21 December 2012

Common Kestrel - Alba Marsh (Bahrain)

Whilst ringing at Alba Marsh Nicole and I heard some gunshots and saw a couple of Bahraini men in a four wheel drive car. We said hello as they passed by and let them know we were ringing in the marsh to prevent any possible accidents happening. They were very friendly and showed us a bird they had just caught elsewhere in Bahrain. It turned out to be a really beautiful adult male Common Kestrel in a large box. I asked if I could photograph the bird and they agreed. They said they were going to train the bird in some way to help attract larger falcons, that they were also hoping to catch, and then use the larger falcons as hunting birds.