An old photo, perhaps of interest.

[Tom Smith]

I was rummaging through some old correspondance and found this old photo of my childhood buddy Joe Platt on probably his first trip to Arabia. He operated the first breeding project over there in Bahrain and a few years later worked in Dubai. He was responsible for introducing them to telemetry and dutch hoods among other things like using nylon instead of cotton in braiding falconry equipment and of course captive breeding.

http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z128/tomns/scan0001-2.jpg

http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z128/tomns/scan0002.jpg

[sharptail]

December, 1911, dang Tom you are a relic! The King seems to favor Mohamad Din Block Perches.

[Betelgeuse]

Wow, that is a super photograph. Thank you for posting it...1977?

[sharptail]

Wow, that is a super photograph. Thank you for posting it...1977?Of course, 77 makes much more sense, Thanks Kat!

[Lowachi]

more than cool, Tom. thnx

[Saluqi]

Great photo Tom! I love the little tassels on the blocks.

[joekoz]

[QUOTE= He was responsible for introducing them to telemetry
[/QUOTE]

Just wondering how many of us would be using telemetry to prevent lose if we had 115 birds in the Mew. :)

[Tom Smith]

Just wondering how many of us would be using telemetry to prevent lose if we had 115 birds in the Mew. :)

If you can afford to have a falconer for each bird I think out fitting each falconer with telemetry would be no problem.

[Chesapeakehawk]

Great photograph!

[Tom Smith]

December, 1911, dang Tom you are a relic! The King seems to favor Mohamad Din Block Perches.

Joe told me those types of perches were all over the place over there as the were also used for tent pegs for the big white silk tents. I have seen pictures of them that were gold inlaid. I doubt those were used as tent pegs.

[Tom Smith]

Great photo Tom! I love the little tassels on the blocks.

I don't know if you recall seeing pictures where the Arab in all his finery with falcon on his fist posing for the photo was also carrying his perch under his left arm? Some perches were "dolled up" like that for public apppearances. The fancier the person, the fancier the perch. Kind of like here.

[redtailsrule]

I dont know but I would much rather have a yard full of peregrines and no sakers ;)

[Tony James]

Very evocative picture Tom, a real 'of its time' shot.
And interesting to see the falconer with a glove (complete with D ring) rather than a mangala.

Thanks for sharing,

Tony.

[Tom Smith]

I dont know but I would much rather have a yard full of peregrines and no sakers ;)

Peregrines were very scarce in the 70's even for a King that could have anything he wanted, although for hawking houbara the saker may have been more desirable.

[Tom Smith]

Very evocative picture Tom, a real 'of its time' shot.
And interesting to see the falconer with a glove (complete with D ring) rather than a mangala.

Thanks for sharing,

Tony.


Tony, you are very observant. I think the use of a glove was pretty rare at the time. The mangala much more common place. Good leather for a glove probably didn't last long. I know that good leather for hoods was very scarce and I imagine wood for all those perches was pretty scarce also. They probably got both from Pakistan on their annual hawking trips to that region. That seems weird for people that owned several jet airliners to transport people, hawks, vehicles, horses and camels back and forth to favorite hawking places.

[Tony James]

Tony, you are very observant. I think the use of a glove was pretty rare at the time. The mangala much more common place. Good leather for a glove probably didn't last long. I know that good leather for hoods was very scarce and I imagine wood for all those perches was pretty scarce also. They probably got both from Pakistan on their annual hawking trips to that region. That seems weird for people that owned several jet airliners to transport people, hawks, vehicles, horses and camels back and forth to favorite hawking places.

Hi Tom,

the influence of western falconers on those from the east, and perhaps more so of eastern falconers on those from the west, is an age old process of great beauty and significance --- and who knows, it may have been your friend's glove that the falconer was wearing for the first time?

I must admit, I have a bit of a twinkle in my eye for those beautiful traditional mangalas, which in their place are eminently practical too. But looking through my houbara hawking photographs of more recent times, I'm less impressed with the modern mangalas, covered as they often are with astroturf (one of the less attractive western influences).

I have a lovely series of photographs showing an Arab falconer preparing to feed his favourite falcon on the necks of the day's houbara. He sat cross-legged in front of a large stone on the desert floor, and using another stone carefully broke up the vertebrae before using them. It was slightly surreal to notice that rather than using a mangala, he used a glove made by an englishman I've known most of my life.

It's a small world!

Best wishes,

Tony.

