Falconry in KSA and the Arab world

[al-Hasani]

Falconers in Abu Dhabi Train Their Raptors With Drones​

Adam Clark Estes
Yesterday 6:45pm

In the United Arab Emirates, falconry is one of the oldest and most treasured traditions. The sport dates back to an age when falcons were used to hunt food. Today, it's a social affair. Even the drones join in the fun.

Getty photographer Dan Kitwood recently went to Abu Dhabi, where he spent time with a group of friends who gathered in the evening to train their raptors (a.k.a. birds of prey). In one exercise, they used drones to float lures full of food which the the birds would snatch mid-flight. The presence of the quadcopter is undoubtedly a 21st-century addition, but adorning a lure flying displays with a bit of showmanship is a centuries' old tradition. Still looks cool, too.

A falcon perched on a wafer of fake grass waiting to be flown.​

A close up of a falcon on sale at a shop in Abu Dhabi. Note the hand-painted decorations on the meticulously made hood.​

In the absence of a drone, a lure may be displayed with a long stick.

A man returns home with his falcon perched on a leather glove outside his car window.

More falcons on sale in a shop, where they may fetch tens of thousands of dollars.

A group of friends pose with their falcons in the early evening moonlight.

Many men form deep bonds with their raptors. Here's one, standing in the red glow of a trucks tail lights.

Falconers in Abu Dhabi Train Their Raptors With Drones​

 

[Saif al-Arab]

CHASSE AU FAUCON DANS LA REGION DE SAKAKAH, ARABIE SAOUDITE by Eric Lafforgue Photography, on Flickr

Falcons R Us by Kyre Wood, on Flickr

Hajar Mountains of Oman, well-known place for falconry;


Hajar mountains by Gregor Samsa, on Flickr

@Rakan.SA this thread might interest you. Check it out.

 

[Saif al-Arab]

The last two videos cover areas close to Iraq. Especially the last video is excellent. Old documentary from the 1990's with almost 200.000 views.
​

@Malik Alashter @f1000n

 

[Saif al-Arab]

Two excellent videos from UAE. Especially the last one which has 2.5 million views.

@Desertfalcon

 

[Al Bhatti]

May 5, 2015

Serbs breed, train falcons for buyers in UAE
Tibor Buza has combined passion with profit: breeding and training falcons for export to the United Arab Emirates.

Baby falcons look up on a falcon farm, near the northern Serbian town of Coka.

Falconer Tibor Buza holds his falcon on a falcon farm. Buza, an ethnic Hungarian from the leafy northern Serbian village of Coka keeps about 200 peregrine falcons on his farm, which echoes with the squawking sound of the majestic birds.

Baby falcons on a falcon farm, near the northern Serbian town of Coka. 'We breed them, we teach them to fly well in certain conditions in order to get strong muscles and to look like wild falcons, because nowadays you can't find wild falcons in that many countries,' Buza says.

A falcon looks trough the bars on a falcon farm, near the northern Serbian town of Coka. Most of the birds end up in the UAE, which has a long tradition of falconry. The sport involves trained birds that typically circle above the falconers and take high-speed dives at flushed prey such as grouses.

A sparrow hawk catches a pigeon on a falcon farm, near the northern Serbian town of Coka. At Buza's farm, the training targets are wild pigeons. It takes only a few seconds for a well-trained falcon to take off from a falconer's hand and snatch the flying prey.

An eagle flying inside the room on a falcon farm, near the northern Serbian town of Coka. When not outside training on a grass field, the birds are kept in large indoor enclosures.

Falconer Tibor Buza holds a sparrow hawk with transmitter on the bird's back on a falcon farm. Buza, who has been in the breeding business for 30 years, says a 'regular' falcon can be sold for a couple of thousand euros (dollars) in the UAE. 'The special ones go up to tens of thousands,' he says.

Falconer Tibor Buza looking his falcons on a falcon farm, near the northern Serbian town of Coka. 'I was lucky many times to give them (buyers from the UAE) a falcon that achieved great results, that was the best in competitions or the best in hunting.,' Buza says.

 

[Al Bhatti]

A sparrow hawk looks up after catching a pigeon on a falcon farm, near the northern Serbian town of Coka.

A couple of falcons inside the room on a falcon farm, near the northern Serbian town of Coka.

Baby falcons on a falcon farm, near the northern Serbian town of Coka.

A falcon stands in the garden on a falcon farm, near the northern Serbian town of Coka.

Serbs breed, train falcons for buyers in UAE | GulfNews.com

 

[Vassnti]

Beautiful birds, I have had a Collared Sparrowhawk hanging round the house the last few weeks and its a joy to watch pity we now seem to be a no go zone for all the finches wrens and starlings that used to hang round the garden.

