Documentary movie tracks Sooty Falcon in Oman

A 50-minute documentary on the life of Oman’s migrant falcons has been released by the Office for Environmental Conservation (OEC) at the Royal Diwan Court.

“The Migrant” documents the life cycle of one of the most prominent migratory falcons in the Sultanate, called the Sooty Falcon. The film tells the story of the migration of the bird, which begins from Africa to the Omani islands of A’Dimaniyat and Al Fahal. 

Dr Mansour Al Jahdami, falcon project manager at OEC, stated that the Sultanate has more than 528 species of birds registered, mostly migrants.

“The Sooty Falcon has a specifically distinctive life cycle from other birds. The documentary showcases the conservation efforts made to protect this species of migratory birds, who are threatened with extinction.”

“The conservation requires intensive efforts on an international level, because migratory birds migrate through many countries. Any threats and risks in any of these countries will consequently affect the world census of these birds,” Al Jahdami said.

The film The Migrant is intended to be sold to international and local stations and has been produced in four languages: English, French, German and Arabic.

Executive Producer Henning Schwarz explained how the film crew were able to get close ups of the falcons.

“We worked closely in producing the film with a professional photographer, Robin Jahne, who has lots of experience of filming nature and birds. Applying remotely controlled technology enabled us to obtain images from a distance of few centimetres only, without disturbing the falcons. The crew accompanied the falcons during the long journey monitoring the situation closely when the falcons stopped in Ethiopia, until their last destination in Madagascar.”

Robin Jahne, videographer and director of the documentary, was also thoroughly impressed with the techniques used to capture the essence of the Sooty Falcon.

“It is always fascinating to see how close the audience apparently is to the animal, including during feeding.

“It’s our greatest compliment when the falcons go so far as to sit on the camera in the process. It actually shows that our technique does not disturb the birds and the camera is accepted as part of the surroundings,” he added. For more information on The Migrant documentary

Source: Timesofoman