PP-Australia (30.09.19) shortened
OR pdf version PP-Australia (30.09.19) shortened
Above is the link to Dr. Zubair’s talk which has some fascinating pictures in it. Dr Zubair, who is from Kerala in India, has studied peregrine falcons both in the wild and in captivity and there were some interesting points that came out of this talk. In particular, the fact that in some Arab countries, such as the United Arab Emirates, the culture of falconry is so strong that there are vet hospitals SOLELY for falcons. Huge amounts of money are spent on them. I found this photo on line, which I’m sharing with you. It shows a plane hired especially for 80 falcons belonging to a (presumably very rich) shiek.
Although some falcons taken from the wild still, his last slide shows how many are released. And falcons are also bred specifically for falconry in many countries, including Spain and Germany, where Dr. Zubair has also studied. In his country India, as in Australia, of course, falconry is prohibited. Peregrines are only found in northern India and the birds are protected.
And I should add that Xavier was VERY well behaved on the walk we did before Dr Zubair’s talk, perching and flying to and from the water tower during our tower.
While he was here, apart from discussing possible avenues of collaboration for research, I took Dr. Zubair to the Orange Botanic Gardens and to our own property as he was hoping to see some kangaroos (which we not only saw, but also a swamp wallaby, a special treat).
Hatching soon! Keep watching. Cilla
And a nice article on the Melbourne webcam
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/oct/01/peregrine-falcon-chicks-hatch-in-melbourne-as-facebook-fans-watch-on?utm_term=RWRpdG9yaWFsX0d1YXJkaWFuVG9kYXlBVVMtMTkxMDAx&utm_source=esp&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=GuardianTodayAUS&CMP=GTAU_email
Thanks for the Dr Zubair’s document and pics, Cilla, and for the Xavier’s pics.
As for Melbourne peregrines, it’s really pity this nest has not been cleaned, the chicks hatch in rubbish…Best way to have parasites, bacterias and diseases.
Thanks Cilla for sharing this presentation. I was shocked though by a few photos: are they really sewing the eyelids together? That’s horrible! And a plane full of captured falcons!
Love the pictures of Xavier, he’s so handsome!
I did a search on Google Scholar and found a couple of articles by Dr. Zubair, if you are interested. The first is about their diet in the Middle East and the second is about falconry.
1) https://www.researchgate.net/profile/P_A_Azeez/publication/232420375_Feeding_behaviour_of_three_species_of_Falcons_in_the_wild_in_United_Arab_Emirates/links/589c1da0a6fdcc7541743e63/Feeding-behaviour-of-three-species-of-Falcons-in-the-wild-in-United-Arab-Emirates.pdf
2) https://www.researchgate.net/profile/P_A_Azeez/publication/232591372_Notes_on_various_methods_of_Falconry_in_the_Middle_East_Region/links/59d3303ea6fdcc181ad9034c/Notes-on-various-methods-of-Falconry-in-the-Middle-East-Region.pdf
I actually asked about the sewing of the eyelids. I said why don’t they simply put hoods over their heads. His response was that they wouldn’t tolerate the hoods….and it’s only for a few days, then they can take the hoods, but you are right, it’s extremely cruel.
And did I mention that, apparently, in UAE they have beauty competitons for peregrines!