Watch: Rare Falcon Sold For Dh350,000 At Abu Dhabi Auction After Fierce Bidding

The first live falcon auction ahead of Abu Dhabi's International Hunting and Equestrian Exhibition (ADIHEX 2025) saw spirited bidding on Saturday night, with the star of the evening–a rare white American Garmousha Pure selling for Dh350,000.

The bird, nicknamed“the bride of the night” by the auction host, was the highlight of the evening. Bidding for the falcon stretched for more than half an hour before it was secured by Hassan Al Qubaisi from Qatar.

“The Garmousha is considered a bank for breeding – it produces the best falcons, and is very hard to find,” explained Mohammed Nabil, a member of an online auction group who attends in person on behalf of remote bidders. The prized bird, restless on its perch as bids climbed, drew admiration from attendees.

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“This Garmousha is the sister of the Ultra White breed. Any contest this bird enters – it wins, especially beauty pageants. Always first place. This was a very unique opportunity to acquire it,” Nabil explained.

He noted that its new owner, Al Qubaisi, is“a prominent participant in competitions across the Gulf, therefore owning this bird is a bank for him. He told us to keep bidding till he wins it – no limit.”

A night of fierce bidding

The evening began with fiery exchanges over a Gyr Pure from Holland, sourced by Naseem Falcon Farm. The bid shot from Dh25,000 to Dh40,000 in less than three minutes once the falcon's face cover was lifted.

“Let's show the face of the falcon... wow, masha'Allah!” exclaimed the host as the crowd caught sight of its striking features, prompting a rapid jump in offers. The bird was eventually purchased for Dh40,000 by Emirati bidder Khaled Al Hammadi.

In total, seven elite breeds went under the hammer on the opening night:

• Auction 1: Gyr Pure, Holland, Naseem Falcon Farm – Dh40,000

• Auction 2: Gyr Shaheen, Spain, Mabrook Falcon Farm – Dh29,000

• Auction 3: Gyr Hur, UAE, Al Sarami Falcon Farm – Dh50,000

• Auction 4: Garmousha Pure, US, RW Farm – Dh350,000

• Auction 5: Gyr Taba, Spain, Falcon Centre – Dh35,000

• Auction 6: Gyr Taba, Spain, Falcon Centre – Dh28,000

• Auction 7: Gyr Taba, Spain, Falcon Centre – Dh14,000

'Best of the Best'

Saeed Al Hassani, director of ADIHEX, said only top-quality falcons made it to the auction.

“This is the first live auction for the 22nd edition of ADIHEX. Out of 1,000 birds that applied, we examined and selected the best of the best,” he told Khaleej Times. Across the eight weekend auctions running until the end of ADIHEX, between seven to ten falcons will be offered each evening.

“The four auctions before the exhibition are the elite – the top of the top. During the exhibition itself, we will have falcons for different categories: elite, medium, and audience-oriented. We want to involve the public to encourage them to buy falcons. Prices are usually acceptable, not like the elite ones we saw today,” Al Hassani said.

Asked about price expectations, he said:“We are always optimistic. We hope to break the record. The highest price before was one million, and we hope to break that this year.”

A veteran falconer's bid

Not everyone walked away with a falcon. Saif Al Meqbali, 48 years old, bid Dh25,000 for the Gyr Shaheen before losing out at Dh29,000.“The Gyr Shaheen is excellent in speed, courage, and hunting. I wanted to participate with it in competitions,” he described.

A falconer for 32 years, Al Meqbali recalled buying his very first falcon – a Gyr Garmousha – from the market at age 17.“We like to take the bird from the nest and train it ourselves. The fun part is to raise it and succeed. That way you feel you've done a good job,” he said.“It is not fun to acquire a trained falcon - we deliberately look for untamed birds to train from scratch. The process gives us pleasure.”

He explained why the Gyr Shaheen remains one of his favourites.“It has more endurance than the Shaheen. It can handle fatigue and hunger in the desert – like a camel. That's why I wanted it.”

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