"The flying of falcons" by Ed Pitcher

“The flying of falcons “ by Ed Pitcher, a much awaited publication is soon to be released. It’s not a “how to “book, it instead describes a philosophy of flying falcons that mirrors their natural development. It challenges some of the traditional preconceived ideas about how to fly falcons, and will prove an interesting read.

A few years ago on a visit to the U.S I was staying on a friend’s ranch which was being managed by fellow falconer, Daryl Peterson. Daryl had casually mentioned that Ed Pitcher lived nearby. Ed Pitchers name in the world of Falconry has become synonymous with the flying of falcons to the extreme limits of visibility and altitude. So it is with fond recollection that I remember back to that one afternoon visit. We sat and chatted about peregrines and in particular the Red shaheen that Ed had flown and I listened awestruck as he recounted experiences that he had with this and many of the other falcons he has flown. When asked by Ricardo Velarde to contribute to this new volume written by Ed I did not hesitate. Ed’s unique viewpoint and freethinking mental approach towards the training of falcons has become for me a breath of fresh air. It has been a great honour to be involved with both Ricardo and Ed on this book and I hope you take from it as much inspiration as I and many others have.

I am pleased to have contributed about 14 paintings, plus sketches, to be used as illustrations for the book. One of them “My girl” is a painting of one of my own peregrines, Missy.(pictured above) You may have seen the original of it displayed at the falconry fair a couple of years ago. We are now putting this image into print in time to be launched at the falconry festival in July. When the original was displayed it attracted many favourable comments, and so hopefully this will prove to be a popular print.

You can learn more about Ed pitchers new book "the flying of falcons" by clicking here

Cheetah conservation fund

When we launched the Andrew Ellis premier edition giclee “The chase is on “, we decided it was an ideal opportunity to support the work of The cheetah conservation fund. Each time one of the giclees sells we make a donation of 15% of the profit to the CCF. When 2 of the run of 25 sold last month we were really happy to be able to make a donation which we know will go to help the very important work that the CCF carry out.

The CCF have a vision “to see a world in which cheetah’s live and flourish in co-existence with people and the environment” and to achieve this are involved in science and research programmes, and they’ve managed to reduce the number of cheetahs killed on commercial farms through education. CCF has close links and assists in training and sharing programme successes with other countries where cheetah live, including Botswana, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Iran and Algeria. CCF's international programme includes distributing CCF materials, lending resources and support, and providing training through Africa and the rest of the world.

The plight of cheetahs symbolizes the problems that many predators face throughout the world.The world's fastest land animal, the sleek and long-legged cheetah, is losing its race for survival. Once a common animal found on five continents, the cheetah is now an Endangered Species. Loss of habitat, conflict with humans, as well as its own loss of genetic variation, are the main threats facing the cheetah today. The cheetah needs large expanses of land to survive, but with changes in land use and habitat pressures, such as bush encroachment, this area is becoming smaller and smaller. Unfortunately, captive breeding efforts have not proven meaningful to the cheetah's hopes of survival.Cheetahs have existed on earth for at least three-and-a-half to four million years - long before any of the other big cats that are alive today. About 20,000 years ago, cheetahs were common throughout Africa, Asia, Europe, and North America

The number of cheetahs has decreased from 100,000 at end of the 19th century to approximately 10,000 today.

So please consider helping this worthy cause.

Remember 15% of the profits from the sale of each copy of “The chase is on” by Andrew Ellis go direct to The Cheetah Conservation Fund.

To find out more about the work of the Cheetah conservation Fund visit www.cheetah.org