Ffion's falcon features in local author's novel

St Davids-based artist and author Jackie Morris will be introducing her new book ‘Queen of the Sky’, a story about her close friend Ffion Rees who pulled a drowning peregrine falcon into her boat at Ramsey Sound.

The bird was lovingly named Hissy, and Ffion spent eight months nursing her back to health before releasing her back into the wild.

Jackie, who had always dreamed of flying and training a hawk, watched the relationship develop between the pair.

She said: “What I gained from seeing their relationship was a deeper respect for a friend. Ffion brought this wild, delicate fierce creature out from the sea and gave her back her wings, and then after hours of patience she set her free. Not many people could do that. Sometimes your friends just make you so proud of them.”

Jackie enjoyed close encounters with Hissy herself and was able to take photographs which she used as inspiration for her work.

“The first time I met her she was sitting on the window sill in Ffion’s kitchen. She was beautiful, ragged, wild, dangerous. I thought she would only be around for a few days before she was off again,” she said.

“I took so many photographs of her, trying to hold her in my memory, watching her close. Dark-eyed, sharp-clawed, beauty. I didn’t realise then that this would be the beginning of a story.”

With the book now complete, Jackie and Oriel y Parc are inviting people to join them for an evening of talks, photos, paintings and book signing, starting at 6pm.

Ffion will also be there to answer questions about how it was to share a home and a life with a wild peregrine falcon and what it took to return her to health and then let her go back to her wild life.

Spaces are limited and may go quickly, so book your seat by calling 01437 720392 as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.

Jackie will also be speaking at the Hay Festival on May 31 on the Starlight Stage.