Arab Lite II - Falcons

One of the highlights of my trip to the UAE was a visit to the falcon hospital outside Abu Dhabi. It's a bit off the beaten path, but tours have been growing in popularity and some days there are large groups of visitors - so we were happy when we arrived to find we had the whole place to ourselves.

Arab sheikhs spare no expense when it comes to their massive month-long hunting expeditions (setting up huge camps in places like Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, for men only of course), or when it comes to buying or caring for their birds. The hospital takes care of falcons from all over the world, but mainly from Saudi Arabia and the Gulf States; they offer veterinary services and boarding facilities (which are air-conditioned!).

Good hunting falcons are not cheap; this one, which belongs to the hospital, is at the low end of the price range: about $20,000.



We got to watch a falcon be anesthetized, then have its blood drawn and talons clipped:





Here's a falcon with a damaged wing, and another that had its feet bandaged:




The staff also explained how they replace feathers. They have a very carefully organized selection of replacement feathers (which need to be matched perfectly by size, type of feather, and position to achieve proper balance for flight - and by color to keep the owner happy).



The feather repair kit includes - no joke - Superglue!