From Barrels to Broods with Dr Andrew Dixon: Abu Dhabi’s Vision and Mongolia’s Falcon Turnaround

What does it take to bring a national bird back from the brink? In this opening episode of our three-part Talons of Hope special on the Mohamed bin Zayed Raptor Conservation Fund's signature project in Mongolia, Dr. Andrew Dixon—the Partners for Raptors Lifetime Achievement Award honoree and MBZRCF’s Science & Conservation Director—tells the inside story of how an Abu Dhabi–driven vision became one of the most ambitious raptor conservation efforts of our time.

Long before the Mohamed bin Zayed Raptor Conservation Fund (MBZRCF) had a name, Abu Dhabi’s leadership backed a bold, practical idea on the Mongolian steppe: build thousands of safe, well-sited artificial nests; partner with herder families and schools; and invest in young Mongolian scientists to lead the future. Five thousand “barrels on poles” later, those nests turned into broods—lifting fledglings, strengthening communities, and restoring pride in a bird that is both Mongolia’s national icon and deeply cherished in the UAE.

Andrew takes us from his first day on the steppe to the data and decisions that scaled a handful of prototype nests into a country-level grid—proof that when science, community, and long-horizon support align, raptors recover.

In this episode, you’ll hear about

• How 5,000+ artificial nests went from concept to population-level impact
• Why early Abu Dhabi leadership (pre-2018) and later MBZRCF backing were decisive
• Partnerships with herder families as hands-on nest guardians
• School links between Mongolia and the UAE that turned kids into young conservationists
• The metrics that matter: occupancy, fledging rates, and the ripple effects on steppe ecology
• The pipeline of Mongolian early-career scientists now leading field seasons and research

“Hope sounds like fledglings calling from a barrel that didn’t exist five years ago.”

Guest

Dr. Andrew Dixon — Science & Conservation Director, MBZRCF; recipient of the Partners for Raptors Lifetime Achievement Award; two decades leading Mongolia’s Saker Falcon research and conservation.

Call to action

If this story moves you, follow Talons of Hope, rate the show, and share this episode. It’s the blueprint for scaling raptor conservation—one nest, one herder family, one young scientist at a time.

Produced by Talons of Hope in collaboration with Vision Aquila. 🦅