UAE | Heritage and Culture
A flying heritage
For centuries, falcons were used in the UAE as hunters, trained by the Bedouin tribes.
- By Alice Johnson, Staff Reporter
- Published: 23:35 November 20, 2008
- Falconers train the birds for two months, after which the birds catch their prey.
- Image Credit: Alice Johnson/Gulf News
Dubai: For centuries, falcons were used in the UAE as hunters, trained by the Bedouin tribes.
The hunters would catch the birds, train them to catch prey and then release them once the season was over.
Today, falconry is practised as a sport and is still a popular, traditional pastime in the country.
Two years ago, the National Falcon and Heritage Sports Centre was opened in Nad Al Sheba, providing a hub to falconers for the sale of the birds of prey and other related accessories. It also includes a souq for traders and breeders.
David Stead is the managing director of Al Hurr Falconry Services at the centre.
"Most falconers have many falcons. Keeping falcons is still very popular, but the sport is becoming scarce because of the time constraints of the modern world," he said.
Falcons are flown in desert areas. "There are five groups of birds - hawks, eagles, owls, buzzards and falcons. The falcons belong to desert prairies and moorland and you can't work with a falcon in a wooded area," Stead said.
The birds of prey hunt two types of birds - the Houbara Bustard and Karowan (or stone curlew), which are both traditionally hunted in the deserts of the UAE.
Migratory birds from Asia fly into the UAE between October and late February, during which time, Falcons hunt for the birds.
"Falcons are not indigenous to the UAE. They arrive in the area two months before the arrival of the Houbara Bustard and Karowan. Traditionally, the falconers arrive and train the birds of prey during this two-month period and then these birds are used to catch their prey.
In the early days, the exercise of falconry did not have any element of fun associated with it. It was primarily used as a tool for performing a specific task. However, as time passed, using these birds of prey as tools was no longer necessary," Stead said.
The National Avian Research Centre (NARC) at the Abu Dhabi Environment Agency has several ongoing projects regarding the conservation of Houbara Bustards.
Captive breeding programmes, medical rehabilitation of confiscated birds and monitoring of the UAE Houbara population are some of the projects run by NARC. These programmes have been hailed as great successes.
The captive breeding programme involves using artificial insemination (as natural breeding is a rare occurrence in caged Houbara Bustards) and artificial incubation of the eggs. The chicks are also hand-reared.
"Any falconer that thinks the bird loves him is mistaken. Falcons are trained through the belly," Stead said.
"Falconers teach their birds that they are an easy, reliable source of food and that they are of use to the falcon - so they stick around them. Falconers don't keep the falcon hungry because that wouldn't help build their muscles and be athletic enough. A falconer has to work out when the falcon will be hungry and has to ration food supplies accordingly," Stead added.
Falcons are also used in Dubai as pest deterrents, scaring away pigeons that perch and create a mess on buildings.
"The falcons chase pigeons off various facilities, like industrial areas, hotels, etc. We fly them around the buildings every day.
"For the pigeons, there's nothing more scary than a falcon. Once they learn that a falcon lives there, the pigeons don't return. We don't touch the pigeons, we just persuade them to leave. So it's very clean in that respect and it's extremely effective.
"Falcons are specialist bird-hunters. When the pigeons see the silhouette of the falcon, they fly away," Stead said.
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