Sometimes the circumstances in our lives can be traced back to a singular moment, such is the case for Daniel Gibbons, the third person to hold the title of Head Falconer at Mount Falcon. It was an odd case of a rogue bird perching itself in front of Daniel that ultimately led him to his role as the Falconer here at the hotel. In a way, it wasn’t Daniel who picked the job, it was the bird who chose Daniel.
In 2018 Daniel had just started his job in the fitness centre at Mount Falcon teaching swimming classes and being a personal trainer. This was the job Daniel had thought he was going to pursue after coming home to Ballina having worked in Australia for a time. On this particular day Danial was at the reception desk in the fitness centre with the door open to let the nice weather in, when to his great surprise a large bird flew in the open door and perched itself immediately in front of him on the till at the desk. Daniel said the sudden arrival of the large bird on his workstation “scared me half to death.”
As Daniel had only just started at Mount Falcon a few days earlier he was vaguely aware of the fact that the estate had a falconry with falcons, hawks, and owls. The arrival of the bird served as a hasty introduction, but the bird wasn’t done with Daniel just yet. Getting over his shock, Daniel realized he needed to react as the bird began hopping down the reception desk toward some lit candles. Afraid the bird might injure itself, Daniel stretched out his arms to shoo the creature away and back out the open door. However, as anyone who has visited the falconry or gone on one of our Hawk Walks will know, putting one’s arms outstretched is a gesture the birds have become accustomed to as a sign of food being presented.
So, as it had been trained, the bird obediently jumped up onto Daniel’s arm. Daniel didn’t know this at the time, but he would later learn that the bird, a Harris Hawk known as Phoenix, would have been well capable of taking more than a chunk of Daniel’s arm with it had the bird been so inclined. Fortunately for everyone involved Phoenix was in a good mood that day, and a moment later the then Head Falconer, Martin, stepped through the door with glove and food in hand. Martin stood a few metres away holding out the food and Phoenix swooped over to Martin’s safely gloved hand.
Daniel describes this first encounter with Phoenix as “surreal,” but it was the start of a much longer relationship. Having seen Daniel’s cool and calm demeanour, despite his initial shock, Martin offered Daniel an apprenticeship in the falconry. Daniel spent his off hours and weekends learning from Martin, who himself had learned from Mount Falcon’s first Head Falcon, Jason, years earlier. The passing down of information took some time, but by the time the COVID-19 pandemic broke out Martin retired from his post and Daniel took over full-time care of the birds.
Six years on and Daniel still gets a thrill flying the birds of Mount Falcon for training, exercise, and life enrichment as well as for guests at the hotel. “Flying the birds is super cool,” Daniel says, and it’s a job that is never 100% certain. The birds have minds of their own, and as Daniel says, though he has a relationship with them, “It’s all one way.” With a Peregrine Falcon, two Harris Hawks, two barn owns, a Snowy Owl, an Eagle Owl, and a Great Grey Owl, Daniel and his team of falconers, Anna and Olivia, have their hands full.
When asked what it takes to be a falconer, Daniels replies confidently, “Patience.” Though he thinks of the birds almost as pets, and cares for them and worries about them, he always remembers the spirit of a wild animal beats in their feathery hearts.
