Little-known stories about the 'flying guards' protecting the Kremlin

To protect the presidential palace from the threat of crows, the Kremlin uses professionally trained birds of prey and gives special care to this "flying guard team".

“In the 1960s, the Kremlin Guards Regiment had a special unit called the ‘crow hunting squad.’ Its soldiers were tasked with chasing crows off the roofs of Kremlin buildings, sealing cracks and windows to prevent crows from entering or nesting inside. It was a real war!”, recalled Kirill Voronin, the Kremlin’s top ornithologist.

Soldiers train birds to hunt crows to protect the Kremlin. Photo: Sputnik

Pigeons, jackdaws, and especially crows are common in Moscow. They have become a nightmare for those tasked with protecting the Kremlin - the oldest "fortress" in Europe and the presidential palace located in the heart of the Russian capital. In addition to destroying flowers and taking seeds from the gardens in the Kremlin grounds, these birds and crows also spread diseases.

Another problem birds and crows pose to Kremlin buildings is their waste. The Kremlin towers are intricately decorated, with steep domes covered in tiles and decorated with red stars. Cleaning these structures is a difficult task, so Kremlin security guards have to find ways to keep crows away from the area.

Birds of Prey have been employed by the Kremlin since the 1980s. Photo: Sputnik

Since the 1980s, birds of prey have been “recruited” into the Kremlin security team with the task of chasing away birds and crows that appear here.

Initially, Kremlin guards used tape recordings of falcon screeches and cries to scare away the crows. However, according to Voronin, the crows quickly “got used to” the sounds, forcing them to use real birds to scare them away. At first, the Kremlin guards used falcons, then switched to hawks.

When falcons hunt, they often soar very high, then dive straight down, aim at the target and use their talons to kill the prey. If they miss the target, the falcon will repeat the same movements. However, this habit applies in natural conditions. In the city, this way of hunting can cause the falcon to miss its prey, or even crash into buildings or the ground and die.

Falcons can also get lost or feel scared when flying in cities, especially in crowded central areas with loud car horns like the Kremlin. In addition, falcons are very expensive, can cost up to tens of thousands of dollars, and they are also difficult to care for.

Hawk "Squad"

Today, the Kremlin has replaced falcons with hawks for protection. The use of hawks is considered more effective than that of falcons because the hawk's natural prey is crows, while falcons mainly hunt rodents.

Unlike falcons, hawks usually hide in the bushes to hunt. They wait until their prey appears, then swoop down at lightning speed from a distance of 20-30m. This hunting habit is suitable for a place with limited space like inside the Kremlin. Compared to falcons, hawks are also easier to care for. They are friendlier to their caretakers and cost much less than falcons, from 15,000 to 20,000 rubles (about 170-260 USD) per bird.

According to Mr. Voronin, when the Kremlin security forces see crows, they will send out hawks to chase them away.

“When the hawk catches a crow, we run up and give them something tastier, like quail meat,” said Mr. Voronin.

Crows can transmit dangerous diseases to hawks, so it is important to ensure that they do not eat the birds once they have been caught. The Kremlin's hawks are regularly checked for health. GPS trackers are attached to their tails and bells are attached to their legs.

The Kremlin regularly provides health care to birds of prey to prolong their working lives. Photo: Sputnik

The purpose of attaching bells to the hawks’ legs is to alert crows, which primarily communicate through sounds. When crows hear the bells, they understand that a bird of prey is controlling their territory and will automatically leave. The main purpose of the Kremlin “flying guard” is to keep crows away from the Kremlin, not to kill crows.

Each hawk undergoes six months of training before being assessed for its ability to guard the Kremlin. Due to careful care, regular feeding and adequate warmth, the Kremlin guard hawks have a longer lifespan than wild hawks.

Typically, the hawks will work for the Kremlin for 10-15 years, after which they will retire. “Alpha”, the oldest female hawk in the Kremlin, has been working for more than 20 years.

“Birds also change with age. Alpha sometimes has difficulty breathing and his beak needs regular care. However, Alpha still catches crows. Maybe not because of his speed but because of his experience,” Voronin said.

In addition to hawks, the Kremlin also keeps owls. These are also crow predators and usually hunt at night. Using owls helps to keep crows away from the Kremlin at night.

According to Dantri