Brian E. Sullivan became exposed to falconry in the 1960’s.
At first, watching his older brothers training falcons, he soon took over
most of the duties by taking care of his brother's falcons. Ultimately, Brian
finally convinced his brothers he was ready for his first bird. At that time,
there were very few people hunting with falcons successfully. Most were just keeping them as
pets. Wanting to change that trend, Brian started out by training his first
falcons in the pursuit of hunting.
Brian’s father, John Sullivan taught them at a very
early age how to hunt, fish, and trap. He also taught them to appreciate this
hunting heritage passed down to them. This heritage made hunting with falcons
very natural for Brian. As time passed, Brian and his four older brothers all
became accomplished hunters. Today, two of Brian’s older brothers now own and operate
hunting clubs in Washington State.
Captive Breeding and Farm Reared falcons:
While growing up in the era of the wild Peregrine (Shaheen) being taken away from
falconers in the United States as a hunting falcon, Brian was fortunate enough to be exposed to some of the early pioneers of
falcon breeding. In the 1970's the first farm that Brian was able visit on a regular basis was John LeJuene’s
falcon farm in Canada (Falcons Canada). At that time, John was successfully breeding Peregrines as
well as some of the first Gyrfalcon x Prairie falcon hybrid crosses. At the time,
Brian was amazed how John had Peregrines housed in small rooms and was breeding them like
chickens!
In 1986-87, Brian had a job opportunity to live and work with
Mr. Lester Boyd who had pioneered many of the early captive falcon breeding techniques
in the US. To this day, many falcon breeders around the world continue to use
the breeding methods developed by Mr. Boyd.
Brian Sullivan socializing two peregrines.
Pullman, Wa.
circa 1986
While working for Les, Brian was given a
beautiful female Peregrine x Gyrfalcon hybrid. She is still alive today,
now 22 years old, and is still a big part of the family. She was a rare
fertile female hybrid that produced young for many years. In the 1990's,
some of these offspring were sent to the Al Maktoun’s in Dubai. Prior to
that in 1988 Brian trained the first female Gyrfalcon x Peregrines to be
imported into the Dubai, UAE for a falconer temporary living in the US
from the Gulf. Upon returning to the Gulf, he took these athletic hybrid
falcons back with him. When they were seen flying and hunting the Mid
Eastern desert, they were given high honors.
In 1988, Sullivan Mews was established and was well on it way to
successfully producing quality hunting falcons. In 1999, at the height of
production, personal circumstances caused Brian to loose most of his
breeders. Many of these falcons ended up in different farms across the US.
Only two breeding falcons remained at Brian's farm. Luckily, a few years
prior to this misfortunate circumstance, Brian held back many select young
Peregrines along with a few young Gyrfalcons.
These birds became the new baseline breeding stock and thus the reestablishment
of the Sullivan Mews Falcon Farm. With hard work, sacrifice, and
dedication, Sullivan Mews has once again started producing new and exciting
hunting falcons. Now, ten years later the falcon farm is moving into high
production with some very fine Peregrines, Hybrids and Gyrfalcons produced
on an annual basis.
Brian
with th merlin - Renton, Wa. circa 1982
It is very important to Sullivan Mews to select good hunting falcons for our
breeding program. Many of these breeders were great hunters,
and like them, they produce skilled hunters.
Diet for the breeders and young:
We feed only the best food we can acquire and produce ourselves. We have found,
after many years of searching and experimenting, the best-formulated diet to feed
our falcons. With this diet, we are producing young falcons with exceptional size and feather.
Young Falcon Rearing:
The proper rearing of your falcon is critical to us and we make sure you have the best
chances of having a productive falcon with good manners both in the field while hunting and in the
breeding
mews as a productive Breeder.
Many breeders like to hand feed their young and this causes many of
the negative problems in the field and later with lack of breeding.
We DO NOT do this for any
extended amount of time and only let the parents take care of the young; after all, they know best.
Policies and Honesty:
Sullivan Mews was founded on honesty, integrity, being true to client, and providing them with quality
falcons.
Our sales policies are very simple. We request a deposit for falcons ordered. If we cannot produce you, the
falcons ordered then we return the deposit. If we produce you a falcon and
you decide you do not want the falcon your deposit will be forfeited. We have to plan what
falcons to make each year for the market and decisions made early so the right
birds are available for our clients.
Sullivan Mews is CITES registered (# A-US-505) and can ship to most
countries in the world. Countries we have exported to:
Austria
Fiji
Qatar
Canada
England
Saudi Arabia
Czech Republic
Kuwait
UAE
Brian
Sullivan with female Peales
Monroe, Wa. 1984
