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| Staff Writer |
When the world's finest Thoroughbreds gather at Meydan Racecourse for the US$12 million Dubai World Cup, few spectators notice the silent guardians patrolling the skies above. While the attention focuses on equine athletes competing for one of racing's richest prizes, an elite squadron of trained birds of prey works tirelessly behind the scenes, ensuring the safety and optimal conditions for both training and racing. Under the expert guidance of Desert King Falconry Club, these feathered sentinels have become an integral part of Dubai's world-class racing operation, combining ancient Arabian tradition with cutting-edge pest control methods.
"We are very similar to bouncers," explains James Oertel, managing partner of Desert Kings. "A bouncer in the nightclub is in position, ready to go when called upon. We don't want to get in the way of the proceedings or, by mistake, have a horse startled by our birds."
"Nature has a balance - prey feeds predators, and the ecosystem is controlled. If there are too many prey birds, nature responds with disease. Birds of prey are an indicative species; they help us evaluate the food chain and ecosystem health."
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The company's star performer, Habib, a Harris Hawk with nine years of service, exemplifies the careful selection process of choosing the right bird for each environment. At Meydan, where the architecture presents unique challenges, the choice of bird is critical. "Falcons are very fast, perfect for wide open spaces. But with something like Meydan, we have the challenges of glass, animals, and people around us. We need a bird that is agile but also slower by comparison," Oertel explains.
The contrast between different birds becomes clear when comparing Habib with Malika, their falcon. "Malika has a top speed of over 389 kilometers an hour. You can imagine that if she is flying and diving down from the top of that crescent, she has a hundredth of a second to decide - go left, go right, go up. It's too tight, and she could injure herself," Oertel elaborates. "Harris Hawks are rough and tumble compared to the falcons, so they're not as sensitive if they bump into something.” Their natural prey includes mammals on the ground that they have to tackle on the ground from flights up on high.
Their approach creates what Oertel calls a "natural imbalance" - deploying enough predators to make pest birds feel constant pressure, effectively creating "dead zones" that unwanted birds naturally avoid. This strategy has proven particularly effective at the Test Track, where pigeon interference had previously posed risks during training sessions.
The relationship between falconer and bird is paramount to their success. "A good falconer will be able to tell you when their bird is about to leave a present on the floor - just by movement in the body, the head, the shoulders, position of the wings, small little changes," Oertel notes. "It's like a smile on a face; you can see when it's coming."
On racing's biggest stage, Desert King operates with precision and discretion. Their role during the Dubai World Cup meeting requires careful positioning and timing, ensuring the safety of both the valuable Thoroughbreds and the thousands of spectators not to mention their valuable feathered colleagues...
"With our training, we have quite a long process before I get to a bird that I'm comfortable taking to Meydan," Oertel reveals. "Someone like Habib - he's nine years with the company. He's seen it all, working at Atlantis, working at the Royal - they experience 5,000 people a weekend in the water park. So large crowds are not a problem; we are, at this stage, immune to it."
Adapting to Dubai's challenging climate requires careful planning. "With working animals, we've got to be safe," Oertel emphasizes. "We observe the notices, as per the government, to avoid working directly under the midday sun for extended periods of time. As trainers, we have the advantage of using air conditioning in the car and patrolling around the property by vehicle, with the launching of our hawk as needed. I call it a drive-by - it's not a very nice term, but that’s the easiest way to explain it, a drive-by from the vehicle onto groups of pigeons."
This intuition becomes particularly crucial when working in sensitive areas around the racecourse. "Flying my birds, especially around those prestigious horses, is something I have to be careful with," Oertel says, "I don't want an injured horse if Habib ends up in the wrong stall chasing a pigeon."
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The remarkable journey of Desert King began in 1987 at Waterkloof Air Force Base in South Africa, where a chance observation sparked an innovative solution to bird control. Oertel recounts the pivotal moment. "The base commander was observing runway movements when some water birds appeared, and a wild falcon arrived. The falcon didn't even catch its prey, but the birds scattered. The base commander thought, 'This is something we need.'"
