Lots of people like to enjoy a cool, crisp pint in the beer garden at their local pub.

But drinkers in Heddington are about to get more than they bargained for when they park themselves down on the picnic benches at the back of The Ivy Inn.

That’s because Talie Moon, the pub’s new landlady, is a display falconer in her spare time. And she plans to teach the locals the tricks of the trade.

Miss Moon, 40, took over the pub two weeks ago, after a spell – with her birds – in pest control in Aberdeenshire.

She currently has four birds – two falcons and two Harris hawks – which will join her in Wiltshire eventually.

She said: “I will certainly be keeping them with me. They will be coming down a little later in the year.

“I think people will be really interested to learn more about them. I also plan to get an owl, which I can teach local children to use.”

The Ivy, a 17th-century thatched pub, is owned by Wadworth.

Miss Moon has a history in the pub trade in the south west, having run a pub in Somerset five years ago, and she is banking on the support of the locals to help her settle back behind the bar.

She said: “I fell in love with the pub when I saw it. It is a proper chocolate box pub with a thatched roof. And there is a totem pole in the garden with an owl carved into it; that was a bit of a sign.

“I did a reopening night and we had more than 200 people here, they were queuing out the door.

“The locals have really shown their support so far. There were tenants here for 18 years up to 2011 and then the last ones didn’t work out, so I am sure they are hoping I will be here for a while.

“I want to get the food back to the traditional pub fare, which will all be cooked on site using local produce. I am really keen to put the life back into The Ivy and, thanks to the locals, that is already starting to happen.”