[Tom Smith]

Hi Tom,

the influence of western falconers on those from the east, and perhaps more so of eastern falconers on those from the west, is an age old process of great beauty and significance --- and who knows, it may have been your friend's glove that the falconer was wearing for the first time?

I must admit, I have a bit of a twinkle in my eye for those beautiful traditional mangalas, which in their place are eminently practical too. But looking through my houbara hawking photographs of more recent times, I'm less impressed with the modern mangalas, covered as they often are with astroturf (one of the less attractive western influences).

I have a lovely series of photographs showing an Arab falconer preparing to feed his favourite falcon on the necks of the day's houbara. He sat cross-legged in front of a large stone on the desert floor, and using another stone carefully broke up the vertebrae before using them. It was slightly surreal to notice that rather than using a mangala, he used a glove made by an englishman I've known most of my life.

It's a small world!

Best wishes,

Tony.

Hi Tony,
You seem pretty knowledgeable about the names of various paraphernalia. I heard the perches called a name that sounds like "walker". Joe laughed when I said "walkers" and said a word that sounded very much like "walker". I asked him to spell it but that kind of put him at a loss and he said he would ask his son who being born over there had learned the language from childhood very fluently, but the subject was lost in traffic. I was wondering if you knew the proper Arabic name of their perches? Also the little braided attachment that is used to tie the leash to the perch and is fixed to it. Joe gave me a couple of them, but I failed to hear what he called them. You might know.
Joe calls me a every couple of months and we generally talk about his environmental assessment work which involves solving problems like preventing eagles from striking wind turbine blades and things like that. My questions about Arab falconry seems trivial by comparison

[Tony James]

Hi Tony,
You seem pretty knowledgeable about the names of various paraphernalia. I heard the perches called a name that sounds like "walker". Joe laughed when I said "walkers" and said a word that sounded very much like "walker". I asked him to spell it but that kind of put him at a loss and he said he would ask his son who being born over there had learned the language from childhood very fluently, but the subject was lost in traffic. I was wondering if you knew the proper Arabic name of their perches? Also the little braided attachment that is used to tie the leash to the perch and is fixed to it. Joe gave me a couple of them, but I failed to hear what he called them. You might know.
Joe calls me a every couple of months and we generally talk about his environmental assessment work which involves solving problems like preventing eagles from striking wind turbine blades and things like that. My questions about Arab falconry seems trivial by comparison

Hi Tom,

I'm afraid I'm not an authority on Arab falconry, but I can tell you, courtesy of Roger Upton, you were close. The name for them is wokar (or wokr).

I'm not sure which of these words relate to the section of leash you're talking of, but mursil, marbat, marabat or jareer are the words that refer to the leash or sections of it.

Your last sentence has left me a bit deflated, realising that my life has been spent asking trivial questions :-)

Best wishes,

Tony.

[Tom Smith]

Hi Tom,

I'm afraid I'm not an authority on Arab falconry, but I can tell you, courtesy of Roger Upton, you were close. The name for them is wokar (or wokr).

I'm not sure which of these words relate to the section of leash you're talking of, but mursil, marbat, marabat or jareer are the words that refer to the leash or sections of it.

Your last sentence has left me a bit deflated, realising that my life has been spent asking trivial questions :-)

Best wishes,

Tony.

Tony,
I'm sorry, to us matters of falconry lore are important. Joe hasn't flown a hawk for maybe a half dozen years and all his falconry equipment is in storage. His life style and work is pretty much on the go all the time. His obsession is trying to solve problems created by new advancements in energy technology in order to lesson the impact of those activities. He spent 17 years in Bahrain and Dubai working on wildlife restitution and falconry related issues there.
I feel a little sheepish asking him what that little do-jigger is called that you tie the leash to on that perch. ( the equivelant to the ring on a traditional block) It is a slick deal and I have used one on one of my weathering perches for years, although mine is braided from a larger sized nylon twine than the ones Joe gave me, they are just the same, braided the same way and attached the same way. They are easy to replace and don't require any fancy welding, when it looks as though one should be replaced I just braid up a new one. Ed Pitcher was the one that suggested I try them in the first place, he and Ricardo (Velarde) use them on the aluminum perches that Ricardo makes that are Arab style. Wokrs, thanks.

