Steppe eagle now west of Medina

 The Steppe eagle we are tracking (6487) is steadily heading south in western Saudi Arabia, and is currently west of Medina.  However, other Steppe eagles being tracked (that were captured in Oman in 2019) are yet to start serious migration and are still in Russia, north of the Caucasus.  Click here https://steppeeaglesoman.blogspot.com/ to view the blog about tracking Steppe eagles that wintered in Oman.

Below are two maps: one showing the movements of this eagle since it was released at Al Jahra, Kuwait on 5 March, and the other shows the steady pace of migration in the last two days (from Tabuk).

Movements of a young Steppe eagle during 5 March - 24 September 2020 (©KEL/KFAS).

Movements of a young Steppe eagle during 22-24 September 2020 (©KEL/KFAS).

Steppe Eagle near Tabuk, KSA

 The Steppe eagle we are tracking (6487) is now near Tabuk, Saudi Arabia.  It has been making steady progress along its migration path.  As we fitted this bird with a transmitter only in March, we don't know where it actually spent its winter last year.  Will it go into Egypt (then maybe go south into Africa) or will it stay east of the Red Sea?  

Movements of a Steppe eagle during 12-22 September 2020 (© KEL/KFAS).

Locations of Steppe eagle on 21 September 2020 (© KEL/KFAS).

The Greater spotted eagle we are tracking (6488) is still in a wetland area in Kazakhstan.  There must be plenty of food because it has been there for almost a month, and typically only moves a few hundred meters every day.  See map below.

Recent locations of a tracked Greater spotted eagle in a wetland area in Kazakhstan (© KEL/KFAS).

Steppe eagle in Saudi Arabia

The Steppe eagle we are tracking has pushed quickly south.  It is now in northern Saudi Arabia, near the town of  Arar. Below is a map of the eagle's movements since 1 September.  Since then it has travelled over 2000 km; straight-line distance is about 1500 km.  

[Interesting note: According to Wikipedia, Arar got its name from the original oil field that existed before the town, "Field RR", known by the locals as "R.R.", which later became ʿArʿar.]

Movements of a Steppe eagle (6487) during 1 - 17 September 2020 (©KEL/KFAS).

6488 still in Kazakhstan

We expect the Greater spotted eagle that we are tracking to start migrating soon, but wanted to let you know some details about what it has been doing recently.  

For most of the last month it has been located along a stretch of about 35 km of the Turgay River, about 100 km south west of Turgay, Kazakhstan.  However, during 25 August - 5 September it made a rather long excursion to a location over 725 km to the north, near Chelyabinsk, Russia.  Below is a map of its movements during the last month, and a zoomed in map of the stretch of the Turgay River where it has spent so much time, and where it is today.

Movements of a Greater spotted eagle (6488) during 15 August - 16 September 2020 (©KEL/KFAS).

Locations of a Greater spotted eagle (6488) along the Turgay River, Kazakhstan in August and September 2020 (©KEL/KFAS).

Tracked eagles - Current status

This is a general description of what the three birds we fitted with transmitters at Al Jahra have done, and what is their current situation.  Soon we will post more details about each bird.  This is just a start.

6488 (transmitter number) is a Greater spotted eagle that was caught on 15 January 2020.  It stayed at Al Jahra until it started to migrate.  It migrated to northwestern Kazakhstan, and spent its summer wandering very widely in northwestern Kazakhstan and southern Russia.  It is currently in an area of lakes and rivers SW of the town of Turgay, Kazakhstan.  It has been there for a couple of weeks, and it could start migrating at any time.  Below is a map showing its locations since it was tagged.

Movements of a Greater spotted eagle (6488) during 31 March - 13 September 2020 (© KEL/KFAS).

6487 is a Steppe eagle that was fitted with a transmitter on 4 March 2020.  Upon release it immediately left Kuwait, and wandered extensively in north-central Saudi Arabia and Iraq before migration north to southern Russia via a route west of the Caspian Sea.  It spent the summer wandering in Russia and western Kazakhstan.  It started to move in the direction of the wintering areas in August, spent some time in southern Russia, just north of the Caucasus until 12 September, when it started its autumn 2020 migration. Below is a map showing its locations since it was tagged.  See our earlier blog post https://kuwaiteagles.blogspot.com/2020/09/steppe-eagle-6487-has-started-to-migrate.html about the start of this bird's migration.

