Woman says raising a hawk helped her rediscover life after cancer recovery; calls it a ‘yes to life’ moment

While the first lockdown caused by Covid-19 six years ago saw many people take up hobbies during their free time, for Candida Meyrick, it was a time that marked the beginning of a new, unexpected adventure. As reported in BBC about her journey, she chose to get a Harris hawk, which, helped her significantly as she worked towards rebuilding her identity as she recovered from her battle with breast cancer.

Candida’s adventure with falconry began when her youngest son, George, who was just eight years old at the time, suggested that the family learn more about birds of prey. What began as a simple visit to a falconry centre ended up being a long-term adventure for Candida, who later adopted a hawk chick she named Bird.

The training of the young hawk demanded patience as well as daily training. Candida remembered that when the hawk first came to her house in Anglesey, “it had immediately shown signs of instinct as a predator.” The first steps involved a process that is termed “manning” to train the hawk to sit calmly on the falconer’s glove. She slowly started to gain trust with the help of her friend, who was an experienced falconer.

Bird's proper pedigree title is Sophia Houdini White Wing and the hawk has a 1.5m (5ft) wingspan, is capable of horizontal flight in excess of 35mph (55km/h) and sight thought to be eight times greater than a human's.

The unusual name that the hawk carries has an interesting background as well. Sophia is named after her mother, Houdini because of her knack for escaping knots and hiding during her early days, and White Wing because her lineage is said to be rare in the UK. Living on a large estate that had open spaces, woodlands, as well as dunes, proved to be an ideal environment for training the hawk to fly.

In the case of Candida, the timing of this newfound responsibility is noteworthy. She had gone through her cancer treatment some years ago and was already contemplating what the next phase of her life would look like. According to BBC, she said, “I was five years clear of cancer and my children were growing up healthily, so I had to confront what letting go would look like.”

There were also some challenges that Candida had to face in looking after the hawk. For instance, the hawk injured its leg in a fight with another animal. However, there was something unexpected that occurred when the hawk seemed to look for certain plants. According to her, “While she had a wounded leg, she sought out wild thyme and white willow, in other words a natural antiseptic and painkiller, but I had no idea how a hawk would instinctively understand that.”

What started as a lockdown activity eventually turned into something much deeper for this family. Candida believes that this activity helped her strengthen her relationship with her children. She also believes that this helped her re-engage with her own interests. She hopes that this passion for falconry will be passed on to future generations, and her children will be able to have this experience with their children.

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