Best,

[Tony James]

Tony,
I'm sorry, to us matters of falconry lore are important. Joe hasn't flown a hawk for maybe a half dozen years and all his falconry equipment is in storage. His life style and work is pretty much on the go all the time. His obsession is trying to solve problems created by new advancements in energy technology in order to lesson the impact of those activities. He spent 17 years in Bahrain and Dubai working on wildlife restitution and falconry related issues there.
I feel a little sheepish asking him what that little do-jigger is called that you tie the leash to on that perch. ( the equivelant to the ring on a traditional block) It is a slick deal and I have used one on one of my weathering perches for years, although mine is braided from a larger sized nylon twine than the ones Joe gave me, they are just the same, braided the same way and attached the same way. They are easy to replace and don't require any fancy welding, when it looks as though one should be replaced I just braid up a new one. Ed Pitcher was the one that suggested I try them in the first place, he and Ricardo (Velarde) use them on the aluminum perches that Ricardo makes that are Arab style. Wokrs, thanks.

Best,

Don't be sorry Tom, I was only joking about being deflated.

Out of interest, do you think Joe has escaped the clutches of falconry forever, or will he be lured back in?
I've known many falconers over the years who have put falconry on hold at different stages in their lives, but few who successfully beat the addiction.

Regarding the do-jigger, I'll ask Roger about that specific section of the leash and let you know. I just have to find out now.

Best wishes,

Tony.

[Tom Smith]

Don't be sorry Tom, I was only joking about being deflated.

Out of interest, do you think Joe has escaped the clutches of falconry forever, or will he be lured back in?
I've known many falconers over the years who have put falconry on hold at different stages in their lives, but few who successfully beat the addiction.

Regarding the do-jigger, I'll ask Roger about that specific section of the leash and let you know. I just have to find out now.

Best wishes,

Tony.

Tony, I surely think that Joe thinks he is still practicing falconry, just on a different plateau, responsibility to the resource.

Thanks to my new friend Abby (Chesapeakhawk) in Doha, Qatar, I know what they are

called but I will let you see what you can come up with.

[Tony James]

Tony, I surely think that Joe thinks he is still practicing falconry, just on a different plateau, responsibility to the resource.

Thanks to my new friend Abby (Chesapeakhawk) in Doha, Qatar, I know what they are

called but I will let you see what you can come up with.

Hi Tom,

it seems Roger isn't aware of a specific name for individual sections of the leash, so it looks like we can both learn something from Abby.
It also seems that the arabic falconry terms used, are not necessarily universal across the entire arab nation, so we might learn more than we'd imagined.
Hindsight is a wonderful thing, but I wish I'd been more inquisitive and attentive when in the company of falconers from the UAE, Qatar and others. Next time perhaps.

Best wishes,

Tony.

[Tom Smith]

Hi Tom,

it seems Roger isn't aware of a specific name for individual sections of the leash, so it looks like we can both learn something from Abby.
It also seems that the arabic falconry terms used, are not necessarily universal across the entire arab nation, so we might learn more than we'd imagined.
Hindsight is a wonderful thing, but I wish I'd been more inquisitive and attentive when in the company of falconers from the UAE, Qatar and others. Next time perhaps.

Best wishes,

Tony.
Tony,

Abby says it is a التبلاغه if you were in the gulf and حلقة if you were from Egypt. I'm not sure if they are terms precisely for those do-jiggers or are terms applied to thingamabobs of similar use for other things. Like one might use the term "pull chain" on a light switch or for one towing vehicles

Best,

[Tony James]

Tony,

Abby says it is a التبلاغه if you were in the gulf and حلقة if you were from Egypt. I'm not sure if they are terms precisely for those do-jiggers or are terms applied to thingamabobs of similar use for other things. Like one might use the term "pull chain" on a light switch or for one towing vehicles

Best,

Aha! Thanks Tom;)

Best wishes,

Tony.

[Tom Smith]

My friend Joe Platt again, approaching 70 years old, still working in the field on raptors.
Previously Joe worked at the Cornell breeding facility trying to save the peregrine, a work long complete, he has moved on to species more deserving of his talents. His credentials most biologists would die for.

Biologists still clinging to the coat tails of peregrine notoriety should take a lesson from him and move their talents on to species more deserving which are many.

http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z128/tomns/Untitled-1.jpg

[ladyfalconer]

Incredible picture....what's the story behind this?

[Tom Smith]

Incredible picture....what's the story behind this?

Which picture are you referring to the first or the last?

[Tom Smith]

Which picture are you referring to the first or the last?

I will assume you are talking about the last picture. This is Joe (from the first picture) now nearly 70 working on a raptor population survey and visiting a ferruginous hawk nest in his survey area, I think in northern Montana or southern Alberta I'm unsure of where he said when he sent the picture.