Falke Bremen

Falcons form their own family within the birds of prey and differ from hawks, buzzards and eagles by long, pointed, sickle-shaped wings, a strong notched upper mandible with the so-called tomial tooth, and a very active hunting style. They build no nests of their own and instead use old crow or raptor nests, cliff ledges, rock niches and building cavities. The common kestrel, Turmfalke, is the most frequently occurring falcon of Central Europe, adapted to open farmland and cities alike, and easily recognised by its characteristic hovering flight. The peregrine, Wanderfalke, is the fastest of all birds of prey and takes birds in a steep stoop, while the hobby, Baumfalke, is an agile aerial hunter catching small birds and large insects on the wing.

For hunters in the DACH countries, falcons are above all fellow inhabitants of the ground. All native falcon species are listed as game in the German Bundesjagdgesetz but enjoy a year-round closed season together with the other birds of prey. In Austria the individual provincial hunting laws regulate falcons with the same practical result: they are protected and not huntable. On top of that, the Federal Nature Conservation Act and the EU Birds Directive cover falcons as strictly protected species across the region. Any deliberate killing or disturbance at the nest is a criminal offence.

The peregrine is also a well-known conservation success story. After the DDT era it had nearly disappeared from Central Europe and has since recovered through protection measures and nest boxes, often on church towers, industrial chimneys and cliffs. Falcons also play a special role in falconry, a traditional form of hunting with a trained bird of prey. To hunt with falcons in Germany you need, in addition to the regular hunting licence, the passed Falknerprüfung and with it the so-called Falknerjagdschein. The trained birds come exclusively from breeding, while the free-living falcon in your ground remains fully protected and a responsibility under the hunter's stewardship duty.