TALONS OF HOPE
Talons of Hope is a global journey into the world of raptor conservation, bringing you inspiring stories, cutting-edge science, and the voices of those fighting to keep birds of prey soaring.
The Archives of Falconry — Where Heritage Meets Conservation : With John Goodell
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In this episode of Talons of Hope, we sit down with John Goodell, Executive Director and Chief Curator of the Archives of Falconry in Boise, Idaho, for a conversation about what it means to protect a living tradition.
The Archives of Falconry was founded in 1986 by the same falconers who helped launch modern raptor conservation. Today, it stands as a destination for anyone drawn to the ancient bond between humans and birds of prey. John walks us through the organization's bold chapter: becoming an independent nonprofit in 2021, leading a major renovation...
In Conversation with Simon Thomsett: The Rugged Life of an Eagle Man
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In this unforgettable first episode of a special three-part Talons of Hope trilogy, host Dr Munir Virani sits down with one of the most extraordinary figures in the world of raptor conservation: Simon Thomsett.
Falconer, eagle man, artist, mentor, rescuer, rehabilitator, adventurer, and master craftsman of the wild, Simon is the kind of person scriptwriters would struggle to invent. His life has been shaped by birds of prey, by danger, by beauty, by grit, and by an unshakable devotion to the natural world.
For more than three decades, Munir...
Landscape of Fear: How Saker Falcons Shape the Steppe - with Dr Andrew Dixon
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In this episode of Talons of Hope, Dr Andrew Dixon, Science and Conservation Director of the Mohamed bin Zayed Raptor Conservation Fund (MBZRCF) in Abu Dhabi, discusses the Landscape of Fear project in Mongolia. This is the third episode in a three-part series on MBZRCF’s transformative work to conserve the endangered Saker Falcon and improve the health of Mongolia’s steppe ecosystem.
The project studies how Saker Falcons and other raptors use the artificial nest grid and how their presence influences rodent behavior, especially Brandt’s voles. The team uses iButto...
Talons of Hope: A Year of Raptors, People, and Purpose
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As we closed out 2025, this special January 2026 episode of Talons of Hope pauses to reflect on the stories, people, and places that shaped our first season.
Across ten episodes, we travelled from tropical forests and open grasslands to remote islands, vast steppes, and the Arctic tundra. We heard from scientists, conservation leaders, community champions, and field practitioners working on the front lines to protect some of the world’s most threatened birds of prey. These were not abstract conversations. They were lived experiences shaped by uncertainty, persistence, an...
Turning Off the Kill Switch: How Mongolia Made Its Power Grid Safer for Raptors. With Dr Andrew Dixon
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For years an unseen hazard hung over the steppe. Standard distribution poles were silently killing thousands of raptors each year, including Saker Falcons. In this episode, Dr Andrew Dixon explains how leadership from Abu Dhabi, later anchored by the Mohamed bin Zayed Raptor Conservation Fund, helped Mongolia confront the crisis and retrofit 27,000 power poles across the country. The result is one of the standout conservation wins of our time and a practical blueprint any nation can adopt.
Andrew takes us inside the work from first grim counts to winter field trials...
From Barrels to Broods with Dr Andrew Dixon: Abu Dhabi’s Vision and Mongolia’s Falcon Turnaround
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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 Dhab...
Islands on the Edge: Saving the World’s Most Endangered Raptors
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Across the world’s scattered islands, from the volcanic ridges of the Philippines to the icy fjords of Tierra del Fuego, live some of the rarest and most extraordinary birds of prey on Earth. These are the island raptors—hawks, owls, eagles, and falcons that evolved in isolation, mastering ecosystems shaped by wind, salt, and solitude. But that same isolation now places them in peril.
Science tells a stark truth: every known extinction of a raptor has occurred on an island. From the Guadalupe Caracara of Mexico to t...
Wings to Fly: From Science to Stewardship in Raptor Conservation with Laurie Goodrich
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In this inspiring episode of Talons of Hope, we sit down with Dr. Laurie Goodrich—Sarkis Acopian Director of Conservation Science at Hawk Mountain Sanctuary—and explore what it takes to build the next generation of true conservation leaders. Drawing on decades of raptor migration data, groundbreaking studies on kestrel declines and broad‑winged hawk wintering behavior, Laurie shares not only the science, but how she’s weaving training in communication, storytelling, fundraising, and community engagement into her mentorship.