Movements of a Steppe eagle (6487)during 4 March -13 September 2020 (© KEL/KFAS).

6492 was a juvenile Greater spotted eagle that was caught at Al Jahra on 8 March.  It spent the rest of the winter there, and then started on migration on 17 April. Sadly, it apparently died just west of Tehran, were had an unmoving signal for some days that eventually ceased.  Below is a map of its movements.

Movements of a Greater spotted eagle (6492) during 17-21 March 2020 (© KEL/KFAS).

Steppe eagle 6487 has started to migrate

A Steppe eagle fitted with a GPS transmitter at Al Jahra Pools on 4 March 2020 started its southward migration.  During the summer it wandered widely around southern Russia and western Kazakhstan.  The map below shows its movements since 1 August.  From 1 August to 11 September it spent most of its time in agricultural areas in Russia, just north of the Caucasus Mountains.  In the second week of September it moved east, circumventing the Caucasus.  On 12 September it made a concerted push on migration, and was most recently located about 40 km north of Ahar, Iran.

In the coming days we will post more detailed information about the movements of this bird during spring migration and summer 2020. We'll also keep you up to date with the progress of the current migration effort of this bird and the Greater spotted eagle we are tracking.  So, revisit the blog in the coming days to keep up with the news.  

Movements of an immature Steppe eagle during 1 August - 13 September 2020 (©KEL/KFAS).

Tracking GSEs in Kuwait

Fitting a GSE with a GPS-GSM tracking device (Photo: KEL).

In early 2020 we captured two Greater spotted eagles (GSEs) at the Jahra Pools Reserve in Kuwait and fitted them with solar powered GPS loggers.  The loggers collect GPS data, and upload them to us via the GSM network.  Data collection is programmed and dependent on available solar energy (not a problem in Kuwait!).  Typically, we collect data every 5 minutes or so, but at times data collection is intensive: one location per second! Along with the GPS location the logger sends information on speed, altitude, and bearing (and other data).  Thus, during the bursts of intensive data collection we have a very detailed picture about the movements of the birds we are tracking.  Below are some maps (Click on the map to enlarge in a separate tab).  The first shows all winter data from a GSE tagged by us at the Jahra Pools, and highlights how tied to the reserve this bird was during the winter. The second shows a burst of intensively collected data (1 location/second).  One can just imagine the eagle soaring in circles as it moves across the reserve.

All locations of a GSE tracked while wintering at Al Jahra Pools, Kuwait, Jan - April 2020         (© KEL/KFAS).

A burst of intensively collected location data from a GSE wintering at Al Jahra Pools, Kuwait on 29 March 2020 (© KEL/KFAS)

Greater spotted eagles wintering in Kuwait

 

Juvenile Greater spotted eagle (Clanga clanga) at Jahra Pools, Kuwait (Photo: A. Al Zaidan, Kuwait Environment Public Authority)

Greater spotted eagle (GSE, Clanga clanga) is migratory, and considered globally Vulnerable.  It has a huge breeding range that extends in wet forested areas from central Europe (the Baltic, Poland) east all the way to the Pacific coast.  Its wintering areas are mostly in southern Asia and some parts of Africa. In Arabia it is known to winter mostly in wetland areas along the coast.  They sometimes winter at waste disposal sites, where they scavenge. The main habitat used by GSEs throughout the year is wetland, in summer wet forests or forests near wetlands are needed because they nest in trees.

GSE is generally understudied, especially in the eastern part of its distribution and on its wintering grounds.  GSE regularly winter at the Al Jahra wetlands in Kuwait.  We have initiated a study of GSE that are wintering at Al Jahra.  The study of these birds will provide a portal through which we aim to learn about their year-round ecology and conservation.  We are establishing links with GSE researchers and conservationists working on the breeding ground (here is a video a GSE conservation project in Poland), and intend, if advantageous and feasible, to work with others studying their migration. 

This is just a quick introduction to the Greater spotted eagle.  There is much more to be said, and we’ll give more information in coming blogs.A good source of further information is the BirdLife data zone page http://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/greater-spotted-eagle-clanga-clanga.