A bird flew to Dubai

Yachting | 2026 | Text: Barbara Schneeberger

When Michael Eder and his son Lukas fly to Dubai, they don’t go there because it is a luxurious city. They go to visit the “Dolomite falcons” – their own falcons.

For more than twenty years, Michael Eder has occupied himself with the care, maintenance and breeding of large birds. His family was subsequently drawn into the galaxy of this unusual task, in particular his son Lukas. The Eders specialise in one extraordinarily splendid species: falcons for the hunt. To be more precise: pure-bred gyrfalcons, large pure-bred peregrine falcons, Mongolian saker falcons and “gyr peregrines.” That last crossbreed is held in especially high esteem in the Arab world because it unites the best characteristics of pere-grine and gyr falcons. The lightning-fast gyr falcons are favourites of the sheiks, although they are actually at home north of the Arctic Circle. Nevertheless, they can survive well in the Emirates as hybrids … particularly since the voleries are specially air-conditioned.

Michael Eder with one of his falcons

But how did Michael Eder find the sheiks, or put differently, how did they find him? “Very simple,” he answers, “namely, via social media.” A falcon trainer from Dubai by the name of Juma Harib saw the photographs of Dolomite Falcons and contacted him. Nowadays the finest falcons bred by Eder are flown annually to the Emirates, and the Eders follow suit a few weeks later. Wonderful new friendships have been born there. Sometimes the falcon lovers meet in Lienz, sometimes in Dubai.

The Falcon Races are about a lot of money, prestige and above all, honor.

For over ten years, the fastest falcons have competed in the “Presidents Cup” in Abu Dhabi, one of the world’s largest falconry races. “Dolomite Falcons” have been very successful, often even winning.