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Author Insight
Falcons in the Empty Quarter
Falcons, known as the Saker Falcon, are everywhere in the desert, in the markets and in conversations with the Bedouin. Their feathers are beautiful, their beak large with a sharp bill. Always they are tethered on a stand, or to their trainer/owner. On the hand and arm of the owner is gauntlet. It looks like armor. That hand is used to feed the falcon usually small birds, quail. Used in competitions the Saker falcon is descendant from an area that included northeastern Africa,the interior of southeastern Europe, the Arabian Peninsula, and Asia. In Hungary they are the national bird. The numbers in the wild have diminished and the bird could be an endangered species soon.
Book Excerpt
The Bystander
Asif,” he’d said, “falcon training is the perfect cover in the desert. Falcons are part of the Bedouin life. They are used to hunt rabbits and desert quail.”
What I didn’t know, he thought, was how much work the Saker falcon would require.
The bird was beautiful. Asif knew it could fly at speeds up to a hundred kilometers an hour. A trained falcon was worth thousands of dollars. He’d almost asked Bob if the bird had a name, then realized he wasn’t going to bond with it. The falcon was his cover.
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