Sunday Overtime @ Manchester Airport

Early start this morning to check five Gyr Falcon (Falco Rusticolus) which were being imported from Qatar. A second picture can be viewed here.

The gyrfalcon is a very large falcon, being about the same size as the largest buteos (buzzard hawks). Males are 48 to 61 cm (19 to 24 in) long, weigh 805 to 1350 g (1.8 to 3 lbs) and have a wingspan from 110 to 130 cm (43 to 51 in). Females are bulkier and larger, at 51 to 65 cm (20 to 26 in) long, 124 to 160 cm (49 to 64 in) wingspan, and of 1180 to 2100 g (2.6 to 4.6 lbs) weight. The Gyrfalcon is larger than the Peregrine Falcon (which it is known to hunt) and differs from the buzzard in general structure, being unmistakably a falcon with pointed wings, and broader-winged and longer-tailed than the Peregrine.