On a lonely stretch of dessert in Bagram, Afghanistan - not far from the largest U.S. military base in the country - Jan Agha is setting up snares, decoys, and even a live lure.

He is one of Afghanistan's many bird hunters in pursuit of a prize: wild cranes.

(SOUNDBITE) (Dari) AFGHAN HUNTER, JAN AGHA, 49, SAYING: "I started hunting birds when I was 13.

At first I was just shooting ducks.

But then I saw a group of cranes flying in the sky and really like them, so I starting hunting cranes, instead." In Afghanistan, the arrival of spring means a surge in violence as the Taliban launch their annual offensive.

And this year is no exception, even during peace talks between the Taliban and the U.S. In recent days, fighting across the country between insurgents and local forces has killed dozens of people.

But for Afghanistan's bird hunters spring has a different meaning.

It's the time they have the best luck catching cranes, carrying on a tradition that has survived decades of chaos.

(SOUNDBITE) (Dari) AFGHAN HUNTER, JAN AGHA, 49, SAYING: "The pleasure of hunting is to be a successful in it.

A hunter's hope is to hunt.

Being a success in any job in the world has a special joy." Jan Agha takes his catch to local markets.

Some go for food, while others are bought as pets or as investments by middlemen who turn them around for a premium in larger markets.

It's a trade with little regulation.

With the government focused on fighting a war with insurgents, issues like the environment can sometimes be neglected.

Today, there are few controls on bird hunting Jan Agha himself reckons he has taken more than 1,000 cranes and an uncountable number of quails, ducks, hawks and sparrows.

He says bird hunting is a tradition he is proud to carry on from his ancestors.

But in a country decimated by conflict, it's also another way to survive.