We talk about:
Lessons from 40 years of migration monitoring and what...Why Vultures Matter — and Why We Must Act Now (Special IVAD2025 Episode)
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Vultures prevent disease, recycle nutrients, and even reduce greenhouse gas emissions — yet they face extinction at an alarming rate. These birds are the silent guardians of our ecosystems, nature’s clean-up crew that protect both wildlife and human health. Beyond ecology, they are also woven into human culture and history — from ancient Egyptian deities to Indigenous traditions that see them as symbols of purification and renewal.
In this special Talons of Hope episode for International Vulture Awareness Day, host Munir Virani speaks with André Botha — one of th...
Dead Birds Flying — and the Science of Second Chances with Dr Christian Hagen
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 What happens when an injured hawk, eagle, falcon, or owl beats the odds, survives rehabilitation, and is released back into the wild? Do they truly make it? Do they matter?
In this episode of Talons of Hope, host Munir Virani talks with Dr. Christian Hagen — Senior Research Scientist and Associate Professor at Oregon State University — about a groundbreaking study that combed through decades of data on more than two million raptors. The results challenge long-held skepticism and reveal that rehabilitated raptors, especially long-lived species, can play a real role...
Cliffs, Toddlers, and Tracking Devices - The Megan Murgatroyd Story
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In this compelling episode of Talons of Hope, Dr. Munir Virani sits down with one of the rising stars in global raptor conservation—Dr. Megan Murgatroyd, a field biologist, scientist, mother, and Director of International Programs at HawkWatch International.
From the cliffs of South Africa to the jungles of Indonesia, Megan shares her bold and deeply personal journey tracking and protecting some of the world’s most elusive and endangered raptors. Listeners are taken behind the scenes of her fieldwork: wrestling Verreaux’s Eagles, developing wind energy collision models for la...
Valerie Sankok: A Warrior’s Mission to Save the Mara’s Vultures
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Deep in the grasslands of Kenya’s legendary Maasai Mara, where lions roar and wildebeest thunder, a quieter crisis is unfolding. Vultures — nature’s essential clean-up crew — are dying in silence, poisoned by the very communities that once lived in harmony with them.
But one woman is fighting back.
Meet Valerie Nasoita Sankok, a proud Maasai woman and frontline conservationist. She’s not just saving birds. She’s saving ecosystems, cultural values, and future generations.
As the Vulture Liaison Officer with The Peregrine Fund, Valeri...
From Arctic Cliffs to Global Change: Michael Henderson’s Quest to Save Polar Raptors
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In this episode of Talons of Hope, we travel to the windswept tundras of Alaska to explore the frontline of polar raptor conservation. Host Munir Virani, of the Mohamed bin Zayed Raptor Conservation Fund (MBZRCF), speaks with Michael Henderson—field biologist with The Peregrine Fund and PhD candidate at Boise State University—whose groundbreaking research on Gyrfalcons, the Arctic’s apex raptors, is offering urgent insights into a rapidly changing world.
Why should you tune in?
 Because polar raptors...
Rescue on the Brink: Gareth Tate and the Fight to Save Africa’s Vultures
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Poachers laced an elephant carcass with poison in South Africa’s Kruger National Park, and by next morning 123 critically endangered vultures lay dead. Dozens more were barely clinging to life, sparking an urgent race to save them.
Amid this carnage, Gareth Tate – head of the Endangered Wildlife Trust’s Birds of Prey Programme – sprang into action. He hooked up a specialized “vulture ambulance,” gathered vets and rangers, and raced to the scene even enlisting a SANParks helicopter
Against all odds, 84 poisoned vultures were pulled back from the brink and ru...
From Mindanao to Leyte: Dr. Jayson Ibanez and the Flight to Save the Philippine Eagle
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Talons of Hope: A Conversation with Dr. Jayson Ibanez – Saving the Soul of the Forest
In this powerful and moving episode of Talons of Hope, host Munir Virani speaks with Dr. Jayson Ibanez, the Director of Operations at the Philippine Eagle Foundation (PEF), a pioneering raptor biologist and champion of culture-based conservation. Their conversation delves deep into the remarkable efforts to save the critically endangered Philippine Eagle—a species that symbolizes both the ecological and cultural soul of the Philippines.
Dr. Ibanez recounts his early fasc...
Talons of Hope Introduction
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On this special World Environment Day, Talons of Hope takes flight—soaring into the lives, landscapes, and legacies of those fighting to protect the world’s most awe-inspiring birds of prey. Hosted by raptor biologist and conservationist Munir Virani, this launch episode sets the tone for a podcast rooted in urgency, science, and deep storytelling.
From the Arctic tundra to the tropical forests of the Philippines, Talons of Hope explores how raptors—eagles, falcons, vultures—are not just predators, but sentinels of planetary health. In this opening narrativ...