This serendipitous moment led to a fortuitous connection through Oertel's grandfather, who mentioned his son's passion for falconry to the base commander during a large party in Johannesburg. ‘When your son gets his papers, when he gets drafted, give me a copy. I'll make sure he comes to the Air Force Base,’ the base commander had promised. For two years during his national service, Oertel's father pioneered the use of falconry for airfield management.
Looking toward the future, Desert King is exploring cutting-edge solutions to enhance their operations. "Desert King is bringing in other technologies that I'm discussing with Meydan - very exciting stuff. We're looking at fertility management birth control for birds, as two pigeons can produce three to four young every six weeks," Oertel explains. "These babies mature enough to breed by three to four months, and more significantly, they help their parents raise the next generation. If we don't address fertility, it becomes labor-intensive, especially during the summer heat."
The company is also investigating robotic alternatives. "There are now more advanced drones, which actually have moving wings. They fly just like a bird of prey," Oertel reveals. "There is never a substitute for the real thing, but these new advances in drone technology are getting closer and closer every day."
Dr El Mahe from Dubai's public health and pest control division supports their approach. "When it comes to public health rights, whose rights have more precedent? The pest species or the people?" Oertel shares this perspective from their discussions. "With a situation like Meydan, too many pests mean a lot of mess around the building. That is a direct risk for the people working there and for our guests attending.” Feral pigeons are a know disease vectors with the histories of H5N1 Virus as well as the pests they carry such as feather lice, a reduced pigeon presence on site is a direct net positive for public health.
Among their success stories is Malika, a rescued falcon whose journey from rejected racing bird to educational ambassador exemplifies Desert King' holistic approach. "She's one that didn't make the cut," Oertel explains. "She wasn't race standard, so we took her on board. She's a beautiful, lovely Falcon, and she forms part of our educational team."
The commitment to these birds is substantial, as Oertel points out. "When you take a bird like this, you're looking at 20 years, like a racehorse. It's not something you should do lightly. Once you've dedicated yourself, you need to make sure that you have at least an hour to two hours per day to devote to training, like a racehorse. You can't just leave them in the stable - they need to be stimulated, trained, and flown."
"If we don't love and conserve them from a young age, we never will. Education is very important to me - you don't love or conserve something unless you understand it.” Desert Kings is always ready to help the community learn and understand the animals in our city especially the national bird our falcon.”
Desert King' innovative approach has garnered attention beyond the racing world. At the recent US$10 million DP World Tour Championship at Jumeirah Golf Estates, they demonstrated their versatility by helping recover lost golf balls, showcasing how traditional falconry skills can adapt to modern sporting challenges. As part of the grass roots initiative to support the game of golf bringing heritage and sustainable use together with DP World the container second life program has now been running for 3 years.
As Dubai continues to position itself as a global leader in both horse racing and sustainable development, Desert Kings Falconry Club stands as a prime example of how traditional practices can be adapted to meet contemporary challenges. Their work at Meydan has not only enhanced the facility's operations but has also contributed to the preservation of an ancient art form, ensuring its relevance in the modern world of international horse racing.
"The future is bright and open for everybody," Oertel enthuses. "This is why education is so important to me because, at the end of the day, I'm going to have to pass the baton over to younger falconers. I think it's job creation - it's a good one. The more falconry in the region, the better."
For Oertel and his team, the future holds exciting possibilities. With the UAE already boasting the world's highest concentration of falconers, he envisions the country becoming a global hub for falconry expertise, potentially extending its influence into agricultural protection and other commercial applications. In an industry he estimates to be worth approximately US$2 billion globally, the opportunities for growth are significant.
"UAE could become a hub for falconry in terms of career paths and an export of skills outside of the country," Oertel concludes. "The future is bright and available to anyone who wants to seize that opportunity."
Desert Kings' feathered guardians continue their ancient practice with modern purpose. In a sport where milliseconds and the smallest details can mean the difference between victory and defeat, these silent sentinels play their part in maintaining Dubai's position at the pinnacle of global racing. It's a perfect synthesis of Arabian heritage and contemporary excellence - a reminder that in racing, as in falconry, tradition and innovation soar together toward new heights.