An Emirati falconer trains his falcon before the end of the season in the Al Dhafra desert. For 4,000 years, Bedouin in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and wider Arabian Peninsula practised falconry as an essential form of hunting in a resource-scarce land. However, its role in society has changed over time, and today it is one of the UAE’s most honoured traditional sports. The falconry season in the UAE starts in the Autumn when falcons begin migrating to their breeding sites between October and March.