 

[Saif al-Arab]

Beautiful birds, I have had a Collared Sparrowhawk hanging round the house the last few weeks and its a joy to watch pity we now seem to be a no go zone for all the finches wrens and starlings that used to hang round the garden.

That's nice. How popular is falconry in Australia?

Hawks of Rustaq, Oman.

Falconry in Morocco;

 

[Vassnti]

That's nice. How popular is falconry in Australia?

Hawks of Rustaq, Oman.

Sadly illegal, classified as a blood sport but fortunatley im far enough from th city that i get to enjoy the wild raptors in the area

 

[Saif al-Arab]

Sadly illegal, classified as a blood sport but fortunatley im far enough from th city that i get to enjoy the wild raptors in the area

A "blood sport"? Are they joking?

Well I could imagine that Australia would be a very good place for falconers. Amble space and amble wild areas. Not sure about how many different birds there are or the migration patterns.

The ME and especially the Arabian Peninsula is a hotbed for birds due to migration patterns.

 

[Vassnti]

About 30 spiecies of native raptor and and over 800 other birds big continent with the food spread about its a good place to have wings.
Though some of ours would be a little hard to fly from horseback

 

[Saif al-Arab]

@Vassnti

That's impressive. Those numbers are very similar to the numbers from the Arabian Peninsula. There are less endemic birds there though from what I recall. Not sure about the situation of the Arab world as a whole.

In any case Australia is twice as big as the Arabian Peninsula which is otherwise the world's largest peninsula.

4 times as many people also live on the Peninsula compared to Australia.

In fact a trip to the wilderness of Australia would be truly amazing I suspect. Just sailing across the entire length of Australia would be something truly remarkable. I have thought about once doing the same across the Arabian Peninsula but it's impossible currently due to the security situation.

That's because that's a small saker falcon.

 

[Saif al-Arab]

 

[Saif al-Arab]

_MG_6084 copy by ~¤ô¦¦§¦¦ô¤~GHRSHOOB~¤ô¦¦§¦¦ô¤~, on Flickr

Awesome short documentary about falconry made by a Qatari channel. Some great footage.













Temple of Edfu - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia​

@Horus

 

[Arabian Stallion]

Falcons of Arabia Documentary

The documentary can only be viewed on YouTube itself so click on the link and open it in a new window and then it will work.

Dubai falconer modifies drones to give prey’s eye view​

May 17, 2016

Falconer Hendri Du Toit prepares a drone quadcopter with bird meat bait attached via a parachute on a string to train the birds to hunt, in the Dubai Desert Conservation Reserve. — Reuters​

DUBAI — A South African falconer in Dubai’s desert is shaking up the ancient sport of falconry, marrying one of Arabia’s most cherished customs with the cutting edge world of drones and tiny cameras.

Few foreigners are accepted into this traditional realm, which served as a means of survival in the barren wastes before the era of abundant oil and glassy skyscrapers. But tour operator and trainer Peter Bergh has honed his skills for more than a decade, winning the trust of Dubai’s falconing elite.

Bergh puts their flocks through an aerial “gym” he has fine-tuned to give them a 21-century workout.

Chasing specially-modified quadcopters and remote control planes painted to look like their turkey-sized quarry, the peregrine falcons must snatch in their claws blobs of feathery quail meat born aloft via rope by the miniature flying machines.

Teaming up with creators of the rising sport of drone racing, Bergh tinkers with aerodynamic bullet-shaped cameras and superfast aircraft to give guests attending his tours a futuristic view into the primal experience of being devoured.

“Over the years we’ve progressively changed the cameras, gone smaller, adapted and modified aeroplanes to fit these cameras, and some of the footage we’re achieving is radical and we can now put ourselves in the prey’s perspective,” Bergh said.

He and his team at Royal Shaheen tours bristle at efforts, most recently by the Dutch police, to put the beaked raptors to work taking down the flying machines, which they warn could slice up and even decapitate the birds.
Operating from Dubai Desert Conservation Reserve’s rolling dunes and gnarled trees, the group cling to the educational uses of drones and seek to capture the action for the sake of its beauty alone.

“Filming it and capturing the style, the flight the aggression, the movement of the body of the birds – it’s fascinating. The technology of the cameras is improving everyday, so the future looks really bright,” Bergh added. — Reuters

http://saudigazette.com.sa/world/mena/dubai-falconer-modifies-drones-give-preys-eye-view/

@Desertfalcon

I hope that you are all doing well guys. Give this thread a look if you resurface again.

@Chronos @Indischer @Capt P.H Young @Al Bhatti