Lanny—the peregrine falcon from Marlow Bird Park

Marlow Bird Park is located not far from the Baltic Sea and is a popular, worthwhile destination for holidaymakers on the Mecklenburg Baltic coast. In addition to numerous bird species, Marlow Bird Park is also home to other animals. Baltic Sea holidaymakers who choose Marlow Bird Park as an excursion destination are especially fond of the little white-tufted marmosets and Liszt monkeys. The Bennett’s wallabies and Humboldt penguins are also delightful to watch.

Marlow Bird Park is famous for its birds of prey shows. In spring 2009, peregrine falcons hatched young. Little Lanny will soon be showing off all his skills during the show.

There is nothing quite like the uncompromising attack of a peregrine falcon on its prey in the natural world. At speeds of over 200 km/h, the bird of prey can strike its target in mid-air. The impact either kills the prey immediately or leaves it in a state of shock, allowing the native hunter to finish the job with a second strike.

Lanny, the peregrine falcon chick at Marlow Bird Park, is still a long way from making such high-speed hunting flights. Even so, a new chapter in the life of this little speedster is just beginning.

Lanny hatched in April 2009 at the home of Mr Gerd Borgward of Demmin, a member of the German Falconry Association. Thanks to the close cooperation among birds of prey specialists, little Lanny moved into his new quarters at the Marlow Bird Park breeding station as early as May. Visitors to Marlow Bird Park were able to watch as the insatiable ball of fluff grew into a young bird of prey.

The young falcon’s wings and tail feathers are now fully developed, and he is eager to put them to use. This is the right time to move Lanny to Marlow Bird Park’s flight-training area. There, he will have to curb his impatience for a while, since he must first learn discipline before he can fly.

In the long tradition of falconry, this stage of training is called “carrying the lure.” During this phase, the young bird becomes accustomed to its trainers. Visitors to Marlow Bird Park can see this for themselves. After the birds of prey flight shows in particular, the animal trainers carry little Lanny through the birds of prey area. This teaches him that guests pose no threat and that the safest place in the whole exciting world is on his trainer’s gloved fist. After a further four weeks of training, the young flyer will join the Marlow Bird Park show. “We want to present our two falcon species one after the other,” says falconer Astrid Becker. “Then our Lanny can prove whether the published figures of up to 380 km/h are accurate. Let’s see if he can outshine our female lanner falcon, Dana, and make her look like a lame duck.”

The birds of prey flight show has been a regular part of the daily program at Marlow Bird Park since 1996. Alongside falcons and eagles, eagle owls have played a special role in the show. These nocturnal hunters fascinate visitors to Marlow Bird Park so much that they are among the park’s most photographed residents. For this reason, the eagle owl also welcomes guests on the park’s annual moonlight tours.

Text: Jan Gereit, photos © Marlow Bird Park