below is based on us bringing three of our birds within a 45 minute one-way drive from our facility at the time of your event.

We offer private falconry experiences for up to 10 guests, with pricing based on number of participants. These bookings are for an hour. See the Private Falconry Experience FAQ for more information.

We offer programs for smaller parties (up to 40 guests, including children and adults), which can include interaction with the birds for one guest of honor depending on their age. This costs $600. These programs last an hour or the length of the guests’ attention spans, whichever comes first.

A school or educational demonstration that does not include any interaction with the birds is $500 per demonstration for up to 30 students and $800 for larger assemblies. For schools that would like multiple programs for different grades or classes, each subsequent program for up to 30 students is priced at $300. These programs are tailored to the available time or class periods at the school, but may be limited by the ages and attention spans of the students and classroom management.

For larger parties or events with drop-in style attendance such as fairs, festivals, or fundraisers, we can offer a tabled demonstration of our birds so guests can view and learn about the birds on their own timeline. We require a minimum of two hours on site and have a three hour maximum. Pricing depends on expected guest count and event type and begins at $600/hour.

See our wedding page for more information on our wedding packages, and inquire about pricing for larger festivals, fairs, or corporate events using our contact form or emailing us at raptorjawns@gmail.com. Including your event’s date, expected guest count, and what you are hoping to include to help us create the most accurate quote for you.

For weddings and other medieval times or fantasy themed parties your presenter can either come in our typical vendor wear or we can dress in Renaissance style clothing.

A nonrefundable 50% deposit is required to hold the date and time of your booking.

Can you host my event?

We do not have an on-site facility for you to visit. On rare occasions, we can host small, private falconry experiences at a nearby outdoor location.

What are your weather contingencies?

For outdoor events we recommend having a backup indoor or appropriately sheltered space to move to in the case of extreme cold, heat, rain, or dangerous AQI. We will always try to keep as many of the services intact for a program that needs to be moved indoors at the last minute, though they may need to be modified to accommodate the change in location. In this case, payment for services is still expected in full.

For outdoor programs in very high temperatures (above 85), we require a shaded, covered space to present with our birds and to keep them safe while they are in their carriers. The shade of a tree or patio works well enough. We do not present outdoors in temperatures above 100 degrees F. We do not present outdoors in temperatures below 32 degrees F. Our falcon’s flights become less reliable in wind speeds over 15 mph. The decision to fly him in higher wind speeds is up to the discretion of the presenter, who may choose shorter flights to accommodate the increased difficulty.

The 50% deposit required for us to set aside the time and date of your program is nonrefundable in the case of force majeure events or circumstances including civil disturbance, government action, strikes, lockouts or labor disputes, and severe weather including storms, very high or very low temperatures, and unacceptable AQI (120 and over).

How are you able to keep these birds?

Some of our birds, like Medea and Hecate, are wild hatched rescue birds that were not able to survive on their own and now live out their days as educational ambassadors. They are legally held under Federal and State licenses to be in our care from the Federal Fish and Wildlife Services and the Pennsylvania Game Commission. Our other birds, like Medusa and Hermes, are exotic species that have been bred specifically for use as educational ambassadors.

Can you bring or fly a bald eagle around my patriotic / football / other event?

Unfortunately not! The two eagle species native to the United States - the bald eagle and golden eagle - are regulated even more strictly than other raptors and require their own separate permit. You are unlikely to find anyone who can provide this service unless you are the NFL or US Military, and such demonstrations are likely to be priced accordingly if you do.

What birds do you currently have available for programs?

Right now we have four birds of prey - our Eurasian eagle owl Medusa, red-tailed hawk Medea, lanner falcon Hermes, and eastern screech owl Hecate.

Can I pet the birds or touch them with my bare hand?

No.

What do we need at our space to host you?

If you are booking a private falconry experience and want to have the lanner falcon fly to you, we need a small, open area. A yard with minimal trees can be enough space for this, but if you have permission or access to a larger field or open space that’s also great! Indoor flights are also an option. We will always try and work with what you have. If you have concerns or questions, you can always send us photos of your space.

If the space you have is not a good fit for flights or you are booking a private party, you can still hold the eagle owl and falcon, and for that we don’t need much space at all - enough space for all humans to fit comfortably and about a 10 foot radius around the presenter and/or person holding the bird.

We also need a small, sturdy, flat, elevated hard surface (a good chair or small table works well) to get the birds in and out of their carriers.

For tabled displays at larger events, we require an 8’ table provided with easy vehicle access or someone on site to help us load in.

Is it ethical to have raptors doing this kind of work?

We take great care to ensure the welfare and comfort of our raptors, as this is the best way to ensure our programs go smoothly for all participants - both human and avian! This means daily training for our birds, the use of positive reinforcement and choice-based training, paired with training tools and creative use of space to keep our birds as calm as possible when faced with new or chaotic experiences.

Our owls are imprints, raised among humans to be as tolerant as possible of the situations they find themselves in as lifelong educational ambassadors. Our hawk and falcon are able to be hooded when they show signs of stress. The hood is an ancient training tool of falconry and raptor husbandry and is an effective, safe, ethical way to keep a raptor calm while they are surrounded by overwhelming stimuli. When these birds show body language that indicates stress, we use the hood to prevent further discomfort. Hermes and Medea have both fallen asleep while hooded during longer program displays! The types of perches we use for our owls as well as the duration of time we are willing to keep any bird out are decided based on what is the best fit for each bird.

While there are many nuanced positions about animal welfare and wildlife conservation, the individual birds in our care would not survive on their own in the wild, either because they are themselves wild rescues or are birds that have specifically been bred and raised in captivity for educational purposes. Raptor Jawns is always always aiming for the highest ethical standards in working with birds of prey and the public.

Our work is a careful balance between the desire of the public to have meaningful, transformative, close encounters with wildlife, our own love of sharing our passion for raptors with others, and our birds’ physical and psychological safety and comfort.

How did you get the experience to be licensed for this work?

Courtney has over 25 years of experience working with raptors. She fell in love with falconry as a teenager and spent the next decade reading and learning everything I could about the sport. She volunteered at a wildlife rehabilitation center throughout high school, cleaning aviaries, helping with basic raptor care, and handling smaller birds on fundraising and educational programs.

As an undergraduate student at Columbia College, Courtney tagged along with falconers on Long Island, TA’d an ornithology course at the American Museum of Natural History, and did several summer raptor internships in Pennsylvania at Hawk Mountain and Shaver’s Creek. After graduating, she spent a year working at Ireland’s School of Falconry where she was finally able to gain experience with free flying birds of prey in an unbelievably charmed setting.

After a brief stint working abatement (falconry pest control) on a landfill in New Jersey, she moved to South Carolina and began her falconry Apprenticeship. She hunted with red-tailed hawks in South Carolina and Pennsylvania for ten years before obtaining my Federal permit for educational purposes in 2020. Courtney’s hunting days are on pause while she balances the demands of raising young children and running her own businesses.

Can your bird be in my film / music video / commercial / press release / photo shoot / other advertisement?

Yes, though the birds who can do this work are limited to Medusa our Eurasian eagle owl and Hermes our lanner falcon. Pricing varies depending on the demands of the shoot.

I have another question I don’t see answered here - how can I find out more?

Please get in touch using our contact form below or reach out by email at raptorjawns@gmail.com.

Frequently asked Questions

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