Walton Woollard Browne (66), a British national, has been a regular to Chennai since 2007. It is his love for raptors that brings him back every year.

Having been in the falconry business for many years, he has travelled around the world to learn more and more about these magnificent birds.

“I have been in the falconry business in the U.K. for over 53 years. It involves training the hawks and falcons for hunting, display and other recreational flying. We discovered they can be trained to scare smaller birds flying around the airport runways, which will help avoid bird hits. He met Airport Authorities regarding Bird Hit Management, but nothing has come out of it so far.

“I’ve been visiting India for the past seven years and have worked on raptor conservation. I have noticed that the kite population has considerably declined in the Pallavaram and the airport area. Also, the increase in cases of bird hits is a cause for worry for the airport. Bird scaring is a vital exercise and is used at many international airports including Sofia International Airport, Jersey International Airport, The Royal Air Force and Benbecula Airport,” says Walton, who has made Pallavaram his temporary home.

It is not legal in India to train falcons, but he says human intervention is required when the species are on the verge of extinction.

In 2011, he helped in forming the Association for the Conservation of Indian Raptors. “We work towards education and awareness about Indian raptors. Every year I come down to talk at various events. This time I spoke at the Madras Christian College, Tambaram. The response was good,” he says.

There is very little awareness about raptors, outside the scientific community, he adds. “These birds are an important part of the eco-system and I want the message to go out schools and colleges and save these magnificent creatures.”

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Features> DownTown / by Vipasha Sinha / Chennai – May 01st, 2014